3Com Switch -> How do I run in giga mode? 3

[1DMF]

Hello,

Hi, I was given a 3com switch under the premise it was a giga-switch.

It turns out it isn't, however it does have two uplink giga ports which can be used to plug the server direct into.

However if I plug the server into port 26 and change the network card to 1000mbs, I loose network connectivity with the system tray poping up a message saying the network cable is unplugged?

I've hunted the 3com website and cannot find a discovery/detect software for our model (3C16475A) so assume the port is already configured for auto negotiation.

Do I assume the patch cable is not good enough to run at 1000mbps?

I understand you must have good quality Cat5e cable to run at the giga speeds, or is there more settings on the HP ML350 server network card that needs to be made for it to work?

All help appreciated.
1DMF

"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!

 

[cknipe]

Its an unmanaged switch so theres really nothing to do here. try another pc that has a gigabit connection and make sure its not the servers network card. you could also try to use port 25 instead.

Is this the only switch on the network or is the 2226 uplinked to another switch? If your uplink connection is only 10/100 you dont really accomplish too much by having the server at gig speeds because your uplink will always be a bottleneck.

If you testing the cabling, make sure you have a cat6 cable going directly from the switch to the network card.

 

[SYQUEST]

The Baseline 2226 is a layer 2 manageable switch. Ports 25/26 are combo ports that can be copper or optical, and support 10/100/1000mbps. If you don't have the User Guide, you can get it here:

http://www.3com.com/swd/jsp/user/result.jsp?selected=all&sort=effdt&sku=3C16475A&order=desc

It explains the discovery process in order to login to the switch for managing. On your ML350 you might want to check the configuration if you are having connection issues. Does it work on other ports? You can use either a CAT5e or CAT6 patch cord to connect the ML350 to the 2226 for 1000BaseT. On the 2226 default on the ports is auto negotiations. Once you log into the 2226, you can check the port settings and see what has been negotiated, amoung other things.

Hope this helps!

....JIM....

 

[IRudebwoy]

Maybe a cross-over cable?

 

[1DMF]

It's ok guys, but thanks for the reply.

As soon as I dug out a decent CAT5e cable and pluged it in (port 25 or 26) the server sys tray poped up the network icon connected at 1GBPS.

it was simply a crappy cable issue.

Though not sure what benefit having the server connected to the switch @1GB is going to make when the rest of the ports are 100MB.

Shame really I was given it as a 1GB sawitch, we now have a fleet of workstations with 1GB NIC's and the damn switch isn't 1GB after all.

hey ho, maybe one day they'll buy me a new switch, but I won't hold my breath!

"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!

 

[1DMF]

Once you log into the 2226, you can check the port settings and see what has been negotiated, amoung other things.

how do you do that? I checked the 3com site and there isn't any utility available for the switch I have.

Unless I missed it, but I'm sure under support & registration there are no downloadable utilities to facilitate this ....

http://www.3com.com/products/en_US/detail.jsp?tab=support&pathtype=support&sku=3C16475A

"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!

 

[SYQUEST]

Patch cords will do it every time! I glad you found the problem.

The management interface on the 2226 Plus is a WEBUI! You login from your browser. As I mentioned in my post above, that is covered in the User Guide. The switch comes with a default IP address assigned, unless you assign your own or the switch requests one from the DHCP server on the LAN to which it is connected. The default IP address is determined from the assigned MAC address. The link I posted takes you right to the page with the downloadables available for this data switch.

Did it not work?

....JIM....

 

[1DMF]

Sorry , I didn't have time to read the manual, it's been very hectic at work, our server support guys trying to fix the VPN remote user SSL cetification problem , took out our server, so I had my hands full.

I'll check out the part you mentioned and see If I can connct via IP. I didn't realise a switch had an IP, I thought it was just an inteligent hub, though this isn't the plus version, does that matter?

The intracasies of how hubs/switches work is not something i'm familiar with, So I appreciate your help.

Regards,

1DMF



"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!

 

[1DMF]

I've read the manual and it states...

Requirements for Accessing the Web Interface

To connect to the Web interface, you need the following:

The Discovery application, which is included on 3Com Baseline Switch 2226 Plus CD-ROM that is supplied with your Switch

A computer that is connected to the Switch and that has a Web browser

So it seems you do need the discovery program and I don't have one, also the page for my specific product 3C16475A doesn't have a download, all other versions i've tried for different models don't find the switch.

So what do I do now?

"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!

 

[SYQUEST]

Your switch is an older one, but the procedure is still the same. See pages 24 and 29 of the manual for accessing the Interface without using Discovery. When the switch is first power up after POST, it sends out a DHCP request to get an IP address. If none is provided, it assigns its own in the form of 169.254.x.y, where x and y are the last two bytes of its MAC address. There should be a label on the back or bottom of the switch with the MAC address. If the switch is connected to a LAN with DHCP, then go to the DHCP server device and get a DHCP assignment list which shows what is assigned by MAC address. This is usually a router, and depending on the features the router provides, should be easy to find in the DCHP table.

By the way the x and y of the MAC are HEX, so you will need to convert them to decimal for the octets of the IP address. For the future you might want to put a label on the bottom or back of the switch with the default IP, so you or someone else won't have to go through this again.

....JIM....

 

[1DMF]

I checked the DHCP status and there is no IP given to a device that isn't a users PC, so I guess it set it's own.

However if that's the case and it used a 169.254.x.x. If how does that work? it's not a range that is acceptable on our network.

we run 192.168.x.x , I thought the fist 3 parts of an IP had to be the same for the devices to work as well as the same subnet mask.

This is a bit confusing, it ain't broke, so I'll leave it, especially as i'd have to unplug it and remove from the rack mount to get the MAC address from it, not a viable option during the day as it would take our network down.

Thanks for trying though


"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!