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Technology

PCMCIA-based Network Diagnostic Tool? 25

Posted by Cliff from the interesting-hardware-ideas dept.
bluelip asks: "Do any cards PCMCIA cards exist that will function as a network diagnostic/certification tool? Our Lancat and Microtest/Compas devices are aging and need to be replaced. It would be ideal to have a card we could plug into our laptop or Zaurus to use as a replacement for our bulky devices. I have seen this, but it doesn't contain all of the functionality we need. I would like the card to be able to determine hardware facts such as line length, what type of device is on the remote end (workstation or switch), next, crossed wires, etc. Another benefit would be if it functions like a normal NIC so we can use the same card for arpwatch, ethereal, and other tools. Does such a beast exist?"
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PCMCIA-based Network Diagnostic Tool? More

PCMCIA-based Network Diagnostic Tool?

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  • forgot to mention (Score:1, Informative)

    by bluelip ( 123578 )
    I forgot to mention that our laptops primarily run GNU/Linux.

  • Asking the extremely unlikely... (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Dear Slashdot

    I am looking for a magic bullet. My old bullets are looking a bit tarnished, so they have to go. It needs to be a type 4 bullet so it will fit in our latest toy guns, and also be a type 2 so it will work in our newest Z-type toy guns. It would be nice if it did the job of every other type of bullet we use currently. We have found this completely unrelated bullet that works on a completely different & incompatible brand of gun that doesn't even use the same gun powder, perhaps that will help.

    Oh yeah and it needs to run on GNU/XFree/KDE/Gnome/{Diety/Religion}/Linux.

    Are you a magician?

    PS. Please don;t take too much offence at this, it was meant in jest. Good luck.
    • I took it as such. I understand how unlikely it is that such a device exists. Would be nice to have though. Any EE students looking for a project?
      • As a hobbyist (amateur EE is too generous), I will say that the hardware isn't particularly daunting. Someone only modestly more talented than I, might come up with the schematics, and layout. Hell, you might even spring for the parts, of which the PCB, surface mount chips would be pricey. And anyone fairly competent at doing rework can hand solder them, just have to take it slow.

        But this is as far as it goes. Because I don't know shit about writing device drivers. Mind you, I think linux would be easier to work with than windows, but even there... damn. I've wanted to make ISA cards for a long time, and I'm probably even capable of it. I might even have a shot at a simple PCI card. But its only a hunk of fiberglass with little bits of silicon welded to it, if you can't write the software to go with it.

        And last I heard, EE students do study device drivers, but not to any great degree.

  • Found it, what do I get? (Score:5, Informative)

    by benjamindees ( 441808 ) on Friday January 10, 2003 @02:28PM (#5056606) Homepage
    Look no further than Fluke Multimeters [flukenetworks.com]. These things rock, although they cost an arm and a leg. From the website:


    When connected to a copper media network, the OptiView Analyzer will automatically perform a cable test and provide you with the cable length into any attached device, including a live switch or hub port. Select the Twisted-Pair Detail Screen and see:

    * Cable Wire Pair
    * Impedance
    * Length to End
    * Length to Reflection
    * Status
    * Anomalies (shorts, opens and split pairs)
    * Receive Pair
    * Transmit Pair
    * Receive Voltage
    * Polarity

    • wow, I *completely* misunderstood that one. feel free to mod accordingly.

      that fluke thing does a lot of stuff, but it isn't quite what you asked for. sorry.

      • Actually, some of the newer Fluke network analyzers are a small form factor PC with some custom software. I got a chance to play with some of their 802.11 test gear a while back and this was the case. Their handheld device was actually an iPaq running Linux and some more custom software. The x86 device ran Windows 98 or 2K, I forget, and used GBICs so you could swap network interfaces. It seemed to support most of the features the submitter asked for.
    • yeah.. just go with fluke and get it over with. If you dont have the money, then you need a laptop at both ends running any of the many network monitoring tools out there.

      Search for software: http://www.freshmeat.net [freshmeat.net]
  • Maybe I completely misunderstand the question, and pardon me if I do, but:

    Just install any widely supported NIC along with a number of open source Network Analysis & Diagnosis Tools [oreillynet.com] and your good to go.

