.............step by step towards a wired networked UniQute, help with router and cabling please
Posted by: Sloop John B on 03 September 2011
Well my electrician has just finished a nice bit of discrete wiring of my new cable modem and an equally discrete strand of CAT6 going from modem to UniQute.
first question:
The cable doesn't work , I'm presuming it's a wiring connection problem as cable router works fine. It's probably just a loose wire but are there any potential wiring pitfalls that an electrician with negligible compter expericne may fall for? ( I take it from googling that the days of straight and crossover Cat cables are behind us?)
second question
my old dsl router
looking like thus.
Is there some sort of adapter that I can put in the dsl port (which is an RJ 45 standard phone port) so that I can attach an ethernet cable from the cable broadband modem and thus use it as a router?
Thanks
John
Posted on: 03 September 2011 by Simon-in-Suffolk
Hi, if you have a cable modem ethernet cable, then that is acting as your router. Your old DSL you can forget about really. Although you could try and use the switch ports on the back, it might be trying to use DHCP on them and confusing your cable modem router.
I would get a small switch such as a netgear etc, plug your ethernet cable from your broadband router into the switch and connect your uniqute inot the switch as well/
Although many devices can auto correct not all can. What cable did your electrician put in, was it crossover ot pass through. Between a router and a client (PC etc) you need to use a cross over. However if you put a switch in the way then you should use standard pass through from the router to the switch and from the Unitiquote to the switch. The switchports on a router should also use standard pass through. Its just if the router has one ethernet adapter then it needs to be cross over to connect to a PC, or pass through to a switch.
How are you determining it is not working? Is the Uniqute not getting an IP address, ord does the Uniqute thinks its not connected? If its the latter then it could be the wrong cable pinouts (cross over = pass through).
Simon
Posted on: 03 September 2011 by Sloop John B
Thanks Simon,
The UniQute wouldn't work so I plugged the ethernet cable into a laptop and it could not connect to the internet. The cable runs form a cable modem with 4 ethernet ports in conduit to the UniQute.
I tried the same port on the modem with a smaller run of cable and the laptop did connect to the internt, hence I'm blaming the cable.
SJB
Posted on: 04 September 2011 by Simon-in-Suffolk
Hi John, sounds like it. Just one little check. When you put the cable into the laptop or unitiqute does the the little green led light up by the ethernet port (on the laptop or unitiqute) with then other plugged in the router's switch port?
it it stays off then the link layer is not established. Did the electrician wire up the connectors? If this is the case then I suspect it's more likely to be the wiring in the RJ45 connectors rather than the cable itself. If you can ask your electrician for a RJ45 crimper assuming he has one I can give you the pin outs for pass through or swap over if you need them. There will be 8 wires which are 4 twisted pairs on cat 5 or a derivative of it.
Simon
Posted on: 04 September 2011 by Sloop John B
Thanks Simon,
It's CAT6 and those pin outs would be very handy.
the electrician will come back and sort it but it would be great to have the explanation for him.
John
SJB
Posted on: 04 September 2011 by Simon-in-Suffolk
Hi John, yes CAT 5, 6 or higher the pin outs are the same.
Try this
http://www.ertyu.org/steven_ni.../ethernetcables.htmlIt's better than I could explain or type on this iPad :-)
Note ignore the bit about wires 4,5 and 7,8 being unused. These are used for 1000Mbps Ethernet, so makecsure they are wired.
Simon
Posted on: 04 September 2011 by garyi
The order of wires for the sparky is:
Orange/white - orange - green/white - blue - blue/white - green - brown/white - brown.
Secondly you have spent probably a signficant amount of money on getting a tidy install using the latest ethernet cable, then you plug it into an ancient dsl router.
Purchase a GIGABIT network switch and do it right.
Posted on: 04 September 2011 by Sloop John B
I'm a bit lost with switches routers etc. can you suggest a particular gigabit switch you'd recommend?
