Gigabit network defaulting to 100Mbit

OneSexyNerd · 22 Jan 2008 at 12:14

Hi Guys

I have a problem with my network.

I've got 3 devices
XP machine 1 - Gb LAN mobo
XP machine 2 - Gb Dlink card
Freecom Classic SL 100Mbit external NAS

all connected to a NetGear 5 Port 10 / 100 / 1000mbps Gigabit Switch

Why do I only get 100Mbit transfers between XP machine 1&2?

I have set the network adapters to Gb and checked the transfer rates (only about 8Mbytes/s)

Any clues?

Thanks

Vince

siclilmonkey · 22 Jan 2008 at 12:18

i had this problem with my switch try turning it off and back on worked for me

encephalopathy · 22 Jan 2008 at 15:12

i have same switch and had similar probs before.
i have 1 dodgy port on the switch that won't do gb (stays orange rather than green and runs at 10/100) and have also had issues with gb card before partially dying and running at 10/100 speeds

it ends up being a matter of elimination and getting on hands and knees and looking at the little lights on the back of the network card to see what speed it is running at.

mejinks · 22 Jan 2008 at 23:35

Have you got decent cables? A lot of problems are caused through poor/cheap cables.

Trixxy · 23 Jan 2008 at 09:10

yeah, I've got the 8 port version of the Netgear Switch and had some trouble getting my main pc connected at 1Gbps.

Main PC - Gigabyte mobo
3 other pcs, all DFI mobos.

I had about 7 CAT5e cables, all worked fine at 1Gbps with the DFI mobos, but only one worked with my main pc.

Gigabyte mobo seemed to be really fussy about what cable I plugged into it.

OneSexyNerd · 23 Jan 2008 at 14:24

Thanks all for your suggestions.

I have had this working at some point in the past but I made some changes to the layout in the room and subsequently noticed the problem. All the cables are cat5e but I did swap them around so maybe that is the problem. I also noticed that XP tends to default the NICs back to 100Mb sometimes.

The moral of the story: let sleeping dogs (and PCs) lie!

DRZ · 23 Jan 2008 at 17:02

Your problem isn't the cards (Unless you have a DGE-530T and run linux) its the switches you are using. I had a Netgear 8-port gigait switch and was PLAGUED with issues. Link speed autonegotiation was always an issue, as was maximum throughput being about 60% of what it should have been. A housemate bought a 5-port version of the same switch and had largely similar issues. Cat6 cables used throughout for all Gb connections too.

I binned mine and bought the massively more expensive Linksys 8-port gigabit switch and ALL of my issues went away and it will switch at the theoretical maximum throughput for gigabit no problems.

If you are seriously needing Gigabit LAN though, put the toys away and get yourselves some Intel Pro/1000 NICs. Really nice cards and at these sorts of speeds they are exactly what you need.

mejinks · 24 Jan 2008 at 09:18

DRZ said:
Your problem isn't the cards (Unless you have a DGE-530T and run linux) its the switches you are using. I had a Netgear 8-port gigait switch and was PLAGUED with issues. Link speed autonegotiation was always an issue, as was maximum throughput being about 60% of what it should have been. A housemate bought a 5-port version of the same switch and had largely similar issues. Cat6 cables used throughout for all Gb connections too.

I binned mine and bought the massively more expensive Linksys 8-port gigabit switch and ALL of my issues went away and it will switch at the theoretical maximum throughput for gigabit no problems.

If you are seriously needing Gigabit LAN though, put the toys away and get yourselves some Intel Pro/1000 NICs. Really nice cards and at these sorts of speeds they are exactly what you need.

Oddly, I have the 5 port version and run it with a Dell desktop, dell laptop and an intel pro/1000 Nic in my homebuilt machine. I have never had problems with throughput or connection speed. I suppose it proves that YMMV.

DRZ · 24 Jan 2008 at 15:16

mejinks said:
Oddly, I have the 5 port version and run it with a Dell desktop, dell laptop and an intel pro/1000 Nic in my homebuilt machine. I have never had problems with throughput or connection speed. I suppose it proves that YMMV.

Yeah I suppose, but the GS series have been described by a few places as "notoriously flaky". My direct experiences have all been bad - perhaps you just got lucky

OneSexyNerd · 24 Jan 2008 at 15:26

DRZ said:
I binned mine and bought the massively more expensive Linksys 8-port gigabit switch and ALL of my issues went away and it will switch at the theoretical maximum throughput for gigabit no problems.

If you are seriously needing Gigabit LAN though, put the toys away and get yourselves some Intel Pro/1000 NICs. Really nice cards and at these sorts of speeds they are exactly what you need.

I have a Linksys router and it is rubbish! Falls over on a regular basis, loses settings and the config save feature doesn't work.

I have two D-link NICs, do you think adding a D-link switch would solve these problems?

DRZ · 24 Jan 2008 at 15:36

Notice I said switch not router, although my WRT-54G has never once failed on me.

Personally, I wouldn't buy any D-Link products again after a run of really, really bad products from them (their Gigabit stuff is awful), but even so, I dont see how buying ANY switch at all will help your situation?

OneSexyNerd · 24 Jan 2008 at 18:38

DRZ said:
Notice I said switch not router, although my WRT-54G has never once failed on me.

Personally, I wouldn't buy any D-Link products again after a run of really, really bad products from them (their Gigabit stuff is awful), but even so, I dont see how buying ANY switch at all will help your situation?

I wasn't scorning your Linksys gear, I'm just saying on the basis of my Linksys experience I wouldn't want to go there again. And before anybody says it: yes I did upgrade the firmware.

I have had my Netgear switch running at 1Gbps in the past so I shall try reconfiguring it back to a working condition before I resort to buying a costly new switch.

It's all rather hit and miss in the land of giga bits, it seems.