can't seem to see the router

[stanleywinston]

hi all
I've come here looking for some help.
Just had a network installed at the house and I'm pretty sure that it is not working but I wanted to get my facts straight before going back to the installer (just in case things get awkward)

The setup is (I thought) fairly simple.
There is a socket put into every room (6 in total).
Each of those sockets are connected with CAT6 cable to a box of sockets under the stairs.
In each of the rooms there are devices connected to the sockets (via a gigabit switch if there are more than one device in a room).
Since the installer left I have connected all of the sockets under the stairs to an 8 port gigabit switch.
The lights corresponding to the appropriate room seem to light up if there are devices attached in the room.
My problem has arisen since trying to plug the router in. I thought (perhaps through ignorance) that I could plug a router in anywhere in the setup and things would leap into life. As one of the rooms has a phone socket in it and there is not one under the stairs, I have left the router where is has always been and just run a Cat6 cable from the router to the wall socket in one of the rooms. Nothing has come to life. The light corresponding to the room with the router in it has not lit on the switch under the stairs.
Have I got something wrong in this setup or does it sound like something in the installation is not correct? The installer said before he left that he had tested each socket so I was confident that it would be fine
Hope someone can help

 

[thiggins]

You should be able to do as you describe. Did the jack you are plugging the router into work when you did the attach-the-device test?

Try connecting the router to the switch directly to check that you get a link. If you do, it's a cable problem.

 

[stanleywinston]

Thanks for the reply.

I've done some more tests and discovered that the setup seems to work with the router in some of the rooms or if the router is plugged directly into the switch under the stairs. One of the other rooms also seems to be suffer from the same issue as the first one I've described so I'm guessing there is an issue with some of the connections.

I have also discovered that although I asked for a CAT6 network, whilst the cabling says cat6 on it, the sockets all say CAT5e. Whilst, from what I've read it would appear that this should not cause any major issues I have been seeing people mention that it might cause loose connections because of the different gauge of the wires. I'm guessing that this is what I'm suffering from.

 

[thiggins]

I'd say you have tested enough that you can justify bringing the cabling installer back. You should also have him show you how he verified the wiring and point out his error on the jacks and have him replace them.

 

[stanleywinston]

Yes, thanks. I'm going to call him tomorrow and talk it through. I will assume for now that it is an honest mistake and see how it goes. As I haven't paid him a penny yet, I think I'm in quite a good position
Thanks for your help

 

[TonyH]

Yes, thanks. I'm going to call him tomorrow and talk it through. I will assume for now that it is an honest mistake and see how it goes. As I haven't paid him a penny yet, I think I'm in quite a good position
Thanks for your help

Hi,
Ditto on that every room shoud behave same if all cabling is ddone right.
Draw a simplified diagram for your wiring and based on it, what you want to do to minimize confusion and duplication.