Getting 10/100 instead of 1000 Mbps Network Speeds

dudadiesel · Feb 19, 2014

I have a TL-SG1016D - TP-LINK 16-Port Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000 switch. We have 5 computers and a laptop. All 6 computers have a 1000 Mbps network card. I have cat6 cable run to all 6 computers. 4 of the computers are in the main office, they all get 1000 Mbps. However, one machine in a more remote office, is getting 100 Mbps most of the time, and sometimes as slow as 10 Mbps. This machine is probably only requiring a cable length of about 100-150 feet or so, while the others are 50-75 feet max. It's well within the range of 100 Meters for cat6 cable.

Here is what I have done so far to try and resurrect the problem:
1. I made a 2nd cat6 cable. It has the same exact problem. I have plugged both cables into the laptop, both get 100 Mbps. When I plug the laptop into one of the shorter cables in the main room, it gets 1000 Mbps. I have also replaced the network card on the computer that is in the remote room, with the same results. So I believe network cards have been ruled out.
2. Maybe it's the cable? I just ran cat5e on the floor, not through the ceiling, to the same room to test it out, and it's having the same problem. Since it's on the floor, I was able to run it back to where the switch was. Still the same problem with the laptop. I have a refrigerator in the room, so maybe it was a shielding issue? Nope, not when I run the cable back to the switch area. And I also tried unplugging the refrigerator. Same problem with the 2 main cables going through the ceiling.
3. There are only two things that I can think of. Either long lengths of the cable do not work well enough, which I cannot believe, unless there's mysteriously a bad spot in each of the 3 cables I've used that has caused it to drop down to 100 Mbps? Or the crimping jobs I am doing on the connectors is not as good as the first 4 that i did. So my only solution in my mind is to keep making cables until i get a nice 1000 Mbps. I hate to go down that road forever and it be something else. Is there anything else that it can possibly be or is there anything that I can try?

dalethepcman · Feb 19, 2014

Lets start with process of elimination instead of definition of insanity.

Validate that all the ports are properly functioning on the router by swapping a few connection on the router end. take a known good 1gb connection ( computer and cable) and cycle through all ports on the router.

Inspect the router's jacks for bent pins.

Take a known good cable and a known good router port and connect them to the unknown computer. (move the router to the computer, it doesn't need to be connected to anything else.)

Take a known good computer and a known good router port and connect them to an unknown cable. (string your 150' cable to a computer 5' from the router.)

If any cables fail, run a line tester on them to identify the pin or destroy the cable.

If a computer fails perform driver updates and verify the driver settings are not limiting the NIC to 10/100.

Good luck!

Hawkeye22 · Feb 19, 2014

A cable tester should tell you how your crimping is and if it's wired properly. You can pick up a decent one for $50 or less.

dudadiesel · Feb 19, 2014

I swapped jacks on the switch a few times. One of the 1 Gbps computers also gets 1 Gbps on the ports which were only giving 100 Mbps for the remote computers. Remote computers still get 100 Mbps or less on the newly assigned switch ports which are known to be working.

It's a brand new switch. I don't see any bent pins. and if it was one port that was a problem, the above would have shown that.

The laptop shows 100 Mbps on one of the "bad" cables. I have connected it to all other 4 cables known to be "good" on 1 Gbps ports and come out with 1 Gbps for each cable. Still 100 Mbps on the 3 cables made longer to go to the remote room.

I do also have a line tester that I use every time I make a cable, and all longer cables that only give 100 Mbps check out good on all 8 wires.

It can't be driver problems because the laptop gets 100 Mbps on one cable and 1 Gbps on another cable.

Logically speaking, it must be the cable. The question is why? Lengths? Poorly made? And why would all 8 ports show as good on a wire tester but the cable limits transfers to 100 Mbps? I would think it either works or doesn't work.

Right back to Insanity mode right? lol

dudadiesel · Feb 19, 2014

Hawkeye22 :

Are there any cable testers that do more than light up for each wire connection? I have one that tells me if the signal works. I suppose if the crimp job is not so good, then maybe that's why the connection speed is limited? Are there more advanced testers that can tell me what speed is applicable?

Hawkeye22 · Feb 19, 2014

Sure, just look on Amazon. Testers can tell you if you have crossed pairs, an open short, disconnected wires, the length of the ethernet cable, and much more depending on how much you want to spend.

dudadiesel · Feb 20, 2014

I just purchased one that can tell me more about what's wrong with a cable. Now the only question remains. If a simple cable tester shows all green lights for the 8 wires, is it still possible that there is a problem with the wires that would cause the machine to use a lower frequency (lower transfer speed rate)?

Hawkeye22 · Feb 20, 2014

If the tester shows all pairs wired properly, then the cable will work as long as the length isn't over the limit and you aren't doing something silly like running the cable near an electric panel/box, thus causing interference.

dalethepcman · Feb 20, 2014

Do a laptop test one of your longer cables before stringing/running it. With all the testing you have already done, this sounds like either an environmental variable or your cable has too much signal bleed to go the maximum specified length for GB connections. You may need to use an outdoor class shielded cat6 cable, or an active ethernet extender or both.

http://www.amazon.com/Enable-828-Gigabit-Ethernet-Extension/dp/B003MOIQU2

USAFRet · Feb 20, 2014

However, one machine in a more remote office, is getting 100 Mbps most of the time, and sometimes as slow as 10 Mbps.

