jonathanc Posted November 3, 2010 Share Posted November 3, 2010 Well I have discovered a VERY weird problem with my network adaptor (ethernet) Currently I am running a setup like this : internet->router modem->homeplug->homeplug->4 port gigabit switch->my main PC's ethernet port This works fine but I discovered that the connection is seriously slow. So what I did to test was this : internet->router modem->homeplug->homeplug->my main PC's ethernet port I don't know why but I can't get the ethernet to work! Says no connection. I've tried both ports but no joy. I then tried to connect my laptop instead of main PC and that worked fine. My mobo is Asus Rampage 2 Extreme and it has 2 onboard Marvell Yukon 88e8056 gigabit ethernet adaptors. I am truly stumped with this...can anyone advice what's wrong here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnny g Posted November 3, 2010 Share Posted November 3, 2010 Have you connected to the uplink port on the switch? When working with windows PC's, always remember A.R.S.E. A Reboot Solves Everything. Switch it all off, router on first, then the switch, then the PC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaveriK Posted November 3, 2010 Share Posted November 3, 2010 Speed and duplex setting on the PC i would venture. Try hard coding it to 10 full and see what happens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smallshinyant Posted November 3, 2010 Share Posted November 3, 2010 Did you have it set-up for a Fixed IP previously? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted November 3, 2010 Share Posted November 3, 2010 Speed and duplex setting on the PC i would venture. Try hard coding it to 10 full and see what happens If connected at a gig it shouldnt be an issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorin Posted November 3, 2010 Share Posted November 3, 2010 If connected at a gig it shouldnt be an issue. Maybe NIC in PC is hard set to gig, but homeplug only supports 100mbps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted November 3, 2010 Share Posted November 3, 2010 Maybe NIC in PC is hard set to gig, but homeplug only supports 100mbps? PC is connected to the switch and so is the home plug looking at the first post, it could be an issue with the switch have to drop down to 100mb as most homeplugs only connect at 100mb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorin Posted November 3, 2010 Share Posted November 3, 2010 PC is connected to the switch and so is the home plug looking at the first post, it could be an issue with the switch have to drop down to 100mb as most homeplugs only connect at 100mb. I was mainly commenting on the fact that he's removed the switch from the equation and now it doesn't work... At least that's how I read it. As to why it should be slow before, possibly just powerline interference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted November 3, 2010 Share Posted November 3, 2010 I was mainly commenting on the fact that he's removed the switch from the equation and now it doesn't work... At least that's how I read it. maybe I should of read the whole post In that case I would say you are prob spot on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathanc Posted November 3, 2010 Author Share Posted November 3, 2010 Speed and duplex setting on the PC i would venture. Try hard coding it to 10 full and see what happens DING! Setting it to Auto negotiate fixes the problem. Although I've discovered something even weirder! If I plug straight from homeplug to PC and use 1000Mbps full duplex it doesn't work but if I then plug the PC to the switch that works... oh well will just leave it at Auto Negotiate then. Thing is when I do tests @ Speedtest.net I get spikes...sometimes 3.55 sometimes whopping 15mbps... Another question is : Are onboard NICs any good or should I get a PCI one? I would reckon onboard ones should be better as it is connected directly to the southbridge? Also, might be a stupid question but why does my mobo come with 2 ethernet ports? edit: Just read the post about homeplugs connecting at 100Mbps...no wonder that didn't work when I plug it in directly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted November 3, 2010 Share Posted November 3, 2010 The switch prob supports 10/100/1000mb devices Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathanc Posted November 3, 2010 Author Share Posted November 3, 2010 The switch prob supports 10/100/1000mb devices Yup, how foolish of me So I reckon there's no Gigabit powerline/homeplugs around yet then... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorin Posted November 3, 2010 Share Posted November 3, 2010 DING! Setting it to Auto negotiate fixes the problem. Although I've discovered something even weirder! If I plug straight from homeplug to PC and use 1000Mbps full duplex it doesn't work but if I then plug the PC to the switch that works... oh well will just leave it at Auto Negotiate then. Thing is when I do tests @ Speedtest.net I get spikes...sometimes 3.55 sometimes whopping 15mbps... Is that the same if you plug straight into the router, eliminating the homeplugs though? Another question is : Are onboard NICs any good or should I get a PCI one? I would reckon onboard ones should be better as it is connected directly to the southbridge? Also, might be a stupid question but why does my mobo come with 2 ethernet ports? Onboard NIC's will be fine, and as to why it's got two, well in case you want to plug it into two separate networks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorin Posted November 3, 2010 Share Posted November 3, 2010 Yup, how foolish of me So I reckon there's no Gigabit powerline/homeplugs around yet then... I think there are, but I believe most of the "200mbps" homeplugs still only use a 10/100 ethernet connection, since realistically you'll not see over 100mbps let alone anywhere near 200mbps. The speed ratings are a bit of a con really, I seem to recall they're actually 100mbps "Full duplex", rather than a full 200mbps throughput. