October 14, 2009 -- JDSU has introduced the ValidatorPRO and ValidatorPRO-NT test instruments, handheld testers designed to allow enterprise network installers to speed-certify Ethernet cabling, perform optical power measurements, and verify connectivity of WiFi networks. Both new ValidatorPRO offerings perform Ethernet speed certification and include an optical power meter; the ValidatorPRO- NT adds PoE testing and wireless 802.11b/g/n PoE testing features.

The ValidatorPRO/PRO-NT is described complete solution to economically ensure performance of copper, fiber, and Wireless LAN installations. According to the company, the platform supports comprehensive test capability in increasingly complex networks that must now support voice, data, and video applications over copper, fiber or wireless LANs. The platform may reduce associated test and measurement costs because it enables installers and technicians to test copper cabling to desktops, check fiber installations in network rooms, and analyze wireless networks for mobile users, all with one tool.

"JDSU designed the Validator to address the required installation testing and speed certification needs for today's LAN Ethernet networks," says Jim Nerschook, vice president and general manager in JDSU's Communications Test and Measurement business segment. "Using the JDSU ValidatorPRO, installers can be assured cable runs support Gigabit Ethernet over copper and also can test fiber cabling, meeting the comprehensive challenge of cable testing in enterprise and home networks."

Building upon the existing Validator and Validator-NT tools, the company says the ValidatorPRO offers faster processing speed, more memory, and increased functionality to further optimize the installation process. Test capability includes speed certifying the data- carrying capabilities of copper Ethernet network cables up to 1 Gb/ s by testing for noise in the network, detecting faults in the cabling, and ensuring that cables are able to support the speed capabilities of active equipment. The ValidatorPRO-NT adds active network tests to confirm network connectivity using port discovery, ping and link layer discovery protocol features. For networks that use Power over Ethernet, such as corporate VoIP networks, the ValidatorPRO-NT tests power availability to network devices.

Included in the ValidatorPRO solution is the newly-updated JDSU Plan-UmA software to create network layouts, document cable test results, show network topology, estimate cable length requirements, and record moves, adds, and changes. Further, the ValidatorPRO tests for Gigabit Ethernet capability via BER tests that send data packets down specified cable runs at defined data rates to check for errors at the maximum throughput of the link; reports on signal quality that can impact high-speed data transmission by measuring SNR; provides skew measurements that report on the signal time delay between pairs that can impact Ethernet data transmission; and provides continuity testing that detects opens, shorts, miswires, split pairs, reversals, and high-resistance faults while accurately measuring distance to faults and total cable length.