Network Tester

[rjf2019]

I'm looking to buy a network tester to test data points. I need to do two things:

 

Identify where some unlabelled data points terminate, and also test several for the speed that they are capable of (with a view of having faulty data points replaced.)

 

I know that Fluke are a market leader, but I don't have that kind of money.

 

Is there anything under £80 that is realistically going to do this job? Has anyone had any good experiences with kit in this price bracket?

 

If not, plan B is to go for a simple device that can help me to identify where the unlaballed data points terminate, and then test them by connecting a laptop and seeing what speed they run at when the data point is patched to port that I know is cable of gigabit.

[robyholmes]

I have the Fluke IntelliTone Pro 200 I think it is. Not cheap but great for tracing cables which you don't know the number for. However it will only test the cable for working pairs not speed. I think your in to a lot more money for speed.

 

Can you get to the sleeve of the cables to check for specs? CAT5 or Cat5e for example? After that connect a laptop and see what speeds you maintain copying a file.

[fiza]

Have a look at Pocket Ethernet. Ours is an essential piece of kit. Use it everyday. https://www.pockethernet.com/

[Davit2005]

Realistically you are not going to get anything like that under budget.

 

It is possible that you could get a combination of a RJ45 tone generator/probe to identify cables and a simple wiremap tester. Perf3 would give a good indication of speed obtainable between 2 points on a IP network. Anything more is going to cost you at least double you budget.

 

+1 for pocket Ethernet.

Edited November 7, 2019 by Davit2005

[Chockster]

Another vote for pockethernet. One of out network installers was in the other day and had left his Fluke. He we was taken aback by how good our pockethernets are.

[IrritableTech]

It is possible to get both things you need inside that budget - but I can't speak for the quality or usability... https://amzn.to/32iwNE

 

We lived with similar level tools for a long while and in all honesty I don't think the VDV II Plus we bought (~£200) gives us much more than the cheap tools were able to.

 

[edit] The VDV II Plus does identify PoE, the cheap tools didn't do that.

Edited November 7, 2019 by IrritableTech

[synaesthesia]

We recently got a Patch App and Go, similar to the above pocket but a little cheaper - in fact for the same price you can get one with 24 dongles, enough to do whole patch panels. Awesome kit

[bald_pig]

Here's an option for the inevitable option C when it needs to be done for free.

 

https://github.com/chall32/LDWin

 

It's a little program that gathers LLDP data from the switch, so plug your laptop into the port, run this, and you get the switch name and port you're plugged in to.

[Jobos]

I know how frustrating it is trying to do a job without the proper kit as I've only got a cheap network tester that tests the continuity between the cables. It gets the job done but it is hard work and it doesn't check what speed the cable is running at. If we had the money I would be looking at this tester https://www.videk.co.uk/section.php/2821/

[LeMarchand]

It is possible to get both things you need inside that budget - but I can't speak for the quality or usability... https://amzn.to/32iwNE

 

Link just seems to go to Amazon.com homepage.

[IrritableTech]

Odd... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07MPXBVZQ/ref=nav_signin?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B07MPXBVZQ&pd_rd_w=xs026&pf_rd_p=1055d8b2-c10c-4d7d-b50d-96300553e15d&pd_rd_wg=rXmFS&pf_rd_r=N0MATEK8Y2S94S8H8B4V&pd_rd_r=c133022b-dcf3-4e8d-9a7c-0df0d19320bc&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExM1VZU1VJRDBLS1c1JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNDc0MzMyM0dTRkhDRzZKNkk1USZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNDg3MDk0MVlHWTE3OTFJMlM4SyZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2RldGFpbCZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=&

[LeMarchand]

Odd... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07MPXBVZQ/ref=nav_signin?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B07MPXBVZQ&pd_rd_w=xs026&pf_rd_p=1055d8b2-c10c-4d7d-b50d-96300553e15d&pd_rd_wg=rXmFS&pf_rd_r=N0MATEK8Y2S94S8H8B4V&pd_rd_r=c133022b-dcf3-4e8d-9a7c-0df0d19320bc&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExM1VZU1VJRDBLS1c1JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNDc0MzMyM0dTRkhDRzZKNkk1USZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNDg3MDk0MVlHWTE3OTFJMlM4SyZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2RldGFpbCZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=&

 

Thanks!

