I like the fact that I can tell the equipment to stop at a certain point during the test of a cable, to see whether or not there is basic connectivity. I can stop it before it starts pinging the outside world, such as Google or, perhaps, our core network switch. Those basic results—do I have a basic connection and power—finish up fast and I can move on. The fact that I can stop it at certain points, if that's the targeted job for the day, is helpful. It does the job fast enough, producing accurate information every time.

I don't use the online results because I don't pay for the account. Right there, on the spot, the handheld gives me what I need to know. I don't have to report to anybody else. I am the guy who needs the information.

The AutoTest feature is pretty much the only button I use. It provides me with 100 percent of the information I need. There are a lot of other cool things available, like speed tests, but I don't use them. The Auto-Test gives me the POE, the DNS, DCP, responses, and which switchport it is on. That one button gives me all the most important information for my needs.

Overall, what I like about it is that I can do jobs quickly and tailor them in a way that I like.

The telnet feature has come in handy because I no longer have to carry a laptop with me to test connectivity.

The integration with the cloud system is very good. If I need to give this device to a level one engineer, they can run and plug it into the port, and then an automatic email is generated. It sends me all of the information that I need to make changes. This feature is great when I'm in the field.

The fact that the test results are automatically saved into NetAlly's Link-Live Cloud Service is pretty important to me. As a network engineer, it's really useful to have and be able to look at testing in the past. I enjoy it thoroughly. This is a feature that saves me time and helps with the management of the results.

If I'm using a laptop then usually, all I can see is where I can reach Google. This device tells me the name, port number, VLANs, and other details. That's what I like to see.

The fiber connections are great, and this feature makes a huge difference.

The AutoTest feature is one that I use quite significantly. It provides me with information such as the name of the switch, the port number, and the VLANs. These are the major focuses. I also use it when I have to probe out a link and check the connections in between. Using the AutoTest features wipes out more than half of my work. Perhaps three quarters.

With most of our testing, this solution makes it pretty simplistic. It will go through the network, it will tell you how fast the traffic is moving, the return cycle, and other relevant information. 

In terms of documenting ad hoc additions and other changes to wired ethernet connections, this product is very good. It keeps the information in the cloud and I have the ability to name it. This makes it very nice and easy to see. I don't think that I can do this from the device itself when I test. That would be a nice feature to have. If I could name it inside the actual device, and then have it transmit the data to the cloud automatically, it would be one less step that we have to do. 

It is fast in providing results. It is pretty accurate. 

I do like that the test results are automatically saved to NetAlly's free Link-Live cloud service. It is pretty slick.

There is a cool feature with it where if you purchased the separate probe, you could do a tone test of cables, but you do have to purchase that probe separately.

It is really easy to use. We have a bunch of new people, and it has been very simple. We've never had any problems or confusion using it. It is very well laid out.

It is hugely helpful for troubleshooting. It is one of the main tools we use to troubleshoot. We use it all the time to see which cable is on what switch, the VLAN name, and the switch name. To AutoTest, you can use DCP or static to see what kind of IP you're getting and if you're getting one.

LinkRunner 10G is very handy for onsite troubleshooting and implementations. We can quickly identify the links in terms of 1G, 2.5G, 5G, and 10G on the copper side, and also from 1G up to 10G on the fiber side. It is very handy for me because we deal with a lot of banks. Especially for the provisioning of new services, we use this tool to identify the link capacity and do the necessary testing to ensure all the circuits are ready before the handover to the next team to operate the technology. This is something that saves a lot of time as compared to the old days.

It is easy to use. I'm quite experienced in the industry, and I find it easy to use, but even when I passed the unit to my engineer or the intern students from the college, they spent less than half an hour figuring out how to use it. It is pretty easy to use. They didn't have any training. I just gave them the unit that we were going to use for the project, and I gave the user manual to them. Just by flipping through the user manual, they learned how to use it for basic functions and what features it has.

