WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.090 --> 00:00:00.990 In this lesson, 2 00:00:00.990 --> 00:00:03.300 we're going to discuss various tools we use. 3 00:00:03.300 --> 00:00:06.060 This includes snips and cutters, cable strippers, 4 00:00:06.060 --> 00:00:08.160 cable crimpers, cable testers, 5 00:00:08.160 --> 00:00:10.320 punch down tools, tone generators, 6 00:00:10.320 --> 00:00:13.680 loop back adapters, taps and wireless analyzers. 7 00:00:13.680 --> 00:00:15.870 Whoa, lots of stuff we're going to cover. 8 00:00:15.870 --> 00:00:16.703 All right. 9 00:00:16.703 --> 00:00:17.820 The first cabling tool we have 10 00:00:17.820 --> 00:00:20.100 is probably the most basic one that we're going to cover. 11 00:00:20.100 --> 00:00:21.990 And it's a snip or a cutter. 12 00:00:21.990 --> 00:00:22.950 A snip or a cutter 13 00:00:22.950 --> 00:00:24.810 is used to simply cut a piece of cable 14 00:00:24.810 --> 00:00:27.300 off of a larger spool or run of cable. 15 00:00:27.300 --> 00:00:29.580 Now, a snip looks a lot like a pair of scissors 16 00:00:29.580 --> 00:00:31.170 but it has stronger blades 17 00:00:31.170 --> 00:00:32.580 because we're going to use it to cut off 18 00:00:32.580 --> 00:00:35.370 twisted pair, copper cables, coaxial cables 19 00:00:35.370 --> 00:00:37.620 or even larger cable bundles. 20 00:00:37.620 --> 00:00:39.630 Next, we have cable strippers. 21 00:00:39.630 --> 00:00:41.280 Now, once we cut the piece of cabling 22 00:00:41.280 --> 00:00:43.500 off the larger spool using our snips, 23 00:00:43.500 --> 00:00:45.960 we now need to strip off the end of the cable 24 00:00:45.960 --> 00:00:49.590 and prepare it for attachment to a plastic RJ-45 connector 25 00:00:49.590 --> 00:00:51.660 or whatever kind of connector we're going to use. 26 00:00:51.660 --> 00:00:54.720 For example, let's say I wanted to create a crossover cable. 27 00:00:54.720 --> 00:00:57.210 I'm going to cut off some twisted copper from the spool, 28 00:00:57.210 --> 00:00:59.850 then I'm going to strip both ends using a cable stripper. 29 00:00:59.850 --> 00:01:02.340 This allows me to remove around six to 12 inches 30 00:01:02.340 --> 00:01:04.920 from the outer plastic jacket at the end of the cable. 31 00:01:04.920 --> 00:01:06.960 And then I can spread out those inner wires, 32 00:01:06.960 --> 00:01:09.510 prepare to attach the RJ-45 connector to them 33 00:01:09.510 --> 00:01:12.750 and then I'm going to have to use a crimper to do that. 34 00:01:12.750 --> 00:01:14.850 Now, if I'm making a coaxial cable, 35 00:01:14.850 --> 00:01:17.460 I would then use a coaxial specific wire stripper 36 00:01:17.460 --> 00:01:20.610 to remove the outer jacket of the cable and the insulation 37 00:01:20.610 --> 00:01:23.130 so I can now get to that center conduit 38 00:01:23.130 --> 00:01:25.650 for that RG-6 connector to go through 39 00:01:25.650 --> 00:01:27.780 and be put on the end of that cable. 40 00:01:27.780 --> 00:01:29.880 Next, we're going to use a cable crimper. 41 00:01:29.880 --> 00:01:31.380 And this is how we attach the connector 42 00:01:31.380 --> 00:01:32.730 to the end of the cable. 43 00:01:32.730 --> 00:01:35.310 Again, let's say I'm making that crossover cable. 44 00:01:35.310 --> 00:01:37.470 I need to use an RJ-45 connector 45 00:01:37.470 --> 00:01:40.080 and RJ-45 specific cable crimper. 46 00:01:40.080 --> 00:01:42.090 Normally your cable crimper is going to be used 47 00:01:42.090 --> 00:01:43.380 for twisted pair cabling, 48 00:01:43.380 --> 00:01:47.400 and it's going to support both RJ-45 and RJ-11 connectors. 