Abstract:
A device for testing data communications cabling. The device consists of a signal generator that can generate a test signal to test the data communications cabling and a receiving component that can receive a reflected signal produced by reflection of the test signal from the data communications cabling including any reactive point source disturbance that may exist on the cabling. The receiving component can determine characteristics of the reflected signal by analyzing the phase rotation and amplitude of the reflected signal. The device can also include a cancellation generator that can generate a cancellation function based on the characteristics of the reflected signal. The cancellation function can substantially negate a portion of the reflected signal.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     None.  
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
       [0002]     Not applicable.  
       REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX  
       [0003]     Not applicable.  
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0004]     This invention relates in general to the field of devices for testing conductors of electromagnetic signals and more specifically, but not by way of limitation, to a system and method for canceling the effects of reactance caused by connectors in the conductors.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     A local area network (LAN) or a similar computing network typically consists of one or more server computers connected through conductive cabling to one or more client computers.  FIG. 1  illustrates a portion  5  of such a network. A hub  10 , a router, or a similar device is coupled through cable  150  to a desktop computer  20  or a similar device. The cable  150  might include lengths of twisted pair cables, patch cords, and other standard conducting cables. The hub  10  is coupled to the cable  150  by a first connector  130  and the computer  20  is coupled to the cable  150  by a second connector  140 .  
         [0006]     Testing can be done to verify the integrity of the cable  150  by replacing the hub  10  and the computer  20  with test devices, as shown in  FIG. 2 . A first test device  110  transmits a test signal through the cable  150  to a second test device  120 . The test signal is typically a radio frequency signal that is varied between a lower frequency and a higher frequency. The second test device  120  receives the test signal response and analyzes it to determine cable gain or far-end crosstalk at each frequency. Cable gain (insertion gain) is always less than one because the cable always exhibits loss. In some cases, the test signal is returned through the cable  150  to the first test device  110 , which then performs the analysis.  
         [0007]     The test equipment may be based on a pulse response, where the system is excited by a pulse and the time domain of the system is then converted to the frequency domain by use of Fourier transforms to obtain the frequency response of the system.  
         [0008]     The test device  110  or  120  performing the analysis can measure several different parameters such as Return Loss and near-end crosstalk (NEXT). Return Loss is expressed as the ratio of the transmitted signal power to the reflected signal power and is usually expressed in dB. NEXT is the ratio of the transmitted signal power on one channel to the received crosstalk power on another channel at the same location (i.e., the same end of the cable) and is usually expressed in dB. Other parameters that might be examined include attenuation and equal level far-end crosstalk.  
         [0009]     The connectors  130  and  140  can cause Return Loss, NEXT, and other effects by introducing capacitance, inductance, or both into the test signal response. When both capacitance and inductance are present and physically located together, they can be combined into a single point source equivalent reactance, which may be capacitive or inductive. The connectors  130  and  140  and other point sources of reactance that might be present in the cable  150  can be referred to as reactive point source disturbances (RPSDs).  
         [0010]     Various organizations publish standards and guidelines describing how LAN testing should be conducted. These guidelines typically require that only the portion of the cable  150  known as the channel  155 , which runs between but does not include connectors  130  and  140 , should be analyzed. That is, the effects of the connectors  130  and  140  are not to be included in the analysis of the test signal response. This can complicate the test procedures because the test signal must pass through the connectors  130  and  140 . Any reactance introduced by the connectors  130  and  140  must be accounted for in the analysis of the test signal response.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0011]     An embodiment of the invention provides a device for testing data communications cabling. The device consists of a signal generator that can generate a test signal to test the data communications cabling and a receiving component that can receive a reflected signal produced by reflection of the test signal from the data communications cabling including any reactive point source disturbance that exists on the cabling. The receiving component can determine characteristics of the reflected signal by analyzing the phase rotation (delay) and amplitude of the reflected signal.  