I've found the VLAN test feature to be most valuable. That's because not many devices do VLAN tests. Normally, I have to send a center technician to check a line and see if it's alive. If it's working, then I have to send a network technician out to log into a switch and see which port it's on and on which VLAN that port is. That's two persons and two separate visits. This device does all of this in a matter of seconds, and that has saved me a lot of time, troubleshooting, and resources.

Its ease of use is very impressive. LinkRunner allows me to have my technicians run tests that are normally too complex and require a network specialist. AutoTest works with just one click. AutoTest does a lot of testing that would normally require a network specialist to log in to a switch and check out VLAN based on a port. My technicians don't have to log in to the switch anymore. They can just do AutoTest and information is provided online. So, I no longer have to send a specialist. I can have my technician run these very complex tests. It saves me on resources, time, and site visits.

When it comes to troubleshooting, based on my experience, it has given very useful and very helpful information, especially for my field technicians. It has reduced my visits and the amount of presence because it gives a very comprehensive report on your network tests. It tests multiple variables and multiple parameters and gives a very informative report that makes it easy to pinpoint what is the root cause. There are many tools in this one solution. It's basically a bunch of toolkits or tool sets in one device, which makes it very powerful testing equipment.

You can very easily see the VLAN structures and which port is involved on the switch. A lot of detailed information comes back.

It's also helpful that I have both my devices connected to email. Every time they're used I get an email that shows me the test results—fail/pass—and the details around it. When I get back, I review where I was and recall all the details without having to scribble them down on a piece of paper.

If the results were not automatically saved to NetAlly’s free Link-Live Cloud Service, it would lose a lot of effectiveness. Without that, you would have to depend on the memory of the device or walk around with a notepad and scribble things down, and hopefully you'd be able to read what you wrote when you got back. Having that automated process is very important, and knowing it is there even made it easier to make the purchase.

Also, being able to do a packet capture is important. 

AutoTest largely gives you a snapshot of what the network is looking like on that particular leg. It helps trace down if we have connectivity. We have a unique setup in the way we structure our VLANs, so it's just important to know which port on a switch is tied to which VLAN structure. When you're out, you're not going to necessarily log in to the switch and automatically start looking. You need to know, "Is this on this VLAN or that VLAN?" Given that they're not necessarily marked clearly, the LinkRunner device makes it a lot easier to really quickly say, "Okay, I need to move this port because this one is dead. Where is another VLAN for it?" You can very quickly determine which of the ports will work.

Also, on very long runs at the end of a building, I am able to do a more in-depth cable test to see if we've got a mismatched pair or a loose wire that needs to be punched down. You can very easily tell when you've got an intermittent connection. 

And, of course, the performance of it is pretty handy too. You can start an analysis of what's going on and look at what outgoing port you're going at.

Among the features that I've found the most valuable with the G2 is that you can have your results uploaded to the cloud and have them emailed directly to you. That way you can look at the results later on during the day.

Having the results sent directly, via email, from the LinkRunner itself makes it really great for logging different things that you're trying to document within your organization. You can have a paper trail of what your organization has as far as infrastructure goes. Also, when we're trying to diagnose and troubleshoot issues further, outside of the site, we can have visual results of what we tested earlier during the day to help us figure out what's going on with the environment. The auto-saving of the information allows us to streamline our processes and save a bunch of time on troubleshooting and diagnostics.

The LinkRunner, as far as troubleshooting goes, provides very quick and useful diagnostic tools. If you're trying to connect to a switch, it tells you all the information at a moment's notice. It has definitely reduced troubleshooting time inside network cabinets and allows us to get our work done efficiently and effectively. The solution has made our IT staff more productive by saving us time within those IT closets and allowing us to get in and out of the scenarios and get the client back up and running.

Having a unit that can perform all the tasks needed makes the life of an IT professional easier. You have a simple device that is easy to use. The user interface is great, and it has all the streamlined power tools to make an IT professional great at whatever tasks they're trying to accomplish. The ease of use of the LinkRunner G2 means that any IT professional or beginner IT professional would be able to pick it up and use it, 100 percent, without any issues.

The speed in providing results is something that they have done very well with this product. I have no comments as to any ways they could improve it.

Among the best features are the

• touch screen 
• menus, which are pretty easy
• and the reports, which are great.

