I’m a big believer when it comes to hand held diagnostic tools, in that they should have several key features that can help you identify, validate, and report statistics to you. Some common tools a network engineer has in their toolbox is a network cable tester, primarily used for testing network cable termination. These tools are great when you’re trying to perform a quick check to see if a network cable is terminated properly. And that right there is the issue-- it’s a quick check and not a complete comprehensive network cable test, validation, and reporting tool.
Nowadays with so many devices running off of PoE, Integrated Layer-3 switch/firewall, multi-gig network interfaces, and not to mention a lack of an updated network diagram, it’s really hard to know how your installation and network devices will perform.
Enter NetAlly LinkRunner AT 4000 (LRAT-4000), a hand-held advanced network discovery and cable testing tool for multi-gigabit and fiber networks. With a touch of a button, the LRAT-4000 will immediately and comprehensively perform a network discovery of all your devices, across multiple VLANS and subnets, with a path analysis. It tests and verifies network cable and termination, coupled with advanced PoE testing up to 90W with TruePower loading, it displays device IP settings, DHCP, DNS with response time statistics, verifies link speed and duplex settings, performance testing with iPerf, packet capture at line-rate and so much more.
What I’m trying to tell you here is that the LRAT-4000 removes all of the guesswork of a basic cable tester/wire mapper and puts you in a position as a network admin to confidently know how your devices will perform without second guessing a single thing.
In this first video installment with the LRAT-4000, we perform a custom installation of a surveillance video camera system for a business site. We begin with a network discovery of the site, followed by path analysis, test network cables, PoE load test, validate VLAN, IP, DNS, DHCP response times, performance test, packet capture, and reporting. Follow along with me and watch how the LRAT-4000 makes this custom installation project a breeze.
Carlo Zakarian is a network engineer with over 15yrs experience in the networking implementation, design, and diagnostics field specializing in LAN, WAN, and Wireless. Owner of NetFocus Technologies, an IT Managed consulting firm based in Chicago, specializes in setting up, configuring, diagnosing software, hardware, and network infrastructure.
Carlo Zakarian is experienced in network packet level analysis, application performance and network diagnostics. Expertise includes using commercial tools from Fluke Networks, NetScout, NetAlly, and ProfiTap to locate and fix network chaos. He can be reached via his website at https://www.NetFocusTech.com.