There are no other devices in the chain?

dudadiesel · Feb 20, 2014

dalethepcman :

I did run a cat5e cable on the floor in approximately the same length to try and see if that would make a difference. I checked it in the room and outside of the room back where all of the "good" computers are. Same result, 100 Mbps. I haven't made a shorter length yet to verify if it's length or not. I'm starting to be a little skeptical of the RJ-45 connectors. is it possible that what I am using is good for short distances, but once you go longer, the connector isn't good enough? Or perhaps I have been crimping these ones too hard while the others in the closer rooms miraculously were done perfectly.

There are no other devices on these cables. One cable per device. But of course other computers on the switch.

Hawkeye22 · Feb 20, 2014

I didn't see anything on TP-Link's site regarding if this is a managed switch or not (doesn't look it). If it's a managed switch, make sure the port that computer is attached to is set to auto or 1000.

Also, have you tried other ports on the switch?

dalethepcman · Feb 20, 2014

Sounds like you have tried everything within the realm of probable. I think your cable it just not up to the task. IF you get 1gb at 100' length all day, but as soon as you go to 150' you can't get above 100 then your signal strength is just to low.

Either doom this remote PC to be 100mb, use an extender, use a higher quality cable, or possibly interconnect a switch in the remote location and connect it via uplink to the 1gb router then connect the remote PC's to that gb switch instead?

I don't think any amount of cable testing/crimping will fix this for you friend. Best of luck.

dudadiesel · Feb 21, 2014

Hawkeye22 :

It's an unmanaged switch. and I've already tried swapping all of the ports, from "good" to "bad" and "bad" to "good" with the same results. I was partially convinced that maybe only the first 4-8 ports were actually gigbit and they had lied in their advertisement, but that was confirmed a negative.

dudadiesel · Feb 21, 2014

dalethepcman :

This is what I have been suspecting. That's why I tried a different cable that was 5e and I was getting the same results. I will try new connectors tomorrow, and if the same results, try a shorter cable. If the shorter cable works but the longer does not, then I know it's simply the length as that will have ruled out all other possibilities... And so that means I will have to start looking into cat 6a cable, which I have been somewhat interested in since I have learned that I've been running on slow network connections with my main machine for so long now. The only problem is the switches are costly and I think the best I could find for a decent price was 4 Gbps. Still 40 times faster than what I have now. and 4 times faster than what I consider really fast on the machines that I don't get to use.

uxswmt · Feb 21, 2014

I hope I did not miss it somewhere in this thread, but are you using patch cables or "solid" cables? When used for 10/100/1000BASE-T, the 100m limit is definded as 90m solid + 10m patch (or "stranded cable"), not 100m patch.

dudadiesel · Feb 21, 2014

uxswmt :

There's the problem with the cat 6 then. The cat 6 is stranded. The cat5e that I used as a cross-check is solid though. What's the limit on cat5e solid? I found online that it should be 90m. I'm certainly not using 90m on this run and it still has the same performance as the cat6.

dp70737 · Jul 6, 2015

Hi I don't know if you are still having the problem but i have had a similar issue using cat5e longer than 250 feet from house (source ISP/Router) to shop and neither a router (in bridge mode) nor computer would even pick up that there was a connection. long story short I put a cheap ~$40 gigabit switch at both ends and now it get 100Mb/s. So, maybe the that could bump you up from 100 to 1000 if it got me from 0 to 100. I bought a netgear ProSafe 5 port Gigabit switch from office depot mostly because it had "lifetime warranty" on the box. One note is that after I plugged in the switch and flipped the on switch it took 30-60sec to power on. (LCR circuit charging up I'm guessing)

hxa2015 · Nov 5, 2015

Hi,
The same is happening to me, with few small differences:
1. When I built my house, I put everywhere in the walls 2 UTP cables instead of one (a spare one) for any connection, just in case.
2. I have 10 different connections in my house with different cable lengths.
3. Only one connection makes trouble (tried also the spare Cat5e cable inside the walls), all the other lines in my house works fine.
4. The length of my problematic Cat5e cable connection through the walls and under the floor is max. 10 m, one of the shortest among others.
5. If I try with another Cat5e cable just lying on the floor, from router to PC with almost the same length (+/- 2 m), everything works perfect. - this is the biggest difference regarding to your case.
6. I tried to connect the router to PC in many ways:
a. Router -------- PC
b. Router - Switch -------- PC
c. Router - Switch -------- Switch - PC

For all these combinations it works fine with the cable lying on the floor and it's not working with the cables behind the walls. I changed all UTP connectors in both sides of each cable two times, I used extenders to eliminate UTP connection, nothing works.
If I shut down the first switch, for example, and then turn it back on, it is trying first to establish a giga connection 3 times (the corresponding green LED lights 3 times) and then the switch continues to work on low speed permanently (the green LED becomes and remains amber). It means that something appears on the cable that prevents a proper transmission at high speed, in my case 150 Mbps. Last year, when the speed provided was 100 Mbps, all the connections worked properly. Now I upgraded to 150 Mbps and it works worst.
I believe that for certain cable lengths, configurations and speeds the standard is not working well. It can be a lack of technology or some side effects, maybe stationary waves or interference appear somewhere on the cable...

Getting 10/100 instead of 1000 Mbps Network Speeds

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