         [0012]     An alternative embodiment provides a method for canceling the effects of a reactive point source disturbance in the resulting data set. The method consists of identifying an approximate location of the reactive point source disturbance, sending a varying-frequency test signal to a cabling system that includes the reactive point source disturbance, receiving a test signal response from the cabling system, determining characteristics of the test signal response near the approximate location of the reactive point source disturbance, generating a correction function for the reactive point source disturbance based on the characteristics of the test signal response and cable gain, and subtracting the correction function from the test signal response to create a corrected test signal response that substantially cancels the effects of the reactive point source disturbance.  
         [0013]     Another alternative embodiment provides a device for testing a data communication cable. The device consists of a signal source, an analysis component, a correlation component, and a generation component. The signal source can send a test signal of varying frequency through the cable. The analysis component can receive a test signal response produced by a reflection of the test signal from the cable, determine a set of reflection or transmission coefficients for the frequencies in the test signal response, determine an imaginary summation over selected frequencies for the set of reflection or transmission coefficients, and determine a greatest peak in the imaginary summation. The correlation component can correlate a location of the greatest peak to a location of a reactive point source disturbance and correlate a greatest peak amplitude to a magnitude of a reactive point source disturbance reactance. The generation component can use the reactive point source disturbance location and the reactive point source disturbance reactance amplitude to generate a reactive point source disturbance correction function, and can combine the reactive point source disturbance correction function with the test signal response to create a corrected test signal response.  
         [0014]     These and other features and advantages will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and claims.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]      FIG. 1  illustrates a portion of a typical prior art computing network.  
         [0016]      FIG. 2  illustrates a prior art system for testing a computing network.  
         [0017]      FIG. 3  illustrates a system for testing a computing network, according to an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0018]      FIG. 4  illustrates a cable wire pair of a computing network cable connected to a terminated connector for S 11  measurement.  
         [0019]      FIG. 5  illustrates a plot of the imaginary part of S 11  versus frequency.  
         [0020]      FIG. 6  illustrates a plot of the cable corrected summation of the imaginary part of S 11  over a selected set of frequencies as a function of time.  
         [0021]      FIG. 7  illustrates two cable pairs connected to a connector for S 21  measurement.  
         [0022]      FIG. 8  illustrates a method for canceling the effects of reactive point source disturbances in a data communication cable, according to an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0023]     For a more complete understanding of the presentation and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following brief description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and detailed description, wherein like reference numerals represent like parts. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0024]     It should be understood at the outset that although an exemplary implementation of one embodiment of the present invention is illustrated below, the present system may be implemented using any number of techniques, whether currently known or in existence. The present disclosure should in no way be limited to the exemplary implementations, drawings, and techniques illustrated below, including the exemplary design and implementation illustrated and described herein, but may be modified within the scope of the appended claims along with their full scope of equivalents.  
         [0025]     When a test device places a test signal of varying frequency on a cable, any RPSDs or other impedance disturbances in the system that might be present on the cable or other components can cause a portion of the test signal to be reflected back to the test device. This returned portion of the signal can be referred to as the test signal response. An RPSD can be modeled as a reactive component of a certain magnitude located at a certain distance from a signal source. Because the RPSD is a reactance, its response will be imaginary (in phase quadrature) with the transmitted signal when extracted from the test signal response.  