Thanks
SJB
Posted on: 04 September 2011 by garyi
OK just to confirm you have it set up right.
at your internet input, you will have a dedicated modem or modem/router usually on the phone line or broadband cable.
You might have 4 ethernet sockets on this.
Off of this you want to have a switch, just connect it to any of the ethernet sockets on your Router. I use an USRobotics one, but really it does not matter just make sure its gigabit. Also make sure it is positioned where you can send wires off of it easily. Usually in the loft, in the future you might want to hook computers etc up to it.
Now to this switch you attach your NDX.
Posted on: 04 September 2011 by Sloop John B
thanks Gary,
I think I just might about understand all this now.
slainte
SJB
Posted on: 05 September 2011 by Sloop John B
.............which is more than my electrician!
he says, the wires are only carrying data so how can it matter how they are wired once they are wired the same at both ends.
"how does the data know what colour wire it is being carried on?"
What's my answer to that, all I can say at the moment is
"well the internet says"
to which i get the reply
"bloody internet!"
SJB
Posted on: 05 September 2011 by Simon-in-Suffolk
OMG, perhaps you have wrong man for the job here... And I would get him to check the other link that appears to work, you might be getting link errors and RF from the lead.
They key point is that the wires MUST be wired as twisted pairs. Ie the colour wire MUST be twisted with same colour with the White stripe in.
At this level, the info is not data, it is physically balanced electrical pulses, and exists as 4 separate circuits. Each circuit exists as a plus and minus, to complete the circuit and the colours are important as the plus and minus must match in each circuit / twisted pair.
Otherwise one wire will couple a response into the other circuit wire and will probably cause chaos and critical link failure and therefore completely fail to work...Unless very short lead is used or you are lucky...
Simon
Posted on: 05 September 2011 by garyi
Your sparky has been given the colour order, though if I were you purchase a crimper and RJ45s from ebay for a tenner and have a go yourself. Fact is if he has said that then chances are the terminations are not tidy, i.e. you want the twists twisting as close to the plug as possible.
Posted on: 05 September 2011 by Simon-in-Suffolk
I agree with Gary, you are probably safer doing it yourself unless the penny drops with the electrician. Errors at the physical level are hard to diagnose once up and running or semi running and you need the confidence this job is done properly.
Simon
Posted on: 05 September 2011 by Sloop John B
OK a bit of googling a youtubing has shown me how to do the deed myself but what is flumoxing me is the 2 different types of wiring
T568A and B
Is there an issue with which one is used?
some of the existing cables on the network that I can see are of the A variety whilst others are the B variety so I'm presuming they are compatible as networked printer and PCs are working.
SJB
Posted on: 05 September 2011 by Simon-in-Suffolk
Hi, yes both a and b are for pass through and you can mix on your LAN. Just ensure you are consistent at both ends of a specific Ethernet cable. Ie if use T658a at one end of the cable ensure you use the same config at the other end and not T658b.
Simon
Posted on: 16 September 2011 by Sloop John B
Well a good nights work done this evening.
After quite a few delays in delivery and stock I got eventually had a QNAP 412 NAS and 2 x 2TB Seagate barracuda HDs here today at 6PM.
Indeed inserting hard drives into NAS is a simple matter.
Set up was pretty easy to follow apart from me being a good boy and changing the admin password at the initial set-up stage only to find myself locked out from administration once et up completed!
Luckily there is an external reset 3 second button press procedure.
busy moving music files over to NAS when I tried n-stream and it wasn't picking up streamer at all. Checking all the usual my previous cabling was the culprit, but crimping tool out again got all lights a blazing on the switchbox.
music moved by the time this was done and n-stream (working quicker now it's wired upnp) and I played my first WAV file on the UniQute.
Thanks for all the help. I do have some questions about dbpoweramp and WAV and Tags and marmite but I think I'll give that a full thread of it's own or add it to the US thread.
SJB
