Reddit mentions: The best network & cable testers

I can not speak highly enough about Fluke's intellitone equipment. It's not cheap, but it is well worth the price. The basic kit starts at about $160
(Amazon Link)

One of the reasons I really like the Intellitone is it is digital instead of analog. This means it won't pick up interference from near by florescent lights or network chatter from other cables. With the Cisco equipment, you can also tone "live" cables plugged into a switch, which is HUGELY useful when the guy before you didn't leave any documentation.

If you have the money (or an employer to pay for it), the Microscanner is a nice entry level tester which will also work with the intellitone wand. It is a little pricey starting at about $400 (Amazon Link)

Whatever tester you get, make sure it can do TDR. Knowing the length of a cable in the wall is incredibly useful for tracking down the other end.

The only rule I have for crimper's is make sure they are ratcheting. After crimping 20-30 ends in a row, your hands will get tired and you won't always make proper crimps unless you have the ratchet to make sure. A padded handle also helps. The Ratchet Telemaster (Amazon Link) has served me well for many years. Also, if you turn them upside down and look at the red plastic guard, it looks like a face chomping the cable when you trim the ends, which to this day still cracks me up.

It wouldn't hurt to get something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/PAC-TL-PTG2-Generator-Speaker-Polarity/dp/B0072LHMME/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1457592521&sr=8-8&keywords=tone+generator

You hook it up to the speaker wire terminals that you aren't sure where they lead, and it will send a tone to play on the speaker connected on the other end. Could be a good way to identify exactly what everything is.

One thing to be careful of with outdoor/extra basement speakers wired to your home theater receiver is frying your receiver. Some receivers have dedicated Zone B preouts or actual amplified zones, but some rookies make the mistake of just hooking those speakers up together with their fronts, which is a sure way to shorten the life of your receiver.

With the 8 speakers, 7 wires thing.. I think that's what the original home owner MAY have done... Let me know what you find.

As far as having the family room and basement play the same thing or be able to choose, that can get tricky and expensive. Being able to play the same thing either requires a receiver with 2 HDMI outs, which is rare outside of high end equipment OR an HDMI Matrix, which may be the better option. Depending on what existing equipment you have, outside of the TV that was left, I would PROBABLY do this:

Family room, have full surround sound setup. HDMI Out of my receiver would go into an HDMI Matrix that would send one HDMI to the Family Room TV and the other downstairs into the basement.

Basement, I would just hook the HDMI from upstairs into another receiver along with whatever sources I wanted downstairs. This way the basement can mirror what the family room is playing or play its own independent sources.

As far as the extra basement speakers and outdoor speakers, it depends how much music flexibility you'd like, but either Zone B receivers or maybe even a Sonos Connect, since they have Audio Ins so they can also play what your receivers are playing.

IDK what that 410 thing is, tried googling it but no luck. Sounds like a switch but might be a patch panel. Anyway, what you need is to verify all cables in your home.

Go out and get yourself a Cable Toner. Plug it to your outlet in the bedroom, go downstairs and check which cable it is. Label it.

Do this for every ethernet outlet.

It's possible that these cables are wired for phone, to check this take out one of the outlets and verify if all wires are being used. Better yet take a picture and post it.

Once you have all the wires labeled, make sure the runs downstairs are properly crimped.

You now need to plug all of these runs into a switch. A regular/non smart switch is your best bet. TrendNet has some really great options.

Finally plug one cable from the router to the switch.


Final set up should look like ISP Modem > Router > Switch > all the outlets.

Not an electrician, but am working on rewiring my own house:

I've found a toner/tracer to be valuable for more than tracing out circuits. I clip the toner to a 6 ft chunk of romex and put the other end of the romex against the baseboard, which allows me to find where to drill from the basement. I use this one: https://www.amazon.com/Extech-TG20-Wire-Tracer-Generator/dp/B00APD16D2

I like beaded chain (like the kind that's attached to a ceiling fan pull) that is attracted to a magnet. Attached to a string, and it seems to find itself down holes easily. One of those two foot magnetic screw picker uppers work nicely for grabbing the other end (https://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-7611-24-Inch-Flexible-Magnetic/dp/B000NPR3ZW/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1480538832&sr=1-1&keywords=magnetic+screw+retriever). The local hardware store sells the chain for $0.29/foot - just be sure it's magnetic.

I also second fiberglass fish sticks. Harbor Freight has something like a 30 foot kit for about $15 bucks if I remember correctly.

Those Magnepull tools look nice, but man they want a lot of money for it. Is there a generic version?

I will write up some more specific feedback because I am interested in seeing the Pockethernet get better, and thanks for telling me about long-pressing the measure button.

To be clear though, I wasn't comparing the Pockethernet to the AT 2000. I was comparing it to the Fluke MicroScanner 2 for $440 which I own, and the T3 Net Prowler for $730, which I might have purchased instead of the Pockethernet.

Hardware criticisms:

Make sure all internal connectors are fully seated. My battery came unplugged. Make sure that the plexiglass protection film is removed. And at least in my case, the plastic on the wiremap/loopback tester is so loose that I had to take it off to use the tester.

App Bugs (iPhone):

I experience frequent crashes. Usually it seems when I leave and return to the app, or when I save results to Dropbox using the "Send" feature. This has persisted from an iPhone 6s Plus, to a brand new installation on a brand new iPhone X.

There is also a bug where the bottom half of the app disappears, or becomes covered in a white rectangle, and I am no longer able to scroll. This might be from the app trying to hide itself where the keybaord appears. Only way to fix is to quit and relaunch the app. Very frustrating.

App Workflow:

App flow should probably be like this: First HOME screen is a grid of icons for PRESET TESTS and an icon for a CUSTOM TEST. PRESET TESTS should be user-defined groups of frequently run tests. They should be icons, because that way more fit on the screen. Clicking on a PRESET TEST should take you to the RESULTS screen.

The RESULTS screen should only show the test results of the tests you just ran. It should have some persistent icons at the bottom of the page, that include a couple of selectable PRESET tests, as well as RETEST, CUSTOM, and HOME. This will make it easy to always quickly run a test.

The RESULTS screen should have the option to save results to a DATABASE. Often I will run additional tests for an outlet in the future, and I want the ability to EXPORT all of the tests from one outlet together, not have a separate PDF for each group of tests I ran on each outlet. The PDF export should only show the results of tests that were run.

If you instead clicked CUSTOM TEST on the HOME screen, you should be taken to a grid of icons with all possible tests. Check your desired test icons, click TEST, and be taken to the same RESULTS page as before.

There should be an interface for viewing the test results in the database, and deleting of specific tests for specific outlets.

This would make the Pockethernet interface much closer to Fluke's, Ideal's, and T3's interfaces, and much more useful.

Thanks!

Flukes are the gold standard- he just linked you to an ancient model. A simple model like this one is what you want. I not only tests the cable (including 10/100/1000 speeds), it also comes with a toner to trace a cable in your infrastructure as well as the ability to handle PoE and POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service). There are definitely fancier models, but this one is adequate for what you listed.

The fiber testers are much more expensive, though they are fantastic. At the very least, you could afford a visual fault indicator which uses an incredibly bright laser that you can easily see with the naked eye at the termination in the cable (even over long distances- we routinely use them at 2000+ feet for our infrastructure testing).

For bigger shops with more runs, like ours, a visual inspection kit like this one is indispensable for checking your terminations and troubleshooting.

Your budget is too low for it, but this guy is what we normally use in conjunction with the visual inspection kit. There are cheaper fiber testers out there, but they tend to cost a lot more than the copper one I linked. If you absolutely need a full range fiber and copper tester, one like this should work. I'm not sure if that model comes with a remote end unit, but that would be worth getting as well.

All of the higher end testers can output your results as a report via the Fluke software on workstations.

my advice: before you do anything buy a tester.

I understand your concerns about it, but a simple tester like this one from amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Zoostliss-Network-Cable-Tester-Networking/dp/B06XZYXN63

That's all you need. if you look, the tester comes in two parts, a source side and a destination side. disconnect everything from the line, and test both patch cables on either end first, once you know you have known-good patch cables hook them up between the source tester, and the wall, then at the port, from the port to the destination side of the tester, and check the full length, if anything is wrong with how it's testing, you'll know that re-terminating or re-jacking, or replacing a patch, is required.

If everything tests ok, I'd cut the excess off the leads for two reasons, it's bad form, and it can actually cause interference if the run is quite long (on short runs it shouldn't matter, but I would do it anyways).

Once you know the cable is good (all pairs wired and connecting), you can move on to troubleshooting the endpoints - check the capabilities of both the computer and the device you're plugging it into at the panel (where all the wires are housed). If it's a cheap device (like they commonly sell for these types of installs), it's probably 10/100 only, and will need to be replaced. You'll have to devise how to do that, since I don't know what the panel looks like in your place.

My credentials: I've been doing networking, and computer-related work for 10 years, and for about 30 years as a personal hobby (since I was very young); I'm currently in the middle of an install with over 90 such ports, working with professional wiring technicians who do this all the time. I use the tools they use, and I have successfully done their job (though, I don't for work, since my company pays them to do it instead - they're cheaper per-hour than I am, but do a fantastic job - simply put, my time is better spent (according to the company) elsewhere).

I'm happy to revisit with any questions - I know there's a few parts here where I made assumptions about your knowledge level on all of this, so if I've confused you, don't be afraid to ask. Everyone is learning, so there's no shame in seeking information, and no judgement from me.

Good luck, have a great day.

If you're already here asking the right questions I'm confident you can get through it.

I was expecting to have to spend a couple of hours getting the AP working the way I wanted, but the whole thing literally took five minutes. It was literally, make a user account and password, assign a vlan, click next a couple of times and that was it. There would be a little more to it if you're setting up a firewall and a switch as well, but it's pretty much as easy as it can be.

You will need something to run the Ubiquiti web interface on. They sell something called a cloud key for this, but you could also use a Raspberry Pi3, since they're cheaper and do the same thing. You could also run the Ubiquiti controller software on any Linux system that you have laying around.

As for the wiring itself, what I did was get a small wall-mounted rack, like this one. Then I ran the cables to a Cat 6 patch panel, like this. From the patch panel, I ran connections to my rackmount router and switches. I've basically only ever followed the bundle of snakes cabling model in the past, so it's satisfying to have everything nice and professional looking.

I used Cable Matters stuff for wall plates and keystone jacks, etc. You'll also need a spool of CAT6 Ethernet cable, and a punchdown tool. I have a 4-way wall plate near my workstation and another 2-way near my printers.

If you do run your own connections you will want to get a cable tester. I did create one bad punchdown and this tester found it no problem. There are lots of other testers out there and I'm sure nearly all would do the job.

Good luck!

On an unmanaged switch it usually doesn't matter but make sure the switch support auto crossover. Usually if it is going to matter one port on the switch will be labelled 'uplink'.

To summarize: you can keep your router where it is if it's able to get link through that coax port. Make sure that Ethernet jack terminates to an uplinked switchport in your closet (TP Link is one of many decent and inexpensive gig switch brands. POE might be a useful feature to consider in a switch if you plan on adding wifi APs or IP phones later.

Also, if the Jack's are not well numbered or indicated, one of these ~$10 devices can prove to be very useful:
<https://www.amazon.com/Zoostliss-Network-Cable-Tester-Networking/dp/B06XZYXN63/>

Hope that helps

Glad to be of help, let me know how it works out once you get it installed?




