Update. I took a PC and hooked it directly to the switch vs using the ethernet in the walls. WOW.  Copy from the server ran at about 70mb/sec and the copy to the server ran in the low 30'smb/sec.  So it would appear that my 10 year old wiring of CAT-5 in the walls is the issue.  Are there any networking experts out there that could explain why?

 

Hi

I have posted previously trying to increase the speed of read/write to the unraid server.  I had found a bad drive & bad memory.  Since then things have improved but they are not satisfactory.  My speed to the server is running around 11.2mb/sec which based on my math is about what a 100mbps network would run at.  I just tried new memory (again) and even a different network card (PCIe vs PCI). No change. My syslog is clean.

 

My home network consists of a cable modem -> Netgear Gigabit Router WNR3500L <-> Netgear gigabit 24 port switch (JGS524).

 

-the unRaid network card reports 1000 connection as does the ethtool report.

-the two pcs I have tried to copy to/from the server are both gigabit connected to the switch as is the server.

-the server is plugged directly into the switch.

-I wired my house when I built it 10 years with CAT-5 so the patch cable from the switch to the punch down plate is CAT5-e and then the wiring through the walls is all CAT5 (maybe it was e but not sure). Then each room has multiple ethernet ports and a patch cable goes from the ethernet port to the back of the PCs.

-The distance to from the server to one pc is about 50 foot and to the other one is about 12 feet.

 

Thoughts? Help??

 

ps. I guess my last test is to take the PC and plug that directly into the switch and see what the speeds are.  

 

Update. I took a PC and hooked it directly to the switch vs using the ethernet in the walls. WOW.  Copy from the server ran at about 70mb/sec and the copy to the server ran in the low 30'smb/sec.  So it would appear that my 10 year old wiring of CAT-5 in the walls is the issue.  Are there any networking experts out there that could explain why?

Easy... cat5 is not rated for 1000Mb/s.  You need cat5e or cat6.

 

(And that assumes the terminations are preserving the twists, and that you have the right pairs connected to the jacks.  There are two wiring standards, one for telephone use, the other for LAN use.  Guess which color-code-guide is printed in the cover of my rj45 crimping tool case... you guessed it, the telephone standard.  Did you do the wiring?  Which standard did you follow?  Did you wire all 4 pairs?  Did you keep the wires tightly twisted all the way to the punch-down blocks?  Are the punch-down blocks rated for 1000Mb/s?)

I could of sworn I replied to this earlier. Like Joel L said The lowest cable standard you can use that is certified for Gigabit is CAT5-E

Yes - I did wire it myself and its all done correctly.  After I posted my question I did some digging around about CAT-5 and you are 100% right, it will only function up to 100mbps. So for my HTPCs, I will need to run a CAT-6 long patch cables to the switch - they seem cheaper than I thought they would be.  This sucks as I spent a lot of time and money pre-wiring my house and now that techology is outdated but I am happy to know that I will be able to stream blu-rays from the server without issue. Anyways, thanks for the reply.  Time to grab my drill and start drilling holes 

 

Yes - I did wire it myself and its all done correctly.  After I posted my question I did some digging around about CAT-5 and you are 100% right, it will only function up to 100mbps. So for my HTPCs, I will need to run a CAT-6 long patch cables to the switch - they seem cheaper than I thought they would be.  This sucks as I spent a lot of time and money pre-wiring my house and now that techology is outdated but I am happy to know that I will be able to stream blu-rays from the server without issue. Anyways, thanks for the reply.  Time to grab my drill and start drilling holes 

 

Check out monoprice.com

Their prices are very very good. 100 foot cat6 cables are in the $10 to $11 range depending on the quantity ordered.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10232

 

One more thing, Blue-Ray normally works perfectly fine over 100Mb/s LAN connections.  Typically, it only needs 5 or 6 MB/s and the 100Mb/s can do 10 to 12MB/s.

 

Joe L.

 

One more thing, Blue-Ray normally works perfectly fine over 100Mb/s LAN connections.  Typically, it only needs 5 or 6 MB/s and the 100Mb/s can do 10 to 12MB/s.

 

Joe L.

 

I second that - been there, done it... works great.

 

Re: the OP's wiring, another possibility for the in-wall wiring is that the connections may be failing.  I am finding at work that the patch cables we use need replacement every several years, whether we do or do not actively re-patch connectiond with them.  Mind you they're pre-terminated and molded so slightly different than OP's situation. 

 

In my home now, too, the previous owners ran molded CAT5e everywhere and I've had issues with one of the runs already (the cabling is at most 5 years old as they hadn't lived here long).  I surmise that stranded (and probably more importantly, the pre-fab) wires are less reliable than they could be.