Frosty555
asked on
Tools to qualify and test CAT5e cabling / termination
What kind of tools can I use to *properly* qualify CAT5e cabling in a building and certify it for gigabit network traffic (well, not officially certify, but at least provide some concrete evidence that I can personally have confidence in)?
I have a network with 30-40 network points, and I'm worried that it has some underlying flaws - cable runs that are too long, terminations that are poor or incorrect, wires crossed, generally not adhering to best practices etc. which is causing intermittent physical network connectivity issues.
I'm going to be re-terminating the network with a new patch panel and new jacks on both ends, but I want some concrete evidence that
1) there really was a problem with the original wiring, and
2) it's much better now
So... I'm looking to for a tester of some kind that does something more than just a simple wiremap test.
What kind of tools should I be looking at?
I know these kind of network qualifying tools are expensive ($2000+), do you know where I can rent them? Preferably in Canada?
I have a network with 30-40 network points, and I'm worried that it has some underlying flaws - cable runs that are too long, terminations that are poor or incorrect, wires crossed, generally not adhering to best practices etc. which is causing intermittent physical network connectivity issues.
I'm going to be re-terminating the network with a new patch panel and new jacks on both ends, but I want some concrete evidence that
1) there really was a problem with the original wiring, and
2) it's much better now
So... I'm looking to for a tester of some kind that does something more than just a simple wiremap test.
What kind of tools should I be looking at?
I know these kind of network qualifying tools are expensive ($2000+), do you know where I can rent them? Preferably in Canada?
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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Get a Bytebrother unit,
http://www.bytebrothers.com/bb_tester/Real%20World%20Certifier.htm
It's not as cool as a nice fluke but it's a whole hell of a lot less and shows the stats on the wire that you need.
Ours paid for itself the first day we had it. Great tool for anybody who does not going to be doing enough testing to warrant the price of big name units. It's also very easy to use.
http://www.bytebrothers.com/bb_tester/Real%20World%20Certifier.htm
It's not as cool as a nice fluke but it's a whole hell of a lot less and shows the stats on the wire that you need.
Ours paid for itself the first day we had it. Great tool for anybody who does not going to be doing enough testing to warrant the price of big name units. It's also very easy to use.
ASKER
I've been eyeballing the CableIQ for some time now. Do you know what the practical difference between the CableIQ Service Kit and the DTX CableAnalyzer is?
--edit-- I think this page explains it, is there anything else I need to know? http://www.flukenetworks.com/Expertise/Learn-About/Cable-Testing
The Bytebrothers RWC1000 (or RWC1000K) looks nice, too, and indeed it is a fair bit cheaper (and more within what my budget can handle)... but their website, YouTube videos etc. don't give me a whole lot of confidence that it really is a decent quality product.
Of course, the fact that Fluke has a rebuttal page specifically against them suggests that they are a major threat to Fluke as a competitor (http://myaccount.flukenetworks.com/fnet/en-us/supportAndDownloads/KB/Copper-Testing/CableIQ/CableIQ+vs.+REAL+WORLD+CERTIFIER) which I suppose is a good sign. I'm not looking to certify the network, only to qualify it, so it may be appropriate for me.
But, how can I know if the Byte Brothers unit is actually good enough?
--edit-- I think this page explains it, is there anything else I need to know? http://www.flukenetworks.com/Expertise/Learn-About/Cable-Testing
The Bytebrothers RWC1000 (or RWC1000K) looks nice, too, and indeed it is a fair bit cheaper (and more within what my budget can handle)... but their website, YouTube videos etc. don't give me a whole lot of confidence that it really is a decent quality product.
Of course, the fact that Fluke has a rebuttal page specifically against them suggests that they are a major threat to Fluke as a competitor (http://myaccount.flukenetworks.com/fnet/en-us/supportAndDownloads/KB/Copper-Testing/CableIQ/CableIQ+vs.+REAL+WORLD+CERTIFIER) which I suppose is a good sign. I'm not looking to certify the network, only to qualify it, so it may be appropriate for me.
But, how can I know if the Byte Brothers unit is actually good enough?
SOLUTION
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http://www.flukenetworks.com/datacom-cabling/copper-testing/IntelliTone-Pro-Toner-and-Probe
http://www.bhdrentals.com/fluke-networks-dtx-1800-ethernet-cable-tester.html