> This may be optimistic thinking, but I am hoping that the Ubiquiti AP will offer strong enough coverage so that I can turn off the WiFi on the Xfinity gateway like you said. The Xfinity gateway is located near their office, which they probably would continue to want WiFi. This was the 'bridge mode' question that I had. If the signal isn't quite strong enough coming from the AP in the warehouse, I may leave the Xfinity gateway running WiFi, or I will simply have them purchase a second AP for the office area.



Personally I would recommend doing a matching Ubiquiti AP for the office area, and disable the Xfinity Wi-Fi. You don't need to enable bridge mode for that; the gateway has options to disable the 2.4 and 5GHz radios. You can either log into it yourself or call Comcast and have them do it from their end. This will ensure handoff between your Ubiquiti AP's works as intended, without having a different access point (the comcast gateway) in the mix.



>From what I've been reading on Amazon, users have installed the Ubiquiti software controller on a Raspberry Pi



I have also heard of people doing this, but I do not have experience doing this myself. I've always done local computer installs, usually on a server, in the cases where I did not have a Ubiquiti cloud key or gateway appliance.



>As stated before, the Ethernet cables are already run throughout from the previous tenants,



Apologies, I must have read over that part. In that case, I would invest in some ethernet cable testers (something like this, those are the ones I have but Amazon has cheaper options available), that way you can test the lines once they are punched down, since they were previously installed lines you never know what kind of problems could come up. Typically that's not the case with ethernet lines but you never know... and it could save you from chasing yourself in circles in the future. These testers will tell you if there is a short/open connection, or a miswire. Very handy. Even though I have punched hundreds of cat5 cable ends down manually, I always check the line with a tester before I plug it into anything.

What he said!

Extech 40180 Tone Generator and Amplifier Probe Circuit Finder Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00023RVNO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_s77kDbSBPKNRE

There are cheaper options, but you'd want to unplug the wire at the speaker, connect the tone generator to the conductors, then determine if the wires go up or down using the 'wand' by following the sound generated in the cable and vocalized by said 'wand'. Go to the basement or attic accordingly.

People who run their own cables are amazingly clever in their application, but usually you are looking at one of 3 scenarios:

1. Every cable in the house is pulled to a central location. This tends to be a closet and possibly cabnit within a centralized room of some sort, maybe in a laundry room, bathroom, or master bedroom.
   
   
2. Each room is a stand alone system, in which case a/v cabling will be self contained per room, usually in a closet or supposed to be connected to equipment in credenza underneath a TV. The cabling could likely be mudded in to the cavity in the wall.
   
   
3. A mixture of the two above, with bedrooms being the most likely to be self contained and audio cabling for outdoor/living areas being centrally ran.
   
   Bear in mind, low voltage cabling is often done without licensing and inspection, and therefore will likely need to be ripped out upon presale inspection. People leave boxes in walls because it's easier than ripping them out, mudding them, and painting what is likely to be an entire room. Have you verified the cabling is in place? You should be able to see cables exit walls above outlet areas either in an attic, basement, or crawlspace.
   
   If you have verified there is existing cable, it is a simple matter of determining where the cable goes in your home from the wall above a speaker - follow it until it gows down in to a different wall, identify that wall in your home, and look on both sides on every floor of that wall to find a place the cable could reasonably exit. This is where your fox and hound will come in. Sweep the wall the cable enters from either top to bottom of bottom to top, using the intensity of the sound of the sensor to tell you how close or far away the majority of the cable is. Understand wall studs are often placed 12-16 inches apart, and that there are horizontal bars blocking progress between floors- this means it's most likely that only one cavity within your wall is used for cables to go back and forth.
   
   This can be frustrating to decipher. There are silver linings. If this home was once cabled, and it no longer is, the path is still there. Most of the time people will cut ends off instead of pull cable entirely out- that means if you can locate it, there's a good chance you can use the cut cable to pull your new cable through. The rewards of a house successfully wired for A/V are worth the headache.
   
   I hope this helps. Good luck!

Crimpers: I've had Monoprice's 3-way Modular crimper for over a year now, crimped 200+ ends, and still love it. You'll probably want a jacket stripper to go with it.

Tester: If this is for home-use, and not to "learn" about advanced testers / certifiers, then a simple, cheap, well-rated unit is fine. I've got one of those brandless jobs as a dirt-cheap "backup" (not that I've needed it for that) to the ByteBrothers Real World Certifier (which is a great unit that's significantly cheaper than others that share its feature set). For something in between those two, one of Klein's low-to-mid range models like the LAN Scout Junior might be ok.

Cable: Where are you installing it? Are these just short patch cables, or are we talking long runs through the walls/ceiling? Monoprice has an excellent selection of Cat 6. Short answer: if you want it to flex (short runs, patch cables, frequently moved), buy STRANDED core. For longer runs, in walls / ceiling, that won't move, buy SOLID core. And make sure you get Cat 6 rated modular connectors (the RJ-45 "ends") that match the type of wire core you're using.

I use boots on patch cables; it takes some of the stress off the connector. Not everyone does it though, and it's not absolutely critical if you've got a good solid crimp on your connectors. If you use them, you'll forget to put a boot on at least one. Probably more like every 10th end you crimp, at first.

This may be better suited to /r/networking but I'll give it a shot:

We're a quickly growing small business that relies heavily on our network infrastructure. As we grow we are continually moving people around and adding/repurposing lines. Our office is composed of three major sections, New Office, Old Office, and Warehouse.

When we did our most recent expansion (The New Office) we relocated our server room and had all the wire in the new space ripped out and replaced as well as certified with a Fluke DTX. That side of the office is fine and has well documented patch panels and port maps. The old side of the office has what I kindly refer to as a "Rasta-Bundle". Whoever installed the wiring (it pre-dates our tenancy in the building) used every conceivable color (though mostly red, yellow, and green) and length of Cat 5 (some is 5E). Wires go into the ceiling in every direction and in some cases are spliced in the ceiling.

Ideally as we grow we're going to want to be able to identify bad wires and could use a general idea of the condition of the wires that are in the wall (and if necessary pay to have them replaced). Would we be better off buying something like a Fluke Link Runner to have on hand (or is there something better?) in the future or is renting a Fluke DTX for ~400$ for a week to gauge how bad it is now a better plan?

Read through the links before you add anything to your cart, the tools at the top are what I personally use and can vouch for, the tools at the bottom are in kits and case save you some money if you only do this once in a while but I can't vouch for the quality.

Crimping tool(17$):

TRENDnet 8P/RJ-45 and 6P/RJ-12, RJ-11 Crimp, Cut, and Strip Tool, TC-CT68 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000AZK4G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_piZVAbZZVWPM7

Has a built in perfect cut wire strippers

Connectors(9$):

Cybertech Cat6, Cat5e RJ-45 8P8C Ethernet Modular Crimp Connectors Plugs Pack of 100 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LG6DQUI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_YiZVAb72959BY

Cat5e Cable(25$) (200ft, pre-made but you can clip and make your own out of it)

200FT Feet CAT5 Cat5e Ethernet Patch Cable - RJ45 Computer Networking Wire Cord (White) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071XBHM6Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_RkZVAbZ8D2F00

The cable is actually not that good of a deal because you can get 1000ft for 50$ without any ends, but I was aiming for sub 50$.

Total cost: 51$

Additional extras I'd recommend:

Cable tester(8$) tests if the cables and connections you made are good. A great investment for beginners and pros)

Zoostliss Network Cable Tester RJ45 RJ11 RJ12 UTP LAN Cable Tester Networking Tool https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XZYXN63/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_tnZVAb616Y59H

Cable boots(6$) protect your cable ends from having the tips broken and looks cleaner IMO


uxcell 100 Pcs Soft Plastic Ethernet RJ45 Cable Connector Boots Cover https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K82RNX2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_qoZVAb54MHXCJ


They also have combo kits like this that exist, I can't speak to their quality but the tools are simple tools so this may save you some scratch

>UbiGear Cable Tester +Crimp Crimper +100 RJ45 CAT5 CAT5e Connector Plug Network Tool Kits (Crimper315) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008UY5WL0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_hqZVAb8RM9GVK

Has the tester and everything, includes a wire stripper which is nice

>Maxmoral 7 in 1 Cable Tester + Crimp Crimper + Wire Stripper + 50 RJ45 CAT5 CAT5e Connector Plug + 100 Cable Ties + 100 Cable Cord Holder Clips + 2 Ethernet Connector Network Tool Kits https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01J7S5X6Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_VrZVAb10QP91E

Same deal, has boots though.

• SecureCRT, the chat window feature that allows you to paste and run commands to all sessions is awesome.
  
  
• The Rhino 5200, it rocks. It has a bunch of useful functions like printing labels that wrap around cables and I don't have to beg anyone for their crappy label printer.
  
  
• Crossover Linux to manage the windows applications I need to run on Linux (checkpoint smartconsole and ikeview, visio, ...)
  
  
• I need to get a digital toner and tracer to better deal with undocumented patch panels, the fluke intellitone must be nice but is a bit expensive for something I need only once in a while.
  
  
• I'd like to get the panduit cable comb to make /r/cableporn worthy bundles but it is expensive for a piece of molded plastic .
  
  
• And I need an Air Console, because screw sitting on the floor in the cold aisle of a coloc center.
  
  
• Now that I'm writing a wishlist, I also need one of these to avoid manually switching console port from one device to another, a usb quad serial ports adapter.
  
  Edit :
  
  
• Wolf Wifi Pro, an android wireless survey app, it's basic but a fraction of the cost of more professional tools and still allows me to make signal strength and snr heatmaps over a floor plan. It's good enough for my needs, in fact it's awesome.
  
  
• Wacom Bamboo Graphic Tablet to draw crude diagrams or dicks or dick shaped OSPF areas I can paste in an email.
  
  
• BIC 4 color pens because they blow my mind and are really useful for hand drawn diagrams.

For Tone gen, Fluke makes the gold standard. They also have a cheaper version.
You didn't mention a probe, so maybe you are looking for a cable certifier?. That's super expensive though. if you just have to test that there is continuity and not certify the cables, you can use this, or this if you want to look like a pro.

As for Screwdrivers, Wiha makes the best screw drivers, hands down. I have this set for working on electronics & laptop repair. Magnetic tool-kits are fine. This isn't the 80's anymore. There aren't too many magnetically sensitive items inside a computer anymore. especially with the advent of SSD drives.

As for a toolbox, depending the work, I prefer a tool bag or pouch.

Good luck, hope that helps. What helped for me when I started was to go to harbor freight and just get an assortment of tools. As I worked I slowly replaced the stuff I used all the time with quality gear, and didn't have to burn myself buying expensive tools and gear that I would never use.

doubt it. phones can plug into cat5 jacks. they're backwards compatible so to speak. you can't run internet on them, but you can run voice. it's rapidly becoming the standard to simply use cat5 jacks everywhere. can you unscrew one and take a picture? i would be willing to bet all of your wires are punched down to those 2splitters and bridged together. You could easily replace them with a couple of these and use some of these to connect to one of these and rewire the jacks in using RJ 45 T568-b standard or follow this video a quick toolkit will cost about 20-35 and since you've already got the wiring and parts should be pretty cheap. make sure that if you're no longer using the landline to pull the wire from the box to the Network interface for the phones. (unless it's DSL). may want to add a shelf underneath the media panel, although i've seen some creative people tuck a shitload of stuff into those media panels and it look quite nice. Hope this helps. Let me know if you have more questions.

Edit: you can use one of these to quickly and easily trace out if all of those wires end in that cabinet or if some of them ARE going somewhere else. If they are I would check attic areas and other panels around the house. POSSIBLY they terminate outside, but doubt it since your Network interface box is in the basement.

