# Testing port cables

Use this procedure to initiate a TDR test.

## About this task

The 5000 Series switch is equipped with a Time Domain Reflectometer (TDR). The TDR provides a diagnostic capability to test connected cables for defects (such as short pin and pin open). Use the TDR tab to initiate cable diagnostic tests on attached cables.

The cable diagnostic tests only apply to Ethernet copper ports; fiber ports cannot be tested. You can initiate a test on multiple ports at the same time.

When you test a cable with the TDR, if the cable has a 10/100 MB/s link, the link is broken during the test and restored only when the test is complete. Use of the TDR does not affect 1 GB/s links.

Note

The accuracy margin of cable length diagnosis is between three to five meters. Avaya suggests the shortest cable for length information be five meters long.

## Procedure

1. From the navigation tree, double-click Edit.
2. In the Edit tree, double-click Chassis.
3. In the Chassis tree, click Ports.
4. In the work area, click the TDR tab.
5. Select the StartTest option.
6. Click Apply.

## TDR field descriptions

The following table outlines the parameters for the TDR tab.

Name | Description
--- | ---
StartTest | Enables the TDR test.
TestDone | Indicates whether a TDR test is complete.
CableStatus | Indicates the status of the cable as a whole. The status of a cable is, in a sense, a summation of the status of its pairs. If all the pairs are normal, the cable is normal. If the cable consists of zero or more normal pairs and one or more open pairs, the cable is considered open. If the cable consists of shorted pairs and normal pairs, it is considered shorted. Any combination of open and shorted pairs is considered simply failed. cableFail cableNormal cableOpen cableShorted cableNotApplicable cableUntested
Pair1Status | The status of a single pair in the cable: pairFail pairNormal pairOpen pairShorted pairNotApplicable pairNotTested pairForce Note If a 10MB or 100MB link is established without autonegotiation, Pair 1 will return Forced mode. The pair length is meaningless in this case.
Pair1Length | Pair Length, in meters, measured by Time Domain Reflectometry.
Pair2Status | The status of a single pair in the cable.
Pair2Length | Pair Length, in meters, measured by Time Domain Reflectometry.
Pair3Status | The status of a single pair in the cable.
Pair3Length | Pair Length, in meters, measured by Time Domain Reflectometry.
Pair4Status | The status of a single pair in the cable.
Pair4Length | Pair Length, in meters, measured by Time Domain Reflectometry.
CableLength | Length of cable in meters based on average electrical length of 4 pairs. Measurement can be done when traffic is live or not.
Pair1Polarity | The polarity of a single pair in the cable. This capability is available only when the cable gigabit link is up, regardless of traffic activity.
Pair1Swap | The pair swap in the cable: normal swapped invalid error This capability is available only when the cable gigabit link is up, regardless of traffic activity.
Pair1Skew | Pair skew is measured in nanoseconds. Skew measurement only can be performed when the cable gigabit link is up, regardless of traffic activity. A value of -1 means an error occurred when trying to get the length.
Pair2Polarity | The polarity of a single pair in the cable. This capability is available only when the cable gigabit link is up, regardless of traffic activity.
Pair2Swap | The pair swap in the cable. This capability is available only when the cable gigabit link is up, regardless of traffic activity.
Pair2Skew | Pair skew is measured in nanoseconds. Skew measurement only can be performed when the cable gigabit link is up, regardless of traffic activity. A value of -1 means an error occurred when trying to get the length.
Pair3Polarity | The polarity of a single pair in the cable. This capability is available only when the cable gigabit link is up, regardless of traffic activity.
Pair3Swap | The pair swap in the cable. This capability is available only when the cable gigabit link is up, regardless of traffic activity.
Pair3Skew | Pair skew is measured in nanoseconds. Skew measurement only can be performed when the cable gigabit link is up, regardless of traffic activity. A value of -1 means an error occurred when trying to get the length.
Pair4Polarity | The polarity of a single pair in the cable.
Pair4Swap | The pair swap in the cable.
Pair4Skew | Differential cable pair length in meters. Skew measurement only can be performed when the cable gigabit link is up, regardless of traffic activity. A value of -1 means an error occurred when trying to get the length.