Cat5e help

[Cohenra1979]

Hi
I have a house with 8 ethernet ports connected via a switch. I have 400mb broadband but 2 ports only give 80mb, the rest are fine. I recently upgraded to this speed and have had endless or problems with disconnections. Virgin have replaced the line into my house and the box in the house (all v old) but I still have issues of disconnecting. They are now claiming that this could be due to my 2 ethernet ports being damaged as they are pulling less speed.. The switch is fine as I have tested each socket with my laptop. Can someone help as I don't know if Virgin are pulling one on me or I genuinely have an issue. Before I upgraded to this new speed I never had dropouts (although I never had tested the 2 dodgy ethernet ports before). Any help would be appreciated.

 

[L&LD]

Welcome to the forums @Cohenra1979.

Pull the two dodgy runs and monitor the network for an extended period (hours, days, or a few weeks, as necessary).

If it is those runs, this test will allow you to decide where to spend time and money (if necessary).

 

[Cohenra1979]

Thanks but if I pull them out I will never get replacements in. I just don't know why they are dodgy nor do I know if they can blow out my broadband connection that virgin claims?

 

[ColinTaylor]

Are you saying that connections to two ports on your 8 port switch are only giving 80Mbps but the others are giving your full ISP speed (400Mbps)? If so then unplug the two faulty connections from the switch to eliminate them as a possible cause of any problems.

If you still have disconnection issues then look in the Virgin Hub's network log. Are you using your own router or just the Virgin Hub?

 

[Cohenra1979]

Yes... Only issues with 2 ethernet ports. I am using virgins own router.. Was using mine but they told be to not whilst we tried to diagnose the issue. Thanks

 

[Cohenra1979]

Will try what you suggest to see if still a problem. Thx

 

[Datalink]

Ethernet cables contain 4 wire pairs. Only two functional wire pairs are required for 100 Mb/s or less. From your description, it sounds like those two cables are connected with two wire pairs, so, counting in any signal losses, you're ending up with 80 Mb/s, end to end. If the other two wire pairs are connected, then they aren't connected in the correct sequence or, their not connected correctly and as a result, you don't have continuity, end to end.

So, when I say "connected", that is to say, that the cables are connected to the keystone in the correct sequence, at the first and end wall port keystones, punched down fully onto those jacks, or screwed down, depending on what keystones you might have, and that a continuity test with a network tester would show that the two wire pairs have continuity, end to end.

Any data rates above 100 Mb/s require all 4 wire pairs to be connected as indicated above.

The worst case scenario is that someone has driven a nail thru those two cables when the house was built, and if you've never run anything above 100 Mb/s, then you would never have noticed.

Typically this is an issue with the cable to ethernet keystone physical connection. Either the wire pairs are not matched up with the keystone guide (by colour), or, whomever punched down the wires into the keystone wire receptacles didn't punch then down all the way and didn't test them to ensure they were punched down.

If you're not the original home owner, or you're not the installer, don't assume that any of the wire pair punch down to keystone guides were done correctly. You need to test them yourself to ensure that they are serviceable.

This is a simple procedure using a network tester. Here's an amazon UK page with network testers:

Amazon.co.uk : etherent tester

There are a couple of simple testers that will do the job;

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.co.uk

Fwiw, there are also a couple of test and repair kits that are fairly cheap, if you wanted to go to that choice right away.

So, test the whole house with a network tester to determine if all of the cables are fully serviceable and then determine what has to be done in order to bring any of them up to standard where they will operate correctly. When you run the test, what you should see is a sequence of LEDs, from one to eight, flashing in sequence. A miss-wired cable with either show a missing wire (no illumination) or, the LEDs will flash in an incorrect order, indicating a miss-wired keystone. Then its up to you to determine which keystone is at fault, and its possible that the keystones at both ends are miss-wired.

