Dell BigIron RX-16, Installation Manual

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BigIron RX Installation Guide 111
53-1001811-01
Testing network connectivity
4
Refer to the BigIron RX Series Configuration Guide for information about the command syntax.
Using virtual cable testing to diagnose a cable
BigIron RX devices support Virtual Cable Test (VCT) technology. VCT technology enables you to
diagnose a conductor (wire or cable) by sending a pulsed signal into the conductor, then examining
the reflection of that pulse. This method of cable analysis is referred to as Time Domain
Reflectometry (TDR). By examining the reflection, the Brocade device can detect and report cable
statistics such as, local and remote link pair, cable length, and link status.
Configuration notes
•
This feature is supported on copper ports only. It is not supported on fiber ports.
•
The port to which the cable is connected must be enabled when you issue the command to
diagnose the cable. If the port is disabled, the command is rejected.
•
If the port is operating at 100 Mbps half-duplex, the TDR test on one pair will fail.
•
If the remote pair is set to forced 100 Mbps, any change in MDI or MDIX may cause the device
to interpret the Multilevel Threshold-3 (MLT-3) as a reflected pulse, in which case, the device
will report a faulty condition. In this scenario, it is recommended that you run the TDR test a
few times for accurate results.
Command syntax
To diagnose a cable using TDR, enter commands such as the following at the Privileged EXEC level
of the CLI:
BigIron RX# phy cable-diag tdr 1
The above command diagnoses the cable attached to port 1.
Syntax: phy cable-diag tdr <slot-num/port-num>
Viewing the results of the cable analysis
To display the results of the cable analysis, enter a command such as the following at the Privileged
EXEC level of the CLI:
Syntax: show cable-diag tdr <slot-num/port-num>
Table 17 defines the fields shown in the command output.
BigIron RX#sh cable-diag tdr 1
Port Speed Local pair Pair Length Remote pair Pair status
--------- ----- ---------- ----------- ----------- -----------
01 1000M Pair A <50M Pair B Terminated
Pair B <50M Pair A Terminated
Pair C <50M Pair D Terminated
Pair D <50M Pair C Terminated