Solved Root Cause for 100 mbps

[PuckHead]

I was expecting 1000 mbps on my ethernet. Instead, I am at a stable 100 mbps on all 10 jacks (home set-up). Troubleshooting

1. will router give 1000 mbps? - yes (direct)
2. will lap-up execute 1000 mbps when direct connected to the router while the laptop is on battery? - yes
3. are all 4-pairs are lighting up when tested at wall jacks as being connected in correct order of 1, 2, 3 to 8? - yes
4. is the cable between router and jack labled as cat 5e? - yes. Does it look like 5e? - yes
5. I am using the same order of wiring at both ends - yes (568B)

I am concluding that the decrease to 100 mbps from 1000 mbps is caused between the router and the wall jacks. The connection is: ASUS router through cat5e cables to keystone connectors at each LAN plug. The length of the cabling is from 50 to up to 150 feet. But again, all 4-pairs light-up as being connected. That's what's driving me nuts.

Causes... ?

Keystone connectors? why?
Cable noise? why? The 100 mbps is stable...

I will appreciate forum expert ideas on: what are a few likely root causes for the speed to drop from 1000 to 100, when all 4-pairs indicate connectivity?

I have a beautiful (aka. stable, fast) MOCA ethernet on coax cable, which is working perfectly. But some rooms do not have cable jacks, but have ethernet jacks. I am interested in having the Cat set-up move to 1000 mbps.

 

[L&LD]

Try a cheap, unmanaged switch between your problem wall jacks and a client device. Incompatibilities are everywhere.

 

[PuckHead]

Thank you. Let me know if I understood your interesting idea: Would a unmanaged switch increase the likelihood that 1000 mpbs will be seen by a laptop connected to the unmanaged switch instead of the keystone jack?

To test, I do not yet have a unmanaged switch to use, but I tested three laptops, to determine if the ethernet card in any of the laptops was incompatible with the jacks. Same result: only 100 mbps. And the same laptops give 1000 mbps when direct connected to the router.

 

[follower]

I was expecting 1000 mbps on my ethernet. Instead, I am at a stable 100 mbps on all 10 jacks (home set-up). Troubleshooting

1. will router give 1000 mbps? - yes (direct)
2. will lap-up execute 1000 mbps when direct connected to the router while the laptop is on battery? - yes
3. are all 4-pairs are lighting up when tested at wall jacks as being connected in correct order of 1, 2, 3 to 8? - yes
4. is the cable between router and jack labled as cat 5e? - yes. Does it look like 5e? - yes
5. I am using the same order of wiring at both ends - yes (568B)

I am concluding that the decrease to 100 mbps from 1000 mbps is caused between the router and the wall jacks. The connection is: ASUS router through cat5e cables to keystone connectors at each LAN plug. The length of the cabling is from 50 to up to 150 feet. But again, all 4-pairs light-up as being connected. That's what's driving me nuts.

Causes... ?

Keystone connectors? why?
Cable noise? why? The 100 mbps is stable...

I will appreciate forum expert ideas on: what are a few likely root causes for the speed to drop from 1000 to 100, when all 4-pairs indicate connectivity?

I have a beautiful (aka. stable, fast) MOCA ethernet on coax cable, which is working perfectly. But some rooms do not have cable jacks, but have ethernet jacks. I am interested in having the Cat set-up move to 1000 mbps.

What is your type of UTP? Solid or Stranded? If it's a Stranded UTP the problem is cable cut. In this situation all lights are up but it doesn't work as 1gbps.
Otherwise you need to check your keystone jacks and rj45 termination(poor contact).

 

[L&LD]

@PuckHead, yes you understood correctly. It has been known to work for a few members here.

 

[PuckHead]

Well, I found an unmanaged switch. And your suggestion worked: When a laptop is connected to the jack through the switch, I get the target 1000 mbps. When the laptop is connected direct to the switch, I get only 100 mbps.

Well, that solves the issue. Many thanks. Would you know or suggest the reason for this?

 

[PuckHead]

Correction. When the laptop is connected direct to the JACK, I get only 100 mbps. (Use of the switch between the laptop and the Jack enables 1000 mbps).

 

[follower]

Correction. When the laptop is connected direct to the JACK, I get only 100 mbps. (Use of the switch between the laptop and the Jack enables 1000 mbps).

UTP

 

[PuckHead]

Correction. When the laptop is connected direct to the JACK, I get only 100 mbps. (Use of the switch between the laptop and the Jack enables 1000 mbps).

UTP

Ok, when a unmanaged powered switch is put between my jack and device, I get 1000 mbps. Perfect. When there is no unmanaged switch between the same jack and device, I get only 100 mbps. I am merely but quite interested at this point: What is the switch doing to increase the speed to the target 1000 mbps? The 5e cabling used entirely in thus set-up is solid wire UTP.

 

[degrub]

the switch port is able to successfully autoconfigure to match the cable wiring configuration and possibly supply more (enough) power.

 

[PuckHead]

Got it.

Thanks all for the clear solution and explanations which, in my 5e set-up, was to place a powered unmanaged switch between my devices and the jacks to get the target 1000 mbps.

 

[follower]

Got it.

Thanks all for the clear solution and explanations which, in my 5e set-up, was to place a powered unmanaged switch between my devices and the jacks to get the target 1000 mbps.

Do not use cheap UTP cables. It makes that issue a lot. Your UTP cable is defective or cheap one i think. I recommend you reinstalling UTP cables with a good brand, CAT.6.

 

[L&LD]

I don't think (I could be wrong, of course) that it is a matter of 'just' power. I think it was explained previously that it was a matter of a good connection (or not), specifically, between the jack and the connector on the wire/cable.