         [0026]     In an embodiment, the characteristics of the RPSDs on a cable are determined by examining a delay in the frequency domain as measured by the slope of the phase shift with respect to frequency. The test signal response is first corrected for total cable gain, which is the gain of the cable out to the RPSD and back to the receiver. This cable gain is a function of frequency and cable length. For near-end RPSDs, the cable length is approximately zero and the cable has unity gain. A frequency-dependent complex rotation is performed on the corrected test signal response at selected frequencies in the signal. The selected frequencies for complex rotation are a subset of the frequencies existing in the test signal response data. A complex rotation is a map of the form x→xe iθ . θ is a real number, which corresponds to counterclockwise rotation about the origin of points in the complex plane by θ radians. The rotation is done only around a previously discovered approximate location of an RPSD to reduce the amount of computation that is performed. The search for the RPSD is typically limited to within a few nanoseconds of the expected location. Time and distance are related such that 1 foot is approximately the distance a signal travels in the cable in 1.5 nanosecond. When the imaginary results of the rotation are summed at each frequency, several peaks will occur in the summation near the delay time of the connector. The location of the largest peak indicates the location of the RPSD and the amplitude of the largest peak indicates the reactance of the RPSD. When this information is known, a correction function can be generated that replicates the effects of the RPSD. Correction functions can be created in this manner for the connectors at the near end and far end of a channel. The correction function will have a reactance part, a delay part, and a cable gain part. The reactance part defines the nature of the RPSD. The delay part defines the location along the cable of the RPSD. The cable gain part contains the compensating cable gain factor. The cable gain factor for a near-end RPSD will be essentially unity (1) because the round trip cable length is small there. These correction functions can then be subtracted from a test signal response to generate a corrected test signal response that provides test results for the channel and ignores the effects of the near and/or far-end connectors.  
         [0027]     In the embodiment of  FIG. 3 , a test device  115  can be assumed to contain a signal generation source  160  at a known location in its interior. A jack can be assumed to be located at or near the exterior of the test device  115 . When a plug is inserted into the jack, connector  130  is created and will hereinafter be referred to as the near-end RPSD  130 . The process of canceling the effects of the near-end RPSD  130  typically begins with determining its approximate location, that is, its distance from the signal source  160 . This distance would typically be known from the factory specifications of the test device  115  and could be stored in an electronic memory within the test device  115  for retrieval whenever a near-end RPSD cancellation is to be performed.  
         [0028]     When this approximate distance is known, a mathematical analysis of the varying-frequency signal reflected from the near-end RPSD  130  can be performed to determine its exact location. Broadly speaking, the mathematical analysis examines a phase shift in a mathematical function that describes the frequencies in the reflected signal. Since the analysis can focus on the area at the near-end RPSD  130  rather than considering phase shifts over the entire length of the cable  150 , the amount of time and computation needed to determine the exact location of the near-end RPSD  130  is greatly reduced. A more detailed description of the mathematical analysis follows.  
         [0029]     As is well known in the art, RPSDs can be modeled by a set of voltage transfer functions known as “S” parameters. For example, a capacitive induced reflection coefficient can be modeled at the point of disturbance by a shunt capacitor across a termination resistor as shown in model  212  in  FIG. 4 . An inductive reflection coefficient can be modeled as series inductors into a termination resistor as shown in model  214  in  FIG. 4 . In  FIG. 4 , a signal is transmitted from a transmitter/receiver  216  into a cable  218 , pair a, and travels to a connector  220  where some of the signal is reflected by connector mismatch and returns through the cable  218 , pair a, and is received by the transmitter/receiver  216 . A termination resistance  222  is present across the connector  220 .  
         [0030]     It is desired to determine the S 11  which would be measured if the test were done at the point of disturbance in order to build the proper correction function. The following equation gives the relationship between a reflection coefficient (S 11 ) at the point of disturbance and the resistance (r), the capacitance (c), and a Laplace operator (s) based on a 100 Ohm system. The resistor (r) is the termination resistance of the cable for far-end RPSDs or patch cable impedance for near-end RPSDs. In either case, (r) is approximately 100 Ohms.  
       s   ⁢           ⁢   11   ⁢     (   s   )     ⁢     :     =         1       1   r     +     c   ·   s         -   100         1       1   r     +     c   ·   s         +   100           
 
