[COLUG] Testing Cat5e

[William Yang]

Mike Harrold wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I have cat5e all over my house all coming down to the basement where
> the switches and router sit.  At some point in time, some of the labelling
> has detached from the cables in the basement so I am unsure of what
> came from where.  I am now, of course, trying to hook up a connection
> from an area whose label is on the floor.  I thought I had narrowed it
> down to 2 possibilities, but it appears as I was wrong as neither work.
 >
 > What is the simplest/cheapest way of testing the basement end if I have,
 > for example, a constant "ping" running on the computer that I am trying
 > to hook up?  At this point I just need to figure out which cable it is
 > (and for that matter, all the others so I can relabel them).

If I'm understanding your message correctly, it sounds like you have the 
direction backwards.

Set up an unused network definition for your network.  For this example, 
I'm using 10.1.1.0/30.

1.  Set up the box you want to set up as 10.1.1.1/30.
2.  Set up a laptop at 10.1.1.2/30.
3.  Make sure 10.1.1.1 will respond to ICMP echo requests.
4.  Start a constant ping of 10.1.1.1 from the *laptop*.
5.  Check individual patch ports/cables on the laptop.  Give 5-10 seconds
     per cable end.

	-Bill
-- 
William Yang
wyang at gcfn.net