LinkRunner Pro

Managing network infrastructure from one place is really difficult when it

comes to large enterprises. And when there is a network failure primarily due to

cable cut at someone's desktop, it really becomes difficult to trace it without

a proper device. This device is basically meant for the desktop support guys and

network technicians who frequently handle network connectivity issues. The

device is powered by 4 AA batteries which means complete mobility of the device.

This device tells you the length of the cable that you have attached to it.

Apart from this, it also tells each wire inside the cable is properly punched or

not. The good part of it is that, if the cable is broken somewhere, it

automatically detects the break point. To test this feature, we connected one

end of the cable on the LAN port and the other to the MAP port of the LinkRunner

Pro. It showed the connection of the wire i.e. straight or cross. Then we cut a

wire randomly from the cable and this device showed a wire disconnected (in our

case it was 4th wire).

For testing this, we connected a network cable from our production network to

the LinkRunner Pro. The home screen confirmed about the active connection on the

wire. Apart from these, the home screen of the LinkRunner Pro showed speed of

the connected network -full or half duplex, what is the length of the wire that

is connected to it , how much is the utilization of network, etc. Next we

navigated to the PING screen which showed us Tx/Rx summary. Further scrolling it

right showed details such as, IP address, response time, etc of routers, DHCP

server and DNS. If you have PoE featured Ethernet switch, then the PoE option in

this device shows voltage level for each Ethernet connecter pin. This device

also facilitates you to save upto 4 reports, each report contains the details of

home screen, ping and LLDP screen. The LLDP, EDP, CDP screen display the switch

MAC and IP address, switch name, ports, etc. The Flash Hub Port screen is an

option which periodically connects and then disconnects at a selective speed.

This helps in identifying to which port the LinkRunner Pro is connected. The

Configuration screen helps in viewing the LinkRunner Pro version, enable or

disable certain option, perform firmware upgrade, edit or delete reports, etc.

Along with LinkRunner Pro, with also received another device called the

IntelliTone Pro. This device helps in confirming the cable location, checks the

cable and detects faults. It works in combination with the LinkRunner Pro Toner

option. For testing this, we first connected a network wire to the LinkRunner

Pro. The LinkRunner Pro then generated a digital tone or two different analog

tones of 400 Hz and 1 KHz which will be used with IntelliTone for checking the

cables. Then we switched on the IntelliTone and followed the Ethernet cable

connected to it. The IntelliTone generated tone while traversing along with the

wire. And hence makes it easy to trace cables even if they are hidden inside

wall or floors.

Bottomline: In a large enterprise it will surely help troubleshooting

guys to resolve issue in minutes.