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

WiFi analyzer

Answer 3

• 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

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

Punch-down tools

Answer 6

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

Question 7

Punch-down best-practices

Answer 7

• 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 8

Cable testers

Answer 8

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

Question 9

Loopback plugs

Answer 9

• 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 10

Taps and Port Mirrors

Answer 10

• Intercept network traffic
  – Send a copy to a packet capture device
• Physical taps
  – Disconnect the link, put a tap in the middle
  – Can be an active or passive tap
• Port mirror
  – Port redirection, SPAN (Switched Port ANalyzer)
  – Software-based tap
  – Limited functionality, but can work well in a pinch