Abstract: An Ethernet cable used with an Ethernet test-set allows a single connection to an Ethernet port of a network element while maintaining individual connections to separate ports on the test-set. The far-end of the signal path is a single Ethernet cable port having its transmit and receive pins interconnected. The far-end port interconnections cause a test signal which has traveled to the far-end port to be returned to the test-set and to be receive in a test-set port other than the originating port Two signal paths can be simultaneously tested with the same test-kit. Interconnections between the test-set ports by way of the cable maintain a “no-signal”alarm disabled, which otherwise would be energized because there is no signal being received in the port from which the test signal originated.

Abstract: An Ethernet cable for use with an Ethernet test-set which allows a single connection to an Ethernet port of a network element while maintaining individual connections to two separate ports on the test-set, thereby allowing a successful test of a signal path in an Ethernet network to be conducted when the far-end of the signal path is a single Ethernet cable port having its transmit and receive pins interconnected. The far-end port interconnections cause a test signal which has traveled to the far-end port to be returned to the test-set and, in view of the cable configuration, to be received in a test-set port other than the port from which the signal test signal originated. Test-sets do not permit test signals to be returned to ports from which they originate. In an embodiment, two signal paths can be simultaneously tested with the same test-kit.