You can go cheap on the opening tools without being penalized.
Laptops and the like aren't cars - they don't require tons of force but you DO need the right bits and/or shims to get them open without stripping heads or damaging plastics.
Something similar to this which has a bunch of bits, magnetized pickup, and "guitar" style plastic pry tools should do fine.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073ZWY386/ref=twister_B07FMWPBKN

A portable multimeter is always useful, I like the ones that fold in on themselves so you can throw them in a bag.
https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Multimeter-Ranging-Pocket-Tester/dp/B06Y4RZY45

Get some Cat5e clips, put them in a ziploc, and throw them in your bag along with a crimping tool, needle nose pliers, and wire stripper. You will be surprised how often you need to re-crimp a cable or make a new one on-site.
Note - if you don't know how to make a cable, definitely practice that first!

Get an ethernet/phone continuity tester. You don't need a Fluke CableIQ (they're nice though!) but a basic continuity tester will let you (laboriously) trace any ethernet jacks that need tracing. And you can test those cables you just made or just fixed.
I have one basically identical to this and I've used it for over 10 years now I think. Money well spent.
https://www.amazon.com/Tonor-RJ45-Network-Cable-Tester/dp/B00OUFX38W

As mentioned before, something to read a drive(s).
Any multi sd-card reader will do but instead of a dock you may want something like this since it is more portable. Yet another thing I've had for over 5 years and used countless times.
https://www.amazon.com/AGPtek-Drive-Adapter-Converter-External/dp/B00BIE996S

You probably should punch down those ends on a "better" patch panel like this:

https://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-Unshielded-Wallmount-Rackmount-TC-P24C5E/dp/B00008AWL3/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1466713111&sr=1-3&keywords=patch+panel

It doesn't have to be the exact one, it's just for reference. Keep in mind to keep interference down that can mess with your transfer rates that you will want to keep the amount of wiring that is untwisted to a minimum. Once you are punched down you can get a ton and probe kit, relatively cheap to check that you punched down the wire correctly and that it is terminated correctly on the other end as well, presumably in a keystone jack for a wall. This will also allow you to find which wires go where in your house. Also, you will have to determine which standard for wiring was used, T568A or T568B. You can check this before punching anything down by taking a wall plate out and investigating how the cat5e was terminate at the wall plates.

You can get a cheap line tester like this that will do the job fine.
https://www.amazon.com/Tonor-RJ45-Network-Cable-Tester/dp/B00OUFX38W/ref=sr_1_18?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1466713437&sr=1-18&keywords=tone+and+probe

I've actually used this exact one at home when I've left my commercial fluke equipment at work. It feels cheap, but it does the job. Good luck, once it's done and done correctly it's very nice to have a wired home with the ability to add wireless access points throughout your home.

You need a cable toner. This one is quite cheap but seems to have good reviews. If you make a habit of pulling cable, I'd invest in a better one.

A tester is also a good tool, but you have to pay quite a bit to get something better than a continuity tester--and a continuity tester doesn't tell you all that much.

Holy whoa. I'm shocked those work at all.

You MIGHT be able to throw a computer in the middle and log traffic on WireShark, but that will take time and ultimately will be a much more vague answer than a cable analyzer's yes/no.

As far as analyzer / certifiers go, I think the Fluke CableIQ is probably one of the less expensive models since it doesn't do 10Gbit or fibre out of the box. That being said, it's still the better part of $2k.

As /u/IAdminTheLaw suggested, a good option may be to hire a contractor to test and certify. If you can woo a structured wiring company they might be willing to come out and test a few lines for free, even.

I've never used this specific product, but it looks like what you need, and seems to have good reviews @ Amazon.
This is the kind of tool every IT shop should possess, so your boss should buy this for you.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HCQSHNG

It's the wire mapping & continuity tool that you need.
The probe stuff you don't need today, but might need some other day in the future.

That will let you test each cable (both your patch cords, and the in-wall cables that they installed) to ensure the wire map is correct and all 8 wires show good connectivity.

This is a primitive test. This is not highly scientific. This will not "certify" that those cables are good. But this is a good, cheap first test.

Kinda like popping the hood of your car to try to look and see what the noise is or where the small is coming from - even if you're not a mechanic - having a look is just the intelligent thing to do.

The wire map & continuity test is the same thing. Taking a quick look at things.

-----

The short cables you provided, those are patch cords, or patch cables.

Where do you buy them? What does it say on the cable jacket?
Do you remember about what you paid for each of them?

example

I'm most concerned to hear if you find the letters or the term "CCA" on the cable jacket.

CCA indicates Copper Clad Aluminum which are the worst and most evil kind of ethernet cabling on the planet.

CCA is actually kind of rare since it is so low a quality only shady businesses even sell the product.

What does the cable jacket say on the cables they installed for you?

Can you take a picture at the patch panel side and link it to this thread?

This is the image I want to see.

Not This I don't need to see the front of the equipment.

Does anybody know what kind of scissors those are? They look like my fluke scissors but only one side has the cutting leverage handle thingy lol. Don't know the technical name. If anybody else wants to recommend what scissors they use. I've been using these since they are very sharp and awesome.

https://www.amazon.com/Fluke-Networks-D-Snip-Cable-Scissors/dp/B000E5VAXM

You could use a punchdown tool to push in each of the wires at the connections to make sure they all have good contact. Then use a tester like, this or this, to make sure all wires test out. I like the latter one, as it is nicer and it also can test coax cables.

Reading your post I'm not 100% sure if you need something that'll test network connectivity, but I have this for my personal kit and it is a great tool: https://smile.amazon.com/Fluke-Networks-MS2-100-Cable-Tester/dp/B000QJ3G42

I'd start with the cheaper $500 option and like you said if you are asked to certify the cable rent one or buy the Pocket Ethernet (sure it isn't rugged, but even a $10k tester you'll be taking good care of) and isn't going to break the bank to buy a new one if it gets broken.

You can test anytime, but if you don't have problems it probably isn't worth the expense since you're on a tight budget. It sounds like you do have occasional problems, but you have little visibility into what's going on without a proper managed switch. Getting someone to come in with a certifier is probably a bit too expensive, but it is certainly true that you won't really know for sure if the cable is the problem without certifying the lines. A certifier will test the wire map but also the electrical characteristics and whether they meet specifications for the cabling standard (Cat5e, Cat6, etc.) they are supposed to. If you intend to test with something that isn't a certifier, just be aware of the things it tests for and the things it doesn't. Cheaper testers are useful -- the Linkrunner and Linksprinter are great! -- but they are not the same as a certifier.

What is DEFINITELY a problem is that the horizontal runs just run straight into end user equipment. Structured cabling is not meant to be disturbed, and it WILL break over time. Those need to get terminated on to jacks, put into wall plates, and put into wall boxes. Frankly, it does not sound like you will have a lot of backing from management on this, but they will break down the road and it kind of sounds like your management will blame you for it.

I don't have a good recommendation for a toner that's < $100. This one is kind of the gold standard but it's about twice that much (Fluke Intellitone Pro 200): https://www.amazon.com/Fluke-Networks-IntelliTone-Toner-MT-8200-60-KIT/dp/B0749RXGB4

You can pick up a spool of Cat5e or Cat6 at Lowe's along with the RJ-45 crimping tool and a jar of RJ-45 connectors. I highly suggest also getting a cable stripper while you're at it. Your total outlay will be around $20-$25 for the tools, and about $55 for a spool of cable plus the jar of RJ-45 connectors.

After that, the important things to know:

Don't cut the insulation on the individual wires inside the cable. Don't try to strip the individual wires, don't nick them when you cut the jacket, DON'T don't don't! :) The crimping tool will squeeze them down hard onto sharp blades on the inside of the RJ-45 terminators to make the connection right through the insulation.

If you get a stripping tool - only rotate it ONCE, lightly, around the jacket of the cable. It should require some resistance to pull the cut bit loose. Strip a good six inches or so off the end of the cable - you'll want some extra length in the exposed pairs to arrange them properly.

Untwist the exposed pairs down to the jacket. Straighten them out completely. Now arrange them in the proper pinout: orange-white, orange, white-green, blue, white-blue, green, white-brown, brown. This is "T-568B" layout, and it's IMPORTANT. You might think you can wire it up any old way you want, as long as it's the same on both ends, and have it work - if you think that, you're WRONG WRONG WRONG. The order is important because the structure of the cable prevents crosstalk on pairs, and if you split the pairs up, you will have RF crosstalk and it will completely suck so don't do that.

That T-568B layout up there? It goes in with the locking tab on the RJ-45 connector facing DOWN, repeat, DOWN. Left-to-right, locking tab facing DOWN, orange-white orange white-green blue white-blue green white-brown brown. Learn it, live it, love it.

Consider a cheap cable tester to add to your arsenal. You may have trouble sourcing this at a Lowe's or Home Depot - frequently they either have no testers at all, or only have "pro" testers that cost hundreds of bucks. For your purposes, something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Tonor-RJ45-Network-Cable-Tester/dp/B00OUFX38W/ref=zg_bs_tab_pd_mw_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=TJ654JVCX7SM9J4YE3GJ at $9 is fine, and can save you a lot of hassle.

Before you feed your nicely untwisted and properly laid out pairs into your RJ-45 terminator, snip them off cleanly about 1/2" from the jacket. Slide them all the way, carefully so they don't cross over on you but FIRMLY onto the exposed pairs, and so that the bottom of the RJ-45 slides OVER the jacket on the cable itself. When you crimp it down - hard, like you're shaking your girlfriend's dick-bag ex's hand - the little bar on the inside of the RJ-45 should clamp, firmly, ONTO THE JACKET, not just onto the pairs.

If you possibly, possibly, CAN remove the crimped RJ-45 from the cable by pulling on it... you did it wrong. Cut it off, re-strip, re-arrange, do it again. A properly crimped RJ-45 connector can hold your weight off the ground. Yes, seriously. THIS IS IMPORTANT, don't fuck this up.

I think that pretty much covers it. Oh, and you can pick up surface-mount raceway to run cable through while you're at Lowe's, if you want. It's square rubbery stuff that comes in 6' lengths (typically) and has sticky stuff on the back if you peel the paper off, so it'll stick directly to a wall, ceiling, etc. Stuff like this: https://www.amazon.com/Medium-Latching-Cable-Raceway-500/dp/B002DO164K/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1486775258&sr=1-3&keywords=raceway+cable

Depending on how many people are on your team, a Fluke tasting meter and toner probe is worth its weight in gold.

My old supervisor gifted me their CQ100 kit to help me diagnose and fix a few undocumented dumpster fire networks under the assumption that if I got the jobs done, the fluke was mine even if I left the company.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007SSX5PE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_EMwLDbCZP7PB1

If you don’t have any laying around, I would also buy a few 3750 catalyst switches off eBay and give them to the team to take home abs learn on if you think that would be beneficial. I’m always mentoring our juniors and teaching them just the basics of getting into a switch to look at logs or setup basic configuration has proven to be a huge help. Same with firewalls. I own a Fortigate 60E as my old supervisor bought me one of those to learn in and then deploy them at client sites. Again it was a relatively small investment as it saved him having to hire a dedicated firewall guy for my region.

The advantage of using Ubiquiti stuff is the amount of info available: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ubiquiti+nanostation+ptp

PtP means Point-to-point, which is the kind of link you want to do. You will need some outdoor ethernet cable and a crimp tool + connectors. A simple cable tester would be useful too to make sure the cable is OK.

Also, Ubiquiti uses passive PoE. Plug your injector correctly or it will fry your computer's network card!

Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any more questions!

Ended up researching into a bag and eventually found one I think will work well.

