Poor file transfers over gigabit network

thecremeegg

thecremeegg

thecremeegg

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So just installed Cat 6 cable between my pc, server and a switch in the living room. The switch is gigabit, the router is gigabit and both the main PC and server have gigabit cards. The only thing that isn't gigabit is the sky router but that's irrelevant as nothing should go through that (I even unplugged it to check and same issue),

I can stream 4K rips to the TV through the network fine and a network checking program says I get 80Mbps read over the network, however file transfers seem to cap at 11Mbs.

Any ideas on why this might be as it's driving me nuts!

Thanks!
 
What you're copying can have a large impact. Many small files will copy at a much slower rate than fewer large files would.

11MBps is close to the maximum throughput for a 100Mbps connection but that's probably a coincidence.

Beyond that you'd need to provide more information about the hardware and software in use.
 
Draw your network layout.

Check the colour of the lights on your switch. This should determine 100mbit or 1000mbit


Check that each cable has all 8 wires. Some routers come with 4 wires in the cables :/
 
Please see the fantastic image for the layout of the network:

3dv7wNo.png


The switch lights are all green (Netgear GS-305) suggesting they're getting gigabit?
Copying wise, I've tried copying lots of different file types and sizes, always maxxes out at 11MB/s. Perhaps the TP-Link is the bottleneck despite saying it has gigabit throughput on the ports?

The cables all have 8 wires - I know that as I had to put the connectors on myself. Just thinking about it actually, it could be the cable or connectors themselves I guess? It's meant to be Cat 6 off a roll but it was quite cheap. Do the RJ45 connectors need to be special for gigabit as I just bought normal cheapy ones?
 
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thecremeegg said:
MegaBYTES per second sorry - single most stupid naming convention in history tbh
Click to expand...
Maybe but if people actually used capital letters where appropriate it wouldn't be confusing. ;)

Firstly check if the PCs are actually syncing at 1 Gb/s. Windows 8 and 10 complicated the process of finding this out but basically you need to find the "Change adapter settings" link in the Control Panel somewhere, then right-click the network connection and choose Status.

If they all say 1 Gb/s then the next thing to check is if devices that are connected just to the living room switch can transfer at 1 Gb/s (bypass the router).
 
DragonQ said:
Maybe but if people actually used capital letters where appropriate it wouldn't be confusing. ;)
Click to expand...
Oh totally but remembering whether Megabit or Megabyte has the capital B is more complicated than it should be, especially for noobs like me!

DragonQ said:
Firstly check if the PCs are actually syncing at 1 Gb/s. Windows 8 and 10 complicated the process of finding this out but basically you need to find the "Change adapter settings" link in the Control Panel somewhere, then right-click the network connection and choose Status.

If they all say 1 Gb/s then the next thing to check is if devices that are connected just to the living room switch can transfer at 1 Gb/s (bypass the router).
Click to expand...

So it seems that the Desktop is running at 10/100 and the Server is getting Gigabit, meaning that I'm pointing the finger at the cable between the desktop and the router as the card is definitely gigabit compatible.
I might try re-doing the connectors first and go from there?
 
If you're putting connectors onto Cat6 cable (never a great idea) they should really be rated for Cat6.

Did you use a cable tester to validate the cables?

One bad connection or swapped wire will drop a cable down from Gigabit to 10/100 (or stop it working completely).
 
They are apparently rated for Cat 6 but you never know (off ebay...!)
I didn't use a cable tester but I've ordered one. I'm 100% positive that the wires are correct in the connectors as I triple checked them, however it's possible the cable got kinked/damaged when running it so we'll see.
 
thecremeegg said:
Oh totally but remembering whether Megabit or Megabyte has the capital B is more complicated than it should be, especially for noobs like me!
Click to expand...
Heh. A byte is bigger than a bit. A B is bigger than a b. :p

thecremeegg said:
So it seems that the Desktop is running at 10/100 and the Server is getting Gigabit, meaning that I'm pointing the finger at the cable between the desktop and the router as the card is definitely gigabit compatible.
I might try re-doing the connectors first and go from there?
Click to expand...
Try a random Cat5/6 patch cable first just to test if that's the issue. It could also be a driver issue on the desktop, for example.

thecremeegg said:
They are apparently rated for Cat 6 but you never know (off ebay...!)
I didn't use a cable tester but I've ordered one. I'm 100% positive that the wires are correct in the connectors as I triple checked them, however it's possible the cable got kinked/damaged when running it so we'll see.
Click to expand...
Definitely get a cable tester. Make sure all 8 wires are connected in each cable
 
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