Mid range network tester/validation tool?

[sidewinder]

I work at a fairly small school, around 110 computers over 3 sites. Being old buildings though, the cabling is a bit of a state. I've worked out loads since I arrived, but without test equipment, finishing the job is going to be difficult.

At my old school, as it was huge, buying something high end like a Test-um Validator wasn't an issue. I'd love to get one here but not sure I can justify it? It of course does give me the ability to map and certify every point on the network, something an outside company would charge a fair bit for, and it would also allow me to run some new points myself in the future, saving using an external company (or in our case, our electrician...not a situation I'm overly happy with) and potentially saving money.

My other option is to go for something like this: LanScaper Kit which we had at my old place too, and was my preferred device for quick testing (mainly due to it being quick to power up and find where a cable goes) But it isnt as sophisticated as the Test-Um, and wouldn't allow me to properly certify every point.

Is there anything in the middle, cost and feature wise, or do I have enough justification to request we buy a Test-Um Validator?

[cpjitservices]

Ethernet Network LAN Cat5 Cat5e RJ45 RJ11 Cable Tester | eBay

I have one of the testers like in this kit cost me 2.99 off of eBay about 3 years ago and it still going string and it has tested hundreds if not thousands of cables, patch panels and network points.

[sidewinder]

Yeah I have one like that, and it is great for verifying whether a link is working, but need something a bit more advanced to check gigabit certification and cable length (so i can find where some go!) among other things

[cpjitservices]

kind of like this little beauty then...

Cable Troubleshooting | Cable IQ Qualification Tester

[plexer]

The lanscaper is a good bit of kit especially in the kit that gives you the tone tracer and endpoints as well.

Or: MicroScannerČ Cable Verifier

Ben

[hil]

kind of like this little beauty then...

Cable Troubleshooting | Cable IQ Qualification Tester

I have one of these and they are very good, had any problems with it. I have used it to test cables and make sure they are able to run gigabit. It also tells u the length of the cable. you can download the results to the computer and print off reports.