Need to Identify and Label Cat 5/5e Cables

[allanc]

A new client with about 50 PC's, Windows Servers and MACs has a rat's nest of Cat 5/5e cabling.
They also have numerous switches (managed and unmanaged), hubs, network printers, patch panels, wall-plates, etc.
All this gear and cabling is one floor of a moderately sized office with warehouse.
There are 2 subnets.
A lot of the cabling is hidden in walls and ceilings.
This is no map of the cabling and most of it is unlabelled.
In terms of network testing equipment, all I have so far is something like the following but from another company http://www.trendnet.com/langen/products/proddetail.asp?status=view&prod=110_TC-NT2.

I need to be able to identify the cable runs by myself while only disrupting the work of one employee at a time.
I don't want to purchase something really cheap but on the other hand I don't want to spend a lot of money.
Can anyone recommend a specific model of tester that will allow me to complete the project on my own without running around the building like a lunatic.
I am also in the market for a suitable labeler.
Thank you in advance.

 

[AlexT]

Personally i would think this is a two man job to save a lot of time and effort. You need to have a numbering system worked out and do the cables one at a time. It's going to take some patience and would probably be a job to do when the office is not working.

 

[allanc]

Personally i would think this is a two man job to save a lot of time and effort. You need to have a numbering system worked out and do the cables one at a time. It's going to take some patience and would probably be a job to do when the office is not working.

They are working 2 shifts and sometimes 3 so I won't be working starting at midnight
There is also no urgency to complete the job in one onsite visit.
I am involved with other projects with this client so I can fit the mapping and labeling of the cables as time permits.

 

[AlexT]

That's not so bad so, i find all cable testers to be up to the job. After all, you only want to to find the other end so you can label it. The only problem i can see arising is that you may have to pull multiple cables to find the one you want each time.
I guess it all depends on just how the network is laid out but personally i would be trying to get it done as quickly as possible, say in a few visits anyway to look as professional as possible. The last thing you want your new customer to see is you fumbling about with cables for a couple of weeks. Plus when it's all done, you have the map of the network so if a problem does arise, you're ready to get it fixed quickly.

 

[allanc]

That's not so bad so, i find all cable testers to be up to the job. After all, you only want to to find the other end so you can label it. The only problem i can see arising is that you may have to pull multiple cables to find the one you want each time.
I guess it all depends on just how the network is laid out but personally i would be trying to get it done as quickly as possible, say in a few visits anyway to look as professional as possible. The last thing you want your new customer to see is you fumbling about with cables for a couple of weeks. Plus when it's all done, you have the map of the network so if a problem does arise, you're ready to get it fixed quickly.

Why would I have to pull multiple cables?
My starting point is the wall-plate and I would send a tone to the other end which is a patch panel, switch, etc.
Which tester do you personally use for this type of project?

 

[AlexT]

If the cables are not labelled you will have to pull them one at a time from the switch until you find the right one to label? The other way would involve more leg work if i'm understanding the situation right?
Pick up any cheap cable tester with a 9v battery, there's no reason to spend money on something fancy unless you think you'll be using it a lot. I don't have a lot of use for one so the cheap one has always been more than good enough for me anyway. I think i may have paid something like €15 for it.

 

[allanc]

If the cables are not labelled you will have to pull them one at a time from the switch until you find the right one to label? The other way would involve more leg work if i'm understanding the situation right?
Pick up any cheap cable tester with a 9v battery, there's no reason to spend money on something fancy unless you think you'll be using it a lot. I don't have a lot of use for one so the cheap one has always been more than good enough for me anyway. I think i may have paid something like €15 for it.

Oh, I thought that I would pull the cable out of the computer and send the tone from there.
Then go to patch panel, switch, etc and use the probe (without pulling cables out).
Perhaps, you are thinking of the type of tester where there is a master and a remote and both ends of the cable have to be plugged into these units?

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

If you're doing it solo...there's not much choice but to run back and forth, and back and forth, and back and forth.

If you go with someone else to help you...one person stands at the patch panel with a pen and labels, the other person runs around with the map, pen, labels, and goes from jack to jack to jack to jack..all around the office.

Now, depending on who did the setup before...how well it was done, the layout of the building...it may or may not be an easy task. Cannot predict this with accuracy from a forum without seeing the layout. I've seen some setups that have had us running around in circles...and then finally someone goes and crawls up in the ceiling or down in a crawlspace under a wing of the building and you find some little SOHO switch in there linking a handful of cables together.

As for toners....not much of a difference with them...we have some old 30 dollar black and red special probably few newegg or monoprice. Our wiring guy has a nice Fluke unit, it's probably 130 dollars.

 

[tomahawkeer]

Having a 2nd person for this job will save you a LOT of time. If its at all possible, try to make sure you have the assistance. I would say its probably 1 hour work, vs 3-4 hours work difference.

 

[brandonkick]

A tone generator plus detector pen is all you need, and a second person as everyone else here has said.

They did the same thing where I work now. They ran all the ethernet cable themselves and decided not to label any of it, in any way.

Made things real interesting when I had to switch from slow verizon dsl to comcast cable.

Why people would ever do that is beyond me.

 

[NETWizz]

This is what you need, and you WILL be running back and forth unless you get a second guy.

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

The reason you need this specifically is "Locates cables safely and effectively on active networks" ... A LOT of tone tools are NOT safe to use when network equipment is actively powered on, so just make sure whatever you buy IS safe.


You don't want to send a TONE to a switch and destroy or damage it or disrupt the network.

One Trick when Toning:
When not 100% sure which port, put a patch cable into the suspect port and move it about 3' to 5' AWAY from the patch panel then put a tone probe near the cable AWAY from the other ports on the patch panel. You will then get either VERY strong TONE or none at all...

