Gigabit ethernet card

[RocKKer]

When I upgraded to gig, I thought the increased bandwidth was nice and worth it, however I only noticed it for file xfer. The HD200's and HDHR being only 10/100 don't notice at all.

I have:
1). HD200 ==> d-link gig switch ==> d-link gig switch ==> SageTV server
2). HD200 ==> 10/100 Imix ==> d-link gig switch ==> d-link gig switch ==> SageTV server
3). HD200 ==> 10/100 Linksys ==> d-link gig switch ==> d-link gig switch ==> SageTV server

I haven't been real careful in my wire selection, I'm using a combination of cat5 and cat5e cables and all is well, no choppiness in any playback (so far).

However, I notice on the server I only get dropped packets on my NIC interface when the HD200's are up and running. ????


If I get bold this weekend, I may re-configure using only the 10/100 switches and see if those dropped packets go away.

EDIT: 10/11/2009 I set up 10/100 linksys switch between SageTV server, HD200 and HDHR, no dropped packets. Replaced that switch with D-link Gig, dropped packets started occurring but only with HD200 powered on. Currently for my setup, HD TV/DVD playback this seems to not cause me detectable viewing problems. Is this an indicator of the elusive Gig problem with HD200?

[stevech]

Both Linksys and D-Link 5 port gigE switches I purchased failed in less than a year - due to power supply faults. The run hot. They use too-cheap-China components/electrolytic capacitors.

I'm now on a (yuck) Netgear 5 port. It runs cooler. So far. Users report high failures for these too.

China has yet to discover the profession of thermal engineering.

[RocKKer]

Wow I seem to be lucky with my d-link's and no-name "made in china" switches - my power supplies run cool. Any chance to replace power supplies with better quality? or is that the only problem with these switches?

[Rezolution]

Originally Posted by SandKicker

For what its worth, here is my observation:

For a few years I'd been using a Netgear GS108 eight port gigabit switch. Since I set up SageTV last winter, I had no problem streaming Blu-Ray files through my HD200 extender. The picture was smooth as silk on the Pioneer Elite. I would update the server when I could and regularly checked for beta updates for the extender. Then in late July, my Netgear switch crapped out, so I picked up a D-Link DGS-1008D eight port "green" gigabit switch. Now my Blu-Ray playbacks where choppy, playing for a few seconds then freezing for a few seconds. After countless hours of troubleshooting, reading, swapping cables, reinstalling the server and pulling out my hair, I see there are other people experiencing this problem. I know I had newer updates on the extender since 20090505, but my problem didn't show up till I changed switches. So today, I decided, rather than try the old firmware and give up the latest features of the new firmware, I pulled out an old 10/100 D-Link four port hub and put it directly between the server and the extender, with another lead going back to the 1008D. Much to my delight, once again, the Blu-Ray files play flawlessly through the extender.

What I can see from all this, is that my D-Link DGS-1008D gigabit switch has an issue with my setup. Yet the older "non Green" switches, being gigabit or 10/100, don't flinch with the larger files. I think part of what makes the switch "green" is that it senses cable length and adjusts the signal strength accordingly, though that may not be the problem. For now, I'll just stick with my old hub as it works well.

For what it's worth, I had that exact same problem with my D-Link DGS-1008D eight port "green" gigabit switch. I swapped out my old 100M switch and put in the DGS-1008D Gig model As soon as I did that, all of my HD would chop and stutter. As it turns out, it was because of a bad cable I had made. I just made a straight through cable and didn't follow the standard coloring/wiring diagram. Because I made a straight through and didnt follow the wiring convention I was creating cross talk (or some other kind of interference) and causing my own problems because i didn't have the data split up correctly on the right pairs. Once I remade the cable following the right cat5e coloring convention, the cable noise got eliminated and all of my stuttering was gone.

[ericscottf]

I've got a server with a gig-e network plug going straight into the motherboard. I have several netgear gig-e switches around the house.
I've got one HD200 (just purchased two more today) that is working nicely.

So no problems with a pretty out-of-the-box gig-e setup here.

[toony]

Originally Posted by Rezolution

Because I made a straight through and didnt follow the wiring convention I was creating cross talk (or some other kind of interference) and causing my own problems because i didn't have the data split up correctly on the right pairs. Once I remade the cable following the right cat5e coloring convention, the cable noise got eliminated and all of my stuttering was gone.

