What is in your Toolkit?
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I'm starting to do onsite work, and I wanted to ask all the pro's here; What tools do you carry onsite, to help you do your job? What are your favorites? Which ones do you use the most?
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Customer service baseball bat. Occasionally one needs percussive maintenance and my hands are critical to making my living.
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Large USB stick is generally the top tool. Never know when being able to move files around, back things up, etc. is going to be important.
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A decent laptop... maybe a multitool or a set of screw drivers if I know there will be hardware work involved.
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Having something for network verification is generally pretty huge. If computers are not working or not present you often need to check drops, verify cabling, etc. Carrying a Fluke or similar device can be really valuable.
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I met Kendall at SpiceWorld in London this year and got to talk to her a bit their booth was a lot of fun.
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The Fluke LinkRunner is a nice simple tool to verify connectivity all the way to the internet.
- Flash drive
- iPad
- Laptop
- Patch cable (I love the flat white 6' one the Buffalo sends with their gear for my bag)
- Screwdriver tool (prefer the StorageCraft blue metal one from SpiceWorld 2014).
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Yeah, I like the LinkRunner. Rugged and low cost too. Great for a work bag.
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Flashlight, small LED one. You never know when you are dealing with a dark corner. These days an iPhone will do that too, but you don't want to be eating up that battery or dropping that into a dirty spot.
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@JaredBusch said:
The Fluke LinkRunner is a nice simple tool to verify connectivity all the way to the internet.
- Flash drive
- iPad
- Laptop
- Patch cable (I love the flat white 6' one the Buffalo sends with their gear for my bag)
- Screwdriver tool (prefer the StorageCraft blue metal one from SpiceWorld 2014).
Yes the LInkrunner is nice,.. but how many of us want to drop $1,500 on just one tool?
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@gjacobse said:
@JaredBusch said:
The Fluke LinkRunner is a nice simple tool to verify connectivity all the way to the internet.
- Flash drive
- iPad
- Laptop
- Patch cable (I love the flat white 6' one the Buffalo sends with their gear for my bag)
- Screwdriver tool (prefer the StorageCraft blue metal one from SpiceWorld 2014).
Yes the LInkrunner is nice,.. but how many of us want to drop $1,500 on just one tool?
$1,500, they are nowhere near that price.
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Bluetooth headset - makes it nice to have both hands available when working.
Pen and paper... yes,.. it can be useful
External battery for your phone. And proper cable. You should take photos too.. Between those uses,.. you'll kill your battery.
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Here is a LinkRunner for just $995...
http://www.amazon.com/Fluke-Networks-LRAT-1000-LinkRunner-Ethernet/dp/B007B60F6A
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LinkRunner is great but not for an entry level tech or someone primarily doing desktop work. That's more for someone actually working on the network.
For the "every day" tech to carry around you want something more like a Fluke LinkSprinter 100. Very cheap, very handy. Does most of what you need.
http://www.amazon.com/Fluke-Networks-LinkSprinter-Network-Tester/dp/B00I5CKF3M
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@scottalanmiller said:
$1,500, they are nowhere near that price.
Maybe I'm looking at the wrong model?
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@gjacobse said:
@scottalanmiller said:
$1,500, they are nowhere near that price.
Maybe I'm looking at the wrong model?
That's for copper and fiber, check out just the copper one. It should be around 1,000$.
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Yeah, not many of us need that fiber gear. If I was in a Fortune 500 and working for the networking department, absolutely. But then I'd not be in the MSP world and supporting SMBs
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@coliver said:
@gjacobse said:
@scottalanmiller said:
$1,500, they are nowhere near that price.
Maybe I'm looking at the wrong model?
That's for copper and fiber, check out just the copper one. It should be around 1,000$.
That is still way out of my available budget.
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@gjacobse said:
@coliver said:
@gjacobse said:
@scottalanmiller said:
$1,500, they are nowhere near that price.
Maybe I'm looking at the wrong model?
That's for copper and fiber, check out just the copper one. It should be around 1,000$.
That is still way out of my available budget.
Mine too... I found the Fluke toning kit worked for 90% of cabling issues when I was with an SMB.
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I have a toner and a LinkMaster cable tester. Nothing fancy.
I have wondered for several years about building one from a Basic Stamp, Beagle Bone or now the Raspberry Pi...
