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LinkRunner pros and cons

Vendor: NetAlly

4.3 out of 5

20 reviews
90% willing to recommend

Pros & Cons summary

The AutoTest feature of LinkRunner automatically starts testing after setup, beneficial for single users. It offers LLDP decoding with detailed port descriptions, and the ability to pause tests for verifying connectivity. Cloud storage aids in managing network changes, and VLAN testing accelerates troubleshooting. However, it has a slow boot time, lacks tone and packet viewing capabilities, has short battery life, and restricts firmware updates to AllyCare contracts.

Buyer's Guide

Get pricing advice, tips, use cases and valuable features from real users of this product.

Prominent pros & cons

PROS

AutoTest feature facilitates solo testing operations, allowing efficient setup and immediate testing processes.

LLDP decoding capabilities exceed those of other devices, enhancing port identification and network troubleshooting.

Network validation and configuration for both copper and fiber Ethernet are greatly simplified, enhancing efficiency and effectiveness.

Investigative capabilities are expanded with features like end-to-end testing and VLAN testing, saving time and resources in network troubleshooting.

Direct result sharing via email enables effective documentation and easier management of network infrastructure details.

CONS

LinkRunner takes a while to boot up, which can be frustrating for users.

It lacks the ability to send a tone down the cable, requiring an additional tool.

The device is somewhat bulky, and a smaller form factor would be preferred.

Battery life is limited, needing to be charged frequently for back-to-back shifts.

Firmware updates are restricted without an AllyCare contract, reducing its usefulness.

LinkRunner Pros review quotes

Manager of networks and infrastructure at a government with 5,001-10,000 employees

Oct 30, 2022

I've found the VLAN test feature to be most valuable. That's because not many devices do VLAN tests. Normally, I have to send a center technician to check a line and see if it's alive. If it's working, then I have to send a network technician out to log into a switch and see which port it's on and on which VLAN that port is. That's two persons and two separate visits. This device does all of this in a matter of seconds, and that has saved me a lot of time, troubleshooting, and resources.

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reviewer1901049

Network analyst at a university with 10,001+ employees

Jun 29, 2022

It provides a way to test 10Gig connectivity. Previously, we had to hook up a switch. That was our only way. Now, with LinkRunner, we can test on the fly if an SFP is bad or if the switch has the right configuration on it.

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Technical Director at SystemEngineer360 Pte. Ltd.

Jun 21, 2022

LinkRunner 10G is very handy for onsite troubleshooting and implementations. We can quickly identify the links in terms of 1G, 2.5G, 5G, and 10G on the copper side, and also from 1G up to 10G on the fiber side. It is very handy for me because we deal with a lot of banks. Especially for the provisioning of new services, we use this tool to identify the link capacity and do the necessary testing to ensure all the circuits are ready before the handover to the next team to operate the technology. This is something that saves a lot of time as compared to the old days.

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Stuart Kendrick

Systems Engineer at a consultancy with 501-1,000 employees

Aug 15, 2025

The solution's ability to simplify network validation and configuration of copper and fiber Ethernet networks is very useful to me. Otherwise, I’m guessing. Having a tool that I can trust doesn't solve all problems, but for the problems it solves, I can trust that it has told me “yes” or “no.” I would rate it highly for that.

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KG

Network Engineer at HCA Healthcare

Jul 1, 2022

It is fast in providing results. It is pretty accurate.

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Robin Puliparambil

Senior Network Engineer at MATRIXCNI

Jul 28, 2025

Performance testing is the most valuable feature. It gives a brief summary of the information we're looking at, such as latency, jitter, and the available throughput.

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Market Relationship Manager at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

Nov 24, 2022

Having the results sent directly, via email, from the LinkRunner itself makes it really great for logging different things that you're trying to document within your organization. You can have a paper trail of what your organization has as far as infrastructure goes.

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reviewer1889814

Network & Infrastructure Analyst with 201-500 employees

Jun 21, 2022

The auto-test feature is vital and does 90 percent of what I need on its own. It's fast and I can get there in just a few clicks. It does a good job and tells me everything I need to know. LinkRunner works pretty quickly and always seems to be accurate.