49 00:01:47.400 --> 00:01:49.260 If you're working with coaxial cables, 50 00:01:49.260 --> 00:01:51.210 there's a different cable crimper you'll use 51 00:01:51.210 --> 00:01:55.200 that'll support RJ-6 or RJ-59 connectors. 52 00:01:55.200 --> 00:01:56.790 All right, now that we've created our cable 53 00:01:56.790 --> 00:01:58.260 using our snips and cutters, 54 00:01:58.260 --> 00:02:00.360 our cable stripper and our cable crimper, 55 00:02:00.360 --> 00:02:01.860 we need to test the cable. 56 00:02:01.860 --> 00:02:04.200 And this is where we use a cable tester. 57 00:02:04.200 --> 00:02:06.930 A cable tester is going to be used to verify the continuity 58 00:02:06.930 --> 00:02:08.790 of each of the eight individual wires 59 00:02:08.790 --> 00:02:10.890 inside of that twisted pair cable. 60 00:02:10.890 --> 00:02:13.380 This will verify there's no breaks inside the cable 61 00:02:13.380 --> 00:02:16.230 and then we have good continuity from one end to the other. 62 00:02:16.230 --> 00:02:17.610 By using a cable tester, 63 00:02:17.610 --> 00:02:19.710 we can verify the pin outs were done properly 64 00:02:19.710 --> 00:02:22.260 and that each individual wire in the twisted pair cable 65 00:02:22.260 --> 00:02:23.430 is properly connected 66 00:02:23.430 --> 00:02:25.470 for a straight through or crossover cable, 67 00:02:25.470 --> 00:02:27.030 whichever one we were making. 68 00:02:27.030 --> 00:02:28.530 Now, there are different types of testers 69 00:02:28.530 --> 00:02:30.060 for different types of cable. 70 00:02:30.060 --> 00:02:31.860 If you're testing an ethernet cable, 71 00:02:31.860 --> 00:02:35.007 you're going to need one with an RJ-45 connector on the cable 72 00:02:35.007 --> 00:02:36.810 and that cable tester. 73 00:02:36.810 --> 00:02:37.643 Now, if you work 74 00:02:37.643 --> 00:02:39.360 with a lot of different types of networks though, 75 00:02:39.360 --> 00:02:41.550 you may want to use a multi-tester. 76 00:02:41.550 --> 00:02:42.510 A multi-tester 77 00:02:42.510 --> 00:02:45.990 isn't going to support just ethernet cables using RJ-45 78 00:02:45.990 --> 00:02:49.500 but it can also support BNC connectors for coaxial cables, 79 00:02:49.500 --> 00:02:52.680 IDE connectors for hard drives, PATA and SATA connectors 80 00:02:52.680 --> 00:02:54.420 for internal computer devices. 81 00:02:54.420 --> 00:02:56.300 RJ-45, again for your ethernet. 82 00:02:56.300 --> 00:03:00.990 RJ-11 for your telephones, fiber, DB25, DB9, 83 00:03:00.990 --> 00:03:03.570 and anything else you might need to test. 84 00:03:03.570 --> 00:03:05.880 Next, we have a wire mapping tool. 85 00:03:05.880 --> 00:03:08.190 Now a wire map tool is like a cable tester 86 00:03:08.190 --> 00:03:11.250 but it works specifically for twisted pair ethernet cables. 87 00:03:11.250 --> 00:03:13.440 In addition to testing the cable from end to end, 88 00:03:13.440 --> 00:03:15.480 we can diagnose any issues with that cable, 89 00:03:15.480 --> 00:03:17.730 such as open pair, a shorted pair, 90 00:03:17.730 --> 00:03:19.080 a short between the pairs, 91 00:03:19.080 --> 00:03:22.170 a reverse pair, a cross pair, or a split pair. 92 00:03:22.170 --> 00:03:23.460 Now an open pair occurs 93 00:03:23.460 --> 00:03:25.320 when one or more conductors in the pair 94 00:03:25.320 --> 00:03:27.270 are not connected on one of the pins 95 00:03:27.270 --> 00:03:28.770 at either end of the cable. 