CompTIA A+ 220-1201 (2.8 - Network Tools)

Cable crimper

• "Pinch" the connector onto a wire

- Coaxial, twisted pair, fiber

• Connect the modular connector to

the Ethernet cable

- The final step of the process

• Metal prongs are pushed through the insulation

- The plug is also permanently pressed

onto the cable sheath

Crimping best practices

• Get a good crimper

- And a good pair of electrician's scissors / cable snips

- And a good wire stripper

• Make sure you use the correct modular connectors

- Differences between wire types

• Practice, practice, practice

- It won't take long to become proficient

WiFi analyzer

Wireless networks are

incredibly easy to monitor

- Everyone "hears" everything

• Purpose-built hardware or

mobile device add-on

- Specializes in 802.11 analysis

• Identify errors and interference

- Validate antenna location and installation

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

Punch-down tool

• "Punch" a wire into a wiring block

- 66 block, 110 block, and others

• Can be tedious

- Every wire must

be individually punched

• Trims the wires during the punch

- Very efficient process

Punch-down best-practices

• Organization is key

- Lots of wires,

- Cable management

• Maintain your twists

- Your Category 6A cable will thank you later

• Document everything

- Written documentation, tags, graffiti

Cable testers

• Relatively simple

- Continuity test

• Can identify missing pins

- Or crossed wires

• Not usually used for frequency testing

- Crosstalk, signal loss, etc.

Loopback plugs

Useful for testing physical ports

- Or fooling your applications

• Serial / RS-232 (9 pin or 25 pin)

• Network connections

- Ethernet, T1, Fiber

• These are not cross-over cables

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