In terms of network validation, the tool makes it very easy to run a test.

The AutoTest feature makes it easy for you on both ends. It's an excellent feature, especially if you're by yourself. You plug one end in and you hit AutoTest. It sits and waits for you to plug in the other end and it starts testing. It's also helpful when you're with a second person. Once the second guy goes to the next jack or the next fiber, you hit AutoTest and then that guy plugs it in and it tests. It saves a lot of time and gives you a lot of information, depending on what you're testing.

The speed at which it provides results is excellent. It's extremely fast and efficient. It's not a time-waster.

I also love NetAlly’s free Link-Live Cloud Service where the test results are automatically saved. It's like a backup. It's always there. Later, you can get on your computer and get the results, and you can print them out. It's much easier than transferring the data from the unit to a thumb drive or connecting it to a computer. It makes things more efficient and easier.

The AutoTest feature allows you to validate an Ethernet connection, whether it's a vanilla copper connection—10 Mbps, 100 Mbps, 1 Gbps, or 10 Gbps—or fiber via the SFP Plus port. That's the feature that I have found most useful.

AutoTest provides me with validation that a network path is working for the first four levels of the OSI model. It gives me an Ethernet link — and if you can't get that, then none of the rest of it matters. It also tells me what the tool has been able to auto-negotiate to: 100 Mbps, 1 Gbps, or 10 Gbps. That helps me validate the Ethernet layer. It gives me information about VLAN tagging. If you're plugged into a jack that you believe should be tagged and it isn't, or vice versa, then this is giving you critical information.

It continues at what I would call Layer 2, and tells you the name and other characteristics of the Ethernet device it’s plugged into. That's helpful because it tells me if I’m plugged into the switch that I think I'm plugged into. It goes and gets an IP address, which tells me if the DHCP servers are working. It pings stuff, such as the default gateway that the DHCP server has given me, and the DNS servers. And finally, I have it configured to reach out to Google. If I can ping all the way out to Google, then I've verified that the network path between here and Google is working. [That network path may not be as performant as I would like, but at least the basic functionality is there.]

The second useful feature is the performance test, formally called an ITU (international telecommunications union) Y.1564 test. That is a standards-based internet protocol test that measures five parameters. You stick this device on one end and a similar device on the other end of the pathway that you want to test, and it will measure for you, in a sophisticated way, the five following characteristics:

• throughput - how many bits per second you're getting between the two tools
• latency
• jitter - the variation on latency
• packet loss/frame loss
• availability (what percentage of the time was the link available for transmitting / receiving)

From a certain perspective, these are the canonical five parameters which describe a network:  any network. This device, and any one of a number of different devices that can act as its partner on the other end, will allow you to validate that path using this standardized test suite.

It’s useful in a couple of cases, such as where you're paying for a circuit from a carrier from, say, city A to city B, or between two locations inside a city, and you want to validate that the carrier has in fact delivered the circuit that you're contracted for.

The second scenario where I use it is the case we regularly get in support tickets, that "the network is slow". There are a lot of approaches to troubleshooting such a ticket, but one approach is to unplug the two machines from which we’re getting the “slow” report and run one of these performance tests between them.  [Alternatively, plug one tool "next to" the client and the other tool "next to" the server.]  If the tools are able to achieve whatever the designed network performance is, you've narrowed the fault domain. You can say, "Okay, great. It's something to do with my client or my server:  I have demonstrated that the network path will deliver the desired behavior." If the two tools are unable to reach the desired performance, then you've also narrowed the fault domain and you can focus on your network infrastructure.

Another valuable feature is that it is really easy to use. NetAlly has really done a good job on the user interface. This is particular impressive because the device has a small screen, obviously, not 19" monitor here:  they manage to pack a lot of information into a small space and make it obvious what the tool is telling you.

The solution's ability to simplify network validation and configuration of copper and fiber Ethernet networks is very useful to me. Otherwise, I’m guessing. Having a tool that I can trust doesn't solve all problems, but for the problems it solves, I can trust that it has told me “yes” or “no.” I would rate it highly for that.