96 00:03:28.770 --> 00:03:30.630 In other words, the electrical continuity 97 00:03:30.630 --> 00:03:32.910 of the conductor is being interrupted. 98 00:03:32.910 --> 00:03:35.100 This can occur if the conductor's been physically broken 99 00:03:35.100 --> 00:03:37.770 somewhere in the middle, or because you had an incomplete 100 00:03:37.770 --> 00:03:40.500 or improper punch down on a patch panel. 101 00:03:40.500 --> 00:03:41.640 Now a short can occur 102 00:03:41.640 --> 00:03:43.260 when conductors of a wire pair 103 00:03:43.260 --> 00:03:44.490 are connected to each other 104 00:03:44.490 --> 00:03:46.650 at any location within the cable. 105 00:03:46.650 --> 00:03:48.300 A short between the pairs occurs 106 00:03:48.300 --> 00:03:50.790 when the conductors of two wires in different pairs 107 00:03:50.790 --> 00:03:53.430 are connected at any location within the cable. 108 00:03:53.430 --> 00:03:55.320 A reverse pair occurs when two wires 109 00:03:55.320 --> 00:03:56.280 in a single pair 110 00:03:56.280 --> 00:03:58.770 are connected to the opposite pins of that pair 111 00:03:58.770 --> 00:04:00.510 on the other end of the cable. 112 00:04:00.510 --> 00:04:03.810 And cross pairs occur with both wires of one color pair 113 00:04:03.810 --> 00:04:05.850 are connected to the pins of a different color pair 114 00:04:05.850 --> 00:04:07.500 on the opposite end. 115 00:04:07.500 --> 00:04:10.020 Split pairs occur when a wire from one pair 116 00:04:10.020 --> 00:04:12.720 is split away from the other and crosses over the wire 117 00:04:12.720 --> 00:04:14.310 into an adjacent pair. 118 00:04:14.310 --> 00:04:15.360 Because this type of fault 119 00:04:15.360 --> 00:04:17.400 essentially requires the same mistake to be made 120 00:04:17.400 --> 00:04:18.960 at both ends of the cable, 121 00:04:18.960 --> 00:04:20.820 it usually doesn't happen very often, 122 00:04:20.820 --> 00:04:22.920 unless somebody meant to do it. 123 00:04:22.920 --> 00:04:24.990 Next, we have a cable certifier. 124 00:04:24.990 --> 00:04:27.540 Now cable certifier is used with an existing cable 125 00:04:27.540 --> 00:04:30.150 to determine its category or data throughput. 126 00:04:30.150 --> 00:04:31.350 I can plug into your network 127 00:04:31.350 --> 00:04:34.590 and find out is it a CAT 5, CAT 6, CAT 5e, 128 00:04:34.590 --> 00:04:36.420 CAT 7 or CAT 8 network. 129 00:04:36.420 --> 00:04:39.090 It's going to tell me based on the frequency range being used, 130 00:04:39.090 --> 00:04:40.650 what the throughput of the cables are. 131 00:04:40.650 --> 00:04:41.850 And the standard output 132 00:04:41.850 --> 00:04:44.460 is shown here on the screen as you can see. 133 00:04:44.460 --> 00:04:46.470 Now, notice I have a wired mapping here 134 00:04:46.470 --> 00:04:47.970 that shows my pins are correct. 135 00:04:47.970 --> 00:04:49.500 That it's a straight through cable. 136 00:04:49.500 --> 00:04:52.080 It's also going to tell me how long this cable is. 137 00:04:52.080 --> 00:04:54.210 In this case, it knows it's 10 feet. 138 00:04:54.210 --> 00:04:56.490 Then it's going to tell me what the delay is on the cable. 139 00:04:56.490 --> 00:04:58.440 It tells me what the resistance is on the cable. 140 00:04:58.440 --> 00:04:59.850 All that type of good information 141 00:04:59.850 --> 00:05:02.250 can be done from a cable certifier. 