Lan tester is a device designed to verify the integrity of telecommunication networks. Typically, such a device consists of a main part and a removable one (most often one, but there are models in which several removable parts are provided). Lan-tester allows you to "ring" computer networks, telephone communications, crimped connectors.
The network tester greatly facilitates the work and saves the time of cable specialists. After all, their work consists not only in the extension of communications, but also in debugging the entire system. Visually, it is practically impossible to determine the quality of the crimp of the connector, and in order to ring it with the help of a tester, it will take a lot of time and an assistant. A twisted pair cable is not always within the same room, very often the ends of one cable end up on different sides of the building and on different floors, and a “dial-up” with a multimeter in this case will become extremely complicated and inconvenient. This is where the help of such a device as a Lan tester comes in handy.
For "dialing" crimp the connectors on both ends of the twisted pair. We insert one end into the connector of the main part of the tester, and the other into the connector of the removable part. After that, turn on the device and run it in test mode. Thanks to the LED display, the Lan-tester allows you to determine not only the presence of wire breaks of a twisted pair and short circuit, but also to detect mixed wires.
Very often, beginners neglect to check crimp connectors. They begin to “ring” only if the computer network has not worked. However, such a check must be carried out with each crimping of the connector to make sure that all the contacts of the connector are correct and integrity, and not only those that are currently used by the computer network. Otherwise, you cannot prevent future errors and crashes in the system.
There is a huge selection of network testers, both amateur and professional. In a nutshell, I would like to describe the advantages of professional appliances.
Such devices can test not only twisted pairs, but also telephone coaxial cables. A professional LAN tester (cable), in addition to the standard test described above, can measure the length, give tone signals, and also signal the presence of active conductors. Such devices have full displays, which displays all the necessary information about the status of the cable. And most importantly, these devices have a large number of remote modules. For example, when pulling cables through cable racers, “networkers” often face the problem of identifying “their” cable. The picture is something like this: the ends of 10-15 twisted pairs stick out from the shield, and it is simply impossible to understand which one is “yours”.
The “tinkle” by an amateur tester can drag on for a long time, especially if the other end is on the other side of the building. In such a situation, remote modules of a professional device will help. You can put on each end modulo, and yourself on the second end of the cable using the main unit of the tester to calculate the wire you need.
To summarize, let’s say that the Lan-tester is simply necessary for people who often engage in twisted-pair cabling for organizing network connections of computer equipment.