Black Box Cable ETL and Burn Testing

This is the fifth and last post in our series on counterfeit and substandard cable.

Because of all the publicity counterfeit and substandard cable has garnered, especially in the past year, we want to explain how Black Box addresses performance and safety issue through ETL Verification and independent burn testing.

Every three months, an independent Intertek inspector visits us. He goes into our warehouse where he randomly selects  GigaBase® CAT5e and GigaTrue® CAT6 channel components for ETL testing. To ensure that “good” product isn’t pulled only from the most popular items, he mixes up his product selection. In one visit, he may choose green jacks to be tested with white cable. The next, he may choose gray cable and yellow jacks. The items are then sealed up and sent to the ETL lab for testing.

Six ways to spot counterfeit and substandard cable

This is the fourth in a series of posts about counterfeit and substandard cable.

1. UL® number and hologram: None, fake, or illegitimate. If there is no UL® number or hologram, that’s an instant tip-off. Even if there is a number or hologram, you can look up the cable on-line at UL® to see if it’s verified. Sometimes, even if there is a legit UL® number, it’s possible that it was copied from “good” cable. UL also posts alerts on unauthorized numbers on its website.

2. ETL logos. Counterfeiters use them whether they are earned or not. Ask the seller for the ETL test results. You can also check the ETL website for a directory of verified cables.

3. Printing/Legend. Is the printing poorly done on the box and the cable? Are there any typographical or grammatical errors?  Check the UL® logo. It should have the letters UL arranged diagonally (descending left to right) with a circle with a small ® symbol directly below the U. Does the cable legend also have the proper markings?

GigaTrue® 550 CAT6, 550-MHz Solid Bulk Cable, 4-Pair, 1000-ft.

4. Color. Does the color match previously bought cable?

What to look for in a channel solution

Channel solution. You hear the term a lot these days to describe complete copper or fiber cabling systems. But what exactly is a channel solution and what are its benefits?

A definition.
A channel solution is a cabling system from the data center to the desktop where every cable, jack, and patch panel is designed to work together and give you consistent end-to-end performance when compared with the EIA/TIA requirements.

Its benefits.
A channel solution is beneficial because you have some assurance that your cabling components will perform as specified. Without that assurance, one part may not be doing its job, so your entire system may not be performing up to standard, which is a problem — especially if you rely on bandwidth-heavy links for video and voice.