I will link to everything I've found on amazon. I have found others on our distributors website. Hopefully this will help others put together something as well!

Bag

SATA Adapter

Toolkit

Toner/Fox and Hound

Small LED Flashlight

Velcro Wire Ties - Zip ties are awful

Network Kit

External HDD

Analog Phone - For testing Fax Lines mainly

There's more, such as cables and things, but everyone should be OK with figuring that out for yourselves. Total the kit (with cables and stuff included) is only about $370.91 per technician.

Hope this helps someone!

This is a selection of what I keep in my tech go-bag. You'll build your kit as you learn and build experience, or realize you could have helped a customer out of a jam quicker if you had that tool with you.

• cheap flashlights you wont feel bad about leaving in a ceiling or inside a rack: https://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Lights-Super-Bright-White/dp/B00I45JKTA/
  
  
• torx screwdriver for lots of little devices. I have a similar set and it's pretty decent: https://www.amazon.com/Vastar-Magnetic-Precision-Screwdriver-Electronics/dp/B015F734P0/
  
  
• power supply tester
  
  
• rechargable canned air
  
  
• zip ties
  
  
• velcro: https://www.amazon.com/iMBAPrice-Cable-Fastening-Tape-Yards/dp/B00FT2WHO6/
  
  
• leatherman/gerber multi-tool (needlenose) convenient when you need to do something quick and you don't have your bag with you.
  
  
• Set of pliers/wire cutters (leave the chanel locks at home): https://www.amazon.com/Tools-VISE-GRIP-4-Piece-Traditional-2078707/dp/B000CFMCTK/
  
  
• sharpies
  
  
• electrical tape: the good kind not the cheapo stuff
  
  
• multi-screwdriver: https://www.amazon.com/Lenox-Tools-23932-Multi-Tool-Driver/dp/B0013NX2DA/
  
  
• cordless electric screwdriver if you have lots of screwing to do.
  
  
• razor knife: https://www.amazon.com/Gerber-Lite-Pocket-Knife-31-000345/dp/B002RILCLY/
  
  
• cable tester/tone generator: https://www.amazon.com/ELEGIANT-Multifunction-Tracker-Measuring-Instrument/dp/B01HCQSHNG/
  
  
• analog phone for testing phone lines: https://www.amazon.com/Saytay-Telephone-Lineman-Tester-Connectors/dp/B01ABT7458/
  
  
• punch down tool: https://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-Punch-Krone-Blade-TC-PDT/dp/B0000AZK4D/
  
  
• cable crimper: https://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-RJ-45-RJ-12-RJ-11-TC-CT68/dp/B0000AZK4G/
  
  Various extra parts I've accumulated over the years like screws, ATX Molex Power to SATA Power Adapters, ATX Molex Y splitters, SATA cables etc..
  
  Good luck and some tools overlap like multi tools and pliers so if budget is low, go with the tool that covers the most jobs.
  
  Edit: I noticed your bag is kind of expensive compared to something like a Dewalt tool bag. I use a plain Dewalt bag which is not as cool as the one in the link, but it's just as tough. This might be a good and less expensive consideration for you if you don't require the look of a briefcase for your tool bag.
  
  Edit 2: You may want to mark your tools with a wrap of some crazy bright color electrical tape to be able to recognize them when they walk away.
  
  
  

Im not sure about the HDMI over cat5/5e/6, but I just was redoing my cat5e wiring layout to upgrade to gigabyte ethernet last week...Im well rehearsed in that. Id consider a different signal tester...I liked this one since it gave me length information too. I actually just reviewed one pretty thoughly tonight and included troubleshooting pictures:


5E 6E SC8108 CAT5 RJ45 Network LAN Length Cable Tester Meter GRAY D... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A20KO18/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_awdb_vFQhzbW6QQ5YA

I use a decent ($100) one of these every day for work.




Before, I used a cheap-ass ($20) one every now and again for work.




I have NEVER seen a cable tester/tone generator fry a network appliance. I've had network appliances fry a cable tester (those cheap ones really dislike passive PoE).




Your patch panel is fucky, but that's easy to fix. Get a punchdown tool and re-terminate. There should be color coding on the back of the panel to tell you what wires should go where. If not, Google is your friend. It seems like this panel likely used to run cables for telephony, or something else aside from networking. No biggie to fix, just takes a little time and diligence.




Your router, and anything else on the other end of these runs, should be totally fine.

Edited to add links.

I don't generally see bad cables creating 'occasional network problems' either it works or it doesn't. I've dealt with bad patch panels that caused degraded connectivity where 1Gb devices would only connect at 10/100Mb. A decent tester can check cable distances and pair connectivity - buy one and use it. The cabling may not be officially certified, but you'll be able to find issues, fix them, and verify your cabling. After that you have the equipment to continue to support cabling issues/additions.

Seems like budget is an issue, so you could use said tester to check the handmade patch cables instead of buying a bunch of new ones. The gift that keeps giving.

https://www.amazon.com/Fluke-Networks-MS2-100-Cable-Tester/dp/B000QJ3G42

The cheapest way would be connect a device to the other end that you can monitor remotely and unplug them one at a time until the device goes offline. Like a computer, router or pretty much anything that puts out a signal while connected to internet.

I’m sure they make tools like a coax explorer for Ethernet that you could do the same with but they’d cost quite a bit more than free.

If you really want the tool for the job tho.

Fluke Networks MS2-KIT Network Cable Tester Kit with Probe https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000QJ6S06/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_od1MAb8VDFZ9X

It looks like you have male RJ-45 ends on them. One option would just be to buy a switch and plug them all in that way. Plug your router/modem into the switch as well and they should all become active.

If you want a cleaner look, you could get a patch panel and terminate those cables to that and run patch cables to a switch.

If you want to find out what cables go where, I would suggest something like this toner to trace out the cables.

> My question is, where are the junction boxes normally located for a setup like I have?

Depends on where you are and how new your house is.

I know that where I live ( Saskatchewan, Canada ) junction boxes are no longer allowed by code and all wiring must be done in the switch box themselves.

> Can I expect to find them in the attic?

Unlikely, but possible.

> Or will they be between the beams of the wall itself?

this is more likely.

> The rub here is I need to find the exact junction box that comes from the light switch so that I can turn the ceiling fan on with the same switch.

If you can afford it, get a tone generator http://www.amazon.com/Extech-40180-Generator-Amplifier-Circuit/dp/B00023RVNO.

> otherwise I will have to run another switch which means a lot more work.

I don't know the exact configuration of your wiring or your house, but it may APPEAR that it's easier to just tie on your new ceiling fan to existing circuits but it probably will end up being less work to just install a circuit for the fan just as u/Midnight06 has said.

This is ESPECIALLY true if your house is wired the way I described above. It will be quite irritating to add a switch leg and extra wire to the existing circuits and probably you will end up crowding the receptacles/boxes making your job much more difficult than just running a new wire to the breaker box.

Technically this is /r/homenetworking like others have pointed out.

However, /r/homenetworking isn't really suitable for asking questions about anything involving toning out a drop and finding it on a patch panel. If you do a search for it there's basically no useful information for you there. Home networking or not, you're not just asking about "Why is my LANKSIS router so sloooooww".

Don't waste your money on a decent toner and cable tester, if it's just going to be used for a couple of drops around your house the cheapest of the cheap will do just fine. Grab one of these, plug it into the port in the room, and you can tone the cable out through the wall and easily find it on the patch panel. Once you find the port, hook up the cable mapper part of it at the patch panel and set the generator to test and you should get it sequentially going through each wire. If it tests fine on the cable map then you need to look closely at the termination itself and follow one of the many guides on YouTube to re terminate it.

https://www.ebay.com/p/Rj45-Telephone-Phone-Wire-Tracker-Tracer-Ethernet-LAN-Network-Cable-Tester-Toner/1061532813?iid=152635976413

If you need it faster, you can grab that same toner from Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/ELEGIANT-Telephone-Tracker-Ethernet-Upgraded/dp/B015EFE3XA/

That being said, you really want to check behind the wall plate first just to confirm that it's actually hooked up to something and make sure that they didn't wire up those two ports for a phone and ethernet over the same cable. I've seen plenty of wallplates for coax and ethernet that aren't actually terminated behind the wall plate.

I'm pretty sure that's how VOIP works.

Okay but seriously, you can technically daisy chain phone lines, so one of those lines is providing service to another phone jack. It sounds like your guess is probably correct. If you don't need service in the basement then disconnect it. Im not sure if it's worth it to you, but one of these would be useful: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00OUFX38W/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469014796&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=cable+tester&dpPl=1&dpID=51Bu0GxKXML&ref=plSrch

Disclaimer: I learned this from a YouTube video or am eHow I can no longer find + experience.

Sure!

You just strip the jacket off like normal, then you take the jacket (hard insulation wrapper), and you stick the open end on the end of each pair to split the pairs from the other pairs. Then for each pair you slip the jacket over one of the wires and swivel it down to the end and pull it over. Then to flatten just line up the pairs the way you need them and wiggle them back and forth with your fingertips until they straighten out. To save your fingers here, I found that the soft, rubber coated gorilla gloves from the hardware store give you the most dexterity and protection. I find the wire cutting scissors to be the most helpful once you have your flat rainbow to make a clean cut.

If you mean for the forgetting the boot problem, I don't have a solution other than cutting it off and starting over or just running with no boot. I would love if someone here has a trick.

Gloves:

Gorilla Grip 25053-26 Non-Slip Work Gloves (Large) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007Z35Y56/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_AwxQDb6046HJQ

Something like this for the cutters:

Fluke Networks D-Snip Cable Scissors https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000E5VAXM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_BDxQDbG5JPNNK

A network tester like this one doesn't cost much and might help you diagnose the issue. It can test if a link is working if you plug it in at each end, and you can also use them to send a signal through the link which the other piece can detect from nearby. Pretty useful if you ever need to suss out the location of a cable through a wall or something.

Imo the most likely case is that the connection at one or more of the ends has become broken. You should be able to fix that rather easily yourself. Google "RJ45 wall jack installation" for more info on that. You would need a punch down tool for that.

From the looks of the spaghetti on the floor there, it looks to be 14 gauge.

There appears to be a mix of one 14x4 and two 14x2 wires.

This only looks like where the previous owner spliced and extended the wiring. 14 guage should be enough unless its a really long run.

You need to find where both ends terminate. One end should terminate where the speakers are located and the other terminate where the reciever or amp terminates.

You can use an app or a battery to test, but the easiest way to see where each goes is to use a tone generator.

I used a tone generator to find the wires I put in after my idiot contractor drywalled over all of them and it worked like a charm finding where they ran under the drywall.

Somthing like this would do the trick

https://www.amazon.com/Extech-TG20-Wire-Tracer-Generator/dp/B00APD16D2/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?keywords=tone+generator&qid=1564597096&s=gateway&sprefix=Tone+gene&sr=8-4

So the "data" portion of the MDX88300 is probably because of the satellite and probably phones. I am guessing you can tie it in with a security system? But it will be a no-go for internet.

Those Cat5 cables, however, should still work fine. You would just have to cap the ends with a standard RJ45 connector cap, and make sure it is wired correctly at the jack in the room. Then you can just plug it directly to your router at this point, IF you're going to place your router in that closet/room.

Or you can get a real patch panel and wire them directly into that, but you will need a punch tool for that. I only recommend that if you need to wire like 10+ computers to a network.

As far as the tone tester goes, I use this one for work. It's probably Chinese made and might break in a year, but it was cheap and I tested it....it works. You plug the little transmitter into the Ethernet port in the room, flip the switch to "Tone". Then go to your server closest, turn the wand on, and touch each cable until you hear a beep from the wand. That indicates which cable runs to that room. Then you cap it with the RJ45 connector, Mark it (with tape and sharpie), and move on to the next room.