    The laptop will afford you a lot more flexibilty than a built-for-the-purpose tool.
    • We haven't been able to find a NIC that would tell us if there are shorts in the wire, length of the line, next, etc. We currently use standards NICs with ethereal, nmap, etc. The lack the functionality of dedicated net diag tools.

  • Nope (Score:5, Informative)

    by FreeLinux ( 555387 ) on Friday January 10, 2003 @04:56PM (#5058159)
    The tools that you describe as being past their prime are Time Domain Reflectometers(TDR). They measure the difference in time between when a signal is sent and when the signal returns after being reflected by the cut end or a kink in the wire. They are then able to calculate the length of a cable or the location of a break and so forth. They are extremely sensitive (though we bang them around quite a bit, don't we?) and highly specialized. This means that they cost a fair bit of money.

    NIC cards are simply radio tranceivers that you plug into the wire. They aren't terribly sensitive and are usually cheap. They are designed and built to perform baseband signaling and little else.

    NICs in general, are incapable of performing the functions that TDRs perform. While such a beast could be built, the cost would be astonishingly high, especially in a PCMCIA form factor.

    There are very few companies that would build such a device, with Fluke being regarded as the best. But, presently none of them manufacture one. The fact that such a card would only be used in a very small niche market and would cost an arm, a leg and a first born means that they are highly unlikely to build one, any time soon.

    I'm afraid that your search will be futile. I'd recommend budgeting for a Fluke LANMeter. You'll ever be sorry for buying the best.
    • All a TDR does is to generate a pulse and show the reflection. Suitable pulse generators can be made for a matter of a few dollars. A scope costs money, but this can be replaced by a good A/D and a computer.

      There are already devices out there that replace a scope, that you can connect to a laptop. Too big to be PCMCIA, but not that large and can connect in via USB/Serial/Parallel interfaces.

      I would guess that a PCMCIA sized device combining a pulse generator with a fast A/D would be difficult, but something a little larger would be possible.

      A Fluke LANmeter is nice but not at all cheap. It is also well built like their multimeters and can take a certain amount of abuse.

  • PCMCIA TDR (Score:3, Informative)

    by obtuse ( 79208 ) on Friday January 10, 2003 @06:34PM (#5059097) Journal
    PCMCIA TDR is here, but it's an AOL members page, not a real commercial site, so I'm suspicious that it's vapor. I'd expect a company that tooled up for a PCMCIA TDR to be able to afford a real site. It's also not a NIC.

    It's the second link on googling
    pcmcia time domain reflectometer -optical

    http://members.aol.com/tdrcard/home.html [aol.com]

    • Re:PCMCIA TDR (Score:3, Informative)

      by Guy Harris ( 3803 )
      PCMCIA TDR is here, but it's an AOL members page, not a real commercial site,

      ...but it does link to a commercial site [ecadusa.com] that has information on that PC Card TDR [ecadusa.com].

      However, the software is DOS/Windows-only, so it won't work on the Linux laptops he/she mentioned in a followup posting (without software work of some sort, unless the software requires nothing in the way of special kernel-mode driver code and can run under a DOS emulator or Wine).

      The devices being replaced might also do more than just TDR, in which case that card might not do all the original poster needs.

      • And they want $4000 for it!!! Wah-hahhahhah!!

        ROFLMAO!

        Not to say that don't have that much into the card but geez, for $4K you can get something a hell of a lot more capable from Fluke. :)

  • Unfortunately, no (Score:3, Informative)

    by modus ( 122983 ) on Monday January 13, 2003 @11:02PM (#5077914)
    PCMCIA TDR devices do exist, as described above, but they are esoteric and expensive.

    On the plus side, the Fluke MicroScanner Pro does everything you describe and is under $400, based on a quick pricegrabber query.

    It's much smaller than the tools you currently have and built by one of the best in the business.

  • A cheap microtest scanner ( mine was under 500 ) will do your distance check/etc..

    Then a cheap ( 500 dollar ) laptop can do your sniffing/etc..

    Both fit in a nice small case, for a grand.

  • The Wittig Technologies Multiscope [wittig-technologies.com] mentions LAN test ability. The low-end member of this family, the osziFOX, does have a Linux interface -- I don't know what kind of apps fit the Multiscopes. Serial port...that can run through PCMCIA.

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