Router -> Wall plate -> Switch -> Laptop will not connect

[DonSk]

Hello, I am hoping someone can help me sort this out because I am stumped. I recently had our basement finished with Ethernet put in the wall and I want to install a switch down there to power those wall jacks. What I want to do is the following.

Cable model -> Router (WRT610) -> wall jack -> Switch (SE2800) -> 6 other wall jacks -> various devices.

Currently what I am doing to try and get it working is:
Cable model -> Router (WRT610) -> wall jack -> Switch (SE2800) -> laptop. -- Doesn't work.

Based on the lights, the switch is not seeing the router. However, the following two configurations both work.

Cable model -> Router (WRT610) -> wall jack -> laptop
Cable model -> Router (WRT610) -> Switch (SE2800) -> laptop.

So when I use the in wall cable the switch doesn't seem to be able to see the router, but if I skip the switch the laptop sees it fine via the in wall cable. On the flip side if I bring it all up stairs the switch can see the router no problem.

Any thoughts/ideas greatly appreciated.

Don

 

[InvalidError]

I would guess your SE2800 does not like your in-wall wiring. Either your wiring is out-of-spec or the SE2800 or laptop port is sensitive to something it shouldn't be.

You would need a real cable tester (the type that can measure NEXT, FEXT, attenuation, reflections, etc.) to test whether or not your cable is within specs.

If your laptop works with your switch with a different cable, my guess would be bad wiring. Check your jacks to make sure they are wired correctly - your DIR610 may simply have higher tolerance to whatever fault you might have.

 

[DonSk]

I checked the wire the best I can with a http://www.hobbes-group.com/product_content.php?id=FOlGvZ4EtOXhCrVVf9JyT77HnRx66l and it appear to be ok.

I also ran down to best buy and bought a different switch and it reacted the same as the SE2800.

No change.

 

[InvalidError]

That's a "toy" tester.

Simple cable testers can tell you about shorts, opens, wrong pairing, wrong pair order and possibly other simple and obvious conditions.

If you want to verify noise level, high-frequency losses, signal reflections, characteristic impedance, crosstalk, etc., you need a Time-Domain Reflectometer cable tester.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-domain_reflectometer

That's the kind of equipment used to certify that wiring is up to spec. Once your wiring is certified (or the fault is found and fixed), you know that any remaining problems must be on the equipment side.