         [0031]     Return loss is the magnitude of the reflection coefficient (S 11 ) and is normally expressed in dB: 
 
return_loss(s):=−20log(|s 11 (s)|) 
 
         [0032]     The reflection coefficient, S 11 , as seen from the test instrument, can be described by adding a cable delay and loss term for signals traveling out to the RPSD and back to the receiver. The delay term is the complex exponential multiplier of the imaginary part of the equation for S 11  and is one of the parameters the value of which must be determined from looking at the test signal response. The cable gain is a function of cable length and frequency. The following equation describes the imaginary part of a reflection coefficient RPSD located at T seconds delay between transmitter and receiver. The cable gain is measured by the test instrument, is a function of frequency, and is always less than one because the cable has loss. This cable gain in the equation below includes cable to the RPSD and cable from the RPSD in the equation because the signal passes through the cable in both directions.  
       Im   ⁡     [         (     s   ⁢           ⁢     11   n       )     ·     ⅇ       (     2   ⁢     ⅈ   ·   π   ·     F   n         )     ·   T           cable_gain   ⁢     (     F   n     )         ]         
 
         [0033]     In the above equation, the variable F n  is frequency and the variable T is time. The exponential rotation term, e 2i·π·f·T  represents delay. S 11  represents the reflection coefficient of the RPSD if measured without going through cable (as if measured at the RPSD). In the frequency domain, exponential rotation term, e 2i·π·f·T  has a major effect on the pattern of Return Loss versus frequency as the S 11  connector Return Loss component interacts with other inherent Return Loss components in the system.  
         [0034]      FIG. 5  shows a plot of the imaginary part of S 11  vs. frequency when T is near zero. The straight curve depicts the case where there is no round trip delay and the oscillating curve is the S 11  observed through a delay of 10 nanoseconds. If the amplitudes are added for a set of frequencies F n , the result will be significant for the T=zero case because the amplitude is always negative and increasing with frequency in this case. At T=10 nanoseconds, the amplitude is rising and falling from positive values to negative values and the amplitude sum at each frequency would be reduced from that at T=zero. The frequency set from which the correction function is calculated is a subset of the measurement response data and may be evenly spaced by interpolation from the measured data points. The time function, T, will be a continuously variable function.  
         [0035]     The following equation shows the summation of the imaginary part of S 11  at selected frequencies, F n . T is a time variable that is used in the search for the location of S 11 . (n) is an integer over the number of frequency steps.  
         ∑     n   =   ns     nf     ⁢     Im   ⁡     [         (     s   ⁢           ⁢     11   n       )     ·     ⅇ       (     2   ⁢     ⅈ   ·   π   ·     F   n         )     ·   T           cable_gain   ⁢     (     F   n     )         ]           
 
         [0036]     As shown in  FIG. 6 , several peaks occur in a plot of this function with respect to time. A significant peak occurs near the RPSD location, which is at time zero in the example of  FIG. 6 .  
         [0037]     RPSDs from NEXT (S 21 ) can be shown to have the same transfer functions of S 11 . The return path is through a different cable pair than the transmit path, but the response will have the same basic function. Therefore, the correction procedure is the same for NEXT as for Return Loss.  FIG. 7  illustrates the signal path for NEXT. A signal is transmitted from a transmitter  312  to a receiver  320 . The signal is sent into a cable  314 , pair a, and travels through the cable  314 , pair a, to a connector  316 . The connector  316  may be modeled as capacitive crosstalk or inductive crosstalk as shown in model  330  for capacitive connector crosstalk and model  340  for inductive connector crosstalk. The crosstalk provides a path from cable  314 , pair a, to cable  314 , pair b. The total cable loss is the loss of cable  314 , pair a, and the loss of cable  314 , pair b.  
         [0038]     One of skill in the art will be familiar with the “S” parameter equations for other types of RPSDs.  
         [0039]     The location of the greatest peak in the graph in  FIG. 6  (or in similar graphs for other types of RPSDs) corresponds to the location of an RPSD. This location can be found through a standard root-finding function or other well-known mathematical techniques. A peak of the function will occur where the first derivative of the function with respect to T is zero. Therefore a root can be found of the first derivative and the function magnitude examined to find a peak. This process is repeated for each root found and all peaks discarded except the greatest in magnitude in a limited search range near the expected delay time.  
         [0040]     The area that is searched for a peak is greatly narrowed by first finding the approximate location of an RPSD. The root-finding function or other mathematical peak search technique is performed only near the approximate location of the RPSD. This greatly reduces the amount of computation needed to find the greatest peak compared to a case where the search area is the entire length of the cable  150 .  
         [0041]     The approximate location of the near-end RPSD  130  can be found through the factory specifications of the test device  115 , as described above. The mathematical analysis is then performed on the function plotted in  FIG. 6  to determine the location and amplitude of the greatest peak in the graph. When the peak with the greatest absolute value within the search area is found, the time at that point corresponds to the location of the correction for the near-end RPSD  130 .  
         [0042]     When these two parameters, the location of the near-end RPSD  130  correction and its equivalent reactance, are known, a correction function can be generated that replicates the effects of the near-end RPSD  130 . A corrected test signal response can then be created by subtracting the correction function from the uncorrected test signal response at all frequencies of interest. The correction term at any frequency is found by the calculation of the function below for the variable f. This correction function is the same for NEXT and Return Loss.  
       correction   ⁢           ⁢     (   f   )     ⁢     :     ⁢     =       1   ⁢           ⁢     ⅈ   ·   peak   ·   f   ·   cable_gain     ⁢     (   f   )         (       ∑     n   =   ns     nf     ⁢     F   n       )       ·     ⅇ     (         -   2     ·   l     ⁢           ⁢     ⅈ   ·   π   ·   f   ·     T   p         )             
 
