Tools

By Joshua Erdman
Digital Foundation, inc.

Emergency tools:

Flashlight - This flashlight uses LED bulbs. The 2 AA flashlight alone will last 17 hours on one set of batteries!
Fire Extinguisher

Organizational tools:

Brother PTouch Labeller - With cables going all over the place and servers scattered everywhere you can keep your sanity with a labeller. Give each cable a number and label each end, and label your servers and workstations with the computername and IP address.
Digital Camera -

Network & Phone Tools & Hardware:

Punch Tool w/ 66 and 110 bits - To attach your network cable to a patch panel or wall socket, you will need a punch tool with a 110 die or blade (the other popular die is a 66 but it is really only used for phone implementations now days). This neat little device literally punches a wire inside a metal fork that cuts through the insulation to make contact to the wire. At the same time it cuts off the excess wire with a blade on one end of the of little die. So make sure you have the punch tool turned the right way or else you will cut off the wire on the wrong side.

Crimper - Network ice cubes are typically RJ-45. They have 8 leads across and you will use an RJ-45 crimper to lock the ice cube on the wires. It does this by pushing in the copper (or gold feet in the ice cube so they pinch down on the wires when you insert them. The crimper is also usually equipped with a blade to make removing the outer PVC sheath quick and easy.

Tone Generator and Probe - This handy tool allows you to find a specific wire that is tangled in a bundle of wires (like in your server room where all the wires will terminate). Just attach the tone generator to the wire on one end (using the aligator clips or sockets if the wire is already terminated) and turn it on, this will send an electronic signal down the wire. Then you take the Probe (or signal amplifier) and go to the other end where all your wires are. You turn it on by pressing a button and as you get closer to the wire that you have the Tone Generator on, the sound coming out of the probe will get louder.

Network Cable Tester - This piece of hardware is essential to any office that has hundreds of network wires. This tool can range in cost from $50 to $5000 dollars. It comes with 2 pieces of equipment, each one plugs or attaches to each end of the wire. The most basic model will display the wiring order and is especially handy when troubleshooting bad network cables. The more expensive ones can estimate the length of cable (by induction), can display the amount of interference, display a cable with a broken wire and approximately how far down the wire the break is, etc.

Patch Panels - A patch panel has anywhere form 6 to 96 network jacks all on one metal sheet. These are designed to be mounted in a rack or on a bracket mounted to the wall. A patch panel is where you would typically terminate all your network wires to. Then on the front, under each port, you would label where the wire to that port goes. A patch panel is a wonderful way to make things look professional and to keep your networking extremely organized.

Patch Cables of varying sizes and colors and
Bulk Wire.

Network Jacks and RJ45 Plugs make your own patch cables.

Electrical/Power Tools:

Multimeter
Battery Powered Drill & Flashlight
This should be 14.4V minimum.
Battery Powered Screwdriver
Toolkit/Briefcase
100 foot 8 gauge extension cord

Other Hardware:

6 foot fiberglass step ladder
Assortment of drill bits and hole saws
Be sure to have extra long drill bits as well
as a 2" hole saw.
Assortment of Computer Hardware
screws, nuts, screw containers, and zip ties
Assortment of Computer Cables

Article last reviewed: 06/08/2004

Created by: Digital Foundation, inc.

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