There are two wire pair to keystone standards, 568A and 568B. Here's a link to the guides:

568a and 568b - Google Suche

Here's one link from that search:

T568a vs T568b, Which to Use

Data cabling, it can be confusing sometimes. If you are just getting started on your network, or if you need to rewire some things, trying to determine what standard you should use or what type of cable to purchase can be a daunting. Standard TIA\EIA-568 sets the standard for how to match...

www.truecable.com

If you pull the wallplates off of the wall, and assuming that you have keystones in the wallplates, then a simple visual inspection will tell you if the wire pairs are connected in the correct sequence, of if they are connected at all. But a visual inspection might not tell you if the wires are punched down all the way to the bottom of the receptacle. If you look at the side of the keystone, you should see that the wires are punched down all the way to the bottom of the receptacle. If they aren't it might be a simple matter of punching them down again with a 110 punch down tool, which can be found in those repair kits. That would be an easy fix.

The keystones have guides printed on them, either on the side of the keystone, or inside the keystone. Usually both 568A and 568B guides are printed on the keystone. That guide on the keystone, and as shown in the link above tells you which wire is connected to which keystone wire receptacle.

Hope this helps. This is usually a fairly simple problem, but, as I indicated above, there is always the possibility of a nail driven thru a cable somewhere in a wall, which would require a cable replacement. That's a pain, to say the least.

 

[bbunge]

Those two cables are either connected wrong at the ends of the cable or have broken wires. A bandwidth of 100 mb needs connection through two pair of wires. A 1 gb connection needs all 4 pair or 8 wires connected.
Your best bet is to invest in an Ethernet cable continuity tester and check the so called bad cables.
Back in the old days it was also common to split a cable to get two 100 mb connections with a single cable. With old wiring that could alsobe your problem. It works but with lower bandwidth.

 

[Cohenra1979]

Ethernet cables contain 4 wire pairs. Only two functional wire pairs are required for 100 Mb/s or less.

That is to say, that the cables are connected in the correct sequence, at the first and end wall port ethernet jacks, punched down onto those jacks, or screwed down, depending on what ethernet jacks you might have and that a continuity test with a network tester would show that the two wire pairs have continuity, end to end.

Any data rates above 100 Mb/s require all 4 wire pairs to be connected as indicated above.

From your description, it sounds like the two ethernet cables are only connected with two wire pairs, not four. If the other two wire pairs are connected, then they aren't connected in the correct sequence or, their not connected correctly and as a result, you don't have continuity, end to end.

The worst case scenario is that someone has driven a nail thru those two cables when the house was built, and if you've never run anything above 100 Mb/s, then you would never have noticed.

Typically this is an issue with the cable to ethernet keystone physical connection. Either the wire pairs are not matched up with the keystone guide (by colour), or, whomever punched down the wires into the keystone wire receptacles didn't punch then down all the way and didn't test them to ensure they were punched down.

If you're not the original home owner, or you're not the installer, don't assume that any of the wire pair punch down to keystone guides were done correctly. You need to test them yourself to ensure that they are serviceable.

This is a simple procedure using a network tester. Here's an amazon UK page with network testers:

Amazon.co.uk : etherent tester

There are a couple of simple testers that will do the job;

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.co.uk

Fwiw, there are also a couple of test and repair kits that are fairly cheap, if you wanted to go to that choice right away.


So, test the whole house with a network tester to determine if all of the cables are fully serviceable and then determine what has to be done in order to bring any of them up to standard where they will operate correctly.

There are two wire pair to keystone standards, 568A and 568B. Here's a link to the guides:

568a and 568b - Google Suche

Here's one link from that search:

T568a vs T568b, Which to Use

Data cabling, it can be confusing sometimes. If you are just getting started on your network, or if you need to rewire some things, trying to determine what standard you should use or what type of cable to purchase can be a daunting. Standard TIA\EIA-568 sets the standard for how to match...

www.truecable.com

If you pull the wallplates off of the wall, and assuming that you have keystones in the wallplates, then a simple visual inspection will tell you if the wire pairs are connected correctly, of if they are connected at all.

