Prewired House Network - Nothing Happening?

TechnoFreek

Hi,

I am a bit of a network n00b so i'm hoping someone can help explain my network issues. I will try describe my situation as best as possible.

I recently bought a house and got the electrician to stick a phone and network socket in every room in the house. Just to cover all eventualities. I didnt really have much in mine when requesting it, more as a future proof.

All the phone sockets in the house have been tested and are working fine.

Cat 5e was installed as the network cable and runs from every room back to a single point in the hall where there is a network box. inside the box is an 8 port switch. all the cbales are terminated with plugs and are connected to the switch. every port on the switch also can act as uplink. if i understand correctly this allows me to transit a signal from my eircom modem/router from any of the network sockets in the house without having to specifiy it on the switch.

anyway, my problem is that i can't seem to transmit any signal over the network cables. I can connect from the eirom router/modem directly to the switch on any port and connect my ps3, xbox, pc etc to any other free port and I have network activity. this suggests to me that the switch is working ok. however if i try do any of this uaing the network cables and sockets as a step inbetween I got no activity lights on the switch. it is like nothing is being transmitted or received along the pre-wired cables and sockets.

so in my mind, the only possible causes lie with the network plug, cable or socket.
as I'm having the problem with every run of cable in the house and there are no runs over 100m, I've eliminated the cables. so that just leaves the sockets and plugs.

i checked the sockets at the rear for wiring, the terminals are clearly marked and show which wire to connect to which terminal. They are all done correctly and seem to be crimped ok (from what i can visually inspect)

so that now just leaves the plugs. a visual inspection and they look ok...however from research I have discovered that a network plug can be wired two ways - straight through or crossover. (correct?)

with my limited knowledge it would seem to me that all the plugs terminating in the hall at the switch are wired crossover, however I cant be 100%.
i am also understanding that network switches require that all cables are wired straight through.

is this true? does this explain my issues?

I appreciate that this is a long post but as I'm a bit of a n00b I wanted to explain as much as I could to make things clear first time round.

All advice and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

P.S. In case you're wondering why I am asking this question of boards and not my electrician....builders holidays!!

Dardania

for a noob, you've certainly explained the prob very clearly and done very good invstigation!

you're correct when you say that the cabling should be straight-through, not crossover. perhaps as a trouble-shooting option - you could check that the field sockets are terminated as per 568B:

http://www.swhowto.com/CAT5_Ch2.htm

and the patch room wire plugs are to 568B also:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TIA/EIA-568-B

D

TechnoFreek

Thanks for the reply Dardania, those links are a bit content rich to take in during work ;-)

From what I gather though, most likely my electrician used the T568B plug.
That would imply that the orange pair of cables would be at connected to pin 1 and 2 of the plug assuming straight through wiring.

If i remember correctly (i'm at work so can't werify), my plugs are wired with the brown pair of cables at pin 1 and 2.

would this suggest cross-wiring?

if this is the case, would i then need to get the electrician out and wire all the plugs for straight through?

also would this change, require re-wiring at the socket end. Bearing in mind at the socket end, the terminals are colour coded and the wires are connected and matched based on colour.

I can try take some photos tonight if that helps

thanks again in advance

FusionNet

Even if the guy wired them as crossovers, a good switch will flip this around and correct the problem. Thing is I fear your switch is basic. What part of the country are you in? I have a network tester (a very very basic one) which I could send you if you just post it back after? That will tell you how they are wired.

If I were you though Id chop off those stupid plugs and wire onto a patch panel. Much more stable and flexible.

TechnoFreek

FusionNet wrote: »

Even if the guy wired them as crossovers, a good switch will flip this around and correct the problem. Thing is I fear your switch is basic. What part of the country are you in? I have a network tester (a very very basic one) which I could send you if you just post it back after? That will tell you how they are wired.

If I were you though Id chop off those stupid plugs and wire onto a patch panel. Much more stable and flexible.

thanks FusionNet. I'd say the switch is very basic indeed. I dont know the brand off hand but that probably says it all! Thanks for the offer of sending out the test tool but dont worry about it! I'm in no major hurry and dont know if I want to take this on myself. Just after moving into a new gaff and have enough on my plate!!

I will find out brand off switch tonight when I get home and post back along with photos

TechnoFreek

Right some additional information..

Switch
the switch is a NewLink 8 port switch. I've no doubt that this is some sh1tty brand not capable of handling cross-over wiring but anyway....

Network Sockets
All the socket terminals are colour coded and numbered in accordance with T568B configuration. All the twisted pairs seem to be crimped to the correct number and colour.
This looks all ok to me.

Network Plugs (Connecting to Switch)
Ok, this doesnt seem right to me.
If i understand correctly, with the network clip pointed to the floor (flat part facing me) and with the top of the plug facing furthest away also, pin 1 reads from the left to right.
My plugs are crimped as follows:

1) Brown
2) Brown & White
3) Green
4) Blue & White
5) Blue
6) Green & White
7) Orange
8) Orange & White

Unless my interpreation of pin 1 is incorrect that would mean the plugs are connected in the reverse order??!!
Unless of course I am viewing the top of the plug incorrectly - should it face me or be away from me?

Please advise!

Maints

Yes, your correct. The plug is crimped in reverse.

Paul.