[COLUG] Figuring out which ethernet cable is which

[Mike Harrold]

On 1/23/08, jep200404 <jep200404 at columbus.rr.com> wrote:
> Mike Harrold wrote:
>
> > What is the simplest/cheapest way ... to figure out which cable it is (and
> > for that matter, all the others so I can relabel them).
>
> Angelo McComis wrote:
>
> > Easiest: put a device (laptop) at the far end and connect it
> > to the nic. In the basement, try each of your leftover cables
> > in a switch til you find a link light.
>
> That's pretty darn good, as it can be done by one person alone,
> and doesn't require any extra equipment.
>
> I can improve that a bit.
>
> Upstairs, unplug all ethernet cables.
> In the basement, plug _all_ cables into the switch.

Herein lies the problem. I have probably 60+ cables in the basement.
(Each room in the house is wired, and in most cases in multiple places
in the room; moreover, each place has two wires -- one for internet
and one for a phone, although both are cat5e cables.)  My switch only
has 8 sockets (of which we only need 5 based on the current number
of internet devices).

/Mike