I would get a decent tester. Every tech should have one in their bag. I stumbled across this and it should be decent for the price. The only thing is you would need a toner wand to pick up the tone signals. If you are capable of doing it yourself, do it. Schedule down time, put a patch panel in, do it right. If you are not comfortable, get a contractor in and have them do it. Check their references and hope for the best!

You can try a cheap Cable tester. When I was wiring my house I was doing them directly in the wall and used these. Turns out one of the wires wasn't fully making connection when it looks like it was in there pretty tight. The tester tells you that pretty quickly.

This is the tone-generator/probe I bought:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015EFE3XA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And yes, I connect it to one side of the wires, and can only trace it through the wall for a foot or two. It gets quieter and quieter and is eventually much too weak to hear, even with headphones. I was wondering if I could, with some modification, plug this thing into a wall to be powered instead of using a 9-volt? And actually, now that I think about it, I probably want to strengthen the probe, the tone generator is probably strong enough.

Also, is there a better sub in which I should ask about this?

For 80% of hardware work you just need a good, solid multi-tipped magnetic screwdriver and a pez dispenser full of excedrin.

Toss in a power supply tester like a Dr. Power II and you have nearly all hardware tools you need.

Just be aware that many software tools on Hirens are only licensed for personal use, using them for professional use would be a violation of license agreement.

If you're going to be checking networks, you're going to want a good fluke toner, and a fluke voltage tester so you don't kill yourself

You're also going to want a cat5 crimper that won't break

If you're troubleshooting big networks then pick up a fluke microscanner II, but only if it will save you several thousand bucks in effort.

Get a Patch Panel, a Punch Down tool, a ethernet crimper, some ethernet ends (i prefer the EZ, but they are pricy), and a network tester. All that for $70 and you can terminate and troubleshoot all the cables you desire!

My personal kit is a little more expensive, but really the only thing I wouldn't trade for a cheaper tool is the tester. Crimper, Punchdown, Tester.

I've used Fluke and would absolutely recomend them for frequent use. For home though I just have one of these and it works fine for 1/3rd the price. There are others in the same price range, but I can at least say this one has worked well for me.

Since I've needed it only twice in the past 4 years I'd say the money saved was worth it.

> Each one has one wire with red, green, black and white leads coming out of it.

That is called a 4 conductor speaker wire... so the red and black is one pair, and the green and white is the second pair. Both pairs are ran in a single shielding which is nice for installers as you're not pulling two individual pairs of wires.

​

Why that ran it to individual speaker locations? Not sure why they did that.

​

> Why are there two wires coming from the basement ceiling when there is only one in the hole for the speaker?

Only the previous home owner or whoever ran this can tell you that. Sometimes when you have inexperienced people doing this stuff you end up with crazy wiring all over the place. There is no rhyme or reason why they did what they did so its anyone's guess.

​

> Is it possible that some of the wires that are bundles with the speaker wires in the basement are there to power something else in the house?

Absolutely, when I built my house 5 years ago, I ran all the wires myself (speaker wire, Ethernet, Coax, ect..). I ran speaker wire to every room, including bathrooms, loft, garage, ect.. I then installed two in-ceiling speakers in every room and created a whole home audio system. This could have been the previous home owners plan.

​

> There is wiring for alarm panels by the garage door and in the master bedroom but all the wires bundled together in the basement look the same and have the same markings

Alarm wire will be completely different than speaker wire. Alarm wiring is a single, solid copper wire inside of the sheiliding, where speaker wired is built up of multiple strands of copper wire inside of the shielding. You will easily be able to tell the difference there.

​

> Short of actually hooking up speakers and a receiver is there a way to tell which wires in the basement correspond with the ones in the ceiling?

Invest in a tone generator. This will help you figure out which wires are which. Also get a good large piece of paper and a label machine. That way you can then map out all the wires, and well as label them. Going to take some time but is really the only way.

​

I mean, it's certainly possible that whoever ran those was using network cable to run audio. Each RJ11 (phone connector) has a pair of wires, and theoretically each pair could be +/- in an audio cable. You'd need a breakout at each end to wire it up to your receiver.

I'm racking my brain trying to remember if there were any integrated systems that used RJ11 modular connectors for the speaker / receiver interface, and I swear that I've seen it before, but my google-fu is failing me and I can't find it.

Personally, I wouldn't do it this way for amplified signals, too much possibility for cross-talk and too small a wire gauge. But maybe it would work for speakers that have their own internal amps?

Do you have a tone generator? If so, hook it up and see if the tone comes out of the speakers. Then you're guaranteed that they connect to the overheads and are there to carry an amplified signal...

If you don't know what I'm talking about, this is a good example, you'd plug in each jack to the emitter box, start a tone going, and you'll hear it through the speaker if they're connected and passive.

Edit - adding an afterthought:

Ultimately, you're mixing tech here. Best method might be to use those network cables as the fish lines to pull proper speaker cables. You could hack something together to convert the phone lines to patch into a normal amp (provided the surrounds are passive), either with an RJ11 patch panel or just cutting off the connectors and using the colored line as + and the white as - per speaker.

If you could pull a surround out of the ceiling and take a picture of how it's wired up and the brand or model of the speaker, I could tell you more about how it might have once been.

Something like this is pretty helpful in figuring this out. Unplug from the uplink, plug into the toner and wave the magic wand around until you find the cable.

I have that one and the MS2-100 and they are great. They are so reliable and better than analog toners.

Just invest the money...it will last forever.

The way I would do it is to terminate all the cables with appropriate RJ-45 plugs. Terminate the other ends of the cables at jacks, starting with the one that you want, but go ahead and do the rest. Use either two laptops or a laptop and a router to test the cables one by one and label them once you get ones that establish a link (watch the little blinky lights on the ports). You may need a couple of RJ-45 inline couplers and a couple of patch cables, depending on how much cable is sticking out of the walls. Once you have the cables id'd, you can cut the ones with plugs to jacks, depending on your need. (plugs are cheaper than jacks and I have lots of them laying around, that's why I'd do that)

There are other ways. You can get a network toning tool which has the advantage of getting to buy more tools, which is a plus in my book. :-) The way I described is how I would do it because I have the tools and materials on hand (cables, plugs, jacks, crimper).

I bought a $90 Monoprice ethernet tester for personal use.

It's worth the price for the time-domain reflectometer pair-length measurement feature alone. Never again will you terminate both ends of a cable and wonder which end is bad.

This one is half the price and claims the same features, but it just seems a little too good to be true. Monoprice has never yet screwed me over, so they got my money.

The blue cables terminate into what is called a 66 block. They are most commonly intended and most appropriate for voice connections. You would be better off to cut those out and re-terminate them into a normal punch down patch panel if you wanted to use them for Ethernet.

The white cables are likely data cables, but you will need to verify.

Start by toning/testing continuity on the white cables if they are not properly documented anywhere. You can grab a cheap continuity tester to verify which cables go where.

You could also unscrew one of the data ports on the wall and check what color the cable is. Looks like there are 5 blues and 3 whites. But you still need to know which cable is which.

https://www.amazon.com/Telephone-Remotes-Klein-Tools-VDV501-823/dp/B00M2DDO0Q

If the white cables are the data lines like i suspect then ignore the blues. Terminate the whites into a new punch down patch panel. Then place the home router wherever you want . All you need to do at that point is patch in the lines you want to use to the home router. Any home router will do and should come with atleast 4 lan ports by default.

Or you could even skip the patch panel and terminate the whites with new RJ45s and call it a day. The patch panel only helps you keep things tidy and is ideal if there is going to be a lot of cable changes. You can also avoid buying a RJ45 crimper and testing your own cables if you go with a punch down patch panel. New patch cables are dirty cheap on amazon or monoprice. Its not really worth it to build your own for short runs. A punch down tool should be pretty cheap and is really straight forward to use. Crimping ethernet cables takes some practice and if you dont plan to do any more cabling, might be a waste of your time.

For starters I would get a basic tester just to test the cable drops and make sure all is well, if it's really been about 15 years there is a decent chance of some breaks / cabling issues. Sounds like a simple Unmanaged 8-port Gigabit Switch can be installed in the attic with all of the Ethernet cables plugged into it.

Well, the black panel is clearly wired for 2 rooms, so you must have a couple of phone jacks somewhere. Is the second jack in the living room smaller than the Ethernet jack? If yes, then it's a phone jack. The other phone jack could be in the kitchen?

Anyway, you'll have to do some sleuthing to figure out where those dangling cables go. You might consider getting an inexpensive network tester, like this random one or search your favorite online store for network tester. This will not only help you determine where each cable goes but it will also tell you if the ends are terminated. For Gigabit Ethernet, all 4 wire pairs (i.e. 8 wires) must be connected.

BTW, what kind of Internet service do you have? Fiber? Cable? DSL?

It does look like the beige cable is attached to the blue cable with the with the crimps on them. From my guess, they decided to use the 2-port switch on the ONT and use 2 pairs for each connection (and then join those 2 pairs to two wires within the house).

Do you have a toner? (one of these: http://www.amazon.com/VicTsing-Network-Ethernet-Telephone-Tracking/dp/B008G8KE90/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1405717681&sr=8-3&keywords=cable+toner ) it would let you know exactly where those wires are attaching to.

The PWB-58141 is just a telephone distribution block. Most likely the CAT5e was wired for telephone and at one time all those wires were attached to the distribution block.

Do you have phone service? I saw there were no wires attached to the telephone jacks on the ONT.

If you wish to make it all into a gigabit network:
Use a toner to make sure the wire attached to the ONT is that wire that is split in the panel.

Remove the 2-pair jacks at the ONT and place a standard RJ-45 (8P8C) plug on the end of the cable for all 4-pairs.

Purchase one of these: http://www.smarthomeusa.com/ShopByManufacturer/LIN/Item/47605-C5B/ which is essentially a mini patch-panel. It will give you an RJ-45 connection for each CAT5e wire. Terminate the wire going to the ONT as port 1 for easy reference.

If the ONT is acting as a router, you'll need to get a 5-port gigabit switch and a couple Cat5e patch cables to attach the switch to the RJ-45 Ports on the panel. At that point, everything should be connected together.

If the ONT is not a router, maybe some other people here can recommend a decent router to handle gigabit speeds. You would still need a couple Cat5e patch cables to attach the router to the individual ports. If you terminate the ONT cable to Port 1 on the patch panel, attach PORT 1 to the internet port on the router.

You can probably terminate them and connect them to a switch, yes.

However, the fun part is you will need to map them out. I recommend if you're going to try to do it yourself, get a cheap-but-useful cable tester like one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071K8L32H/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Basically a toner has two parts: The wand and the remote. In this case, the wand is the taller part with earbuds attached, while the remote is the rectangular piece. You connect the rectangular piece to a wall jack and turn it on, then take the wand to where all your cables terminate (your picture) and wave it around: You should hear a warbling tone when you're near the right cable.

This way you can map things out, and label and document everything you can.

The tester I mention is also good for terminating cables as you can test to make sure the individual cables are connected in the expected order. It's not an amazing tester, but there's worse ones. It's also not thousands of dollars...

It would also be nice to terminate cables to a Patch Panel if space permits, then use short cables to run to your switch. That may not be feasible in your setup.

Do you have a friend that does LAN cabling?

​

LAN pinger.... is the easiest way to trace any wire.

