[SOLVED] How can I debug a home network that doesn't deliver gigabit?

[DouginCalgary]

I have a complex home network with multiple switches, multiple wireless access points, powerline ethernet and Moca over coax. In total I have 110 client devices on the network. What is the best way to debug network speeds? The router and switches support gigabit, as do some of the clients, yet none of the client devices reports connecting at gigabit speeds. What is the easiest way to debug the network to find the bad switch(e's) or cable(s)? The most direct path I have is NAS->switch - >ethernet->switch->PC. I could take apart the network and rebuild node by node. How would I test the speed at each node?

 

[rgd1101]

connect to each one direct to see where is break

 

[DouginCalgary]

connect to each one direct to see where is break

I can connect a windows laptop at each node. What utilities can give me an accurate reading of the network speed?

 

[USAFRet]

First, test with a PC/laptop, wired directly to the main router with a good quality Cat5e.

This can determine if you are actually getting near the contracted 'gigabit' performance.

If so, anything after that is all in your house.

But...110 actual devices? Wow.

 

[kanewolf]

I can connect a windows laptop at each node. What utilities can give me an accurate reading of the network speed?

MoCA may be able to provide gigabit depending on the generation of hardware. Powerline network hardware will NEVER provide gigabit. WIFI will not provide gigabit for 99.9% of the situations.
I would start by looking at ALL the LEDs on the switches (or in the GUI if they are managed). Find all non-gigabit ports. Determine if that is valid or not. For example, a 100Mbit port going to a TV is probably normal, because TVs typically have 100Mbit ethernet ports.
I would also say that you need to DOCUMENT your investigations. I have a spreadsheet that has all my IP assignments, port assignments etc.
LABEL the cables.

 

[DouginCalgary]

First, test with a PC/laptop, wired directly to the main router with a good quality Cat5e.

This can determine if you are actually getting near the contracted 'gigabit' performance.

If so, anything after that is all in your house.

But...110 actual devices? Wow.

I know my Internet is 120 Mbs. I'm trying to test connectivity elsewhere in the network. For example, I have 6 NAS devices connecting to a switch via ethernet. The switch connects to another switch via ethernet. That second switch has numerous devices connected including a PC, Apple TV, Roku and Xbox series X. I know I do not get 1 gigabit connectivity between those devices and the NAS. That is expected for the Roku which only has a 100 Mbs network interface. The other devices should be capable of 1 gigabit. How do I find out the bottleneck? I can't swap the ethernet between the two switches as it is strung through the walls of my home. Is there a PC utility that can scan the network path and display the spped between the nodes? Both switches in theory as 1 gigabit

 

[bill001g]

In many cases it is the NAS that is the bottleneck....or more the disks in the NAS can not transfer data at full gigabit speeds. This is actually complex topic that you see on disk testing discussions since the rates depend on many factors but a large one is for example file size.

If you have 2 pc you can do simple tests using a old line mode program called IPERF. This does not write to disk or use much memory or cpu so it is pretty much a pure network test. You should be able to get over 900mbps between 2 machine in your house.

Still your first step should be to look at the lights on the switches and try to figure out what speed each port is running at.