Mouse Problem .....

[Heebeejeebee]

OK so not the conventional mouse problem but a furry rodent one.

Got in this morning to be bombarded with 'the network's down' and 'I cant logon' type messages.

After a few moments tracking the problem down I find a fibre lead in a cabinet that's been munched on by a mouse or squirrel. This luckily, was a patch in a cabinet so I replaced it with a spare. Still no network to ¼ of the school!

On further inspection more cables were chewed through and a mains lead to one of the switches was down to the live cores (it’s a wonder I didn’t get electrocuted when I was delving in the back of the cabinet to check things).

I suspect that a fibre in the ceiling has been eaten somewhere but I can’t track it down. Now to the actual point of my post.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a fibre tester that I can use to find out where the problem lies? I’d like to get one urgently and I’d like it to also test Cat5/5e/6 etc preferably telling me the length of the runs and where any problems are.

Thanks

HBJB

[plexer]

You need an Optical Time Domain Reflectometer test tool to locate the break.

But you also need to know where the cable runs too.

Ben

[elsiegee40]

Optical Time Domain Reflectometer

Sounds like something from Dr Who!

.. and Rat traps - that was the only way we got rid of squirrels in the roof of our house. Destructive little

[plexer]

I'd get in touch with you most local cable installers they should have the kit needed.

Ben

[Heebeejeebee]

You need an Optical Time Domain Reflectometer test tool to locate the break.

Ben

Man alive - they cost a fortune.

I could probably have gone up to £1,000 but £4 -5K is out of the question.

As it happens the little sod chewed though both fibre patches but only one of them actually looked damaged. I've got it running now but it's chewed through the feed to the wireless controller and a few other patch leads as well so I'm busy replacing those at the moment.

But you also need to know where the cable runs to.

I completed my 'full map' in the summer so I know the route of everything at the moment.

Thanks for the response(s)

HBJB

[broc]

It must be the season for rodents to chew fibre...

When I arrived at work yesterday morning I discovered we had lost around 25% of our network ... I spent a frantic couple of hours proving to myself that it wasn't a problem with our hardware at either end of the fibre link, swapping out switches, GBIC, fibre patch leads etc before calling out cabling contractors. They used an impressive box of tricks to pinpoint the break which was 25m from one of the cabinets. Visual inspection revealed a well chewed piece of fibre cable, probably caused by a rat.

They are busy temporarily patching the link now to get us up & running again although I am told they will need to come back and renew a length of fibre cable at some future date.

Pest control are due in any time soon .......

[FN-GM]

My uncle has had them under the bonnet of his car chewing all the electrical cables.

[BatchFile]

Reminds me of a school around here a couple of years ago... they were late downloading their exam results because the sheep had chewed throught their broadband cable...

Ahh the joys of rural life... and the electricity comes with lumps in it so I have UPSs on the UPSs