BS EN 61935-1:2009

This standard BS EN 61935-1:2009 Specification for the testing of balanced and coaxial information technology cabling is classified in these ICS categories:

• 33.120.10 Coaxial cables. Waveguides

This part of EN 61935 specifies reference measurement procedures for cabling parameters and the requirements for field tester accuracy to measure cabling parameters identified in series EN 50173. This standard does not apply to EN 50173-4.

This International Standard applies when the cable assemblies are constructed of cables complying with the IEC 61156 family of standards, and connecting hardware as specified in IEC 60603-7 family of standards or IEC 61076-3-104 and IEC 61076-3-110. In the case where cables and/or connectors do not comply with these standards, then additional tests may be required.

This standard is organized as follows:

• reference laboratory measurement procedures on cabling topologies are specified in Clause 4. In some cases, these procedures may be used in the field;

• descriptions and requirements for measurements in the field are specified in Clause 5;

• performance requirements for field testers and procedures to verify performance are specified in Clause 6.

NOTE 1 This standard does not include tests that are normally performed on the cables and connectors separately. These tests are described in IEC 61156-1 and IEC 60603-7 or IEC 61076-3-104 and IEC 61076-3-110 respectively.

NOTE 2 Wherever possible, cables and connectors used in cable assemblies, even if they are not described in IEC 61156 or IEC 60603-7, IEC 61076-3-104 or IEC 61076-3-110, are tested separately according to the tests given in the relevant generic specification. In this case, most of the environmental and mechanical tests described in this standard may be omitted.

NOTE 3 Users of this standard are advised to consult with applications standards, equipment manufacturers and system integrators to determine the suitability of these requirements for specific networking applications.

This standard relates to performance with respect to 100 Ω cabling. For 120 Ω or 150 Ω cabling, the same principles apply but the measurement system should correspond to the nominal impedance level.

Field tester types include certification, qualification and verification. Certification testing is performed for the rigorous needs of commercial/industrial buildings to this standard. Qualification testing is described in IEC 61935-3. Qualification testing determines whether the cabling will support certain network technologies (e.g., 1000BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, IEEE 1394b¹⁾). Qualification testers do not have traceable accuracy to national standards and provide confidence that specific applications will work. Verification testers only verify connectivity.

Throughout this document, 4-pair cabling is assumed. The test procedures described in this standard may also be used to evaluate 2-pair balanced cabling. However, 2-pair cabling links that share the same sheath with other links are tested as 4-pair cabling.