Test both cables and record what the pass did not prove

short · 45 min · Objective 2.3

Task

Run a wire-map tester over the good cable and the faulty one, compare the results against the prediction, and write down explicitly what a passing result left unproven.

Steps

  1. Test the good cable and record every indication in lab/tester/good.csv with header pin,pass,note.
  2. Test the faulty cable and record the same in lab/tester/faulty.csv.
  3. Compare against the prediction and record in lab/tester/compared.md whether the tester found the fault you planted, and whether it found anything you did not plant.
  4. Write lab/tester/unproven.csv with header property,tested_by_this_tool,tested_by_what listing at least five cable properties, marking which the wire map covers.
  5. Connect the good cable to a switch or router port and record the negotiated speed in lab/tester/speed.txt, stating what a link at a tenth of the expected rate would have indicated.

Verify

awk -F, 'NR>1 && NF>=3 {n++} END {print n" pin result(s), good cable"}' lab/tester/good.csv
awk -F, 'NR>1 && NF>=3 {n++} END {print n" pin result(s), faulty cable"}' lab/tester/faulty.csv
grep -c . lab/tester/compared.md
awk -F, 'NR>1 && tolower($2)=="no" {n++} END {print n+0" property(ies) the wire map cannot see"}' lab/tester/unproven.csv
grep -c . lab/tester/speed.txt

Both cables tested, a comparison recorded, and at least three properties marked as outside the wire map's reach. If the unproven table has nothing marked no, re-read what a split pair does to a wire-map test.

Notes

The unproven table is this lab's real output. Every tool in this course gets one, and lesson 45 collects them, because knowing the boundary of a result is what stops a pass being mistaken for a clean bill of health.

This is an independent study companion for CompTIA A+ Core 1 220-1201 and is not produced by or endorsed by CompTIA.