DELTA Labs, ITS confirm every Krone Category 6 component is compliant

Krone has become one of the first manufacturers to receive certificates of conformance for every single component of its Category 6 solutions.

This means that installers and users alike can now rest assured that a Category 6 network built of Krone components will meet full Category 6 specification throughout and deliver guaranteed performance across the network.

Explaining the significance of this statement, Category 6 product manager at Krone, Kevin Anderson said: "Although many manufacturers have certificates of conformance at channel or permanent link level, this is no guarantee of component compliance nor of interoperability with components from other manufacturers."

This kind of channel conformance testing is done on a specific configuration using a 4-connector model with pre-specified cable and patch cord lengths, he continued, but an artificial test of this kind had severe limitations and did not reflect most real-world situations.

"Channels installed in the field will be different and far more varied. With different cable and patchcord lengths or differing numbers of connectors overall there is no guarantee that the same components will still give Category 6 performance. The only way that standard-compliant performance can be fully assured is to build the channel out of component-compliant materials," he said.

The news that all components in Krone`s PremisNET and TrueNet solutions have been certified comes hot on the heels of BT`s choice of Krone as its Category 6 technology partner. BT based its selection on the results of its own testing of the PremisNET products against others to the ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.2- 1 standard in the company`s Adastral Park laboratories.

The certificates of conformance for Category 6 component compliance, issued to Krone by DELTA Laboratories, UL and ITS are wide ranging - covering KM8 jacks, patch panels, double and quad wall outlets together with LSZH PremisNET and TrueNet cable and patch cords. They verify conformance to TIA/EIA-568-B.2 and B.2-1, ISO/IEC 11801 : 2002, EN 50173-1 : 2002 and draft IEC 60603-7 standards.

The bottom line for installers is that Krone Category 6 PremisNET and TrueNet components can be assembled in any configuration permitted by the Category 6 standards and a fully conforming channel will result. The use of non-compliant components offers no such guarantee.

Anderson encouraged installers and users proposing to fit Category 6 systems to ask their suppliers three very telling questions:

* Will the system provide significant headroom over and above the Category 6 standards when installed-and not just scrape through by a hair`s breadth?

* Is the system interoperable (and backwards-compatible) with standards-compliant components and are there independent test certificates for every single component used in the solution to prove this?

* When testing the new system, can the installer use any off-the-shelf permanent-link test heads (and not manufacturer-specific `specials`)?

He summed up. "End-users are investing large sums in Category 6 systems and expect them to meet exacting standards throughout the full life of the network. Certification gives users and installers assurance of this, now and in future, since the exacting conformance tests performed by DELTA Labs are not a one-off event. A continuing maintenance of qualification schedule will ensure that further test of product samples will be conducted yearly, thus ensuring that the quality level and performance of Krone products will be maintained."