[kmonah]

How well does it narrow it down? Does it just find a bunch and then you have to go from there or does it locate the actual cable every time?

[kmonah]

How well does Fluke IntelliTone Pro 200 narrow it down? Does it just find a bunch and then you have to go from there or does it locate the actual cable every time?

[jthompson]

We have a couple of Fluke IntelliTone Pro 200. The features are nice for the low price, but we've found the quality to be quite poor. The probe units drain their battery even when off, so you'll want to remove the battery when not using it. The RJ45 sockets on them are flaky, too. We now have to apply a bit of pressure to get a good connection, which is not what you want to have to deal with when you're wanting to test pin connectivity.

 

Never used a real Fluke tester, but these definitely feel like a rebadging exercise.

 

EDIT: unless the battery is super fresh, the tone probe is not that helpful. One useful feature on the main unit is the service indicator: akin to an ethernet activity light, so that you can tell whether the port is patched in to a network device at the other end.

Edited November 8, 2019 by jthompson

[synaesthesia]

One thing; just about anything under £100 will fry if you plug it into a POE port, so be VERY wary of that! (including some that claim they detect and protect from POE voltage).

[rjf2019]

Thanks for all of the responses. Truthfully, I'm not surprised that I can't get what I was aiming for in my budget.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions for something then that will allow me to plug into the socket in the patch panel, and then into a data point to determine whether they are connected?

 

We don't have a huge number to test, so it's not a problem to keep moving it from one to the other on the patch panel.

 

I'll take a look at the Noyafa NF388 thanks

 

Thanks for the info about PoE. We only have a small number, which are all connected to wireless APs, so it will be simple enough to pull them out and see which LEDs go out.

 

In terms of testing the data points using a PC/laptop, is it as simple as disabling wifi, connecting via ethernet, and going:

 

Windows Key + X

Network Connections

View Your Network Properties

 

and looking at the info in the screenshot?

[LeMarchand]

Does anyone have any suggestions for something then that will allow me to plug into the socket in the patch panel, and then into a data point to determine whether they are connected?

 

I've used something like this in the past: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-539465-Tester-RJ11-RJ45 . It makes life easier if you know what data point connects to which patch panel socket or have a helper. You can also get cheap kits with a few other bits and bobs: https://www.amazon.co.uk/SGILE-Network-Computer-Maintenance-Stripper/dp/B06X1BKFY9 .

 

I've done what you outlined to check speeds. Don't even turn wi-fi off, just check the ethernet properties.

[markwilfan]

+1 for poketherent . I just never know how to pronounce it lol

[jthompson]

Cheapo testers that will just check connectivity of each pin in turn are available all over Amazon for a tenner or so. It doesn't matter too much which one of those you go for as there are no networking smarts going on inside, just some really basic electronics. They'll tell you if any pins are out, or wired up in the wrong order. They tend to be used for confirming cable installation: you want to avoid any chance of plugging them into ports with a network device patched in at the other end.

 

You can also get cheapo PoE checkers. They'll light up if PoE is available on a port or not, but not tell you too much more. That might be all you need, tbh.

[bald_pig]

If you're not in a rush, you can usually get one of those cheapy testers at BETT for free

[Simcfc73]

+1 for poketherent . I just never know how to pronounce it lol

 

They put it on their FAQ

 

Pockethernet, how the do i pronounce that?

'Pock-ether-net'

[markwilfan]

They put it on their FAQ

 

Pockethernet, how the do i pronounce that?

'Pock-ether-net'

Yeh seen that before. I prefer pocket her net [emoji23]

[mavhc]

Test connectivity of wires for £10, test general speed with laptop and iperf. It's the middle section that's expensive (says all the cables work, but won't connect, or is slow). If you're not working at scale, and have 2 people, it's not too much of a problem, when you find a wire loose, just repunchdown, if there's a break in the cable probably just mark it as dead and move on.

 

Then on the ethernet protocol side you have vlan, lldp etc viewers, but a laptop can do all that.

 

If you're Secondary school sized then it's worth getting a decent tester. Also make sure whoever you hire to put in cables does full tests on them, and provides you a map, so many times I've found wrongly labelled ports.