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Network advice needed

N

Nemmeh

Senior member
Ok, I've attached a little layout I did in visio to show the current layout of the office. Something is majorly wrong in this network setup. I ran some benchmarks on the network speeds and get a whopping 8kb/sec return. The network speeds are just horrible. Keep in mind, I did not set up this network so I'm pretty much gonna completely upgrade it.

Office Layout Picture

Ok, I was looking around at newegg and found a couple of 10/100 switches that I think I'll get to upgrade this network.
GIGAFAST ETHERNET 8 PORT SWITCH EZ800-S. I'm gonna get two of these or I'm open to suggestions if anyone has some. The reason I'm getting an additional 8 port, is because in the back office where the last machine is there is more cabling that comes out of the 5 port hub. However those lines are not being used, but they may need to be in the future so I want some expandibility available for future needs.

I have a few questions, I'm unfamiliar with all the new switches with the Auto MDI/MDIX. What is the scoop on all of this? From what I've been reading it auto-detects if the signal is coming from another switch/hub/router and acts as an uplink port? Does this work effectively, just asking cuz I have no experience with it. Also, from what I've been reading it seems that if 1 port is used as an uplink then you have to leave the end port (5/8/16/25th port, etc) empty for it to function properly.

I just want to make sure I cover everything before ordering the switches. If anyone wishes to suggest any other types of switches or anything, I'm completely open to suggestions. I'll also need to pick up a pair of crimpers/strippers and some terminal ends.

Gimme some feedback on this please, I'm kinda in dire need of a little advice from you guys.
 
Given the size of the network a switch may be overkill for your requirements.

Using a good 10/100 hub should be enough unless of course there is rapid expansion round the corner.

A couple of questions though.

What is the likely data throughput on the network, I'm reckoning that it isn't that high unless there is a lot of file sharing going on.

What's the condition of the cable and what sort of cable lengths are involved? From my experience cable quality has quite a large bearing on the performance of the network.

I should be able to help you a bit more when my flatmate gets back from paris later as he actually works in the networking arena.
 
The cabling in the office is Cat5 homemade cabling.

Total distances (from the generic 8 port 10mbit hub):

Workstation 1: 25-30ft
Workstation 2: 6ft
Workstation 3: 6ft
Workstation 4: 80ft
Workstation 5: 80ft

There is absolutely no filesharing happening on the network. It's a lawfirm and the only things they ever xfer back and forth are small document files, total size varying between 10-40kb in size.

I ran a benchmark program on the network, I sent out a 1mb write, block size 65536 and after a few minutes it came back at 8kb/sec total transfer speed to a network drive on another system.

I did the same for read and received the same result. It is pretty horrible.

I just wired up a home network at one of the attorney's homes and received speeds of 3800kb/sec using the same benchmarking program. With 2 cables spanning 25ft using a Dlink 604+ Router/Switch.

A switch may be a little overkill, but I can pick both of those switches up for under $50. So I'm figuring why not go ahead and pick them up just for future needs.
 
Originally posted by: Nemmeh
The cabling in the office is Cat5 homemade cabling.

Total distances (from the generic 8 port 10mbit hub):

Workstation 1: 25-30ft
Workstation 2: 6ft
Workstation 3: 6ft
Workstation 4: 50ft
Workstation 5: 120ft

There is absolutely no filesharing happening on the network. It's a lawfirm and the only things they ever xfer back and forth are small document files, total size varying between 10-40kb in size.

I ran a benchmark program on the network, I sent out a 1mb write, block size 65536 and after a few minutes it came back at 8kb/sec total transfer speed to a network drive on another system.

I did the same for read and received the same result. It is pretty horrible.

I just wired up a home network at one of the attorney's homes and received speeds of 3800kb/sec using the same benchmarking program. With 2 cables spanning 25ft using a Dlink 604+ Router/Switch.

A switch may be a little overkill, but I can pick both of those switches up for under $50. So I'm figuring why not go ahead and pick them up just for future needs.
Click to expand...

Did you make the cables yourself? Maybe they have become twisted and are slowing you down a bit.
 
I went and walked off the cabling and summed it all up. The lengths listed in my 2nd post are now correct.

No, I did not do any of the cabling myself. I also noticed that they used staples to secure the cabling running throughout the office. Perhaps they pierced some of the cables?

I really have no idea at this point? Would you suggest perhaps rewiring the whole thing. They had some local guys do it that from what I have seen firsthand didn't really know to much about proper cabling. They ran it all exposed instead of going in the attic with it.

Any advice / suggestions?
 
Originally posted by: Nemmeh
I went and walked off the cabling and summed it all up. The lengths listed in my 2nd post are now correct.

No, I did not do any of the cabling myself. I also noticed that they used staples to secure the cabling running throughout the office. Perhaps they pierced some of the cables?

I really have no idea at this point? Would you suggest perhaps rewiring the whole thing. They had some local guys do it that from what I have seen firsthand didn't really know to much about proper cabling. They ran it all exposed instead of going in the attic with it.

Any advice / suggestions?
Click to expand...

Just go to Wal-Mart or bring in one cat-5 cable and do the benchmarks with that. If it runs better then it is the cable, if not, could be the switch/hub or network cards.
 
In old 10mbs systems they used to be able to get away with non standard wiring schemes. The one most used now is the 568B diagram shown in the link. If your existing wiring is not to this standard or is a mix of others, new hubs may not help. I just had to rewire a bunch of ends in an office setup because they were wired goofy. It sort of worked at 10mbs, how ever inconsistantly, but when I put a 100mbs switch in, it could detect the odd wiring, and wouldn't work. You probably want to visually inspect all ends and see if you can verify how they are wired.

Diagram pics
 
I did this today..


Workstation 1 Cable: Bought from walmart

Workstation 2 Cable: Gray Cat5 Homemade, consisted of 4 wires
Workstation 3 Cable: Gray Cat5 Homemade, consisted of 4 wires

Workstation 4 Cable: Tan Cat5 Homemade, consisted of 4 pairs, 8 wires total.
Workstation 5 Cable: Tan Cat5 Homemade, consisted of 4 pairs, 8 wires total.

Now this would stand in line with what you were saying about the odd wiring scheme of the older systems in some cases.

And this would also explain why when I installed a D-Link DSS5+ into the mix that the network would not longer function at all.

So I'm guessing I need to redo the ends on the cables so they all match up correctly. I figure I'll just pick up 2 brand new cables for Workstations 2 and 3, since those cables are relatively short anyway.

Thanks.
 
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