LinkRunner Primary Use Case

Mike Robinson - PeerSpot reviewer
Network/Telecom Administrator at Navarro College

My use cases revolve around determining 

  • how much PoE power is coming out
  • if I have the port configured so that it will present me with an IP address for that access point
  • what port that I have it plugged into on the switch.

I use it for other things as well, but those are the day-to-day uses, 98 percent of the time.

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ManuelGuerrero - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Support Specialist III at Citrus College

My primary use cases are plugging into a port to determine what switch it is, the name of the switch, what VLANs are on it, and to test if there is a correct connection or even a correct termination on both sides.

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KG
Network Engineer at HCA Healthcare

Typically, I use it for identifying fiber connections to make sure that we have solid links in both directions. I like the bandwidth (iperf) built in testing. If only carrying the LR10G, you can use the JuiceSSH to access switches.


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Buyer's Guide
LinkRunner
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about LinkRunner. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
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BL
Network analyst at a university with 10,001+ employees

We have a lot of the normal LinkRunners, and we have the 10Gig ones called LinkRunner 10G Professional Kit that we use to determine connectivity for plug-and-play. We use the Cisco DNA Center. So, the polarity needs to be right and the link needs to be up. We usually test it with LinkRunner, and then we bring the switch up, and it automatically discovers it.

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BAI QING - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Director at SystemEngineer360 Pte. Ltd.

We are a system integrator, and we do lots of infra projects. It is a handheld device, and we are using it in a couple of scenarios. We use it for onsite troubleshooting and implementation. We also use it for performance testing. These are two major use cases. There are also other scenarios where some of its minor features are helpful.

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Jesse_B - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager of networks and infrastructure at a government with 5,001-10,000 employees

I have LinkRunner G2, and I use this product for testing and troubleshooting. I am able to test my network connections and cables and do general troubleshooting for network drops, network outlets, etc. 

I do connectivity tests and cable verification, and I use it to do network link tests to check network drops and know whether it's alive or not alive, and if it is alive, which services are available. This tool does that quite well. It tells me if my link is alive, and not just that, if it is a switch, I get the model information of the switch and whether PoE is being delivered on the switch or the wire. I get the DNS server, and I get the IP address. It also checks if there is internet access on that line. If there's a VLAN, it gives me the VLAN number. It does quite a lot of tests in a very quick time. It saves me a lot of time. I don't have to run around and troubleshoot one thing after another.

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DaveBennett - PeerSpot reviewer
Director of Technology at a educational organization with 201-500 employees

We use it for general connectivity issues and trying to determine throughput on fiber and throughput on the wired part of the network. We have a lot of excess network traffic and we are trying to determine if it is inherent to a particular run of fiber or a particular network switch. We've been chasing activity around campus for most of the year, including VLANs and things of that nature. A lot of it was pretty simply explained and it was really easy to see on this device.

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Nick Schornick - PeerSpot reviewer
Market Relationship Manager at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

We do structured cabling and we use the LinkSprinter to do certified cable runs and for throughput testing through switches.

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Tom Newman - PeerSpot reviewer
Owner at HTH Telecommunications

We use it to test customers' networks, either fiber or Category 6 cable. We run BERT tests to analyze the fiber or cable.

For example, next week I'll be using it at a customer who is stating that they ran a bunch of data cables and they're hiring us to validate the cables and make sure there are no problems with it. Their IT department is saying when they installed the network, everything slowed down. We'll go in there and use LinkRunner.

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SK
Systems Engineer at a consultancy with 501-1,000 employees

My primary use case is validating jacks:  typically, fiber connecting to desktop jacks. We cross-connect in the IDF, install a patch cord running to the end station and, before I plug that patch cord into the PC with its 10-gig NIC, I want to verify that the path is working correctly.

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Bruce Hall - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Administrator at a university with 501-1,000 employees

I work for a college and we have mostly been using it on campus, whenever we've been adding fiber optic links between switches or routers, to identify paths and determine if they're plugging into the intended switch and port, before we plug it in with the actual switch.

The other use case is that we're starting to do troubleshooting with LinkRunner but we haven't done a lot of that yet. If we're seeing errors on a link, we're trying to use it to identify the source or the severity of them using something that is not part of our switching structure. Having something that's a separate standard or measuring device is very appealing.

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DT
Senior Information Security Analyst at Peterbilt Motors Co., PACCAR

We use this for daily work for desktop, network, server and infrastructure sections.  

It can be used in the office environment, factory floor, up in the rafters and out in the elements. With the device being rugged, it has withstood all that we've put it through with minimal issues.

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JO
Senior Network Architect at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees

My company has been spinning up a lot of offices, so we use LinkRunner to verify that the copper and fiber cables are installed correctly and will meet multi-gig needs. We also use it for general troubleshooting that occurs with the various built-in tests. We have two devices shared by four or five junior and senior network engineers.

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RV
Network Engineer at a tech vendor with 501-1,000 employees

When I moved into my current job, I got my manager to get one mainly to do 10-GB network testing for our upcoming products.

We use it every day now. The rest of the guys in my team use it for network discovery a lot, such as for making sure that most of our devices that run 10-GB are getting proper throughput around the network. We also use it for bandwidth checking.

Our company manufactures a lot of AV equipment and there are network ports available on them. We use the tool to set up the network for a particular device or product that we're about to release.

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Robin Puliparambil - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network Engineer at MATRIXCNI

I use LinkRunner for new deployment testing environments to validate solutions and to prove to us and our clients that we're delivering what they're looking for. LinkRunner provides us with all the relevant information we need, test results, and validates everything that we've done.

The tools are shared across our team, which is about eight people.

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NV
Network Analyst/Engineer at a media company with 1,001-5,000 employees

I work for one of the biggest port operators in the United Kingdom. I'm a network analyst/engineer, and I use the LinkRunner on a daily basis to check network connectivity from areas around where I work or from the switches in the LAN room, whether it's to check VLAN info to determine if the port is live, or end-to-end testing of the cables.

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JT
Network & Infrastructure Analyst with 201-500 employees

I mostly use LinkRunner for the auto-test LAN option. We use it to diagnose wall plates, test cable lengths, and perform simple captures and pings. 

I carry the unit in my tool bag, and I am the only person who uses it. One of the other team members has the same title as me, does the same basic tasks, and carries the same tools. The other person who uses this is the department director. He's the supervisor, so he makes decisions, but he also does hands-on repair work.

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Buyer's Guide
LinkRunner
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about LinkRunner. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
767,667 professionals have used our research since 2012.