Loopback

Score

0

Clock

1:30

Best

0

A fiber link between two machines still has a fault after cleaning. Loop the light back to split it, then swap the bad part. Fix as many links as you can in 90 seconds.

1. I.

   Loop back. One part is bad: an optic at either end, or a segment between them (fiber, a patch panel, a circulator). Tap a ◆ to loop the light back at that connection, and each machine tests its own half, its optic included. One passes, and the bad part is on the other machine’s side, between it and the ◆.

2. II.

   Read the symptom. A bad segment shows no light, low light or RX errors. A bad optic can show those or TX errors, and TX errors point straight at it.

3. III.

   Swap. Tap a part to swap it. Swapping the bad one fixes the link, and the next link comes in. A good one costs you 5 seconds.

4. IV.

   Beat the clock. A shift lasts 90 seconds, and the links get longer as you go.

5. V.

   Split clean. The “clean in” number over each link is how many loopbacks halving needs. Find the bad part in that many or fewer before you swap, and the link scores 50% more for a clean split. Swap sooner and guess right, and you still get 25% for a lucky swap. A wrong swap loses the bonus.

6. VI.

   Compare. With Today’s shift, everyone who plays that day gets the same links. Your first run is the day’s score, so you can compare it with your team’s.

Real links have far fewer segments. The game stretches them so halving pays off.