Definition

loopback test

A loopback test is a test in which a signal in sent from a communications device and returned (looped back) to it as a way to determine whether the device is working right or as a way to pin down a failing node in a network. One type of loopback test is performed using a special plug, called a wrap plug, that is inserted in a port on a communications device. The effect of a wrap plug is to cause transmitted (output) data to be returned as received (input) data, simulating a complete communications circuit using a single computer.

In telephone systems, the signal sent as part of a loopback test is referred to as a loopback.

Related glossary terms: network tap, 10-high-day busy period (10HD busy period), maximum transmission unit (MTU), CRC-4 (Cyclic Redundancy Check 4), TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol), network analyzer (protocol analyzer or packet analyzer), OpenNMS (Open Network Management System), maximum segment size (MSS), network operations center (NOC) , ACK

This was last updated in August 2006

Posted by: Margaret Rouse

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