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reviewer2005659

Network Analyst/Engineer at a media company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Oct 27, 2022

The most valuable feature is the end-to-end testing with the "dart," as they call it, where you can test for faults in the cable or if they've been terminated properly.

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reviewer1856337

Senior Network Architect at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees

May 11, 2022

I like that LinkRunner is an all-in-one device with a touchscreen interface. You don't have to pair it with a phone or anything else to get the full functionality. The built-in tests are one of the most significant advantages. It will pull an IP, ping the gateway, ping out to the intra, and report everything on the screen. It will tell you when a test completes or fails and why.

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LinkRunner Cons review quotes

Manager of networks and infrastructure at a government with 5,001-10,000 employees

Oct 30, 2022

One of the things I'd like to see in future versions of LinkRunner is a wireless dongle embedded into the product so that I don't need to have a separate wireless dongle. It should be built into that.

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reviewer1901049

Network analyst at a university with 10,001+ employees

Jun 29, 2022

It doesn't turn off automatically, but the toning function goes to sleep. It seems to stop toning after five or six minutes if you don't find the cable. It could be up to ten minutes, but if you don't find the cable that you're trying to tone quick enough, you'll have to go back and restart the tone. So, it doesn't turn itself off, but while toning, it turns itself off.

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Technical Director at SystemEngineer360 Pte. Ltd.

Jun 21, 2022

It is a great tool, but in the long-term, they can make its processor more powerful to do more functions. They can upgrade the hardware to make it run faster and more efficiently from the process point of view. That'll be beneficial because the technology is evolving and the network traffic is going higher and higher. We have to leverage better spec products to handle the traffic load.

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Learn what your peers think about LinkRunner. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2026.

893,221 professionals have used our research since 2012.

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Stuart Kendrick

Systems Engineer at a consultancy with 501-1,000 employees

Aug 15, 2025

It is very stable. That being said, there is one feature that is not quite as stable as the rest of the product. You can leave it plugged into a location where you're doing some work and connect to it remotely by a program called VNC... sometimes that function breaks down, if you've been running for a couple of days... if you're remotely controlling it, you're probably not right next to it. That can be modestly annoying.

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KG

Network Engineer at HCA Healthcare

Jul 1, 2022

They should allow firmware updates even if you don't have an AllyCare contract. I'm in a situation right now where they've released firmware for bug fixes, but we cannot access those, which makes the device almost useless. You almost want to just throw it out the window because they're not supporting their product unless you have an AllyCare contract.

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Robin Puliparambil

Senior Network Engineer at MATRIXCNI

Jul 28, 2025

I wish they had software that could create continuous streams of traffic. I'm not sure if that's possible with LinkRunner, but it would be very helpful in some of the test case scenarios that clients are looking for, in regards to quality of service

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Market Relationship Manager at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

Nov 24, 2022

Being really nitpicky about the LinkRunner G2, I wish the form factor was a little bit smaller. However, I'm sure that the size of the unit is compromised by the fact that the battery is large. If that were to mean having less battery life, I would not change it.

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reviewer1889814

Network & Infrastructure Analyst with 201-500 employees

Jun 21, 2022

It runs tests quickly, but it takes a while to boot up. It's somewhat disappointing that LinkRunner takes some time to turn on. When I arrive in the space, I usually spend the first two minutes waiting.

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reviewer2005659

Network Analyst/Engineer at a media company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Oct 27, 2022

If it weren't for the battery, it would probably get an eight out of 10. But because of the battery, it's infuriating and it's not reliable.

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reviewer1856337

Senior Network Architect at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees

May 11, 2022

One area where LinkRunner could be improved is the battery life. Depending on which tests are run, it gets a decent six to eight hours. However, sometimes we need to do back-to-back shifts to meet a deadline, and we need access to an outlet to keep it plugged in and charging. It takes about an hour or two to charge.

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Show 9 more reviews (out of 19)

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