Re: [Hampshire] 8% Packet loss due to ethernet cable

Actually the issue is more likely naturally collisions on the network.

I noted that you said ‘hub’ not ‘switch’.

A switch has logic to balance all the traffic, like traffic lights (gross simplification).

where as a hub is like all the lights are always green/ no lights at all, and you just take your chance crossing.

With a switch when there are more devices on the network it manages a controlled degradation, like lights at a roundabout. That leads to slower response times but high reliablity.

With a hub : well its pot luck. packets bouce and need to be resent futher amplifying the chaos. the more devices. the more chaotic.

so sall that really happened when you changed the cable was the traffic settled and the previous collisions cleared.

the other factor might just be old age - simple oxidation of the connections....

So : a basic switch is probably a wise purchase. :)

Sent from my iPhone

On 4 Mar 2021, at 14:49, Marc Loftus via Hampshire <hampshire@???> wrote:


Hi Rob

Ethernet cables should have a quality rating on them. You may have been using a Cat 5 cable. Cat 5 have a certain bandwidth and can support 10 or 100 Mbps speed. Older cables may work depending on length and interference as you have experienced.

Shielding is another concern. If the cable runs near a power cable, some of the traffic can be interfered with hence the 8% loss.

I try to use Cat6 or Cat6e cables. With cat6E you are also future proofing a little as well as home routers and network interfaces improve.

Marc

On Thu, 4 Mar 2021 at 12:09, rmluglist2--- via Hampshire <hampshire@???<mailto:hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk>> wrote:
Hi all

I’ve been experiencing some network issues I’ve never seen before (in 20 years of (admittedly home LAN) experience). One of my machines was showing 8% packet loss when pinging the same site as another machine on the same hub at the same time which was reporting 0%. This proves it had to be a local fault and sure enough – swapping the 8% machine’s cable for a new one resulted in 0% loss.

What I find odd though is why not 0% or 100%? Surely the wires inside the cable can only break – it wasn’t as if the cable was being moved around – it was stationary. To lose one packet every 12 or so seems very odd for a cable issue.

As I say, with new cable installed, it’s now at 0% packet loss so all is well that ends well but would the issue have been to do with:
a) the length of the cable or
b) the quality of the cable or
c) both?

Cheers
Rob
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