5.5 - Hardware Tools

Tone generator

• 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

Using the tone generator and probe

• 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

Cable testers

• Relatively simple

– Continuity test

– A simple wire map

• Can identify missing pins

– Or crossed wires

• Not usually used for frequency testing

– Crosstalk, signal loss, etc.

Taps and port mirrors

• 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

Wireless survey tools

• Signal coverage

• Potential interference

• Built-in tools

• 3rd-party tools

• Spectrum analyzer

Wi-Fi analyzer

• Hardware-based Wi-Fi analysis

– Avoids operating system limitations

– View all of the 802.11 information in the air

• View Wi-Fi information

– Frequencies/channels, signal strength, access points,

interference, wireless devices

• Get frequency information from a spectrum analyzer

– Useful when many different devices are part

of the bigger picture

Visual fault locator

A flashlight for optical fiber

– Shine a bright light down the fiber

• Light will show through the fiber jacket where

fiber is broken

– You may need to turn the lights out

• Relatively low-tech

– But very efficient