Gigabit card and netgear switch

TheLastMan

TheLastMan

TheLastMan

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I have a Realtek based Gigabit network PCI NIC in my PC (WinXP). I have this connected through a Netgear 5 port switch to a Synology NAS with a gigabit chip in it.

Problem: each time I boot-up the PC the link between the PC and NAS seems to reset itself to 10/100 mode. Going into Network connections and getting it to renegotiate the connection will set it correctly back to gigabit speeds.

I notice also that if the PC is already booted into Windows, if I turn the switch off then on again the connection will return to gigabit speed.

The Netgear switch shows an orange light for each 10/100 port connection and green for a gigabit connection. I notice that when I first switch on the PC the appropriate port on the Netgear switch is orange. Only once Windows XP has booted up does it change from orange to green.

It seems that the NIC BIOS is initially reporting itself to the switch as a 10/100 card and that is enough to confuse the switch into setting the wrong speed. Only once the Windows driver is loaded will it show itself up as gigabit.

Any clues how this can be fixed? There are lots of driver settings - any idea if one of these can be changed so that the BIOS reports the NIC correctly?

Not a big deal, but it is a pain to have to reboot the Netgear switch every time I turn on my PC.

Thanks for any help.
 
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Can you force the speed?

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OK, swapping the cable is the cheapest option. Thinking about it, I wonder if the Netgear can actually sense what kind of cable is attached? I think it is 5e, but I am not sure. Will get some Cat6 just to be certain.

I can force the speed, but that makes no difference. In fact it leads to further problems as the connection still sets to 10/100 but would not renegotiate to gigabit when I rebooted the switch. Leaving it as "auto" has given the best result so far.
 
Gigabit will not function correctly unless it is set to auto negotaiate - auto negotiation is an integral part of 802.3ab as there are a lot of parameters that are set by it. Forcing the speed is a bad idea, dont do it.

As for the cable, it wont "detect" if it is cat 5/5e/6 as it is "just a cable" but rated for different speeds. You'll be fine with 5e - there is no difference between 5e and 6 for what you're doing. Just replace it and see what happens

- Pea0n
 
No joy I am afraid :(

Even with brand new 1m Belkin Cat6 cables the PC -> NAS link, even without anything else plugged in to the Netgear switch, is still only 10/100.

I still reckon it is something to do with the PCI NIC in the PC. With the PC switched on, but not booted into windows, the light on the switch shows the connection as 10/100. Only once booted into Windows does it appear as a gigabit connection.

The quickest workaround I have found is to turn off the switch just before I boot up the PC. Once the PC is booted up, if I then turn on the switch it negotiates a proper Gigabit connection.

I have the latest drivers and the maker does not supply BIOS updates so I am a bit stuck short of splashing out on another NIC. This is starting to get a bit costly!
 
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Try getting an Intel Pro1000 - excellent cards. Do you have access to another 1Gb switch you can try before you buy in case it is that?

- Pea0n
 
Thanks for the suggestion. The answer to your question is no, so it is either buy a new switch or buy the Intel NIC. Actually I think I will just make do with the workaround for the time being. It is no major hassle as it just involves turning the switch off then on.

I hope to be building a new 'puter in the next couple of months anyway which will come with an on-board gigabit NIC.
 
Older Netgear Gigabit switches were notorious for dropping back to 100Mb/s whenever they felt like it. I had exactly the same problem with a GS608 and GS105 but the newer GS108 'eco' version is rock solid.
 
Snapshot said:
...the newer GS108 'eco' version is rock solid.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info but as the cheapest I can find that model is £53, I think I will pass for the time being.

I have just paid £67 to set up this gigabit thing: £35 for the switch, £15 for the NIC and £17 for new cables. I think I will have to live with my choices and the very minor inconvenience of turning the switch off then on whenever the extra speed might be useful (which is not that often to be honest).

I cannot justify spending even more money to try a solution that might not even work.
 
I have had no end of problems with my 5 port netgear giganit switch, the same issue as snapshot. and now its just keeps dropping the link at gigabit speeds, and forcing it to 100mb the link is rock solid.

Time to get rid and get a new Cisco or HP 8 port for @ £80
 
Snapshot said:
Older Netgear Gigabit switches were notorious for dropping back to 100Mb/s whenever they felt like it. I had exactly the same problem with a GS608 and GS105 but the newer GS108 'eco' version is rock solid.
Click to expand...
Yeah my older GS105 is always dropping back to 100Mbs, it's a real pain.
 
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