CompTIA A+ 1101 Network Tools

Cable Crimpers

- designed to add connectors to the end of a cable

- metal prongs are pushed through the insulation, and into the copper in the wire

WiFi Analyzer

- listens to all of the signals on a wireless network and provides you with information on what frequencies are in use, and which ones might be open

- especially useful in an area with many access points

- may be purpose-built hardware or a device add-on

Tone Generator

- traces wires

- connect to the end of the wire, and go to the other end, using the inductive probe to identify the wire, by the tone

Loopback Plugs

- tests the interfaces of physical ports by connecting to the device

- typically is serial, using RS-232

- sends and receives information, then, compare the values to see if they match. (if they match, it's very likely an interface problem)

Taps and Port Mirrors

- intercept network traffic and send a copy to a capture device

physical taps:

- used to see data on a connection (going over the wire)

- disconnect the link, put a tap in the middle, and take a copy of data to send to an analyzer, or a monitor

- can be passive or active (passive requires fiber, active can use copper, but requires power)

port mirrors:

- tapping functionality, built into switches

- software-based tap

- takes data that's going in between different switch interfaces, and sends a copy of that data to a third interface that you can connect to an analyzer, or a monitor