​

https://www.amazon.com/Meterk-Multifunction-Instrument-Maintenance-Continuity/dp/B071K8L32H/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=RJ11+RJ45+Telephone+Wire+Network+Tracker+Tracer&qid=1550765722&s=gateway&sr=8-4

​

Hook up the tone one the end of the wire you can see, then probe around looking for the tone on the other end.

If you need to validate speed,
This is the cheapest.

Triplett/Byte Brothers RWC1000K2(CS) CAT5 CAT5e CAT6 Cable Verifier with Printable Reports https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000J157WQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_oiWdBbFAZQDKM

If you just need a reliable tester,

This is what I’d recommend.
Cable Tester, VDV Scout Pro 2 Traces and Tests Coax, Data, Telephone Cable with Remotes Klein Tools VDV501-823 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M2DDO0Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_amWdBbNKNT83F

Looks like the scout pro 2 is on sale.

Ah ok, I have something similar then, just doesn't seem to work the greatest on BX wire.

http://www.amazon.com/Extech-TG20-Wire-Tracer-Generator/dp/B00APD16D2

Quality punch, crimper, jack heads, label maker, heavy duty scissors for misc (incl stripping cables)

Variety of screwdrivers, metal cheap nail file (i was sans tools and actually works better for reseating wires in keystone jacks)

https://www.amazon.com/Telephone-Remotes-Klein-Tools-VDV501-823/dp/B00M2DDO0Q

Ive worked for 20yrs without needing one, but there were a few instances having one would be nice and they have dropped in price. However like most things you never need it until the one time you dont bring it ;)

And i have a cheap toner - which after close to 20yrs never having one ive got quick and easy methods to do what i need to do without one, but after lots of hostile takeovers at body shops having one did come in handy once or twice. Battery is always dead in the toner when you need it and never a 9v handy at 3am. Lol!!

Get a decent crimping tool and a cheap tester to make sure your pairs are matching up on both sides. I do this for work and home and will never go back to buying Ethernet cables at specific lengths.
https://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-RJ-45-RJ-12-RJ-11-TC-CT68/dp/B0000AZK4G/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_147_tr_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=0DZ16D14CWPHKTYK159J

https://www.amazon.com/HDE-Network-Cable-Tester-Phone/dp/B009ZXYI1U/ref=lp_7701919011_1_7?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1524075376&sr=1-7

Also, if you plan on running multiple cables, I suggest using different color boots so your cable can all be the same color (since you're buying it in bulk) but the boots are different colors to help note which cable goes where.
https://www.amazon.com/Accessbuy-Ethernet-Network-Strain-Connector/dp/B01LYLGWSY/ref=pd_bxgy_469_img_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01LYLGWSY&pd_rd_r=MMCFM6WPJ3Y2Y3H7M3WA&pd_rd_w=3qix5&pd_rd_wg=S3Y6R&psc=1&refRID=MMCFM6WPJ3Y2Y3H7M3WA
https://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-RJ-45-RJ-12-RJ-11-TC-CT68/dp/B0000AZK4G/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_147_tr_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=0DZ16D14CWPHKTYK159J

Well I'll be the first one to give you generic information that you could have found with the search function.

You just do the needful.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/032194318X/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3IXCECMPTZ0C5&coliid=IJFXHOHENJ2FH

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0321492668/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3IXCECMPTZ0C5&coliid=I3J2AR8V86JZMD

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0596007833/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3IXCECMPTZ0C5&coliid=I2OPTI4J0S4UG2

Good screwdriver set.

https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Tools/64-Bit-Driver-Kit/IF145-299

A network tone tester in case you need to map out your network and document everything. Also functions as a basic cable tester.

https://www.amazon.com/Fluke-Networks-MT-8200-60-KIT-IntelliTone-Toner/dp/B00N2S6RPY/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1473701817&sr=8-5&keywords=fluke+networks+tester

A punch down tool.

https://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-Punch-Krone-Blade-TC-PDT/dp/B0000AZK4D/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473702091&sr=8-1&keywords=punchdown

An ethernet crimper.

https://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-RJ-45-RJ-12-RJ-11-TC-CT68/dp/B0000AZK4G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473702137&sr=8-1&keywords=ethernet+crimper

A quick cable stripper.

https://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-Stripper-Cutter-Cables-107051/dp/B0069LRBU6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1473702190&sr=8-3&keywords=ethernet+stripper

A usb hard drive dock.

https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-External-Duplicator-Function-EC-HDD2/dp/B00IKC14OG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1473702021&sr=8-2&keywords=usb+hard+drive+dock

A notebook.

https://www.amazon.com/Rhodia-Meeting-Book-Made-France/dp/B001DCDSW6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473702220&sr=8-1&keywords=rhodia+meeting+book

Your necessities may vary, this applies to more of a one-man shop, and there's plenty of other things you'll want to get that I don't have listed here depending on your job.

I dunno how much you should get paid.

That's a toner & probe. Yes, fluke has that for 8X more new.

https://www.amazon.com/Fluke-Networks-IntelliTone-Toner-MT-8200-60-KIT/dp/B00N2S6RPY/

That isn't fluke's main deal though. They test signal integrity and where that drops off via their DSX network analyzer($15,000). The toner and probe is fairly basic.

The tool you picked should be fine for doing home cable routing. Don't need high end for that.

plenty of people have already brought up CDP and LLDP, which are ways that certain networking devices can advertise themselves to their neighbors, and can be really helpful...


Another helpful command is "sh mac-address table". That'll give you a list of all the mac addresses that switch has seen "recently" (I forget the actual timeout), and on what port. More than one mac address showing up on a port means exactly that. Several devices connected by a switch or hub are accessible via that port.


If you need to track down a particular cable and you don't have access to a toner or other helpful tool, then:

on a windows PC:


ipconfig /all


note the MAC (physical address)


on the switch


sh mac-address table | inc XXYY


XXYY being the last 4 digits of the physical address.

A Toner & Probe kit would definitely help out identifying cables. There are less expensive ones, but if work's paying for it, I recommend Fluke.

It’s all practice man. Practice and decent tools will save you. I learned just from being an intern and making thousands of cables and I still make mistakes. Don’t get down on yourself. Get a pair of Klein snips, a crimper, and a punch down tool and you are set for 90% of anything. Need any help, send me a DM and I’ll give you some pointers.

Edit: also, get yourself a cheap tester like this one

Absolute cheapest? Grab a buddy and some cell phones or 2-way radios. One of you monitors the activity lights on the switch, the other unplugs things one-by-one. Switch side looks to see what light went dead, and labels it. Label other end as well. Repeat until done.

Best? Get a Fluke network testing device.

Good compromise? This.

Multimeter and tone generator are going to be a must here.

Something cheap like this https://www.amazon.com/Extech-TG20-Wire-Tracer-Generator/dp/B00APD16D2/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1525382409&sr=8-4&keywords=tone+generator+and+probe&dpID=41weL%252BldgUL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch would do the trick nicely.

What you do is put the aligator clips on the panel end of a wire and then take the probe out to the different devices and listen for the tone. If you put the tone generator on a wire and you can't get a tone, switch it to the continuity setting. If the wire is showing continuity, then you'll want to open doors and windows one at a time until you see the continuity go away. You've just identified that wire.

Once you've identified where each wire goes, you'll need to identify where they're supposed to be tied into the DSC system. You'll need to look in the programming for that.

http://cms.dsc.com/download2.php?t=1&id=13598 is a direct link to the manual for your panel in PDF.

1. Don't run cat 6, you get almost nothing for the extra price over cat 5e. If you want to prepare your house for 10gb use cat 6a or cat 6e. I just checked and it's only an extra 10 bucks on monoprice to go from cat6 to cat6a.
   
   
2. Everywhere you run 1 cable run 2 even if you don't terminate the second one. It takes the same amount of effort to pull 2 as it does 1 and it will always be there in the wall if you need it.
   
   
3. Do Not Buy a Crimper! Most of us have one and it is easy to lazily crimp when we should punch. If you don't own one then you'll never form the bad habit. Plus, punching down is easier.
   
   
4. Don't buy a cable tester, all it does is confirm that you're not color blind after you've punched. A cheap toner might be useful though, I have a fluke at work but prefer my cheap $25 dollar one more:
   http://www.amazon.com/Upgraded-VicTsing%C2%AE-Ethernet-Telephone-Tracking/dp/B008G8KE90/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1427681337&sr=8-3&keywords=cable+toner
   

To be honest I was doing this as a hobby and wouldnt want to spend $50 on a tool I might only get a few uses out of. I found one on Amazon for $10. Would it be worth it for my needs?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009ZXYI1U/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Upg.AbF5HRKGB

https://www.amazon.com/Fluke-Networks-MT-8200-60-KIT-IntelliTone-Toner/dp/B00N2S6RPY

It's like $200 bucks. You don't need each tech having their own. Get two or three, tops.

Also keep in mid that in most cases, when an apartment complex is set up with the ONTs in a common location, like yours, there is typically a Cat5e cable run from each apartment to the ONT room for landline phone purposes. This is very easy to repurpose for Ethernet. Just identify it (you may need a tone and probe kit for this), attach a punch-down Cat5e keystone jack to the end in your apartment, crimp an RJ45 plug onto the ONT end, plug it into the ONT, and call Verizon to have the ONT switched to Ethernet. I did just this for my brother's previous apartment.

I think what you want is a Toner & Probe.

Basically you plug one side in the jack you want to locate, then use the probe to sweep across the patch panels to locate which one it is.

As for labeling, I've come to like the <IDFroom><Patchpanel><Number>. Like 101A23 (IDF Room 101, Patch panel A, port 23).

http://www.amazon.com/Fluke-Networks-LRAT-1000-LinkRunner-Ethernet/dp/B007B60F6A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457439907&sr=8-1&keywords=linkrunner+at+1000

This thing is great to figure out where wall jacks and patches connect to switches lets you know the vlan switch port ect. We got it last summer and I don't know how we lived with out. I know it is not software but this combined with a spread sheets has treated us really well.

Not sure how much money you want to through into it but a signal tester Is helpful ensuring all the pinouts are correct and making good contact end to end.

Especially if this is your first time crimping there might be couple times you need to cut off what you messed up and try again.

I would think that a thorough search of all lights and outlets in the vicinity would solve the mystery. check that the switch is off, find outlets that are off, flip the switch to see if they come on. Seems like you're done that but not exhaustively?

I've got a box similar to this - I could pull the switch out, clip on the generator and literally follow the wire through the wall to its destination. Make sure the switch is off so you aren't tracing supply. And, still sometimes the wire goes right up the wall into the attic and you end up wandering from device to device hunting for a signal.

A cable tester would work...a toner might be better though, and certainly cheaper.

Cable tester, ELEGIANT XQ-350 Wire Tester Telephone Phone RJ45 RJ11 Wire Tracker Ethernet LAN Line Finder [Upgraded Version] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015EFE3XA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_jgHFzb2Y1PF6N

This is the toner/probe that I carry on the daily. Highly recommended, durable, easy to use, and can be used for rj-45/11, coax, and bare wire. Also checks cables for correct wiring.

That being said, they still cannot account for length, or for intermittent opens/shorts that are sometimes found when there are wiring issues. Though, for the last 4 years that I've used it, it's done everything that I've needed it to do.

And here are the best two testers I could find:

http://www.amazon.com/Fluke-Networks-MS2-KIT-MicroScanner2-Professional/dp/B000QJ6S06/ref=pd_rhf_dp_s_cp_5

http://www.amazon.com/Fluke-Networks-MT-8200-60A-IntelliTone-Pro/dp/B0001FSCVI/ref=pd_bxgy_hi_img_z

buy one of these

http://www.amazon.com/Extech-TG20-Wire-Tracer-Generator/dp/B00APD16D2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1463422577&sr=8-2&keywords=tone+generator+and+probe+kit

It's how they made the lightsaber sound, and is best bzzzzz

I use one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007B60F6A?th=1&psc=1


Absolutely fantastic! Couldn't live without it.

