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Ethernet Basics and Network Troubleshooting: Wires, Switches, Hubs, and What To Plug Where
Ethernet Basics and Network Troubleshooting: Wires, Switches, Hubs, and What To Plug Where
Networking
Wire Transmits packets across network For this discussion includes all wires, radios and devices
between network cards (including hubs, switches, access points, etc.)
Wire types
Co-Ax
Composed of: Core, insulation, shielding,
insulation
10 Mb only 10Base5 Thicknet 1600 ft (500 meters) 10Base2 Thinnet 600 ft (200 meters)
Twisted Pair
10/100/1000 Mb 340 ft. (100 meters) between devices CAT3, CAT5, CAT5e, CAT6, CAT6e
Fiber 10/100/1000/10,000 Mb Multi-mode Long Haul (20 km) Single-mode Short Haul (3 Km) what we use Carries light, not electricity Wireless Speeds 11/7 Mb, 54/27Mb Because of encryption and connection upkeep, available bandwidth is about of stated speed Common mediums InfraRed (IR) Microwave, (long distances) Radio Licensed/private Un-licensed (802.11b/g/a)
Ethernet (Infancy)
10Base5 Original Ethernet
Large Co-ax Backbone (garden hose) Terminated at ends Vampire tap, to transceiver 1600 ft. backbone Jumper from transceiver to card How it works: 10 Mb/s One Wire every packet goes to every host CSMA/CD (Carrier Sense Multiple Access/ Carrier Detect) Collisions Half Duplex
Ethernet (Toddler)
10Base2
Smaller diameter, less expensive cable shorter length 600 ft total length Get rid of the backbone use a T connector on each card Daisy chained the whole network together Terminated on ends Still ONE WIRE Still CSMA/CD
Ethernet (Adolescent)
10BaseT
HUB Packet is simultaneously
sent out all ports If two packets come in at the same time it is a collision
Twisted pair wire The Hub is part of The Wire 340 feet between devices 3 hops maximum (no daisy chaining)
Limitations/Issues
Still CSMA/CD Hubs listen (receive) on the transmit wires, send (transmit) on the receive wires (backwards to a host) Connections between hubs need to be crossed over
Crossover cable (red) MIDX switch MIDX port Auto Negotiate on one end (or both)
50% of packets are collisions, useable bandwidth 5 Mb/s Later 100 Mb/s - faster data rate, faster collisions, 7 stations, average network traffic, 50% of all packets are collisions, useable bandwidth 50 Mb/s Last class of hub, 10/100 dual speed hub
Has a two sides, auto detects hosts speed If 10 Mb/s, puts on 10 Mb/s side of switch If 100 Mb/s, puts on 100 Mb side of switch
If packets go through more than 3 hubs, it may become corrupt Corrupt packets are re-requested and must be re-sent
SWITCHES!!!!
Switches are
INTELEGENT:
Have CPU & RAM Builds a table, what address is on what port
No 3 hop rule
SWITCHES!!! (Cont.)
Switches can handle multiple
speeds.
This allows multiple 10/100 workstations to talk full speed to a 1000 Mb/sec server connection
Switches, limitations
Traffic that still goes to every port:
Broadcast traffic (addressed to 255.255.255.255) Multicast Traffic (Imaging) Smart switches pay attention and only send the multicast
traffic to the clients once they have responded
Lower end switches, any packet not on the table goes to all ports (the response from the unknown host will add it to the table) If a switch overruns its table (runs out of ram) it goes into blocking mode, basically becomes a hub Still may need to use crossover cable, MIDX port, some switches auto negotiate crossover
GIGABIT Ethernet
Eliminated CSMA/CD
There is no such thing as a Gigabit hub, its switched only! NO Collisions (it cant detect them or correct them, so they simply arent allowed)
Uses all 8 wires, each one individually Requires CAT5e or better CAT5e keep under 250 feet (prefer CAT6) All copper gig equipment auto-negotiates crossover/duplex/speed No Crossover cable needed, if used must have all 4 pairs crossed over
Copper Gig
Wireless
50% of the bandwidth used for encryption,
connection and error correction
11 Mb 802.11b useable bandwidth is 7 Mb 54 MB 802.11a/g useable bandwidth is 24 Mb 802.11n, uses more channels (less access points pre area more contention for channels) Faster, more reliable
Summary so far
Hubs Stink!!!
Half Duplex only Collisions are the norm Shared bandwidth between all devices on hubs
Use switches
Full duplex Eliminates Collisions Dedicated bandwidth to each switched port 3-20 times faster than hubs
Ethernet Troubleshooting
What does network does not work mean?
Internet down Server down One computer, or group of computers cant access network Wing of building down Whole building down
Common problems
Four common network problem
categories:
1. Everything is slow/not working 2. Internet is slow, server access is normal 3. Server access is slow/not working, Internet access seems normal 4. Single computer, room of computers, area of building is slow/not working
Can be a Upstream
problem
Ping around
Ping around
Get to a command prompt XP/Win2k/Vista
Run ipconfig Note your default gateway Run Ping <default gateway>
No response, your router may not be working
Check it out, or have the network guy check it out Contact helpdesk/your NE, get server restarted