Problems with slow network

[bdog]

I have 12 W2K computers (P3 500 mhz with 128mb ram and 10/100 nics) set up in a domain with a NT 4.0 PDC (Dell poweredge dual xeon 550's with 512 mb ram 10/100 nic)). I have a 5 port switch (10/100 autosensing) with one port connected directly to the server, and then there are three hubs(10/100) connected to the other ports on the switch. Each hub has 4 W2K clients connected to it. The problem is that the network is intermitent. Sometimes when pinging other computers in the lan 75% of the packets get lost. Sometimes when trying to log on the Domain controller can not be found. Other times it seems to work okay, but not as good as I think it should. I am using good quality belkin cat 5 cabling. Any ideas on what the problem may be?

 

[CTR]

1. Are you using structured cabling or is this one of those crimped-ends-on-the-cable home jobs? Have you put a cable tester on these links?

2. Any host connected to a hub has to be set to half-duplex. Auto-negotiation usually does this correctly, but for troubleshooting purposes try setting the NICs to half. You can probably set the NIC on the server to full-duplex, since it is going into a switch. But you might try setting it to half-duplex until you figure out the packet loss problem.

3. Are pings between hosts connected on the same hub subject to these same packet loss problems?