142 00:05:02.250 --> 00:05:04.410 Essentially it can do a lot of the same functions 143 00:05:04.410 --> 00:05:05.520 as a cable tester 144 00:05:05.520 --> 00:05:08.490 but it goes further and gives you additional details 145 00:05:08.490 --> 00:05:10.290 such as length and throughput. 146 00:05:10.290 --> 00:05:12.600 So I can use this to determine the length 147 00:05:12.600 --> 00:05:14.670 and make sure it's right for a particular cable 148 00:05:14.670 --> 00:05:16.740 or if the cable has been crimped properly, 149 00:05:16.740 --> 00:05:18.330 just like a cable tester does 150 00:05:18.330 --> 00:05:21.300 but all this other information is really good too. 151 00:05:21.300 --> 00:05:23.430 Now, because of all this extra information, 152 00:05:23.430 --> 00:05:25.530 these devices are more expensive. 153 00:05:25.530 --> 00:05:27.450 When you're dealing with a simple cable tester, 154 00:05:27.450 --> 00:05:29.400 you can buy that for about $10 155 00:05:29.400 --> 00:05:34.400 but a cable certifier might cost you 100 or 200 or $300. 156 00:05:34.440 --> 00:05:36.480 Next, we have a punch down block. 157 00:05:36.480 --> 00:05:38.250 If I'm going to be using a 66 block 158 00:05:38.250 --> 00:05:40.860 or a 110 block for either my phones or my networks 159 00:05:40.860 --> 00:05:42.630 or either my network jacks in the wall, 160 00:05:42.630 --> 00:05:45.840 I'm going to be using punch down tools to install those cables. 161 00:05:45.840 --> 00:05:48.330 This is going to terminate the wire on the punch down block 162 00:05:48.330 --> 00:05:50.220 and strip off the excess installation 163 00:05:50.220 --> 00:05:53.670 and trimming off all the extra wires that we no longer need. 164 00:05:53.670 --> 00:05:57.390 Next, we have a tone generator also known as a toner probe. 165 00:05:57.390 --> 00:05:59.430 Now a tone generator allows a technician 166 00:05:59.430 --> 00:06:01.590 to generate a tone on one end of the connection 167 00:06:01.590 --> 00:06:03.690 and use the probe to audibly detect the wire 168 00:06:03.690 --> 00:06:05.550 connected on the other side. 169 00:06:05.550 --> 00:06:07.710 This is often called a fox and hound 170 00:06:07.710 --> 00:06:09.930 because the fox generates the tone, 171 00:06:09.930 --> 00:06:11.910 and then the hound is used to sniff it out 172 00:06:11.910 --> 00:06:14.250 and find it using that tone or probe. 173 00:06:14.250 --> 00:06:15.810 A tone generator is going to be used 174 00:06:15.810 --> 00:06:17.670 to understand where the cables are running 175 00:06:17.670 --> 00:06:18.930 inside of your walls 176 00:06:18.930 --> 00:06:21.420 whenever you have an unlabeled or undocumented network 177 00:06:21.420 --> 00:06:22.830 and you need to figure out which wire 178 00:06:22.830 --> 00:06:25.530 is connected to which jack inside your building. 179 00:06:25.530 --> 00:06:28.890 Next, we have a loop back adapter or a loop back device. 180 00:06:28.890 --> 00:06:30.960 These loop back adapters are going to be different 181 00:06:30.960 --> 00:06:33.120 depending on whether or not you're using ethernet 182 00:06:33.120 --> 00:06:34.740 or fiber in your networks. 183 00:06:34.740 --> 00:06:37.230 Now, if you're using twisted pair cabling in your networks, 184 00:06:37.230 --> 00:06:39.900 you can create your own inexpensive loop back adapter 185 00:06:39.900 --> 00:06:42.420 by simply connecting some of the twisted pair wires 186 00:06:42.420 --> 00:06:43.590 from the transmit side 187 00:06:43.590 --> 00:06:47.490 to the receive pins inside the same RJ-45 connector. 