I use a pair of fluke scissors at work (cable installer/technician) and the entire scissors are metal with the handle being coated in an orange grip.

I've dropped them countless times, cut through cable, metal wires, fiber glass string, etc and the blades are still great (aside from the usual hairline scratches)

I could post a picture of the condition to show you how well they've held up so far.

tl;dr fluke > fiskar

https://www.amazon.com/Extech-TG20-Wire-Tracer-Generator/dp/B00APD16D2/

$20, works great

These are helpful little things Zoostliss Network Cable Tester RJ45 RJ11 RJ12 UTP LAN Cable Tester Networking Tool https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XZYXN63/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_oGpvCbWQEFE94 to make sure the wiring is all correct if the issue persists I would then try requiring TIA568B.

This Will help you trace it. It sends a tone over the line and you can use the probe to follow it. Works well for tracing power lines as well.(Turn em off!)

Yes, I did all the terminations myself. I am 100% completely certain they are all A-style terminations.

I used this to test.

If you're trying to figure out where those cables go, a cheap cable toner is always a huge help.

1. Will this suffice? https://www.amazon.com/HDE-Network-Cable-Tester-Phone/dp/B009ZXYI1U/ref=sr_1_10?keywords=rj45+cable+tester&qid=1554393337&s=gateway&sr=8-10
   
2. That makes sense. I'll look into it.
   
3. I guess you're right. I'm probably just nitpicking on it since its a 1G fiber and wanted close to it. It's on the bottom of the priority list for now.
   
   Another noob question, when CLink installed my fiber, they placed the modem/router near my box panel in the walk-in-closet. How do I go on transferring it if I wanted it in my DEN? Fiber box is located in the garage. Also the builder labeled all the CAT6 in the panel but
   
   I really can't figure out 2 cables which says DN1ARC or DR1ARC, it's also the same cable CLink used on the LAN/WAN slot in their modem router for the internet.
   
   Thank you so much!

So I looked a little closer and I'm convinced it has to be the cable. I noticed the port is not lighting up on the first switch for that cable either, so no signal from switch to switch. I'm going to buy a cable tester to confirm. I found this tester on amazon. Is this all I need? https://www.amazon.com/HDE-Network-Cable-Tester-Phone/dp/B009ZXYI1U/ref=sr_1_20?keywords=ethernet+cable+tester&qid=1563130965&s=gateway&sr=8-20

(This only works if you're putting new ends on the cables)

I am running some cables at my new place and am just using regular 9mm label tape and some cheap clear heat shrink tubing of appropriate size.

I put on a couple cm (about an inch) of tubing, then the boot, then the termination, push the boot into place, apply label, slide tubing into place, shrink it.

if you're running it through walls, use a tester to make sure you know which cable is which.

....This is of course for home use, I might not do this at a larger business. (I'm also subbed to /r/homelab)

>If switch B is off, then switch A can turn the lights on and off.

>If switch B is on, then switch A cannot turn off the lights. When you flick switch B (in either direction), the lights just blink for a second, but then immediately come back on.

How bizarre... I'm still trying to diagram this.

What if it's like this?

http://i.imgur.com/0yWJHQK.png

(B could also be a 3-way with one of the output nodes not connected to anything)

To diagnose, I would cut power and use a wire tracer like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Extech-TG20-Wire-Tracer-Generator/dp/B00APD16D2

these are best in the biz.
you do not need anything near this good. But if you wanna geek out....

https://www.amazon.com/Fluke-Networks-IntelliTone-Toner-MT-8200-60-KIT/dp/B0749RXGB4/ref=sr_1_1?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1509865082&sr=8-1&keywords=fluke+digital+toner

https://www.amazon.com/Fluke-Networks-26000900-Pro3000-Generator/dp/B000FTADX0/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1509865114&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=fluke+toner

You can get a decent cable tester for under $20. Here's what I have in my tool bag: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015EFE3XA

Or you can plug a laptop into one end and the router on the other and see what works if you want to do it for free.

I always used to just terminate the cable then plug it into a machine to see whether it was working. Then I had to do my whole house all at once. I may be inept but it seemed like I was botching a lot of cable termination and wasting a lot of time walking around with my laptop and shuffling cables. So I bought a simple cable tester, like this one. All it really does is ensure that the termination is correct but I find it saves me a lot of hassle/time and I walk away from every cable now knowing that it is right.

Agreed. But go with the intellitoner if you can afford it.

I was able to easily find lines in a boat I couldn't trace with an analog toner due to noise.

https://www.amazon.com/Fluke-Networks-MT-8200-60-KIT-IntelliTone-Toner/dp/B00N2S6RPY

I use something similar. I would switch to this if I hadn't spent money on my solution already. Bluetooth console is a must have.

https://www.get-console.com/shop/en/27-airconsole

SecureCRT offers so many features it would be impossible to list them all. Key ones being it saves your sessions into easy to manage shortcuts and can keep a log of what you do on a device. Very critical to know where you went wrong or did.

https://www.vandyke.com/products/securecrt/

Even the most basic cable tester can save you hours of headache. The more expensive ones will tell where the break is and will be more sensitive to the break. I find this is good for testing new cables that I've made. Odds are there isn't a break in the middle of the cable just a poor crimp.

https://www.amazon.com/HDE-Network-Cable-Tester-Phone/dp/B009ZXYI1U/

This book may be a little dated, but it was instrumental in my early carrier. I highly recommend a read through.

https://www.amazon.com/Network-Warrior-Everything-Need-Wasnt/dp/1449387861/

With no controller, you're flat out not going to be able to get them to light up an SSID. As I see it, you've got two basic ways to find the little buggers.

The first is to bring up a controller. The 2332 was a rebranded Trapeze AP, which was then bought up by Juniper. One of their last acts before letting the product line die was to release a virtual controller which, if I recall correctly, had a built in license for 4 APs. You can find the software by going to support.juniper.net and searching for "JunosV Wireless LAN Controller". Once you bring it up, you'll have an SSID up you can go hunt down.

The alternative way, if you don't feel like resurrecting all that infrastructure, is to go analog. More specifically, get yourself a toner, like this one:

https://www.amazon.com/ELEGIANT-Multifunction-Collation-Telephone-Continuity/dp/B01HCQSHNG

You'll need to unplug the cable from the switch port and plug it into the signal generator unit. From there, it will greatly facilitate physically tracing the cable through bundles, letting you check that you still have the right one at intermediate points without having to eyeball it or rely on someone tugging at the other end.

Neither way ends up being trivial, but if you don't have any good maps to fall back on, they're your best bets.

If you don't want to lug around a laptop to each port you could get a cheap toner off of Amazon. I used one like this to trace runs in a rental house while converting their phone wallplates into ethernet.

https://www.amazon.com/Meterk-Multifunction-Instrument-Maintenance-Continuity/dp/B071K8L32H/ref=zg_bs_7701919011_6?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=B8F57T2ZW2YE349KB196

None of the below links are affilliate.

• PSU Tester
  
  
• Cat-5 (or 6) Tester
  
• Type 2032 CMOS batteries
  
• Compressed Air
  
• AA / AAA Batteries (When the client can't figure out why their wireless keyboard and mouse just won't work anymore ;) )
  
• USB image of latest Mac OS release (Sierra) and Yosemite.
  
• Patience
  
  If you're getting into more network layer stuff, you'll want a cable toner, RJ-45 Ends, Cat 5 or 6 Cable, RJ-45 Crimper as well.
  

Tube dimensions 6"x3' - Recommended to me by the guy who designed it. The speaker had really good movement at first by itself, but didn't move the beads themselves.

Tone generator:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0072LHMME/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Driver:
https://www.parts-express.com/pyle-pfa330bt-mini-audio-amplifier-with-bluetooth-90w--310-2658?turntosku=310-2658&turntoEmailType=rseFollowUp&turntoRseFollowUpNum=1&turntosuid=TkMAaUsZ&transId=797771&reviewStartAction=shareAPhoto&turntoflow=review

Speaker:
https://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-pa130-8-5-full-range-pa-driver--295-010?turntosku=295-010&turntoEmailType=rseFollowUp&turntoRseFollowUpNum=1&turntosuid=TkMAaUsZ&transId=797771&reviewStartAction=rateIt&starSelected=0&turntoflow=review#turntodone

Yeah it sounds like there is a wiring problem. I would recommend getting an inexpensive cable tester. You can then verify that all connectors are terminated correctly.

I bought this one a while ago when I did wire tech work professionally. It works really well and also allows you to tone out the cable. You plug in the block side and at it to either tone out test depending on your need. Than use the wand to listen for the sound or plug in the cable and test.

Wire Tracker, ELEGIANT RJ11 RJ45 Cable Tester Line Finder Multifunction Wire Tracker Toner Ethernet LAN Network Cable Tester for Network Cable Collation, Telephone Line Tester, Continuity Checking https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HCQSHNG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_XzQyDb4Q69CQN

Personally, for testing the cables, I just use a cheap continuity tester like this, and if the lights all light up on both ends, in the correct order, I just use a computer on both ends to check and see if i get gigabit without many errors. Same for 10gb. the actual network testers and rectifiers from fluke and such are so damn expensive its just cheaper to get a computer on either end to test them.

I use this cheapo. It has the loudest tone generator I have come across. As long as there is a good connection to the toner it can read through double layer sheetrock.


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015EFE3XA/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apap_MXVIaESDsmVIE

What about something like this?

http://www.amazon.com/Extech-TG20-Wire-Tracer-Generator/dp/B00APD16D2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1413756891&sr=8-2

The MicroScanner^2 (like its predecessor) is an excellent tool. However, I recommend just buying the tool itself (w/carrying case), not the entire kit.

The kit you linked includes an inductive amplifier (tone probe), numbered terminators (for identifying multiple drops simultaneously), and some miscellaneous cables. These are nice to have but definitely not worth an extra $300. The only critical component is the inductive amp, and you can find a very decent one at a much more reasonable price.

I've been eying this.. Still so much out of my price range. However I'm hoping to make some side money and sell some old computers, etc to make enough to buy it.

You probably want something like this, which is a toner and inductive amplifier, aka fox and hound. You plug one end of the cable (or use the alligator clips) into the tone generator, and use the probe on the other unit to locate the signal. Or you could punch down/terminate both ends and move the tester until you found the right pair.

So something like this?

Use a toner/cable-tester to see how the wires are connected from the room to the patch panel. Something really cheap like this will work.

Buy pass through connectors like these. - EDIT: Good up to Cat5e.

Edit

Here is a youtube video about the same type of connector. Your existing crimper should work, but you will have the extra wire to cut off. Just get a cheap pair of edge cutters.

/Edit

Use a cable tester.

You Tube videos will also help.

This is a PITA exercise. You will get better at it.

Oh, get a cable tester. $9.

Did I mention a tester?

Did I mention do not use a cable tester if the cable is hooked up to anything? Only use a tester to test Both ends of the cable at the same time.

I've done quite a bit of low voltage work with the contractor I'm working for and the Fluke scissors they bought me have been great for stripping any wire or cable that's not your typical (#8,10,12,14).
heres a link

It sounds like what you're looking for is a cable tester? You'd basically connect a toner on the wall jack side that sends out a continous tone adn then you would search in the server room side for the tone to identify the drop that the signal is coming from to your patch. Then you can identify the patch going to the switch.