I thought these new switches / routers could auto correct the straight through vs cross over cables. My entire house is straight through cat 6, and while I notice a few issues now and again it seems to be running well.

[MattHelm]

Originally Posted by toony

I thought these new switches / routers could auto correct the straight through vs cross over cables. My entire house is straight through cat 6, and while I notice a few issues now and again it seems to be running well.

Straight through in network cables isn't straight through. It just means you don't swap "pairs" of cables. You still have pairs hooked up correctly, just if you hold the ends facing the same way, lets say the green wire, will be in the same place. With cross over cables, the "pairs" are swapped around. Hard to explain, see this link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat6

[Fuzzy]

The bad cable he had made probaby DIDN't keep the pairs together. (Green and White-Green for instance. It really doesn't matter what pair is used for each signal and it's complement, but the signal and complement have to be paired together... this is how twisted pair cable works. Any noise that is introduced on one wire in the pair, is also introduced on the complement. then, at the other end of the cable, one signal is reversed, and the two are combined. The result is that the noise on one wire is canceled by the identical (but now reversed) noise on the other wire.

[toony]

Originally Posted by MattHelm

Straight through in network cables isn't straight through. It just means you don't swap "pairs" of cables. You still have pairs hooked up correctly, just if you hold the ends facing the same way, lets say the green wire, will be in the same place. With cross over cables, the "pairs" are swapped around. Hard to explain, see this link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat6

Right I get that in terms of swapping pairs, just to make sure I am correct here in my wiring if I look at both ends of the cable held the same way on top of eachother I should see something like this

w/g, g, w/o, b, wb, o, wb, b

w/g, g, w/o, b, wb, o, wb, b

Regardless of what the sequence the colours are in they should be the same at both ends.... I have a tester and it passed the cabling. I have scratched my head many times over this.

[Fuzzy]

Yes, both end should match, but as I mentioned, it DOES matter some what color are on what point. It's best to just stick with convention. Regardless, just make sure that the following pins are paired up (pins 1&2, 3&6, 4&5, 7&8)

[freedml]

The recommended wiring is the best at eliminating problems of induced errors. Especially if you are using PowerOverEthernet (using the cable to power a device remotely).

[Rezolution]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

Yes, both end should match, but as I mentioned, it DOES matter some what color are on what point. It's best to just stick with convention. Regardless, just make sure that the following pins are paired up (pins 1&2, 3&6, 4&5, 7&8)

When i first started making cables, I didn't know anything about noise. So I was just making them straight through with no respect to wiring convention.

WRONG
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
WhOr, Or, WhGr, Gr, WhBl, Bl, WhBr, Br
WhOr, Or, WhGr, Gr, WhBl, Bl, WhBr, Br
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Yes, it's a straight through, and yes it worked but it was causing all kinds of interference and errors because the cable was about 20 feet long. I was getting a massive amount of noise on the line. Apparently if it's a shorter cable, it's not as sensitive.

Once I switched over to the proper coloring convention, all of my problems went away...

RIGHT
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
WhOr, Or, WhGr, Bl, WhBl, Gr, WhBr, Br
WhOr, Or, WhGr, Bl, WhBl, Gr, WhBr, Br
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

It has something to do with the twisted pairs in the cable and what pairs the data is traveling on (1,2 paired and 3,6 paired). Somehow following the right coloring scheme isolates noise on the cable. I just didn't know it was important until I made them the wrong way and created problems for myself.

The bottom line is, if you don't follow the coloring scheme and your cable goes over a certain length, you can have problems with crosstalk. When I made the cable the right way, all my problems went away

[Rezolution]

Originally Posted by toony

Right I get that in terms of swapping pairs, just to make sure I am correct here in my wiring if I look at both ends of the cable held the same way on top of eachother I should see something like this

w/g, g, w/o, b, wb, o, wb, b

w/g, g, w/o, b, wb, o, wb, b

Regardless of what the sequence the colours are in they should be the same at both ends.... I have a tester and it passed the cabling. I have scratched my head many times over this.

Your example should work just fine since 1,2 are on the "same pair" and 3,6 are on the "same pair".