Mixed cat5e/cat6 network and unraid (and network debugging)

[ctviggen]

I have a mixed cat5e/cat6 network, primarily since when I installed most of the network 5+ years ago, cat5e was cheaper.  I've since installed some cat6 cabling and all three computers we have and the unraid server support cat6/gigabit via network adapters.  However, only this computer (the computer I'm using to type on) and the unraid server are connected via cat6.  I have one cat 6 cable run to the second computer but haven't had time to connect the cable.  The third computer only has cat5e run to it, but it's technically possible -- though challenging -- for me to run a cat6 cable to that computer.  Realistically, I only care about having the first and second computers (both of which will/can have cat6 to them) connect at gigabit rates, as they'll be recording video/playing video/playing blurays/dvds.  The third computer is used for my wife, so it'll be used for transferring documents and the like.  Megabit speeds are fine for her. 

 

1)  Can I have a mixed cat5e/cat6 network and get gigabit speeds (on the two connections/computers I care about)?  Or will the unraid server default to megabit speeds? I'm using this switch as my sole switch:

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122139

 

I have a homerun system and all connections terminate in a utility room where the unraid server is connected.

 

2) If I can get gigabit speeds for the two connections/computers for which I care about getting that speed, how do I go about debugging the network to see why I'm not getting that speed? I'm using unraid version 4.7.  I list below the steps I've taken so far to debug the network.  I would appreciate any additional steps (preferably in a format a newbie can semi-understand). 

 

2A)  I copied a file from this computer to the unraid server. I'm getting less than 10MB/sec.  This computer is connected via cat6 to the switch, and the unraid server is connected to the switch via cat6.  Windows 7 says the network is gigabit; the switch says both connections to this computer and the unraid server are gigabit.  Ethtool says the speed is 1000Mb/s. 

 

2B)  I tried using iperf on the unraid server, but I cannot figure out if iperf is installed and if it is how to run it.  A google search finds quite a bit of discussion about iperf, but I can't find how to install/compile/run iperf on the unraid server.  Any help would be appreciated.

 

Thank you.

[stomp]

From here, it's pretty tough to help you. I would suggest a very simple test in order to check if your problem lies in your unRAID server : simply transfer a test file between two computers over your network. Both computers should be connected via ethernet (no wifi). Do the test in both ways : PC 1 to PC 2 and PC 2 to PC 1.

 

What are the speeds you get?

[gtaylor]

Yes you can use Gigabit Ethernet on Cat5e cable. As long as your cabling is up to standard it will work fine. If UNRAID is showing that the server is connected at 1000MB/s and your Windows 7 PC is also showing its connecting at 1000MB/s then the problem is likely to be some sort of issue with your UNRAID server. I achieve a reasonably consistent 30MB/s copying to my UNRAID server over gigabit ethernet.

 

If you have access to a cross-over cable I would try connecting your PC and UNRAID server directly. This removes the Gigabit switch as a possible point of failure.

 

[dave_m]

I'd start by swapping out the network cables, as I have seen similar behavior, where I'd intermittently have slow write speeds to my array with a cache drive.  Since swapping out the old network cable on my Win7 desktop, the problems went away.  Seems the unRAID server NIC was more sensitive, b/c I didn't have problems writing to other server shares, just the unRAID server.

[SSD]

Both Cat 5e and Cat 6 support gigabit speeds. There should be no problem using both cable types in your network.  You could certainly have a bad cable or other network problem, but it is not due to the spec on your data cables.

 

You might try running iperf to test your network speed.

[dgaschk]

Yes you can use Gigabit Ethernet on Cat5e cable. As long as your cabling is up to standard it will work fine. If UNRAID is showing that the server is connected at 1000MB/s and your Windows 7 PC is also showing its connecting at 1000MB/s then the problem is likely to be some sort of issue with your UNRAID server. I achieve a reasonably consistent 30MB/s copying to my UNRAID server over gigabit ethernet.

 

If you have access to a cross-over cable I would try connecting your PC and UNRAID server directly. This removes the Gigabit switch as a possible point of failure.

 

 

Gig-E does not require a cross-over cable.

[S80_UK]

If UNRAID is showing that the server is connected at 1000MB/s and your Windows 7 PC is also showing its connecting at 1000MB/s then the problem is likely to be some sort of issue with your UNRAID server.

 

I am not sure why you would suspect the server.

 

On the odd occasion when my PC fails to maintain gigabit speed on the LAN (I generally see 40 - 50Mbytes/sec and updwards when everything is working well) then it is the Win 7 PC that has got it wrong.  It still reports 1000Mbits/sec but clearly has dropped to 100M.  It reverts back to 1000M after a reboot.  I don't have to touch the server or the switch to fix this.

[ctviggen]

From here, it's pretty tough to help you. I would suggest a very simple test in order to check if your problem lies in your unRAID server : simply transfer a test file between two computers over your network. Both computers should be connected via ethernet (no wifi). Do the test in both ways : PC 1 to PC 2 and PC 2 to PC 1.

 

What are the speeds you get?

 

Hmm...This is possible but might take a while.  I currently have only one computer connected via cat6 cabling to the switch (and the server is connected via cat6 cabling to the switch).  I have multiple other cat6 connections, but no computers connected to them.  I'll have to use a laptop and connect to one of the other cat6 connections, then I'll let you know. 

[ctviggen]

Both Cat 5e and Cat 6 support gigabit speeds. There should be no problem using both cable types in your network.  You could certainly have a bad cable or other network problem, but it is not due to the spec on your data cables.

 

You might try running iperf to test your network speed.

 

Thank you.  I've only been trying to get gigabit speeds on cat6 cables (by "cables", I mean all connectors, cables, and terminations are cat6 compliant).  I did not know cat5e would support gigabit speeds.

 

Do you have any indications on how to install iperf (I have unraid 4.7, and if iperf is part of this package, I cannot determine where it is in order to run it).

[mbryanr]

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=10771.0

[ctviggen]

I'd start by swapping out the network cables, as I have seen similar behavior, where I'd intermittently have slow write speeds to my array with a cache drive.  Since swapping out the old network cable on my Win7 desktop, the problems went away.  Seems the unRAID server NIC was more sensitive, b/c I didn't have problems writing to other server shares, just the unRAID server.

 

Thanks, I'll give this a try.  For the computer I'm most concerned about, I have three cat6 ports I can test (the computer is currently connected to one of the cat6 ports).  If it comes down to it, I could run a cat6 cable and connectors directly from the computer to the switch.  I'll see if I can use a laptop to computer connection via cat6 also, to gauge speed.

 

[ctviggen]

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=10771.0

 

Thanks, I previously found that and have tried to run iperf (via telnet) to no avail. --Oh, I see -- I didn't read the first post carefully enough.  I'll try this again.