Ethernet Loop Back Plug-in?

[Anonymous]

The loop back test function for Ethernet cannot test the transformer and the connector. It would be great if there were a plug-in device like the one for USB. Is it possible?

Thanks,

Dave

[David (PassMark)]

In V4 of BurnInTest, the network test can test the full data path, including the connector & cable.

The Network test, tests your networking hardware and software. This is done by sending special ICMP_ECHO message using the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP). The ICMP_ECHO message is more commonly known as a ‘ping’. This message is echoed but to your computer by a remote host. This allows the reliability of the network connection to be determined. Up to 4 remote hosts can be selected by setting the Destination Network address in the Test Preferences window.

What you need to do is,
1/ Setup an external machine on the same LAN
2/ Make sure there is no firewall blocking ICMP traffic (Network pings) on either the machine under test or the external machine.
3/ Set the IP test address in the BurnInTest network test to use the IP address of the external machine.

The packet sent to the remote host contains a data payload and a checksum. Every time a packet is echoed from the remote host the checksum is verified and the data payload is compared byte by byte with the data that was sent. Any differences in the payload or an incorrect checksum will result in an error. The data payload is 64 bytes in length.

So rather than designing an external ethernet loopback we decided it would be better just to use an external PC.

Finally, we are planning some additional network test functionality in V5 of BurnInTest (to better allow simultaneous testing of multiple network cards).

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David
PassMark