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathanc Posted November 3, 2010 Author Share Posted November 3, 2010 Is that the same if you plug straight into the router, eliminating the homeplugs though? Well, it will be a little bit of a hassle to move my huge desktop downstairs so I can plug it straight into the modem router but I've tested it with my laptop though earlier to get a rough estimation of speeds I should be expecting. Don't think the homeplug/powerline adaptor is the problem though as my laptop works fine without spikes. I've also tried different ports in the switch and everytime its spiking on my desktop. I am trying to play with some of the NICs advanced settings but it looks very daunting...I've set Jumbo Frames to max for the moment and also updated the drivers to the latest one. Using Speedtest.net solely though at the moment for my tests. Just gets abit annoying these spikes as its really noticable when I am transferring large files over network. edit: Why can't Virgin lay their cable/fibre network here I missed my Virgin BB sooooooooooooo much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorin Posted November 3, 2010 Share Posted November 3, 2010 I am trying to play with some of the NICs advanced settings but it looks very daunting...I've set Jumbo Frames to max for the moment and also updated the drivers to the latest one. I'd disable jumbo frames altogether, every bit of the network infrastructure needs to support them and I highly doubt the homeplugs, your router, and probably even your switch will do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathanc Posted November 3, 2010 Author Share Posted November 3, 2010 I think there are, but I believe most of the "200mbps" homeplugs still only use a 10/100 ethernet connection, since realistically you'll not see over 100mbps let alone anywhere near 200mbps. The speed ratings are a bit of a con really, I seem to recall they're actually 100mbps "Full duplex", rather than a full 200mbps throughput. Hmmm, so there is no point to buy the 200Mbps homeplugs then? Mine is fine just wondering if upgrading to something with bigger numbers would help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathanc Posted November 3, 2010 Author Share Posted November 3, 2010 I'd disable jumbo frames altogether, every bit of the network infrastructure needs to support them and I highly doubt the homeplugs, your router, and probably even your switch will do. I've read Jumbo frames should help boost your thoroughput? What about the rest like : Flow Control, Interupt Moderation, IPv4 Checksum offload etc? I've tinkered so much I forgot the default settings lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abz Posted November 3, 2010 Share Posted November 3, 2010 Think your main problem is from the ISP, don't think you will get much widdling with the homeplugs or router (even network card). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorin Posted November 3, 2010 Share Posted November 3, 2010 Hmmm, so there is no point to buy the 200Mbps homeplugs then? Mine is fine just wondering if upgrading to something with bigger numbers would help Well if yours are the older 85mbps ones, that probably means they're only really ~42.5mbps. I've read Jumbo frames should help boost your thoroughput? What about the rest like : Flow Control, Interupt Moderation, IPv4 Checksum offload etc? I've tinkered so much I forgot the default settings lol. Jumbo frames do help boost throughput if you're copying large files around, but only if every piece of the network infrastructure supports it, and that's generally only on more expensive managed switches, rather than typical home ones. What are the settings for flow control? They can differ. Checksum offload should be enabled, you might get different options for transmit or receive offload? Enable both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaveriK Posted November 3, 2010 Share Posted November 3, 2010 maybe I should of read the whole post In that case I would say you are prob spot on Who was spot on?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaveriK Posted November 3, 2010 Share Posted November 3, 2010 You are trying to diagnose a network speed issue using kit that you are not in control of. How do you know if that spotty ginger kid down the road is downloading something nasty on the same exchange as you? Start internally with kit you are in control of. Network issues are mostly speed/duplex, faulty nic, faulty cable or faulty active kit. My Broadband speed tests are all over the shop but i can stream films and music to my PS3 now with out issues. I can also file share between PC and laptop without any headaches and all this goes on while i am sometimes downloading around 600k a second. Ping pro pack is a good test of bandwidth and stability Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathanc Posted November 3, 2010 Author Share Posted November 3, 2010 Well if yours are the older 85mbps ones, that probably means they're only really ~42.5mbps. Jumbo frames do help boost throughput if you're copying large files around, but only if every piece of the network infrastructure supports it, and that's generally only on more expensive managed switches, rather than typical home ones. What are the settings for flow control? They can differ. Checksum offload should be enabled, you might get different options for transmit or receive offload? Enable both. I can't seem to disable Jumbo frames, only 3 options of different sizes... that's why I figured just set it to the highest. Just re-enabled Checksum offload. Flow control just Disabled or Tx and Rx enabled. Here's a screenshot of all the options : http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/1741/checksum.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathanc Posted November 3, 2010 Author Share Posted November 3, 2010 Ping pro pack is a good test of bandwidth and stability Cheers for that mate will have a look! lol @ ginger kid comment What kinna dissapoints me is that I can get consistent speeds on the laptop but not on the desktop even both based on the same setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorin Posted November 7, 2010 Share Posted November 7, 2010 I can't seem to disable Jumbo frames, only 3 options of different sizes... that's why I figured just set it to the highest. Just re-enabled Checksum offload. Flow control just Disabled or Tx and Rx enabled. Here's a screenshot of all the options : http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/1741/checksum.jpg Set Jumbo frames to whatever the lowest is then. Tx & Rx Enabled is fine, the rest leave at default. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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