Network management is a must-have for you to fully understand network testing tools

Testing tools are the means to achieve automated testing. The rational use of testing tools can not only improve the network diagnostic capability, but also facilitate network management. Generally, broadly speaking, network testing tools can be divided into physical cable tester, network operation simulation tool, protocol analyzer, dedicated network testing equipment, network protocol consistency testing tool, and network application analysis testing tool. The following describes the commonly used testing tools for product recognition and recommendation.

I. Physical cable Tester

The physical cable tester generally refers to the field tester. Whether the tester can provide us with the ability to diagnose wiring faults, correct wiring errors in the shortest time, and eliminate faults is the primary problem of tester purchase, in addition, the ability to defend against harsh environments should not be ignored. Let's take a look at this product.

Figure: FLUKE multi-function cable Tester

Product features:

This is a network testing instrument launched by fluke corporation that combines multiple test functions. Its products are all referred to as "microbench Pro digital cat5e cable analyzer ". It is designed to prevent and solve cable installation problems, and can detect cable breaking, cable connection sequence, and cable fault location, A notable characteristic is that a series of test results are intuitively reflected on the display screen. This product is the only Tester of the same type that uses TDR technology. It can be used to obtain accurate length measurement results, the displayed length is the length of each pair of cables and indicates whether the cables are connected to the working HUB.

Its Accessories include a microbox Pro, an office/room ID kit, an axis adapter, a line sequence adapter, and a bare line adapter. In short, its excellent functions are worth the purchase of relevant personnel.

Ii. Network Tester

The network tester integrates many functions such as network management, fault diagnosis, and network installation and debugging into one instrument. It can easily observe the health status of the entire network through bridges and routers, you can even diagnose remote network problems. The advanced SNMP capability of the tester can also continuously obtain and update information about the faulty network. In general, the network tester can help network administrators determine the network running status and fault points in a short period of time. Let's take a look at this product.

Figure: anjet J6800A Network Analyzer

Anjet J6800A Network Analyzer

Product features:

This product is mainly used to install subordinates, maintain and optimize the current data network. Suitable for on-site installation and maintenance of telecom operators, network management of enterprise networks, and various engineering and technical personnel of equipment manufacturer R & D departments. It supports Centralized Network Fault Diagnosis and distributed network condition monitoring, covering LAN, Wan, ATM, IP Phone, mobile including 3G), NGN and other applications.

In addition, it can implement centralized Fault Locating and distributed monitoring and analysis. Centralized test has dual-port test function, to achieve LAN-LAN, LAN-WAN, LAN-ATM combined test; distributed test can measure the protocol and network performance of multiple test points in the network at the same time, collect network data information, troubleshoot gaps and deep network problems and comprehensively manage and monitor networks.

In general, this product can analyze the network health status and predict the long-term operation trend and problems of the network. Analyzes and counts network utilization, protocol distribution, and other parameters on a graphical interface, and provides detailed online help and feasible methods to solve faults. There is no doubt about the powerful test functions.

Iii. protocol analyzer

The protocol analyzer is a device that can capture network packets. The protocol analyzer is used to capture and analyze network traffic to identify potential problems in the network. For example, if a certain part of the network is not running well and the message sending speed is slow, but we don't know where the problem is, we can use a protocol analyzer to make a precise judgment. It has many differences in functionality and design. Some can only analyze one protocol, while others can analyze hundreds of protocols.

A protocol analyzer is usually a combination of hardware and software. It usually uses dedicated hardware or a dedicated Nic to capture data in the network. The method for capturing the data transmitted in the network is called sniffing ). OK. I learned how it works. Let's take a look at the relevant products.

Figure: FLUKE integrated protocol analyzer

Product features:

This is an integrated protocol analyzer named OptiView by fluke Corporation, which integrates all the Network Monitoring and Fault Diagnosis functions required by users into a battery hand-held tool. The accessories consist of a high-performance protocol analyzer, a fast cable tester, and an RMON2 probe. You can quickly use these accessories to view the entire network. The analyzer has three types: Standard, enhanced, and Gigabit, with different functions.

This product has comprehensive layer-7 testing and analysis capabilities. It can be used for automatic IP configuration and network testing to actively search for network devices in the exchange environment, it also provides comprehensive support for Ethernet. It also supports 1000Base-T/SX/LX, SNMP Device analysis and RMON Ⅱ traffic analysis, packet capture and decoding, network data throughput testing, online cable testing, remote control testing, and detailed network Test report generation.

Postscript:

Most of today's network testing work relies on professional tools. At the same time, in terms of testing requirements, the network test should be carried out in terms of media test, physical network test, logical network test, network performance test, network application test, network management test, Network Setting test, and network security Testing, the professional tools required for these tests are also divided! Therefore, it is necessary for friends who are engaged in this kind of work to master the working principles of some testing tools and learn about some related products.