Home networking router/splitter

[GoinAllTheWay]

Have you tried re-setting the router & switch? Unplug both, leave unpugged for like 10 seconds and the plug back in.

Shouldn't be a conflict I don't think, both networking devices are dLink.

[Azure]

If that is the case the jack may not be wired properly.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay

Have you tried re-setting the router & switch? Unplug both, leave unpugged for like 10 seconds and the plug back in.

Shouldn't be a conflict I don't think, both networking devices are dLink.

Does that make a difference?

I mean, having different kinds of devices on your network? D-link, Linksys, Buffalo, etc, etc.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by Azure

Does that make a difference?

I mean, having different kinds of devices on your network? D-link, Linksys, Buffalo, etc, etc.

Brands shouldn't matter much. I have heard of conflicts if you have two routers on the same network. They fight over assigning IP addresses by DHCP and it gets messy. Switches just kind of do as they're told and don't have much to say in the process.

Based on what I have heard here, I wonder if there's a problem with the wiring as others have suggested. When I wired up my basement I had one jack that was a bit sketchy and wouldn't work with most of my devices. I snipped off the plug end in my furnace room and re-wired it and it worked fine afterwards. Upon further inspection, a couple of my wires hadn't been pushed all they way through, and when I crimped the plug, the connection was barely being made on those wires.

I'd start there, and if that doesn't work, open up the wall jack and see if everything looks good.

[The Yen Man]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I was afraid it might be a wiring problem. I'll try resetting and powering down everything tonight to see if it will fix it. But if not, then I'll have to take a look at the wiring somehow. Too bad I have zero knowledge on how to wiring anything.

Good thing it's a new house so if anything's wrong, I can get the Visions guy to come and take a look at it.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I was afraid it might be a wiring problem. I'll try resetting and powering down everything tonight to see if it will fix it. But if not, then I'll have to take a look at the wiring somehow. Too bad I have zero knowledge on how to wiring anything.

Good thing it's a new house so if anything's wrong, I can get the Visions guy to come and take a look at it.

Doing ethernet plugs is easy, but you'll need a crimper, which will set you back about $30. So for one plug, it may not be worth it for you. If the Visions guy is under the warranty of the home (didn't know they did installs like that), go for it and get them to fix it.

[ken0042]

Sorry I missed a few posts. My next step would be to find out what port on the switch that jack is connected to, and then connect the laptop directly to the switch. If it works there, it is wiring. If it still doesn't work, then its a configuration issue.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by ken0042

Sorry I missed a few posts. My next step would be to find out what port on the switch that jack is connected to, and then connect the laptop directly to the switch. If it works there, it is wiring. If it still doesn't work, then its a configuration issue.

That's a good point. One other thought is that it could even be a bad jack on the switch. I had a port on one of my old routers that kind of went fritzy once. The other 3 worked fine if I simply switched the plugs.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

Brands shouldn't matter much. I have heard of conflicts if you have two routers on the same network. They fight over assigning IP addresses by DHCP and it gets messy. Switches just kind of do as they're told and don't have much to say in the process.

I've had a few instances where low-end routers like the Linksys 160n that have been setup to give out DHCP would run into conflicts with other routers like Belkin, Netgear....even if the DHCP would be turned off on on them.

As if the Belkin and Netgear routers wouldn't allow the DHCP to be passed through.

Maybe disabling the firewall would have helped, as they were just in place for wireless and nothing else.

I think there is something to it. If you run higher end hardware like a Sonicwall as the gateway and the device that gives out DHCP, other routers on the network don't seem to create conflicts.

[Raekwon]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I was afraid it might be a wiring problem. I'll try resetting and powering down everything tonight to see if it will fix it. But if not, then I'll have to take a look at the wiring somehow. Too bad I have zero knowledge on how to wiring anything.

Good thing it's a new house so if anything's wrong, I can get the Visions guy to come and take a look at it.

I found 3 Different rooms wired incorrectly when we moved into our new place.

[BloodFetish]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

...the weird thing was, the jack would not connect to my laptop. But if I went to other rooms in my house, the jacks would all connect properly. So maybe it's a wiring thing? But then, if I plug in my Xbox in the family room jack, it connects to the internet until I stream video. Then it cuts out after 5 minutes into it.

It's also possible you have multiple issues, in which case it's probably best to isolate the problem(s) individually. You got a good start on this by double-checking the family room jack with your laptop (fail) so the wiring is definitely suspect.

To get a second opinion try this: Move the Xbox into the master bedroom and connect it to the TV and the router, then retry your streaming test. By doing this you are eliminating as many variables as possible (like the Cat5 wiring, downstream switches, etc.) If this works fine, the the problem may be limited to just the wiring in the family room. If this fails then this problem has taken a different direction.

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

Doing ethernet plugs is easy, but you'll need a crimper, which will set you back about $30. So for one plug, it may not be worth it for you. If the Visions guy is under the warranty of the home (didn't know they did installs like that), go for it and get them to fix it.

Easy, but there is some background knowledge involved before making good cables with 100% reliability. For instance, my first attempts at this were with RJ45 plugs intended for stranded Cat5 cable but the actual cable was solid core. I hadn't learned enough to know better, and the connections I made were either outright failures or intermittent. Home Depot now carries plugs designed for both solid core and stranded, and I've never had an issue with them

Plus, Yen Man may have keystone jack connections. This would be good news since they are easier for the do-it-yourselfers and the money he would have put into a crimper can be put into a cable tester instead

[BloodFetish]

Originally Posted by Azure

Does that make a difference?