​

Cheap one from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/ELEGIANT-Multifunction-Collation-Telephone-Continuity/dp/B01HCQSHNG/ref=sr_1_4?crid=170G8HQ7MQQDT&keywords=cable+tester+toner&qid=1572455475&sprefix=cable+tester+ton%2Caps%2C183&sr=8-4

I would look harder for a sort of junction box for the cables for the rest of your house. Get a tool like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Extech-TG20-Wire-Tracer-Generator/dp/B00APD16D2/ref=sr_1_2?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1488242973&sr=1-2&keywords=tone+generator+probe So you can trace where (2 of) the wires are actually going.

If you're having trouble finding them, connect the black lead to a ground wire and you'll start broadcasting the signal, and make it easier to find your tone.

Something such as this, you clip it to a pair of the wires in the room, in the central location use the probe to touch the wires and it will make noise the strongest when you are on the correct wire. Label both ends and then move on the the next drop.


Extech TG20 Wire Tracer and Tone Generator https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00APD16D2/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_c_api_i_-73YDb7XV6KCC

This is a cheap set, but if all you are doing it this one thing, it should work fine.

You're going to need/want something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00023RVNO/ref=psdc_5011660011_t2_B000FTADX0

Something like this, I believe.

PAC TL-PTG2 Tone Generator and Speaker Polarity Tester with RCA Cable Tester https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0072LHMME/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_YutkDbXV8K0HV

Something like this and a couple patch cables would work fine.

Something like this ?
https://www.amazon.com/SC8108-Network-Length-Cable-Tester/dp/B00A20KO18

get yourself a cheap cable tester, something like this.
http://www.amazon.com/Tonor-RJ45-Network-Cable-Tester/dp/B00OUFX38W/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1462121743&sr=8-2&keywords=cat5+cable+tester

Check that all 8 wires are connected correctly.

You can buy a network testing kit like this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HCQSHNG and track down where it's coming from/where it's going to.

Could try a network cable tester like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XZYXN63

-_-

hmmm....

Then all I can recommend to you is...

1. Verify with your ISP what you pay for, keeping in mind that they measure speed in mega BITS persecond, and your PC measures it in megaBYTES per second. Conversion is easy megaBITS/8 = megaBYTES. So 100mbps / 8 = 12.5MBps
   
   
2. Get a cable tester. This one only verifies physical connection, won't verify link speed. this one does that
   
   
3. Go buy a brand new cat 6 Ethernet long enough to suit your needs. Install it, and see if the problem still exists.
   
   
4. try a different port on your router or switch.

Cable toner and probe. Don't go cheap, a good Fluke tester is ~200US and they work great.
https://www.amazon.com/Fluke-Networks-Intellitone/dp/B00N2S6RPY?th=1

The cheap ones may work on the shorter runs, but the Fluke always works and the one I linked has a built in patch cable tester.

RJ45 tester

wall plate mounting bracket

keystone wall plate

keystone f/f jack

CAT6 ends

The setup from your diagram should work.

Edit: the wall plate has various options for the number of jacks.

I picked this one up -- should work okay yea?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071K8L32H/ref=sspa_dk_detail_1?psc=1

I have tested several tools for my job and now i am using this from Fluke : https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000QJ6S06?ref=emc_b_5_i
Believe it or not there were several times that i couldn't be sure if the cable was the right one and i was using this $5 buzzer to be 100% sure!

Test the cable.

https://www.amazon.com/Zoostliss-Network-Cable-Tester-Networking/dp/B06XZYXN63/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=cable+tester&qid=1564446411&s=gateway&sr=8-9

Also might be a good idea to replace that router in the middle with an unmanaged switch.

https://www.amazon.com/Ethernet-Splitter-Optimization-Unmanaged-TL-SG105/dp/B00A128S24/ref=sr_1_4?crid=27LCEVX1D3MKD&keywords=unmanaged+switch&qid=1564446575&s=gateway&sprefix=unmanaged+s%2Caps%2C148&sr=8-4

Modem -> Unmanaged Switch
Unmanaged switch -> Router A
Unmanaged switch -> Router B

Should be no issue with each of your routers pulling their own public IP. Two separate networks.

For value you can't beat something like this. I have used a similar one from L-com for years and have not had any issues for the ~100 home runs I have done.

Anything that will qualify the cable as cat6 is probably $1,000+.

1. This is the switch I'm using: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01AX8XGQI
   
2. Yep. Moved them around to random ports a couple of different times.
   
3. No, not yet. I didn't really suspect a switch issue.
   
4. This is the tester that I have: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OUFX38W/
   
5. I would say they're probably between 50 and 100 feet, definitely no longer.

I bought a tone generator and learned how to use it by watching youtube videos. worth very penny.

You could use a simple cable tester to see if they work, connect it to both ends of the cable and presto. You will see the lights flash on numbers 1 to 8, which means it is sending a signal through each of the cable-strands. If all lights blink, it works.

https://www.amazon.com/HDE-Network-Cable-Tester-Phone/dp/B009ZXYI1U/

For seeing what type of cable it is you have, pull it out of the wall/cable-mount/wherever or find an exposed piece of cable. The classification should be stamped on there, cat5e=< is recommended. If it has no markings on them it might be very cheap cables.

Edit: link in post above even more pro solution including cable tracking.

>A continuity tester or tone generator with alligator clips will allow you to clip the leads on the bare cable and then take the wand and touch it to the cable, it will start screaming when the wand is touching the right cable.

Like this?

Unless you have a "toner" that will let you trace which wire is which, like this - yes, you're stuck "trying them".

I've been using this one for months with no issues. It's cheap and easy to use.

Fluke Intellitone Pro 200.
Can also trace individual cables burried in a bundle and other challenging trace environments.

I think that this is the right answer.

So, if you want to switch these over to network jacks rather than phone jacks:

One of these cables either goes to your telephone demarcation point or to another jack where it is daisy chained, one step closer to the demarcation point.

The other two cables are going to other phone jacks in your house. So, if you wanted to place your DSL modem and router in this room, while making the these other two cables real network jacks, it would be a quick job.

My recommendation to trace the cable is to buy one of these: http://www.amazon.com/VicTsing-Network-Ethernet-Telephone-Tracking/dp/B008G8KE90/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1393815640&sr=8-3&keywords=trace+cable

Looks to me like that edge cover should come off allowing you to remove screws or clips to bring down the speaker. You could then see what wires are connected to them and use one of these to trace them back to the termination point.

maybe try getting a tone generator and then sniff out where all the lines lead and label them.

basically get one with the aligator clip and attach it to the cable in question, then go around to all of the outlets in your house with the sniffer and it will make a noise telling you where the signal is coming out.

you'll want to take the splitters off so it doesn't split the tone on to multiple lines.

http://www.amazon.com/Extech-TG20-Wire-Tracer-Generator/dp/B00APD16D2/ref=pd_sbs_indust_7?ie=UTF8&refRID=0XQB5G5BZ1A4G36TP4W3

at least once you have everything labelled you'll know where its all going.

I’d honestly invest in a wire tester. you can get them at local bit box retailers. you attach it to the jack and then one to the opposite end of the line and itll tell you which twisted pair is as fault.

Zoostliss Network Cable Tester RJ45 RJ11 RJ12 UTP LAN Cable Tester Networking Tool https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XZYXN63/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_skE6BbN7QDDT3

In a perfect world, all the jacks are labeled. That not being the case, most likely all the cables terminate in the same location, idea being you'd place your network switch there and plug all the cables into it.

Failing either of above, you can always buy a CAT5/LAN cable tester - there are some very cheap basic testers on Amazon now. It'll come, usually, with a main handheld unit and a little probe. Plug probe into one jack, the main handheld into suspected other end, and handheld will tell you if probe is on the other end or not. A decent tester will also give you a cable health report, telling you if there are breaks in the cable, if it's mis-terminated etc.

Here's an example of a budget tester you could use:

http://www.amazon.com/SC8108-Network-Length-Cable-Tester/dp/B00A20KO18?ie=UTF8&keywords=CAT5%20tester&qid=1465411262&ref_=sr_1_4&sr=8-4

> Any ideas on what I could be missing?

There is something inside the wall or somewhere it's connected to that you are missing. The best thing to do would be buy a cheap cable tester like THIS and after you wired to B standards then test it, it will tell you what is broken or even if there is connectivity at all.

Since many ceiling fans come with remote controls, I have seen wiring that bypasses a lightswitch and gives the fixture constant power.

You need a circuit tone kit: http://www.amazon.com/Extech-40180-Generator-Amplifier-Circuit/dp/B00023RVNO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345294031&sr=8-1&keywords=circuit+tone+tester

Essentially you run an audible tone down a line and test whether the tone is still present where you expect it to be. My guess is that you'll find that the hot line is not connected, or bypasses, the light switch in some manner.

https://www.amazon.com/Fluke-Networks-MS2-100-Cable-Tester/dp/B000QJ3G42?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_2

​

Anything from Fluke will work for ages

Why couldn't you say 100% that your cable was working? Get one of these if you don't have one or equivalent.

http://www.amazon.com/Fluke-Networks-MS2-100-MicroScanner2-Verifier/dp/B000QJ3G42

Take a look through the action pictures:

http://www.amazon.com/Fluke-Networks-LRAT-1000-LinkRunner-Auto-Tester/dp/B007B60F6A/ref=pd_sim_sbs_indust_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=00PERHE0YFAAZN6JBX89

It isn't made in large enough numbers to "arrive" and be stocked anywhere here, you just order from them and they ship overseas.

It's about 75% of the power of a LinkRunner AT 1000 tester (retail ~$1k - this used to be a Fluke product before they sold this sub-division off to Netscout) for about 20% of the price. 168 Euro plus 22 Euro to ship to the US, which puts it around $217-220 depending on the exchange rate.

Just realized you may need to get yourself a cheap toner if you don't know which rooms are wired to where; http://www.amazon.com/VicTsing-Network-Ethernet-Telephone-Tracking/dp/B008G8KE90

use a cable tester

Crimper $15

Connectors $7

Snagless Boots $6

Outdoor CAT5e $50

Cable Tester $8

Charging all your neighbors to wire up their Ethernet for $50 bucks a pop: Priceless.

Bruh https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B009ZXYI1U/ref=zg_bs_7701919011_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=QVHFZ3SJRQ3N04MBFMVQ

9 dollars

Even cheaper, I used one of these 'made in China' deals https://www.amazon.com/DBPOWER-TD0091-Sc-8108-Network-Multifunction/dp/B00A20KO18/ . There's probably a ton of knock offs. Used it for about a year and it seems accurate enough.

Use one of these to find and label each end.

http://www.amazon.com/Extech-TG20-Wire-Tracer-Generator/dp/B00APD16D2/ref=pd_sxp_grid_pt_0_1

Extech TG20 Wire Tracer and Tone Generator https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00APD16D2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_tswiDbBG6KJZY

Here's a cheap one :

amazon

They may even just be hanging behind drywall somewhere. Installers do that sometimes.

You should pick up a wire tracer if you can't find the ends. http://www.amazon.com/Extech-TG20-Wire-Tracer-Generator/dp/B00APD16D2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414521740&sr=8-1&keywords=wire+tracer

Get a wire toner: Extech TG20 Wire Tracer and Tone Generator https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00APD16D2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Qf4MDbP9GV1ME

(This was the cheapest one, never used it, but I used the cheapest one at harbor freight)



Clip it to the wires at the doorbell button location and turn the sending unit to tone and take the receiver and turn it on and volume up and follow the wire through the walls by following the sound received from the wire