Also, for the things that it troubleshoots, it does it very well because it is so reliable. It gives me a "green light" or a "red light." Is this particular function working or not?  I have yet to run into a bug affecting the results it reports

And it is quick:  the UI is highly responsive, the tests it runs complete rapidly.

I find it quite helpful that test results are saved on NetAlly’s Link-Live Cloud Service because I'm forever staring at the screen saying, "Hey, this is great, can I move on to my next jack?" and then I've forgotten some little detail about the previous test. I can jump on LinkLive and there are the results of the test.  Or, just consult my email:  I have it LinkLive configured to send test results to me via email.

There is one other feature that I use occasionally, and that's the Packet Capture feature. I find that useful at some points when troubleshooting. The fact that this has a built-in capture function makes it all the more useful, rather than having to pull out a second tool to do the packet capture.

One of the most valuable features may seem really small, but it's really helpful. The LLDP decoding is better than on some of the other devices that we've used. Specifically, it goes beyond the minimum of the LLDP data to decode, and it shows the LLDP port descriptions. That makes it vastly simpler to identify which port you're connecting to on a switch that's patched back to some other building, rather than having to figure out an SNMP index or something else.

Its ability to simplify network validation and configuration of fiber Ethernet networks has been very good. It has certainly helped anytime we've been doing something where we wanted to evaluate it beforehand.

On the troubleshooting side, from what I've seen, I think the Link-Live is going to be a big plus with the automatic storing of data on the cloud. I expect to have to take fewer pictures of my tester to record something. And while I haven't used it at all, I'm expecting to like the LAN BERT function for more extensive troubleshooting or validation of a link at higher levels.

It's also pretty easy to use, at least when it comes to the primary functions. I haven't used the most advanced parts yet, but I was certainly able to make use of the basic features relatively quickly. For instance, the AutoTest, was literally a matter of plugging it in and pushing "AutoTest." I was able to evaluate the information that it gave back.

The speed at which it provides results is very good. It seems very quick.

The unit has saved hours and hours of troubleshooting and manpower on site. Other sections that are not in IT have also purchased these for wire map, tracing and testing.

I highly recommend getting the gold support because of the two issues that we've had over the five years. Throughout all of its use, the LinkRunner RJ45 jack on the top of the unit has been replaced due to wear and tear.

I like that LinkRunner is an all-in-one device with a touchscreen interface. I don't have to pair it with a phone or anything else to get the full functionality. The built-in tests are one of the most significant advantages. It will pull an IP, ping the gateway, ping out to the Intra, and report everything on the screen. It will tell me when a test completes or fails and why.

We don't have to worry about carrying multiple devices. When we’re going into a situation to deploy or troubleshoot, we don't want to take a whole bag of stuff. This comes with a little strap so we can wear it on our hips.

AutoTest is another feature we use. It provides a power rating and does the basics post on IP. It has thresholds to tell me if a DHCP request takes longer than expected or the DNS takes longer to resolve something based on thresholds we've set. AutoTest is critical for troubleshooting because it helps diagnose network issues. If it's an issue with a DNS server or DHB server, then it is not traditionally a network issue.

Overall, it's easy to use. When I hand it to junior technicians, they can figure it out in a few minutes and test whatever they need. The results display quickly after the initial boot and testing. The unit also has a built-in camera, so we can snap pictures of the wall plates and other field items when we're troubleshooting or looking at a new install.

The most valuable features are the 

• AutoTest for the network
• port testing
• network test performance.

AutoTest is very helpful. It's very streamlined and it's very easy to set up and very easy to identify what we want to achieve. It's probably the feature we use the most. It provides us with LLTD, which is very useful. It helps us to discover devices from the other side. If they have link layer discovery protocol or CDP enabled, we can actually check the device that we're plugged into, as well as the port and tag; the Layer 2 information. 

That is very useful for us because we always have labs testing new products that we are about to release. The ability to record the results from the AutoTest, such as what interface speed it's negotiating, and the PoE on that port, helps us when releasing new products, as a part of our lab networks.

