A wired Mess! Please help

[troyz]

First off I am not a expert in networks. Though I do have a strong background in electronics (repair) and in computers in general. I have ran cat5 cable and created ends (crimping, etc) and connected to switches assigned IP's, etc etc in our existing location.

We are now moving to a new location (company). The building we are moving into looks like it has a couple generations of network wire.

About two thirds of the offices in the new building are wired with cat5 wiring to a patch panel. I am assuming that I just run my cat5 jumpers to my switches from there. This shouldn't be a problem.

The rest of the offices are wired with what I think are call amphenol connectors? I could cut them off, or replace the jacks with rj45 jacks I am assuming?

Also most importantly I need reccommendations on tools for tracing wire/testing cables, and any other testing stuff? We don't have a large budget so I am trying to keep cost down.

Thanks,

Troy

 

[Oaf357]

My first recommendation was going to be pull out the old crap and start over but considering you're on a limited budget, I wish you the best of luck.

Using the existing infrastruture shouldn't be a problem (assuming it was done right to begin with) and going off the patch panel shouldn't be a problem either.

The amphenol connectors could get interesting though. Make sure it actually IS CAT5 before you go through the trouble of reterminating it. Then reterminate it and test it thoroughly, if it works then no big thang. If it doesn't then you have to assess the situation and go on from there.

As far as tracing something there are a lot of tools to use, I would think the easiest one would be something along the lines of a tone generator. Testing tools are plentiful as well. Look for Pentascanner's, that's probably one of the best test set makers in the world.

 

[skyking]

I could cut them off, or replace the jacks with rj45 jacks I am assuming?

you can do that, providing it is cat5 cable. I can understand the need to save money, but if you have any questionable runs, you can use the existing cable to pull in new cat5. It will save the company money in time and hassles. Troubleshooting a network problem with bad wire is a headache.
I'll defer to the more experienced network people on testing devices. There is a huge range of devices, from ones which send a simple tone to test connectivity, to ones that cost big $$ and test throughput.

 

[troyz]

The amphenol connectors could get interesting though. Make sure it actually IS CAT5 before you go through the trouble of reterminating it. Then reterminate it and test it thoroughly, if it works then no big thang. If it doesn't then you have to assess the situation and go on from there.



Thanks, How do I know if it is CAT5, they have alot more wires then cat5.

Troy

 

[Garion]

FYI, Amphenol connectors are also called RJ21's. You can actually find a fair amount of equipment that can use them - Cisco has RJ21 blades for most of their switches and I'll bet you can find some cheap stuff around used.

FYI, each connector represents 12 ports (25 pairs of wires). Unless you have special cable, you're probably not going to get 'em to Cat5 spec.

I'd recommend looking around at the cost of getting an RJ21 switch or hub, re-terminating them yourself and renting a good meter to certify them, or just getting it all pulled out and re-wired.

How many ports?

- G

 

[ScottMac]

You can also get panels that'll accept the Knife connectors / Amphenol / RJ21- style connectors.

IMHO, that's your easiest way to handle this. Install the RJ21 panels, that'll give you RJ-45 style jacks for the cross-connects (using standard patch cables).

As mentioned, it's not likely that it's Cat5, but it could be. Look carefully at the jacket of the cable, if it's Cat5, it'll say so.

Check out www.anixter.com and/or call Anixter and talk to their tech support folks about how to proceed. They will have the hardware and some of the best tech support in the business.

Beyond that, start saving for a complete re-cable. Hire a professional group to do it (one that'll give you an on-paper certification and a warranty). You can't imagine the kinds of glitchy problems and headaches a bad cabling plant will present.

Good Luck

Scott

 

[DynaGlide]

Sounds like you're in a bind and on a budget. There's also a link to this somewhere over in the HotDeals forum, but check this out:

CompGeeks

1000' of Cat5e, 100 RJ45 connectors, and a cheap-o cable tester for $42.50, + S/H.

Don't know exactly exactly how many drops those Amphenol connectors represent, but you could probably tie some of this Cat5e to the other ends and just pull through.

The "cable tester" is really just a wire mapping device, tells you if you've got all your wires connected end-to-end, but it's a whole lot cheaper than a PentaScanner, and may be all you need.

Finally, I'll quote ScottMac (above)

Hire a professional group to do it (one that'll give you an on-paper certification and a warranty). You can't imagine the kinds of glitchy problems and headaches a bad cabling plant will present.

There's nothing more frustrating that an unreliable cable plant. This is one place where you can really get your money's worth over the life of the installation. Of course, convincing the boss of that is another issue entirely. (Hey folks, what forum is THATdiscussion in?)