 Where: 
        f is frequency     n is summation increment     F n  is the frequency set used for rotation     i is square root of −1     cable_gain(f) is cable gain magnitude as a function of frequency     peak is the magnitude of the peak found from peak finding routine     Tp is the location of the peak in time.        
 
         [0050]     The corrected Return Loss and NEXT functions are shown below. 
 
Return_Loss(f):=−20·log(|S 11 (f)−correction(f)|) 
 
NEXT(f):=−20·log(|next(f)−correction(f)|) 
 
 The correction functions above will be unique because one is for correcting Return Loss and one is for correcting NEXT. 
 
         [0051]     A similar procedure can be followed to remove the effects of the far-end RPSD  140 . As with the near-end RPSD  130 , an approximate location of the far-end RPSD  140  is first determined. Several standard methods are well known in the art for finding the approximate distance to the far-end RPSD  140 . For example, an open circuit or other reflective impedance could be created at the far-end RPSD  140  and a test signal could be sent from the signal source  160  to the far-end RPSD  140 . The open circuit would create a large reflected signal with a signature that would be easily recognizable. Standard techniques could then be used to find the approximate distance to the open circuit that created the large reflected signal. Other methods of finding the approximate distance to the far-end RPSD  140  will present themselves to one of skill in the art.  
         [0052]     When the approximate location of the far-end RPSD  140  is known, the location and the amplitude of its equivalent reactance can be found using a mathematical analysis as described above. The mathematical analysis includes correcting for cable amplitude response and cable delay. As with the near-end RPSD  130 , the mathematical analysis is performed only near the approximate location of the far-end RPSD  140 .  
         [0053]     A correction function for the far-end RPSD  140  is then created using the location and amplitude of the reactance of the far-end RPSD.  140  along with the cable amplitude response. The correction function can be subtracted from the test signal response that has already been corrected for the near-end RPSD  130 . Alternately, corrections for both the near-end RPSD  130  and the far-end RPSD  140  may be made at the same time. In this way, the effects of both the near-end RPSD  130  and the far-end RPSD  140  are effectively removed from the test signal response and only the channel  155  portion of the cable  150  is tested.  
         [0054]     If there are RPSDs on the channel  155  between the near-end RPSD  130  and the far-end RPSD  140 , they could be found through a similar procedure. However, since their approximate locations would typically not be known, the mathematical analysis to find their exact locations would have to be done over the entire length of the channel  155 . Such an analysis would be time consuming and would require a large amount of calculation. Alternatively, a technique such as an inverse Fourier transform for finding their approximate locations could first be used to narrow the search area over which the mathematical analysis is performed. Once the locations and reactance magnitudes of all RPSDs on the cable  150  are known, if desired, correction functions for all of them can be generated. The cable gain to the RPSD would need to be approximated based on the length to the RPSD and the known cable gain to the far end. The correction term would then be subtracted from a test signal response to create a corrected test signal response.  
         [0055]     The determination of the appropriate reflection components and the appropriate peaks, the correlation of the peaks to a location and a reactance magnitude for an RPSD, and the generation of a correction function based on the location and reactance magnitude can be performed by an analysis component  170  within the test device  115 . The analysis component  170  may be an integrated unit that is capable of performing all of the functions needed to generate a correction function for an RPSD. Alternatively, separate components may perform some of these functions. For example, the analysis component  170  might determine the appropriate reflection components and determine the appropriate peaks. A separate component might correlate the peaks to a location and a reactance magnitude for an RPSD. Yet another component might generate a correction function based on the location and reactance magnitude. In other embodiments, other combinations of components might perform other combinations of these functions.  