188 00:06:47.490 --> 00:06:49.440 Essentially you need to have your transmit plus 189 00:06:49.440 --> 00:06:50.790 going to your receive plus, 190 00:06:50.790 --> 00:06:53.010 which means pin one goes to pin three. 191 00:06:53.010 --> 00:06:55.620 Then you need transmit minus going to receive minus. 192 00:06:55.620 --> 00:06:58.050 This is pin two going to pin six. 193 00:06:58.050 --> 00:06:59.820 If you're using fiber in your networks, 194 00:06:59.820 --> 00:07:01.680 you can simply connect your transmit port 195 00:07:01.680 --> 00:07:04.260 to your receive port using a fiber patch cable. 196 00:07:04.260 --> 00:07:06.270 And this creates a loop back for you. 197 00:07:06.270 --> 00:07:07.650 This is extremely easy to do 198 00:07:07.650 --> 00:07:09.930 if you're using an ST or SC connection 199 00:07:09.930 --> 00:07:12.180 and they do make specialized loop back plugs 200 00:07:12.180 --> 00:07:13.530 in a small form factor 201 00:07:13.530 --> 00:07:14.820 so you can carry these in your pocket 202 00:07:14.820 --> 00:07:16.800 when you're working as a network technician. 203 00:07:16.800 --> 00:07:18.570 Now, once you connect your loop back adapter 204 00:07:18.570 --> 00:07:19.410 to your network, 205 00:07:19.410 --> 00:07:21.690 you can then use specialized diagnostic software 206 00:07:21.690 --> 00:07:23.310 to test the connectivity of the client 207 00:07:23.310 --> 00:07:25.500 and ensure everything's working properly. 208 00:07:25.500 --> 00:07:27.030 Next, we have a tap. 209 00:07:27.030 --> 00:07:28.350 A tap is a simple device 210 00:07:28.350 --> 00:07:30.630 that connects directly to the cable infrastructure 211 00:07:30.630 --> 00:07:33.750 and splits or copies those packets for use and analysis, 212 00:07:33.750 --> 00:07:36.210 security or general network management. 213 00:07:36.210 --> 00:07:38.550 You're going to need to purchase install the appropriate tap 214 00:07:38.550 --> 00:07:39.810 for your type of network 215 00:07:39.810 --> 00:07:42.360 depending on if you're using copper or fiber. 216 00:07:42.360 --> 00:07:44.220 Now, basically, you're going to connect the tap 217 00:07:44.220 --> 00:07:45.480 in line to your network 218 00:07:45.480 --> 00:07:48.390 and it's going to create a duplicate copy of every frame, 219 00:07:48.390 --> 00:07:49.770 one going out the tap port, 220 00:07:49.770 --> 00:07:51.420 where it's going to be collected and analyzed 221 00:07:51.420 --> 00:07:52.860 by your cyber security tool set 222 00:07:52.860 --> 00:07:54.450 and the other one out to your network 223 00:07:54.450 --> 00:07:56.610 so it can be processed by the equipment. 224 00:07:56.610 --> 00:07:58.620 This is used heavily in cybersecurity, 225 00:07:58.620 --> 00:08:00.390 but can also be used in network management 226 00:08:00.390 --> 00:08:02.130 and network operations. 227 00:08:02.130 --> 00:08:04.380 Finally, we have wireless analyzers, 228 00:08:04.380 --> 00:08:06.240 which is a specialized piece of software 229 00:08:06.240 --> 00:08:08.250 that can be used to conduct wireless surveys 230 00:08:08.250 --> 00:08:09.720 to ensure you have the proper coverage, 231 00:08:09.720 --> 00:08:12.120 and it helps you prevent any non desired overlap 232 00:08:12.120 --> 00:08:14.100 between wireless access point and coverage zones 233 00:08:14.100 --> 00:08:15.240 and channels. 