And when it comes to documenting ad hoc additions, moves, and changes of wired ethernet connections, it works very well. We can organize the results by folders, so we can see what's been changed over a certain amount of time. That's really good.

It's also amazing when it comes to troubleshooting. It's really helpful for us, especially if we're identifying a 10-GB network, or whatever our product is negotiating. We're very happy with it.

As for its ease of use, the apps are very well-designed. They're very easy to use and understand.

I'm also pretty impressed with LinkRunner's speed in providing results. As long as it's connected to the internet or WiFi, it's pretty quick in uploading the results to the cloud.

And the Link-Live website is pretty easy to use. You can create folders and tag them. It's very, very well-designed.

Performance testing is the most valuable feature. It gives a brief summary of the information we're looking at, such as latency, jitter, and the available throughput.

The most valuable feature is the end-to-end testing with the "dart," as they call it, where you can test for faults in the cable or if they've been terminated properly.

Its ability to simplify network validation and configuration of copper and fiber Ethernet networks is good. The checking of the termination on copper is good. I haven't used it much for fiber, to be honest, but I use it to locate physical problems with a cable. It's very good because it also gives you the distance, which wires are crossed, and which ones are damaged.

Troubleshooting with it is also good, with physical faults on a cable. It is good as well for VLAN information and IP information.

The AutoTest feature is the one I use the most. It will provide me with the VLAN that's being presented, the switch hostname. It didn't use to provide the actual port number, which sometimes is imperative if you're trying to troubleshoot something. It will do an IP test, so it will tell you the default gateway address and the IP address it's getting. And it will do a few tests where it goes out to Google, so you can see if it can get to the actual outside public network. And that all gets uploaded to the portal, which you can access through a PC when you get back to your main office.

That Auto Test information is essential because I go to a lot of remote sites. You want to leave knowing that all that info, the comprehensive information, is uploaded back to the portal. You don't want to get back and find there are bits missing.

The fact that results are automatically saved to NetAlly's Link-Live cloud service is very important because if there are a few of us with LinkRunners, and we're assessing the network connectivity at different areas within the campus, we can have them all uploaded and it's all stored centrally. And we can access other people's results as well. Definitely [it's important] instead of trying to get that info at a later date, it's all there within minutes. The automatic uploading of test results definitely saves time and helps with the management of test results.

It's reduced troubleshooting time by about 20 percent because of the features I've mentioned [like] the centrally uploaded data, and because of the scope of things, it can look into like DHCP, IP connectivity, VLANs being presented, and physical issues on a port.

The auto-test feature is vital and does 90 percent of what I need on its own. It's fast and I can get there in just a few clicks. It does a good job and tells me everything I need to know. LinkRunner works pretty quickly and always seems to be accurate. 

I like that the auto-test is customizable, so I can set up different auto-test profiles depending on the scenario I'm going into. I often want to know the port of the switch I'm connected to. I also want to test how fast I get DHCP. I also use the auto test for power requirements, so I know how much power is coming through the line.

I love the Link-Live Cloud Service. I try to make sure that it gets plugged into an actual network from time to time so those updates show up. I often forward results to my team to let someone else look at them and give me their assessment. It's a huge benefit that saves me time by giving information to my colleagues.

It's handy that LinkRunner has the user manual built into it. You often need to use this tool to look up an answer when a network isn't available.

• Cable wire test: Shows me open wires in the Ethernet run.
• Switch: My favorite feature. Shows me switch IP and switch port. I don’t have to trace a wire run to locate a switch port.
• Auto test: It’s great to know if a problem exists due to DHCP or DNS issues.
• PoE test: My second favorite. PoE failures were a headache, but not anymore.

The most valuables features are:

• AutoTest (including testing a specific site/IP addresses)
• Cable testing
• POE testing
• Static IP testing-troubleshooting
• Switch port information

• Solid body: Network engineers and technicians need devices that have hard bodies because they might drop it, pick it up with other equipment and so on.
• Authorized: It is stable and I am used to its reports. If you need to validate a cable, you can just calibrate it with a one-meter cable, and then test any cable again.
• Long-life battery