         [0056]      FIG. 8  summarizes the present method for canceling the effects of near-end and far-end RPSDs. In box  812 , the approximate location of the near-end RPSD is found. The approximate distance from a signal source to the near-end RPSD would typically be known from the specifications of the test device to which the near-end RPSD is coupled. This step does not necessarily need to occur at this point in the flow. For example, the approximate location of the near-end RPSD could be found after a test signal response is received in box  816 .  
         [0057]     In box  814 , a test signal with a varying frequency is transmitted into a cable/connection system that includes the RPSDs. A test signal response reflected from the near-end RPSD is received in box  816 . In box  818 , the method flow is switched to a signal analysis routine  912 . The signal analysis routine  912 , which consists of boxes  914  through  924 , is performed on the test signal response around the approximate location of the near-end RPSD.  
         [0058]     In box  914 , a reflection coefficient or transmission coefficient is calculated at selected frequencies in the test signal response. In box  916 , a correction is made for cable gain representing the distance to the RPSD. In box  918 , a summation is made of the cable gain-corrected imaginary part of the reflection coefficient or transmission coefficient at selected frequencies in the test signal response. In box  920 , the greatest peak in the imaginary part of the summation is found. In box  922 , the location of the peak is correlated to the location of the RPSD. In box  924 , the amplitude of the peak is correlated to the magnitude of the reactance of the RPSD. In box  926 , the location and reactance magnitude of the RPSD are used to create a correction function for the RPSD.  
         [0059]     The creation of the correction function completes the signal analysis routine  912 . The method flow then returns to box  820 , where the correction function for the near-end RPSD is subtracted from the test signal response to create a corrected test signal response. Alternatively, the subtraction of the correction function could be done in box  828 .  
         [0060]     In box  822 , the approximate location of the far-end RPSD is found. The approximate distance to the far-end RPSD can be found through well-known techniques, such as creating an open circuit at the far-end RPSD and analyzing a signal reflected from the open circuit. This step does not necessarily need to occur at this point in the flow and could occur when the approximate location of the near-end RPSD is found in box  812 , for example.  
         [0061]     In box  824 , cable loss data might be retrieved from an insertion loss measurement or a valid approximation. In box  826 , the method flow is switched again to the signal analysis routine  912 , where a correction function for the far-end RPSD is found. When the signal analysis routine  912  is complete, the method flow returns to box  828 , where the correction function for the far-end RPSD is subtracted from the corrected test signal response. If the correction function for the near-end RPSD was not subtracted in box  820 , it could be subtracted in box  828 . The subtractions of the correction functions for the near-end RPSD and the far-end RPSD create a test signal response that is corrected for both the near-end RPSD and the far-end RPSD.  
         [0062]     While several embodiments have been provided in the present disclosure, it should be understood that the disclosed systems and methods may be embodied in many other specific forms without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. The present examples are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the intention is not to be limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope of the appended claims along with their full scope of equivalents. For example, the various elements or components may be combined or integrated in another system or certain features may be omitted, or not implemented.  
         [0063]     Also, techniques, systems, subsystems, and methods described and illustrated in the various embodiments as discrete or separate may be combined or integrated with other systems, modules, techniques, or methods without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Other items shown as directly coupled or communicating with each other may be coupled through some interface or device, such that the items may no longer be considered directly coupled to each but may still be indirectly coupled and in communication with one another. Other examples of changes, substitutions, and alterations are ascertainable by one skilled in the art and could be made without departing from the spirit and scope disclosed herein.