When you get a product 'A' with variance in manufacturing 'v' and pair it with product 'B' with its own variance, sometimes those variances are out by enough to cause issues as we saw here (again). Putting something 'else' in-between 'A' and 'B' is sometimes enough to make the variances go the other way. Here, I'm specifically talking about the actual connectors on the ends of; the wall plates, the Ethernet cables used, and the jacks on the unmanaged switch.


I'd like to repeat another 'huh? why did that work' story, which has worked a few times for me over the years and may help others too.

A customer got a new TV service and was up to their neck in cables, remotes, and instructions around them while I was setting up the network/router for them in their home. I cautiously asked what the issue was, as everything seemed to be working to me. They replied that everything was working, except the gaming system which they had been playing that morning (PS4?) and now wasn't showing any signs of life. After taking a few short minutes to verify the wiring with them to all the entertainment unit's devices, I suggested they switch the HDMI cable for that device. They said they couldn't, nothing was long enough. I said then just use the same cable but flip it first. They thought I was making fun of them, but with a shrug, they did it (had to fish the long cable through many crevices though)!

When they pressed the power button on the gaming device and the TV jumped to life, they couldn't believe it.

They actually reversed the cable again to test and once more, it didn't work. I helped them flip it around and make it look neat. Got a little extra for that trip that day.

Welcome to the twilight zone. Where things aren't always logical or work as they seem they should...

 

[PuckHead]

Interesting. Experience and a little bit of creativity counts.

One question on this remaining topic has come up: Is correct to say that the 1000 mbps seen by the laptop is 1000 mbps through the switch to the router. I hope the speed is not merely 1000 mbps in the short patch cable between the laptop and the switch.

 

[L&LD]

Ah! What does the router say is the connection speed on its end?

 

[PuckHead]

Like the song says “you can check out any time you like but you can never leave”. Not good news: The router indicates that just 100 mbps is coming out from the router, including when another unmanaged switch is used at the jack. That means to me that the 1000 mbps is just the speed between the switch through the patch cable and the device. It’s “Funny how the night moves”. Or “getting lost in her lovin is your mistake”. Haha.

So we are back to the beginning. I think I am going to call this a day. It is just so weird to have all 8 pairs tested as connected on both sides and no 1000 mbps at any jack. Not one. Happy to learn any other possible reasons. I have tested this situation on know gigabit capable laptops with gigabit Ethernet adapters.

oh well, I have a excellent MocA network, transmitting as fast as my service offering. The rest of the house can go wireless.

 

[PuckHead]

4 pairs tested notb8

 

[ddaenen1]

4 pairs tested notb8

So, maybe an irrelevant question: What is your ISP speed up/down?

So if get this correct:

- you have a router with a built in 4 (or 8) port switch (brand/type?).
- Those ports are connected with cat 5e cable to RJ45 connectors on one end, RJ45 keystone wall sockets on the other end.
- If you plug in a device into on of the RJ45 wall sockets, the device indicates you are on a 100mbps connection.
- If you use a UTP tester, connected on both ends of a UTP cable, you get a light on each terminal running in the correct sequence from 1 to 8 and this on both devices of the tester assuming you are using a tester that has a parent and child testing device.
- If you plug a laptop directly into a switch port with a UTP cable, you get 1000mpbs, correct? This one is a bit unclear to me.

Have you looked into the keystones? Are the just one on one plugin passthrough or did you have to patch the terminals yourself in the keystone? What type are the keystones, cat 5, cat 5E or cat 6? Reason i am asking is that i do have encountered issues with intermittent contact because the cat 5E keystone wasn't splicing the insulation of the cat 6 cable.

 

[PuckHead]

4 pairs tested notb8

So, maybe an irrelevant question: What is your ISP speed up/down?

So if get this correct:

- you have a router with a built in 4 (or 8) port switch (brand/type?).
- Those ports are connected with cat 5e cable to RJ45 connectors on one end, RJ45 keystone wall sockets on the other end.
- If you plug in a device into on of the RJ45 wall sockets, the device indicates you are on a 100mbps connection.
- If you use a UTP tester, connected on both ends of a UTP cable, you get a light on each terminal running in the correct sequence from 1 to 8 and this on both devices of the tester assuming you are using a tester that has a parent and child testing device.
- If you plug a laptop directly into a switch port with a UTP cable, you get 1000mpbs, correct? This one is a bit unclear to me.

Have you looked into the keystones? Are the just one on one plugin passthrough or did you have to patch the terminals yourself in the keystone? What type are the keystones, cat 5, cat 5E or cat 6? Reason i am asking is that i do have encountered issues with intermittent contact because the cat 5E keystone wasn't splicing the insulation of the cat 6 cable.

 

[PuckHead]

Up is 20 mbps. Down is 400 mbps. Only expecting 1000 mbps inside my network.

to all your questions, yes. And to clarify your last question, I get the 1000 when I plug in my laptop to a switch which is connected to any of my wall jacks, each with a keystone connector. The 1000 is just the speed between the switch and the laptop.

To your point, I think it is the keystones (but pairs indicate connectivity) and lack of real grounding insulation for the relatively long runs of 12 year-old cat 5e cable. The tester does not indicate any grounding.

Like another song, “know when to hold them / know when to fold them”, I can live with the 100 mbps mystery. And because I have an awesome MoCa set-up giving me exactly the speed I am paying for. I may switch to another router (currently using a Spectrum Charter router attached to a NetGear unmanaged gigabit switch) to see if there is a change to 1000 mbps but that is a last ditch because That current router gives 1000 mbps on all ports when directly connected. I will report back but a router change is not a priority right now.

All is good and thanks for your attention to this. It’s fun trying to figure this out.