exercise a hub

[THUFIR HAWAT]

On 10/4/05, Mike McCarty <mike.mccarty at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
...
> How long do your lightbulbs normally "work"?

The hub in question was shrink wrapped when I bought it a few months
ago. The hub appeared "mint",  although was probably sitting in a
warehouse for years.  Also, I did use the hub to connect two computers
directly which pinged each other succesfully.  Penny wise and pound
foolish on that purchase.

It's not so much that the hub didn't work but that it functioning was
perhaps not one hundred percent.  Or, perhaps, hub specifications
changed and it was incompatible with this device.  I'm curious as to
whether the hub isn't "up to spec" or if the specifications have
moved.

> > Aside from pings, how else can you test a hub?
>
> Well, there are a number of ways to check out a hub,
> or any other piece of comm equipment. But you need
> hardware knowledge, and some test equipment.

Ah, I thought there might be a software package.

> Want a quick tutorial on how to use an oscilloscope?
...

Ah, well, no thanks.  I was hoping for something more user friendly, heh.

I am somewhat curious as to why the hub worked in that it could be
pinged across but failed in this specific scenario.  It's not like the
hub doesn't work at all, more that it just doesn't play nicely,
perhaps, with a particular device.  Similarly, while the switch plays
better with this device, the Asus WL-330g, the behaviour isn't as
expected.  Perhaps that's just a lack of networking knowledge on my
part, I've asked Asus for some clarifications.


-Thufir