Ch. 5 Physical Networking tools

Multimeter

A multimeter is used to measure: Voltage Current Resistance

Spectrum Analyzers

A spectrum analyzer is used for measuring the variation of signals against the frequency. Depending on its type, it can measure different types of signals, such as Electrical Acoustic pressure waves Optical light waves Spectrum analyzers can be of different types: Benchtop Portable Networked Handheld

Optical Time-Domain Reflectometer (OTDR)

device used for testing a fiber cable to determine if there is an issue Length of the fiber cable Location of the faults Location of breaks in the fiber cable Bad connectors Bends in the fiber cable Overall signal attenuation, if any

Tap

is a hardware device that creates a copy of the traffic being transmitted on the network. You can create a copy of the network traffic for: Network monitoring and analysis, such as bandwidth saturation and latency Security reasons, such as finding malicious traffic or intrusion detection Network management, such as general traffic monitoring

Fiber Light Meter

used to measure the power in an optical signal of a fiber optic cable. Measurements that can be taken include the absolute power in a fiber optic signal and a measurement of optical signal loss

Cable Stripper

used to remove the protective coating or the rubber insulation of the wire. A cable stripper usually has more than one type of teeth for wires with different gauges. You need to put your cable into the correct notch and then close both the handles to strip the protective coating or the rubber insulation.

Cable Crimper

A crimper, more properly known as a Klein modular plug crimper, or wire crimper, is a tool used to connect a media connector to the end of a cable, such as a UTP cable and telephone cable. n most cases, you can use a single cable crimper to connect the RJ11 and RJ45 media connectors to the cable

Cable Tester

A cable tester is used to test Ethernet and telephone cables There are two parts to the cable tester. One part, which is active and is battery-powered, sends signals on the wire. On the receiving end, the passive component then creates a loopback connection.

Tone Generator

A tone generator or signal generator is an electronic device that generates repeating or non-repeating electronic signals along with a pair of UTP cables. A tone generator sends the signals from one end of the UTP cable. On the other end, the second device, known as the tone locator, receives the signals. If signals are received, it generates an audible tone, which means it is the same cable and is in working condition. Locate cables Test continuity of the cable Find fault in the cable

Loopback Adapter

For example, you want to test whether a port is working or not. You can connect the loopback adapter to the port. If its mapped port on the switch lights up, you know that the port on the wall is working well. In most operating systems, you also have a loopback adapter installed and configured with an IP address of 127.0.0.1.

Snips/Cutters

Snips or cutters are tools that have long handles and short blades. They are usually used for cutting soft metals, like a tin sheet. It looks like a scissor but larger. Their size can vary from 7 to 14 inches. There are two types of snips: Straight-pattern: used for straight cuts and gentle curves Duckbill-pattern: used for cutting shapes and circles Snips or cutters are also used for cutting wires. They are usually made of forged steel for cleaner and faster cuts. They usually have features like: A notched blade that can strip a 19-gauge and 23-gauge wire Blade for cutting 16-gauge solid and 12-gauge stranded wire Serrated blade for non-slip wire cutting

Punchdown Tool

The embedding of the wires into the connections is done by the punchdown tool, which can also be used for embedding cables into punchdown blocks, patch panels, keystone modules, and surface mount boxes

Fusion Splicer

There can be times when you have to join two fiber cables, or a single fiber cable is broken into two pieces that need to be joined. To do this, you can use a fusion splicer. It joins the two ends of the fiber cable together to form a single cable, which allows the signals to pass through

Wire Map

When the cable is plugged in, it transmits signals to each wire. This process helps the wire map tester to determine whether the cable is connected to the correct pin or not.