urgent communication issue on switch 2

[jenlion]

Hi, I've recently started with a new company and, with my expertise, of course suggested that they update their 10mb hubs to a 100mb switch. Went for a netgear 48-port 10/100 auto-sensing, negotiating, auto-uplink switch, thinking this would be great.

Wrong. Only a couple of machines are able to use it. The rest light up as connected, but cannot even ping each other. I'm at a loss. I've tried several 10/100 devices, hubs and switches, and none work. Only the plain old 10mb hubs will allow my network machines to communicate.

Running all flavors of windows and a unix. The unix can communicate to one windows server. Nothing else can see either the windows or unix server.

Any ideas? I'm about ready to blame the sh*tty cabling in this building, because I'm out of other ideas. Netgear, sohoware, and 3com 10/100 hubs can't pass the traffic but a 3com superstackII 10mb hub can. What's up???

I have to resolve this by Monday or I'll look like a fool. Bad time for that, since I'm still proving myself here. At this point I'm about ready to put the old hub back... any other suggestions?

Thanks.

 

[jimbopalmer]

OK lets assume the cabling cannot do 100, and work from there. we still have the oppurtunity to use the switch to hold multiple (24?) 10 meg conversations rather than just one packet at a time that the hub can do.

take a PC, configure the adaptor to do 10 half (unless the Netgear is managed, you cannot choose full, only auto or half) and see if the PC connects now, if so try 100 half. I am betting it runs at 10 but not 100.

Work hard at replacing wiring to actual servers with real premade Cat 5e cabes before monday (yea, right) so they can go 100 and serve multiple clients even if the clients can't go 100.

If you can get all your servers to 100/auto and the clients to 10/half by monday the net work will appear 10 times faster than it was, and you save face til you can hire certified techs to use the old cabling as pull string for Cat 5e cables connectors and patchpanels. I tried to remain child-like, all I acheived was childish.

 

[jenlion]

Thanks. That's what I decided to check when I realized that the things that weren't working were the crappy cables -- the ones that looked decent were working OK. I set the ones that don't work to use 10/full and that works.

I've installed dozens of switches in as many environments and never had a problem ... of course, this is one of the worst wiring jobs I've ever seen, too.

The servers thankfully are right next to the switch, so they're up at 100/full. Some clients are able to connect at 100 full by auto negotiating, and the rest I have to set to 10/full manually.

What surprises me is that the client is able to dictate 10/full and that the switch is happy with that. The netgear is not managed. 100/half and 100/full result in no communication. 10/half and 10/full are fine.

Unfortunately I can only get to about 10 machines, the other 20 or so are in areas I can't get to until monday (we deal jewelry, high security). So I still get to look like a dummy monday running around and setting some computers to 10/full, but it's not the end of the world. I am hoping that replacing the connectors will help, since all the cable is cat 5e. Naturally, it's NOT plenum grade, but I guess that helps in this situation (since they ran it over the tops of every flourescent light in the building -- extra shielding will help). I'd like to wring the neck of whoever "cabled" that place. Do you suppose fixing the ugly connectors might help? Hire certified techs to cable... hehehe... that would be me. Which is fine, I've cabled before. I did better than this job on my first try.

I really appreciate your quick response. I was BSing my way through it with the manager who stayed late while I set the first computers to 10/full, and it was good to get some backup there. Thanks very much

Jennifer

 

[jimbopalmer]

unless you can set a connection full at BOTH ends of the wire, in the switch and in the Network Control panel, I only recommend using auto and half duplex, as a duplex mismatch happens if one end is set full duplex and the other end left on auto, if the netgear switch allows you to manage the connection in the switch then all is well, but if not stick with auto and half duplex. I tried to remain child-like, all I acheived was childish.

 

[jenlion]

Well,I got screwed by the hubs. There are number of 10/100 hubs on the network, and I can't get the machines behind them to communicate. I wound up going back mostly to the large 10mb central hub, leaving only a few people and the servers on the 10/100 switch. That will have to be good enough until I can fix thie stupid cabling mess.

Thanks for your input.

Jennifer

 

[jimbopalmer]

All hubs are half duplex only, so if you set any Computers on them to full duplex, they will not work well I tried to remain child-like, all I acheived was childish.