[SOLVED] My 1Gbps router runs through upstairs wall to basement 10/100 Mbps network switch, I want to change the switch

[yungcri]

Hey everyone. I want to change my network switch because it is throttling my network speeds. Paying for Shaw Fibre+ 1Gbps and getting 100 Mbps on my computer. My computer is in an upstairs bedroom where my internet is on a wired connection on a CAT5E cable plugged into an ethernet wall port.

The house router/modem is in an office upstairs, connected to a different computer than mine with an ethernet cable (from the router) plugged into the wall. This computer which is wired directly from the router/modem and only gets speeds of 280Mbps. All the ethernet ports in the house come into one switch into the basement, which are all CAT5E cables. The switch is rated for 10/100 Mbps. My question(s) are:

Is my router which is plugged into the wall which is then ran two stories down into the network switch an "okay" connection? I mean that as in, from all the videos I've seen, the router connects directly into the switch where in my house the router is plugged into an ethernet wall port, where another CAT 5E cable runs to the basement into the switch. Could the transition of one CAT 5E cable to the next one in the wall cause an issue with speeds?

Is it normal in households for a network switch to be elsewhere in the house from the router?

How is it possible that the wired connection speed directly from the router to the office computer is getting under 300 Mbps down since the router is supposed to be pushing near 1Gbps?

Lastly, obviously my switch is throttling speeds to every other Ethernet port in the house. Is switching the old switch with a new one (d-link 8-port gigabit desktop switch (dgs-108)) as easy as taking all the ethernet cables out of the old one and plugging it into the new one? (And obviously plugging the new switch into the wall for power)

Thank you in advance for your help, and please ask away if you have questions about anything in my network that can help you answer my questions!

 

[bill001g]

So the easy part is you can swap the old switch for the new switch with 1g ports and almost by magic everything will be 1gbit.

The problems come if there are cabling issues with the wall ports. Since you have never used them for 1gbit they could be actually installed incorrectly. The cat5e cable is not a issue. Cat5e cable is rated to 1gbit at 100 meters so the cable itself is likely good. What you need to check is that the wall ports are correctly wired, Sometimes they look fine but one wire is not making contact internally, generally you can pull the wires out one by 1 cut a bit off and put them back. Still you would only do this if the pc you connect to the wall does not see the connection to the new switch at 1gbit.

The much larger mystery would be why you only 280mbps on a pc directly wired to internet router. Since it is more than 100mbps it is not likely a cable problem or port problem in the router. Did the ISP every verify that you really get 1gbit to your house. I would try a different pc plugged into the router....note if you get your switch to work that should be a 1gbit path all the way also. I would suspect a issue with the ISP connection.

To test your internal network to see if it all runs 1gbit you can use a old program called IPERF. You could also just copy large files between machines but it will be to some extent affected by disk systems and file structure. It still should be much higher than 280mbps.

 

[SamirD]

And to add to what bill001g about the ethernet jacks, the tolerances for 100Mbps were a lot less stringent than for 1Gbps, so generally what I've found is that is the main reason why a particular port will be 100Mbps vers 1Gbps--even things like stripping away too much insulation or having too much untwisted wire will cause these issues. And unfortunately, the electrical contractors who think they know what they're doing when they wire ethernet are still making these mistakes all the way into 2021.

 

[yungcri]

So the easy part is you can swap the old switch for the new switch with 1g ports and almost by magic everything will be 1gbit.

The problems come if there are cabling issues with the wall ports. Since you have never used them for 1gbit they could be actually installed incorrectly. The cat5e cable is not a issue. Cat5e cable is rated to 1gbit at 100 meters so the cable itself is likely good. What you need to check is that the wall ports are correctly wired, Sometimes they look fine but one wire is not making contact internally, generally you can pull the wires out one by 1 cut a bit off and put them back. Still you would only do this if the pc you connect to the wall does not see the connection to the new switch at 1gbit.

The much larger mystery would be why you only 280mbps on a pc directly wired to internet router. Since it is more than 100mbps it is not likely a cable problem or port problem in the router. Did the ISP every verify that you really get 1gbit to your house. I would try a different pc plugged into the router....note if you get your switch to work that should be a 1gbit path all the way also. I would suspect a issue with the ISP connection.

To test your internal network to see if it all runs 1gbit you can use a old program called IPERF. You could also just copy large files between machines but it will be to some extent affected by disk systems and file structure. It still should be much higher than 280mbps.

Alright well I just installed my new 1Gbps switch and all the connections are showing amber LED's meaning 10/100 Mbps speed. Now I am truly confused as to why I am not seeing higher speeds. This is incredibly frustrating.

 

[kanewolf]

Alright well I just installed my new 1Gbps switch and all the connections are showing amber LED's meaning 10/100 Mbps speed. Now I am truly confused as to why I am not seeing higher speeds. This is incredibly frustrating.

The reason may be the cabling or the terminations of the cabling. Since you said there are wall plates, the quality of the cable installation may be poor. You will have to post some pictures to help us troubleshoot your network issues.
Pictures of the back side of any wall plates, pictures of any writing on the cable jacket. Pictures of the RJ45 terminations.
A simple cable tester like this -- https://www.amazon.com/Klein-VDV526-052-Scout-Junior-Tester/dp/B004CI9NRM really helps when you are working with in-wall cabling.

 

[yungcri]

The reason may be the cabling or the terminations of the cabling. Since you said there are wall plates, the quality of the cable installation may be poor. You will have to post some pictures to help us troubleshoot your network issues.
Pictures of the back side of any wall plates, pictures of any writing on the cable jacket. Pictures of the RJ45 terminations.
A simple cable tester like this -- https://www.amazon.com/Klein-VDV526-052-Scout-Junior-Tester/dp/B004CI9NRM really helps when you are working with in-wall cabling.

Ah jeez well I'm going to try and get an electrician to look at this stuff, and contact my ISP however I feel like Shaw tech support will be useless in attempting to help. Thank you all for the help in answering my questions!

 

[SamirD]

Ah jeez well I'm going to try and get an electrician to look at this stuff, and contact my ISP however I feel like Shaw tech support will be useless in attempting to help. Thank you all for the help in answering my questions!

The last thing you need is an electrician because those are the dopes that install cabling wrong like this.

I would take off a plate and post a picture of what you see and we can probably help lead you in the right direction. You more than likely can fix this better and cheaper than anyone that you can call.

 

[yungcri]

The last thing you need is an electrician because those are the dopes that install cabling wrong like this.

I would take off a plate and post a picture of what you see and we can probably help lead you in the right direction. You more than likely can fix this better and cheaper than anyone that you can call.

Alright well which wall plate do you need pictures of? The wall plate where the router ethernet cable goes into the wall? I'd assume that if anything, that's where the issue is.

 

[kanewolf]

Alright well which wall plate do you need pictures of? The wall plate where the router ethernet cable goes into the wall? I'd assume that if anything, that's where the issue is.

I would post pictures of ANY ethernet connections. Wall plates, cable ends, etc...
The number and color of the wires is important to us. That is what you want to have clear pictures of.

 

[SamirD]

Yep, almost anything to start with. Because I'm sure whatever they messed up in one place, they messed up in every place.