234 00:08:15.240 --> 00:08:17.160 Now, if you're concerned with the channels and use 235 00:08:17.160 --> 00:08:19.050 and their signal strength for a given area, 236 00:08:19.050 --> 00:08:21.900 you can use a view inside of a wifi analyzer 237 00:08:21.900 --> 00:08:25.350 to display the SSID of each network detected in that area, 238 00:08:25.350 --> 00:08:26.730 their relative signal strength 239 00:08:26.730 --> 00:08:28.320 and the channel they're using. 240 00:08:28.320 --> 00:08:31.980 Here, you can see that most of the 2.4 giga wifi networks 241 00:08:31.980 --> 00:08:34.320 are in use and are centered on channel one, 242 00:08:34.320 --> 00:08:37.110 with four others being located on channel six. 243 00:08:37.110 --> 00:08:39.630 Now channel 11 is not being heavily utilized at all, 244 00:08:39.630 --> 00:08:42.210 it only has one network called home. 245 00:08:42.210 --> 00:08:45.360 This is being located on channel 11 as the home network 246 00:08:45.360 --> 00:08:47.310 but there are four other wireless networks 247 00:08:47.310 --> 00:08:48.630 located channel nine, 248 00:08:48.630 --> 00:08:49.980 and this could cause interference 249 00:08:49.980 --> 00:08:52.200 for both channel six and channel 11 250 00:08:52.200 --> 00:08:54.510 as you can clearly see their overlapping frequencies 251 00:08:54.510 --> 00:08:56.190 on this Visualization. 252 00:08:56.190 --> 00:08:57.720 Now, in addition to this view, 253 00:08:57.720 --> 00:09:00.510 you can also overlap the coverage zones on a floor plan 254 00:09:00.510 --> 00:09:01.860 using a wifi analyzer 255 00:09:01.860 --> 00:09:03.990 as part of a wireless site survey. 256 00:09:03.990 --> 00:09:06.537 This displays the location of the wireless access points 257 00:09:06.537 --> 00:09:08.220 and the signal strength that's radiating 258 00:09:08.220 --> 00:09:10.020 from each of those access points. 259 00:09:10.020 --> 00:09:12.630 In this example, you can see the entire office building 260 00:09:12.630 --> 00:09:14.340 is pretty well covered in wifi 261 00:09:14.340 --> 00:09:16.260 as it's shown by the green coverage areas, 262 00:09:16.260 --> 00:09:17.820 but there is a small area 263 00:09:17.820 --> 00:09:20.220 of yellow and orange on the leftmost wall. 264 00:09:20.220 --> 00:09:21.480 As you exit the building, 265 00:09:21.480 --> 00:09:23.460 you'll see more areas of orange and red, 266 00:09:23.460 --> 00:09:26.370 which indicates areas of lower signal strength too. 267 00:09:26.370 --> 00:09:27.300 Due to the left wall 268 00:09:27.300 --> 00:09:29.490 having a large orange and yellow coverage area, 269 00:09:29.490 --> 00:09:31.650 we may want to suggest adding another access point 270 00:09:31.650 --> 00:09:33.240 in this area of the building. 271 00:09:33.240 --> 00:09:34.073 This would allow us 272 00:09:34.073 --> 00:09:35.580 to have more wireless networking capabilities 273 00:09:35.580 --> 00:09:37.980 on that part of the building if we needed to. 274 00:09:37.980 --> 00:09:38.813 All right. 275 00:09:38.813 --> 00:09:40.110 I know that was a lot of different tools 276 00:09:40.110 --> 00:09:41.400 that we just covered. 277 00:09:41.400 --> 00:09:42.510 Remember, when you're dealing 278 00:09:42.510 --> 00:09:44.190 with the physical layer of your network, 279 00:09:44.190 --> 00:09:46.170 you're going to be using a lot of different tools 280 00:09:46.170 --> 00:09:47.760 for a lot of different things. 281 00:09:47.760 --> 00:09:48.690 For the exam, 282 00:09:48.690 --> 00:09:50.640 it's important for you to understand which tool 283 00:09:50.640 --> 00:09:53.130 you might use to troubleshoot which type of cable 284 00:09:53.130 --> 00:09:54.330 and which type of issue.