My Network Toolkit

A while back, Chris Marget of Fragmentation Needed posted a run-down of his comprehensive and extremely clever network toolkit. Because I'm something of a weight weenie, mine is a lot more slimmed down. I thought I'd post it here:




The contents:

  1. Two random USB drives (in case I need to leave one with somebody).
  2. Single-mode and multi-mode LC fiber loopback plugs.
  3. Rack PDU plug adapter.
  4. Awesome PicQuic compact screwdriver (thanks to Chris's post).
  5. T1 loopback plug (red) (because we still have T1s out here in the boonies).
  6. Cat-6 pass-through plug (white).
  7. Crossover adapter (orange).
  8. Sharpie.
  9. Console setup:
    1. USB-to-DB9 adapter.
    2. DB9-to-RJ45 adapter.
    3. Flat Cat-6 cable.
    4. Rollover adapter.
    5. Velcro tie
    6. Flat Cat-6 cable with velcro tie.
The console setup could probably be improved by adding a DB9 null-modem adapter. The coolest thing (IMO) that I'm missing from Chris's setup is the Bluetooth console adapter -- maybe one day.

The Fenix AA light and Leatherman Skeletool CX almost always live in a pocket rather than the kit and go with me everywhere. The kit all fits into a small zippered case that used to hold a Dell laptop power supply.

My main goal here was to have all the hard-to-find professional stuff in one small package. I have a separate "personal" kit that contains stuff like headphones, USB cables, and chargers for personal electronics.

Published: January 02 2015

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