Tool Tuesday - Platinum Tools Net Prowler and Pro Test Kit

When you’re working on a network, installing a new device, or running new cable, few things can be more frustrating than things not working once you’re installed and booted up. The basic troubleshooting of checking connections doesn’t work, breaking out the laptop and pinging doesn’t work. Nothing but frustration ensues.

That’s when it’s time to get Platinum Tools’ Net Prowler and Net Prowler Pro involved. Both of these test kits perform a number of tests to help get your network up and running and they’ll save you a lot of hassle. Platinum Tools TNP700 is rather basic, however a second glance will reveal what it can do. In this video, you can see a good demonstration on what this unit is capable of. First and foremost, it keeps you from having to lug a laptop around as it can ping devices on the network for you, both IPV4 and IPV6. You can also ping specific URLs to test WAN connectivity. You can also test network, coax, or telephone cables. It really is a thorough tester in one convenient package, you can see what else it does here.

The TNP850K1 Net Prowler Pro Test kit operates very similarly, but has a few additional features, including a nicer case which is important to prevent damage to the unit. The other advantage is that this kit contains a few more pieces with it which allow you to be a bit more extensive in your testing. Lastly, the TNP850K1 does all of the following:

Troubleshoot Networks

• Detects CDP, LLDP, NDP, and VLAN
• Supports IPV4 and IPV6 protocols
• Pings IPV4, IPV6, and URL addresses
• Verifies DHCP connectivity and DNS
• TCP/UDP Throughput Test

Verify Port Settings

• Tests and reports current link speed and link capabilities for active Ethernet drops up to 1 Gbps
• Tests presence of PoE and class of PoE per IEEE 802.3af/at with load test for voltage drop
• Link light to identify location on a hub/switch/router port

Test VDV Cables

• Tests CAT3/5e/6/6a Ethernet cable configuration and verifies connectivity while conducting tests for opens, shorts, miswires, split pairs, and reverses
• Supports up to 20 network and coax ID-only mapping remotes
• Supports up to 8 testing and ID remotes for network & telephone cables
• Ability to define Network test name, cable name, save and print all results (cable testing and network testing)

If you’re going to be doing any network troubleshooting either freelance or at your 9-5 job, you’ll want to consider these kits. They take all of the guesswork out of troubleshooting a network, they allow you to ping, test cable length and identify shorts all without a laptop or being at a computer.

If you’ve used either of these, make sure to leave us product reviews for your favorite and tell us about it on Facebook or Instagram!