I mean, having different kinds of devices on your network? D-link, Linksys, Buffalo, etc, etc.

When we're talking about switches mix and matching brands should not be an issue because network traffic is standardized. However, depending on how it's wired up a lower quality switch may reduce network throughput via the "weakest link" effect.

It's never a good idea to have more than one router on a home network, because they will conflict and it's just a question of how much.

[fundmark19]

Ok so shaw came over to set up my home phone and messed up all my networking when i left him the cat5 he needed to use and messed it all up. Now when I try to put everything through the switch it says connected to unknown network and can't connect to internet. I have tried unplugging everything and plugging it back in. All the lights light up on the switch. Says something about can't find ip address when I try and use my ps3. If I don't use the switch internet works just fine through router.

Anyhelp would be appreciated. Router is dir 655 and switch is that d link green one

[BloodFetish]

Originally Posted by fundmark19

Ok so shaw came over to set up my home phone and messed up all my networking when i left him the cat5 he needed to use and messed it all up. Now when I try to put everything through the switch it says connected to unknown network and can't connect to internet. I have tried unplugging everything and plugging it back in. All the lights light up on the switch. Says something about can't find ip address when I try and use my ps3. If I don't use the switch internet works just fine through router.

Bummer. I suggest first making sure you don't have...

- more than one network cable connecting the router to the switch
- a network cable where both ends are connected to the switch

Pretty basic stuff, but easy to do if the cables are not organized too well. Usually when this happens in our locations I get a phone call because their network is dead, and it's a real beeyotch to figure out over the phone.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by fundmark19

Ok so shaw came over to set up my home phone and messed up all my networking when i left him the cat5 he needed to use and messed it all up. Now when I try to put everything through the switch it says connected to unknown network and can't connect to internet. I have tried unplugging everything and plugging it back in. All the lights light up on the switch. Says something about can't find ip address when I try and use my ps3. If I don't use the switch internet works just fine through router.

Anyhelp would be appreciated. Router is dir 655 and switch is that d link green one

Is there a chance that the connection between the switch and the router got disconnected? It sounds like your devices connect but to the switch, but can't find a way out to the internet. A couple of things to try:

- Check to see if the devices connected to with switch can see each other (sharing files, etc.)
- Check to see if there's a link between the switch and the router. You should be going from one of the router's standard ports (not WAN, uplink, etc.) to the switch.
- Is the cable between the switch and router yellow? It may be a crossover cable, which might screw things up.

I'd be tempted to call Shaw. Even though it is your own network, it worked before they came. And now that you've just decided to add telephone to your package, they might be willing to go the extra mile to help fix it for you. Worth a try at the very least.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

Is there a chance that the connection between the switch and the router got disconnected? It sounds like your devices connect but to the switch, but can't find a way out to the internet. A couple of things to try:

- Check to see if the devices connected to with switch can see each other (sharing files, etc.)
- Check to see if there's a link between the switch and the router. You should be going from one of the router's standard ports (not WAN, uplink, etc.) to the switch.
- Is the cable between the switch and router yellow? It may be a crossover cable, which might screw things up.

I'd be tempted to call Shaw. Even though it is your own network, it worked before they came. And now that you've just decided to add telephone to your package, they might be willing to go the extra mile to help fix it for you. Worth a try at the very least.

This.

[fundmark19]

I tried the shaw phone call and the lady was a jerk to say the least. She claims there is no way the they would touch my home network and would never touch it in any case. Clearly they did as it is all messed up. The guy even cut one of my ethernet cords and then spliced it back together using those twist caps. I have all my ethernet cords colour coded with a sheet right next to them telling which location is the house they go to. The only cord that wasn't plugged in was the one to use for the phone line when he came. For people who are supposed to be experts in doing this stuff they sure are ######ed.

It is a yellow ethernet cord that i have going from modem to router and router port to switch. (these cords are same as before shaw came when it did function)

If I plug in directly to router everything works just fine.

I only have one ethernet from router to switch I have unplugged everything and plugged back in and still no luck.

[Jimmy Stang]

Has that yellow cord always been in the set-up? Try reading the side of the cable to see if it says anything about being a crossover. Many devices can detect them so it doesn't matter, but some don't.

If possible, see if you can swap that cable out with a different one and see what happens.

Edit: Just saw your edits... That's interesting. There's definitely something up with the switch and/or the connection to/from it. Just for kicks, if you're able, try using a completely different cable from router to switch and see what happens.

That cable that he spliced back together - is that part of this equation? If so, those caps won't do much as you need to connect all 8 of the wires for it to work. Using a marette thingy won't work.

[Jimmy Stang]

Also - what are the lights doing on your router and switch when you make the connection between the two devices? Suppose you're connecting to Port 2 on the router, and port 5 on the switch, do those lights come on to indicate that the connection is made? The lights don't necessarily mean that everything is OK, but their absence means that things are definitely not OK.

[fundmark19]

Yes all lights indicate that it is accepting signal through the switch. The marrete is on each individual strand of the ethernet not just one for the whole thing. It is not part of this equation anyways it is one of the cables going from switch to a bedroom.(also still works when plugged into router I was shocked)

I will try a different cord when I get home