Fluke MicroScanner Pro?

Just a suggestion, but spend the 16 bucks for a D-Link DGE-530T gigabit NIC or some other one based on one of the Marvell Yukon chipsets and play with the virtual cable scanner. It may be that that turns out to do everything you need and if so you've saved 374 bucks.

More information, please. What "virtual scanner" software are you referring to ?

Of course there is. It comes with any board that has a Marvell chip on it.

It should be on the CD that comes with the board. I don't see it for download anywhere, but it _is_ there. At least it is on the CD that comes with the ASUS A7N8X-E Deluxe, which is where I first heard of the virtual cable tester.

I made sure it installed and accessed the card, got far enough to have it tell me that it needs a gigabit switch port on the other end (IIRC--might need another Marvell board--in any case it needed something that I didn't have and couldn't justify buying at the time, when gigabit hardware pricing was still not down to the mass-market consumer-product level), and set it aside. Didn't really need to use it for anything.

I don't think there is any software out there yet that utilizes the VCT ( Virtual Cable Tester) API. At least this is the impression you get at the manufacturer's website if you are searching for any VCT software: you just keep getting back to this page

that says it is supported by Prestera and Link Street products by Marvell, and some third party manufacturers are also looking into it. D-Link also mentions some kind of Windows Utility software for their Yukon-based NIC, but does not elaborate nor lets you download anything.

Does anyone make a PCMCIA card based on this chipset? I really need something portable...

Any pointers to what kinds of cable hardware diags this chipset will perform? Distance to fault? Split pair? Cable length?

Thanks!

What's it do, John? Did you get to use it yet? Thanks!