2.8- - Network Tools

Question 1

Cable Crimper

Answer 1

• “Pinch” the connector onto a wire
• Coaxial, twisted pair, fiber
• Connect the modular connector to
the Ethernet cable
• The final step of the process
• Metal prongs are pushed through the insulation
• The plug is also permanently pressed onto the cable sheath

Question 2

Crimping Best Practices

Answer 2

• Get a good crimper
• And a good pair of electrician’s scissors / cable snips
• And a good wire stripper
• Make sure you use the correct modular connectors
• Differences between wire types
• Practice, practice, practice
• It won’t take long to become proficient

Question 3

Multimeter

Answer 3

• AC voltage
• Check wall outlet voltage
• DC voltage
• PC power supply output voltages
• CMOS battery power
• Continuity
• Cable connectivity
• Fuse status

Question 4

Tone Generator

Answer 4

• Where does that wire go?
• Follow the tone
• Tone generator
• Puts an analog sound on the wire
• Inductive probe
• Doesn’t need to touch the copper
• Hear through a small speaker

Question 5

Using the Tone Generator and Probe

Answer 5

• Easy wire tracing
• Even in complex environments
• Connect the tone generator to the wire
• Modular jack, coax, punch down connectors
• Use the probe to locate the sound
• The two-tone sound is easy to find

Question 6

Cable Testers

Answer 6

• Relatively simple
• Continuity test
• Can identify missing pins
• Or crossed wires
• Not usually used for frequency testing
• Crosstalk, signal loss, etc.

Question 7

Loopback Plugs

Answer 7

• Useful for testing physical ports
• Or fooling your applications
• Serial / RS-232 (9 pin or 25 pin)
• Network connections
• Ethernet, T1, Fiber
• These are not cross-over cables

Question 8

Punch-down Tools

Answer 8

• “Punch” a wire into a wiring block
• 66 block
• 110 block
• Can be tedious
• Every wire must be
individually punched
• Trims the wires during the punch
• Very efficient process

Question 9

Punch-down best-practices

Answer 9

• Organization is key
• Lots of wires
• Cable management
• Maintain your twists
• Your Category 6A cable will thank you later
• Document everything
• Written documentation, tags, graffiti

Question 10

WiFi Analyzer

Answer 10

• Wireless networks are
incredibly easy to monitor
• Everyone “hears” everything
• Purpose-built hardware or
mobile device add-on
• Specializes in 802.11 analysis
• Identify errors and interference
• Validate antenna location and installation