Sometimes it IS hard to tone when your probe is close to several ports.

Afterwords, label everything as Follows on the wall keystone jack port:

IDF-700 or MDF-300 or IDF-521 (or wherever the network closet is)

Then next to each port put the Patch Panel i.e. A12, A13, A48

In the networking closet:

Leave the Factory Numbering ALONE. All patch panels come numbered (i.e. 1 - 48 is typical)

Above each actual patch panel (that bolts to a rack) label them with a big letter (i.e. A, B, C...)

Above each port simply put the room number it is in!
i.e. 301, 301, 301, 301, 301, 302, 302, 307, 305, 103


Okay, so if you are in a wiring closet in room 521 any network cabling that goes to that closet will have IDF-521 above it!

If you are looking at a port on Patch panel B (the second panel) and the port is 7, you know that it is labeled B7 in whatever room the computer plugs in!

If above port 7 on Panel B is 303, you KNOW port B7 will be found in Room 303!




Simply put, if labeled right it is EASY to know exactly where the the wiring closet is, which patch panel it is on, and which port when looking at any port on the wall. When looking at any port in the wiring closet, you should know which room it is in and what it is labeled. If you are in a room and see A46, A47, A48, B1 you know before ever getting to the wiring closet that B1 and A48 are on different patch panels!

 

[brandonkick]

Interesting, I didn't know tone generators could harm equipment.

 

[SprinterTech-WI]

Interesting, I didn't know tone generators could harm equipment.

Had a newb blow out a $400 switch because he threw a toner on one that was live... also had another guy blow the main tester cause he threw it on a live PoE cable..... smoked and all!

Usually places that are unlabeled often are mis-punched and frequently use non-UL listed cable..
Professionals label and test all cables
Pizza-cablers don't label and just punch to "match" the ends and often times don't cable to BISCI standards....

Somedays other cablers annoy the living daylight oughta me!!

 

[allanc]

Had a newb blow out a $400 switch because he threw a toner on one that was live... also had another guy blow the main tester cause he threw it on a live PoE cable..... smoked and all!

Usually places that are unlabeled often are mis-punched and frequently use non-UL listed cable..
Professionals label and test all cables
Pizza-cablers don't label and just punch to "match" the ends and often times don't cable to BISCI standards....

Somedays other cablers annoy the living daylight oughta me!!

As a matter of fact ... some of the cabling going into the switchs isn't stamped with certifications.

 

[DocGreen]

I just picked up one of these the other day from Home Depot for $84.00
http://www.service.kleintools.com/Tools/PRD/Category/VDV Test TESTERS-VDVTEST/Product/VDV501-809
I almost went with the exact tester in the OP's first post, but I wanted more features.

The Klein Tools tester is pretty decent, actually... Even comes with 5 location ID plugs (both ethernet & coax). I think it supports up to 19 at once (sold separately, of course). It will also send a tone, but you'll need a probe to pick it up... any ol' probe will do.

 

[pceinc]

Cheap toners can't be used on active cables. You won't hear anything but fuzz. You need a Fluke or similar digital probe. I just bought a Fluke cable tester for $1800. It will provide the switch port, map cables, and ping multiple end points that you program. Mapping a network that you described would easily pay for a decent tool. If nothing else, get one that flashes the switch port. Two people would be best, otherwise get a good nights rest.

 

[rsarceno]

This is normally a two man job and I normally do this after hours. If you have to do this during hours and worry about putting a toner on the line then you can follow this steps

1) Look at the switch and somewhat memorize the status which port is hot and which one is not
2) Ask the other person near the computer to disconnect the net work cable several times.
3) You should see which port on the switch it's connected to.
4) Disconnect it from the switch and connect a tone generator
5) Tone the patch panel so you know where it's connected.
6) Now your ready to label the jack and cable matching the patch panel

Your pretty much done but if you want to do a print out, then purchase a fluke tester or rent one. 5 years ago, I was able to rent this unit for $50 a day. When you done, transfer the data to PC, and print out to create a log.

 

[FremontPC]

Let me preface this by saying that I'm not a server guy, but just in case I might say something helpful (or learn something helpful), here goes.

Here's a discussion on the Spiceworks board about this, you can probably find others:

http://community.spiceworks.com/top...f-a-network-cable-not-the-network-card?page=2

I have a client that wanted all of his wall jacks available, just had a couple of routers in the "server room" (shared with the business downstairs). I installed this (perhaps your client has budget for a fully managed switch):

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/aa/e...67-4172281-4172281-3963985-3963987.html?dnr=1

This switch can tell me what MAC address is on each port number. Unfortunately, it doesn't allow me to label those ports in the interface, but I understand that a fully managed switch would ($$$). It's a "Smart Switch". I see there are some smaller netgear smart switches for about $50 that you might be able to use here and there. Maybe put all the printers, etc. on the slower switches and leave gigabit equipment for those that need it.

I'm also able to look at the Device Table in the router, then copy and paste that page into Word. This gives me a table that I can paste into Excel, trim away the unwanted parts and get a list of devices with device names, ip's and MAC addresses. After the initial paste, I was able to copy just the columns I wanted, then Paste Special into a new sheet, choosing "Values".

You might also want to take a look at this:

http://www.mikrotik.com/thedude

After you install it, you have to right click and Run as Administrator.

This outfit has used (and new) HP equipment, not sure if they ship to Canada, but there might be others in your locale that do the same:

http://www.nautilusnet.com/b/6125687011

So, there you go. Not sure it will help, but seems like it would give you a leg up in one area or the other.

Feedback folks?

 

[allanc]

You might also want to take a look at this:

http://www.mikrotik.com/thedude

Have you actually used 'The Dude'?

 

[FremontPC]

Not in an environment like yours.