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#1
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Cat 5e cables and networking
I'm having a weird problem setting up my router.
I have a computer, a DSL modem, and a router. If I hook them all up properly using a few short CAT5 cables, everything works fine. If I hook them all up using a few short CAT5 cables, and a 40-ft long CAT5e cable between the PC and the router... the PC LAN card doesn't acknowledge the connection. My first guess was that the long CAT5e cable is faulty. But then, if I ditch the router altogether, and hook up my DSL Modem directly to my PC with the 40-ft CAT5e cable... everything works fine. I don't get it. I can't figure out why the long CAT5e cable would allow for a direct PC-to-modem connection, but not PC-to-router connection. |
#2
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Opticreep wrote:
I'm having a weird problem setting up my router. I have a computer, a DSL modem, and a router. If I hook them all up properly using a few short CAT5 cables, everything works fine. If I hook them all up using a few short CAT5 cables, and a 40-ft long CAT5e cable between the PC and the router... the PC LAN card doesn't acknowledge the connection. My first guess was that the long CAT5e cable is faulty. But then, if I ditch the router altogether, and hook up my DSL Modem directly to my PC with the 40-ft CAT5e cable... everything works fine. I don't get it. I can't figure out why the long CAT5e cable would allow for a direct PC-to-modem connection, but not PC-to-router connection. Does the 40ft cable have the same config as the shorter cable? In other words: is one of them a cross-over cable? Do the link lights come up? Do you have a cable tester? What does it say? Cross-over cables are evil. -- William Tasso |
#3
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"William Tasso" wrote in message ...
Does the 40ft cable have the same config as the shorter cable? In other words: is one of them a cross-over cable? I don't think it's a cross-over cable. If it was, it wouldn't have allowed connection between the DSL modem and the PC. The problem only occurs if I use that same cable between the router and the PC. Do the link lights come up? The link lights come up, but it blinks all the time. My PC detects it as "unplugged". Do you have a cable tester? What does it say? Sorry, I don't have a cable tester. I heard those things are expensive. I only tested the cable by using it between the DSL modem and PC, and it seemed fine. |
#4
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On 4/6/2004 8:30 PM Opticreep cranked up the brainbox and said:
I don't think it's a cross-over cable. If it was, it wouldn't have allowed connection between the DSL modem and the PC. The problem only occurs if I use that same cable between the router and the PC. Which means it's a crossover cable. If it worked directly between the two, then it's crossover, and not straight through. Cable testers can be as cheap as a buck for a couple parts, a LED and a battery. You can get a decent one for just a few dollars. -- jesus X [ Booze-fueled paragon of pointless cruelty and wanton sadism. ] email [ jesus_x @ mozillanews.org ] web [ http://www.mozillanews.org ] insult [ As usual, you've been a real pantload. ] warning [ Don't touch that! You might mutate your fingers. ] |
#5
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jesus X wrote:
On 4/6/2004 8:30 PM Opticreep cranked up the brainbox and said: I don't think it's a cross-over cable. If it was, it wouldn't have allowed connection between the DSL modem and the PC. The problem only occurs if I use that same cable between the router and the PC. Which means it's a crossover cable. If it worked directly between the two, then it's crossover, and not straight through. Cable testers can be as cheap as a buck for a couple parts, a LED and a battery. You can get a decent one for just a few dollars. As far as I know, DSL modems come both ways. -- glen |
#6
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jesus X wrote in message ...
