what is Networking Tools Hardware

 Networking Tools  Hardware

you are already a network technician then you're  already going to be familiar with these tools that  I discuss. Now if you are going to be a network  technician, then a lot of times you're going to be creating your own network cables. So after  you have cut the length of the cable you need, the next step is to remove the plastic shielding  on the ends of the cable and this is done by using a cable stripper. So the cable is inserted  into the cable stripper and then with a squeeze, twist, and a pull, the outer plastic shielding is  removed. So after the shielding has been removed, the next step is to arrange the wires in the  correct order and then crimp a connector, such as an RJ45, to the cable. And this is done by  using a wire crimper. A wire crimper crimps connectors to twisted pair cable. So after you  have inserted the wires into the RJ45 connector, you just place it into the crimper, give  it a squeeze, and then the cable is done. Now after you have cut the cable, arranged the wires,  and remove the plastic shielding, and crimped RJ45 connectors to the ends, the next thing to do  is to test the cable. And this is done by using our next tool which is a cable tester. A cable  tester is used to verify continuity and if the wires are arranged correctly. So you would just  connect both ends of the cable into the tester and then it will cycle through all the pins  in the cable to make sure that the cable is 

 Networking Tools  Hardware

properly wired and connected. And our next tool is  a tone generator. Now a tone generator is a tool that is used for tracing cables from one end to  the other. So for example let's say you wanted to isolate this network cable and find the other  end that's connected to this patch panel. And as you can see this patch panel has multiple  cables plugged into it and this panel is also located in a different part of the building. So in  this scenario it would be very difficult to find the other end of the cable. So this is where a tone  generator comes in. So you would just connect the  tone generator tool at one end of the cable that  you want to isolate and then it would generate a tone through the cable, all the way to the other  end. And then with the probe, you would just jump from cable to cable on the patch panel until you  find the cable. Then once the probe detects the tone coming from a cable, the probe will generate  a sound indicating that it has found the cable. And another tool that is used to test cables is  called a time domain reflectometer. A TDR is a piece of electronic equipment that's used to test  cables, such as twisted pair and coaxial cable. And this is done by transmitting a signal through the  cable and then the signal is reflected back to the  TDR. The TDR then analyzes the reflected signal and  from there it's able to pinpoint if there are any  problems. And these problems could be conductors,  loose connectors, shorts, crimps, bends, and so on.  And there's also an optical time domain  reflectometer. And this does the same thing  as a TDR but this is used on fiber optic cable.  And because fiber optic cable uses light to  transmit data, an OTDR transmits light through  the cable instead of transmitting a signal. The 

 Networking Tools  Hardware

light that is transmitted and reflected back  is used to detect any problems with the cable.  Now another tool that is used to test fiber  optic cables is called a light meter. Now a  light meter is a simpler tool than an OTDR. So  while an OTDR does more sophisticated tests,  a light meter just measures how much light  is going through the fiber optic cable. you would have a light source device at one  end and then it'll send light through the  cable to the other end where a light meter will  measure how much of the light is coming through Now there's also an RJ45 ethernet loopback adapter. Now a loopback adapter is a handy little tool  that is used to perform a loopback test to see  if there are any problems with network ports  or connection issues. And it does this by  performing a loopback test. Now to perform  a loopback test, the wires in a network cable are  arranged in a certain way into an RJ45 connector,  where the transmitted signal is looped back into  the same connector. So in a loopback adapter's RJ45  connector a wire from pin 1 is connected to pin  3. And another wire from pin 2 is connected to pin  6 basically it causes the output signals to  be returned or looped back into the input signals  

 Networking Tools  Hardware

to form a complete circuit. Now you can buy a  pre-made loopback adapter tool like this one  here, or what a lot of network technicians will  do, is just make one themselves like this one here.  Now to use this tool, let's say you wanted  to check this wall jack and network cable  to make sure that they are working and connected  correctly to the switch. So all you have to do is  plug the loopback adapter into the wall jack and  if the corresponding port on the switch lights up  when you plug it in, then that indicates a good  connection. And you can be assured that the wall  jack, cable, and switch, are communicating and  working correctly. But if the port doesn't  light up on a switch, then that indicates  a network connection problem, such as a bad  cable related to faulty wiring. It could also be a  bad wall jack, or in a rare instance, it could be a  problem with the switch. So a loopback adapter is  a quick and easy way to test network connections  Now a lot of telephone technicians will carry  a piece of equipment called a butt set. A butt  set is a device that resembles a telephone and  it's used to test and monitor telephone lines  The technician will hook up the device, and  as its name implies, 'butt' into a line to hear  a conversation to determine if there are  any problems. These problems include noise or  something simple, like detecting if there's a dial  tone. A punch down tool is a tool that resembles  

 Networking Tools  Hardware

a screwdriver and this is simply used to connect  or punch wires into a punch down block. A punch  down block is used with telephone equipment  where wires are installed. These blocks make  it easy to connect wires because you don't have  to strip the outer shielding off the cable first.  The wires are just inserted using a punch down  tool and then they are punched down into the block.  And as the wires are punched down, the punch down  tool will automatically cut off any excess wire.  And finally there is a multimeter. Now a  multimeter is a device that is used to test  electrical circuits. It's a popular tool  that is used for many different trades,  including networking. It can measure voltage in  network devices. It can check for voltage in  power outlets. And it can also check for continuity  in network cables. And multimeters come in both  analog and digital versions. So thank you everyone  for watching this video on networking tools ,