Does branded networking equipment help ?

[TheMafioso]

Hi Guys,

I have ethernet based LAN setup b/w 3 computers in my home but I don't get very good speeds on it, usually its around 200-300KBps on 10Mbps LAN, when transfering files between my computers..
I had posted a thread on some other forums, they adviced me to redo my wiring, but that wouldn't be possible for me as i've got concieled wiring, so wiring again would be very difficult.

I have currently Realtek LAN card on 1 computer, 2 have onboard VIA Lan Cards and generic brand Switch connecting them.

So i want to know, if purchasing branded LAN Card and Switch like Intel/D-link/linksys would help ?
What do you guys think....? Let me know

Regards

 

[Atheus]

Of course it helps, you get what you pay for... however, even the most trashy switch should push more than 300K, lots of people get that on their net connection. I suppose it could be a _really_ old box (quite likely as it's 10Mb, which they don't make anymore) and it's failing in some way. You might try using a regular 100Mb switch.

I bet it is your wiring though. Try moving 2 machines physically close together and using short store-bought cables.

 

[TheMafioso]

Its actually a 200Mbps switch but if i put speed as 100Mbps(via auto-negotitaion or otherwise) i am not able to tranfer any files(though i'm notified, LAN is connected by WinXP), so i have to set speed at 10Mbps.

 

[spidey07]

That's probably your biggest problem. It's a common problem where one foces one side of an ethernet link in speed/duplex and you have a "duplex mismatch" problem. One side is running full duplex and the other side is half duplex. You have serious performance problems when this happens.

You should always set it to auto negotiate (in the home arena). This way both sides of the link will come up at 100/full duplex. If you can't communicate when it autonegotiates to this then I'd agree that something is most likely wrong with your cabling. 100 Base-T needs a good category 5 or higher cable to operate properly. 10 Base-T doesn't need much in terms of the cable and can operate on categor 3 or higher.

As far as "branded" network equipment. For the home use they're just about the same. However Intel and other network cards can be a little better at handling cabling problems then their cheaper counterparts.

I believe you can pick up a cheap cable tester that will do a "wire map". While this won't truly tell you if your cable is good up to cat5 specs, it will do a basic "what wire on the A end goes to what wire on the B end". You could try that on your cables or redo the jacks the cable is in. If it is just ends crimped on a cable, that certainly can cause problems - especially what you're seeing...works at 10, but not 100.

 

[TheMafioso]

Originally posted by: spidey07
That's probably your biggest problem. It's a common problem where one foces one side of an ethernet link in speed/duplex and you have a "duplex mismatch" problem. One side is running full duplex and the other side is half duplex. You have serious performance problems when this happens.

I've set 10Mbps full duplex on all LAN cards, won't that do ?

Originally posted by: spidey07
If it is just ends crimped on a cable, that certainly can cause problems - especially what you're seeing...works at 10, but not 100

what you mean by ends crimped on cable...please explain ?

And BTW thanx for the replies, guys

 

[spidey07]

Forcing the cards 10/full = you have a duplex mismatch(ultra-crappy performance). The switch is running h-duplex.

ends = phone like RJ45 plugs.

You should see 10 megabytes a sec on a 100 Base-T connection.

If you can't run at auto(100/full), fix your cable.

as a workround, set NIC to 10/half.

 

[TheMafioso]

OMG, setting all cards to half duplex is giving me 3 times speed(around 800-900KBps), thanx man

But another problem has cropped up, setting Half duplex, the download speed using torrents( I have my internet router, also connected to the LAN) is reduced to almost half .Kinda strange it seems, but its indeed the case, i confirmed it by setting full duplex on the computer downloading via Bit torrent again, the speed returned to normal.
What could be the problem now ?

And why is my switch running Half-Duplex, its rated to operate at both Half & Full Duplex, upto speeds of 200Mbps ?

Originally posted by: spidey07

ends = phone like RJ45 plugs

I got these crimped on my cables

Is this RJ-45 or an end ?

 

[nweaver]

it's running at Half because of media errors (bad cables) most likely. Could also just be a crappy switch.

 

[spidey07]

And yet another network problem because of ends crimped onto cables.

Get you some cat5 keystone jacks at your hardware store, purchase some cat5 patch cables and then set NIC to auto. It will autonegotiate to 100/full and you'll see a huge improvement in performance.

 

[TheMafioso]

^^Keystone jacks are female pins...i suppose(that's what i've been able to find out from the internet)
So how would it help, 'cause IMHO if number of contacts increase, the chances of performance going down will increase..
Am i missing out on something....?

 

[spidey07]

You'll just have to trust me on how to do network cabling.

Do you even have category 5 cabling? that is a requirement for 100 Base-T.

Network cabling is always 4 pair (8 wire) category rated cable. The use of female jacks lends to "good cabling" because the wires are forced into the conductor and it's pretty hard to screw it up. However just the male ends - all sorts of things can go wrong and you're never really sure if it is good. Even pros can mess up a crimp.

But on your performace issues and questions - 10 and 100 Base-T use the orange and green pair of wires on pins 1,2,3,6. 1000 Base-T uses all four pairs.

If seated correctly in the jack, and good store bought patch cables are used the likelyhood of a performance problem or otherwise flakiness is minimal.

 

[TheMafioso]

Okay Thanx, i'll try to get keystone jacks...
And i'm certain that its cat-5 cable(unless the dealer i've purchased from, cheated me), 'cause it was bought by myself..

Just One more noob thing i wanna know, does relative positioning of blue, green, wires matter, 'cause after all we're connecting them in 1-1 corrospondence...
I'm asking it because i've noticed all the wire done, dosen't follow any standard(568A or B), it shouldn't matter or should it?

 

[spidey07]

yes, it does matter very much. VERY much.

use 568B

 

[bruceb]

Agree with spidey .... follow the 568B standard color code .... the colors are the way
they decided to minimize interference and cross talk .. also be sure, if your cat 5 is
installed in the walls. that it is away from AC power lines, Cable TV & preferably
away from Telephone circuits (but telco ckts are usually not much of a problem)

As to crimping your own ends, well for old type CAT 5 connectors, you must be careful
to insure the wires are FULLY SEATED as well as the cable Jacket .. and you should use
a Good Quality (not Home Depot) CAT 5 end and a Ratchet Type Crimper .... this type
insures a Full Crimp before it will release .... the newer CAT 6 type connector can be used
on either CAT 5 or CAT 6 cable .... it's biggest change is it now has a wire guide to to be
absolutely sure that the wires go into the correct pins & go in all the way .. it is very easy
with this connector to get the wiring correct and good ... again use a Ratchet Crimper
(also known as a Full Cycle Crimper)

 

[CrashX]

Originally posted by: TheMafioso
'cause after all we're connecting them in 1-1 corrospondence...

There's your biggest problem right there. This means one of your 3 and 6 pins aren't running on a twisted cable. That should be good for about 10 feet.

 

[TheMafioso]

okay thanx guys...looks like i have to do major recrimping work