On 4/6/2004 8:30 PM Opticreep cranked up the brainbox and said: I don't think it's a cross-over cable. If it was, it wouldn't have allowed connection between the DSL modem and the PC. The problem only occurs if I use that same cable between the router and the PC. Which means it's a crossover cable. If it worked directly between the two, then it's crossover, and not straight through. Cable testers can be as cheap as a buck for a couple parts, a LED and a battery. You can get a decent one for just a few dollars. Huh? I'd hate to sound so newbie-ish, but what makes you say that it's a crossover cable? I use that cable between the DSL modem and my PC (without the router). That means it's a straight-through, doesn't it? I thought crossover cables were only used if I was connecting one computer directly into another computer with nothing else in-between. |
#7
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Look at the rj45 and see if the color of the cable connection inside the
rj45 is the same on both ends. If it is different it is a crossover cable. "Opticreep" wrote in message m... jesus X wrote in message ... On 4/6/2004 8:30 PM Opticreep cranked up the brainbox and said: I don't think it's a cross-over cable. If it was, it wouldn't have allowed connection between the DSL modem and the PC. The problem only occurs if I use that same cable between the router and the PC. Which means it's a crossover cable. If it worked directly between the two, then it's crossover, and not straight through. Cable testers can be as cheap as a buck for a couple parts, a LED and a battery. You can get a decent one for just a few dollars. Huh? I'd hate to sound so newbie-ish, but what makes you say that it's a crossover cable? I use that cable between the DSL modem and my PC (without the router). That means it's a straight-through, doesn't it? I thought crossover cables were only used if I was connecting one computer directly into another computer with nothing else in-between. |
#8
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On 4/7/2004 6:00 AM Opticreep cranked up the brainbox and said:
I'd hate to sound so newbie-ish, but what makes you say that it's a crossover cable? I use that cable between the DSL modem and my PC (without the router). That means it's a straight-through, doesn't it? I thought crossover cables were only used if I was connecting one computer directly into another computer with nothing else in-between. While Glen is right and there are DSL adapters that come both ways, most come wired ready to be plugged into a hub/switch/router. Thus, if you can connect it to a PC directly, it's most likely a crossover cable. As Emil said, check the colors of the wiring in the cable ends. -- jesus X [ Booze-fueled paragon of pointless cruelty and wanton sadism. ] email [ jesus_x @ mozillanews.org ] web [ http://www.mozillanews.org ] insult [ As usual, you've been a real pantload. ] warning [ Don't touch that! You might mutate your fingers. ] |
#9
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"Emil Luca" wrote in message om...
Look at the rj45 and see if the color of the cable connection inside the rj45 is the same on both ends. If it is different it is a crossover cable. It's straight-through. Although I may have a weird theory on why I'm having problems. Apparently, my CAT5 cables weren't properly made. I noticed that pins 3 & 6 on the RJ45 didn't make a twisted pair. Instead, the techie who installed the RJ45's for me made twisted pairs out of pins 3 & 4, and then 5 & 6. This probably generated a lot of noise on signals going through pins 3 and 6. I'm quite sure that category 5 standards state that pins 3 & 6 make up a pair (and so does 4 & 5). This oversight probably didn't affect my short 0.5 meter cables too much. But on a 25-meter cable, the signal-to-noise ratio might have become too high. At least that's my theory. But that still doesn't make sense. I don't think the signal-to-noise ratio should be affected so drastically from this one little mistake. And besides, why would this 24-ft CAT5e cable work between a DSL straight to my PC, but *not* work between a router and a PC? Maybe it has to do with signal strength or the different impedences, but thinking too much makes my head hurt. |
#10
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Opticreep wrote:
"Emil Luca" wrote in message om... Look at the rj45 and see if the color of the cable connection inside the rj45 is the same on both ends. If it is different it is a crossover cable. It's straight-through. Although I may have a weird theory on why I'm having problems. Apparently, my CAT5 cables weren't properly made. I noticed that pins 3 & 6 on the RJ45 didn't make a twisted pair. Instead, the techie who installed the RJ45's for me made twisted pairs out of pins 3 & 4, and then 5 & 6. This probably generated a lot of noise on signals going through pins 3 and 6. I'm quite sure that category 5 standards state that pins 3 & 6 make up a pair (and so does 4 & 5). This oversight probably didn't affect my short 0.5 meter cables too much. But on a 25-meter cable, the signal-to-noise ratio might have become too high. At least that's my theory. But that still doesn't make sense. I don't think the signal-to-noise ratio should be affected so drastically from this one little mistake. And besides, why would this 24-ft CAT5e cable work between a DSL straight to my PC, but *not* work between a router and a PC? Maybe it has to do with signal strength or the different impedences, but thinking too much makes my head hurt. The router probably has a 10/100 interface, also your NIC, so they would have tried to operate at 100T. The modem is almost certainly a 10T. Mis-matched pairs are tolerated better at the lower speeds, but you may have had data errors that weren't bad enough to get your attention. |
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