The keystones have guides printed on them, either on the side of the keystone, or inside the keystone. Usually both 568A and 568B guides are printed on the keystone.


Hope this helps. This is usually a fairly simple problem, but, as I indicated above, there is always the possibility of a nail driven thru a cable, which would require a cable replacement. That's a pain, to say the least.

Thanks... I tried one of those testers on one of the ports (that only pulls 80mb)and it flashed the numbers in order leaving me clueless with the issue. Thanks so much for your suggestion. From your description it sounds like my cable must be damaged.... Strange it's two ports and all rest are fine

 

[Datalink]

Have a very close look at the sides of the keystones to ensure that the wires are punched down to the bottom of the receptacles and have a look (end on), at the internal RJ-45 connector wires for any damage to them. (might be time for a magnifying glass)

If you have enough cable to play with when you pull the wallplate off of the wall, you could consider replacing the keystones to see if there's an issue that a simple network tester can't diagnose.

Its possible that the cables were damaged during their installation or during house construction, but, you might never notice until attempting to run data rates above 100 Mb/s thru them.

 

[Cohenra1979]

Thanks.... Greatly appreciated

 

[Datalink]

Do you have keystones at both ends, or keystone at one end and RJ-45 connector at the other?

 

[Cohenra1979]

Keystone one end and rj45 at the switch

 

[Cohenra1979]

 

[Cohenra1979]

I have re pushed them down using a crimping tool but still no better

 

[Ripshod]

View attachment 53961

To my trained eye, and going by normal convention, it looks like the blue pair are crossed over(?).

 

[follower]

Hi
I have a house with 8 ethernet ports connected via a switch. I have 400mb broadband but 2 ports only give 80mb, the rest are fine. I recently upgraded to this speed and have had endless or problems with disconnections. Virgin have replaced the line into my house and the box in the house (all v old) but I still have issues of disconnecting. They are now claiming that this could be due to my 2 ethernet ports being damaged as they are pulling less speed.. The switch is fine as I have tested each socket with my laptop. Can someone help as I don't know if Virgin are pulling one on me or I genuinely have an issue. Before I upgraded to this new speed I never had dropouts (although I never had tested the 2 dodgy ethernet ports before). Any help would be appreciated.

1. Maybe, those 2 ports are using 1 cable with 2 pair wires each. Otherwise, damaged cable or damaged port or damaged keystone jack issue, corroded.
2. Check the wire colors. It should be match both sides of the walls.

 

[Datalink]

I have re pushed them down using a crimping tool but still no better

When you indicated a crimping tool, do you mean a 110 punch down tool that has a cutting edge to it? That looks like this:

Amazon.co.uk : 110 punch down tool

To me, without seeing a side view of the keystone, I'd say that the wires are not punched down far enough. If this is a typical keystone, you should see that the wires inside of the keystone, and on the outside edge are pushed down to the bottom of the keystone. That is just at the bottom of the inside of the keystone.

Personal opinion, I'd pull the keystone out, pull the wires out using a pair of needlenose pliers and then install a new keystone. I would also carefully cut off the wire tie that is on that cable. There is enough wire there to place the cable jacket just at the end of the keystone, where it should be, then do a neat job of installing the wires into their respective receptacles and then use a 110 punch down tool to push the wires all the way down. When that is done, the excess wire ends will be cut off, leaving a you with a neat, punched down keystone.

The other part of this is the RJ-45 connector. Have a very close look at the end of the connector. What you should see is all 8 wires, compressed by the connectors. It should look like a neat row of wire ends if the wires are pushed all the way into the connector and the connector is compressed all the way.

 

[bbunge]

View attachment 53961

That looks like the job the electricians who wired my house did with the land line phone cables. They used CAT5e cable but messed up the connections royally! Am very glad I did not have them do network wiring.