Network or NT

[fenris]

We have a dispatching center for ready mix concrete. it is located about a 1000 feet from our main office where the central computers are located. The entire network was certified as 100 baseT (before I got there). The problem is that the dispatching software that is used is dreadfully slow at the dispatching center. It is very quick and responsive when used from the main office. Obviously, it is too far to run standard ethernet cable to the dispatch center, so fiber was run. At the dispatching center the programs that are mission critical and vital to the operation are run from the server (dual pIII 750, 256Mb ram). We have another site, are retail front end which is approximately 800 feet from the main office(it is also connected by fiber). The retail site has no speed problems, it is as fast as using the programs in the main office. <br><br>The software that is being used is called RAM and is produced by a company called Alkon out of OHIO. The software is 16 bit and has its share of problems. I ran some tests at the dispatch center and determined that it was only running at around 10Mbs (ftp transfer of a 10Mb file from the main server, yeilded around 300k/s). I traced back to the main line, all the switches indicate that the route to the dispatch center is primed for 100.<br><br>I am not quite sure what to make of the problem. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I would also like some recomendations of companies the diagnose and troubleshoot network problems like this, preferable Canadian companies in Ontario. <p>Troy Williams B.Eng.<br><a href=mailto:fenris@hotmail.com>fenris@hotmail.com</a><br><a href= > </a><br>

 

[comtutor]

What about any differences in the topology. Switches/Hubs/Nic cards/protocols/Other bandwith usages? These and their setups make a world of difference.

 

[fenris]

The fiberr runs from our main switch to the main fiber line which terminates in our rather large garage(about 500 feet from the main office). It terminates at another switch which supplies the computers in the garage with their connection. From this switch there is a fiber running to our dispatch center and this fiber terminates into another switch and the dispatch computers are hooked into there. All the switches are dlink DSS-8 switches with a dlink des-1008m with a fiber conversion card plugged into it. We have a store facility roughly the same distance from the main office as the dispatch facility and it is a very similar setup with the exception that there is no intermediate switch. The store doesn't have any of the speed issues.

The only thing that I can think of is the intermediate switch in the garage.

Here is a schematic (hope it comes out properly)

_____________ ________ __________
| | | | |
|Main Office |--------------|garage |------------|dispatch
|____________| |_______| |_________
|
|
|
_____|_____
| |
|Store |
|__________|

 

[SRG]

I would ckeck that intermediate switch and the termination point on the one in the building with the problems. This could be caused by a couple of problems, you should not have any problems at this distance.

The intermediate switch in the garage does it supply good connections at 100Bt to the garage?

I can't find teh exact equipment you are using on the dlink site. Can you tell me more about the fiber conversion cards? I also could not find the des-1008m what exactly is it.

My guess at this point is that you are having a tranceiver problem. I'll know more when you answer my questions.

 

[Pritch5000]

Hey.
I just posted a reply to what may be a similar problem in the 'Cabling' forum.
Some NIC and network device manufacturers' products don't handshake too well, could this be a mismatch? are the hubs/switches manageable? do they report any errors on these ports?
Particularly, Kinston NICs are known for this? you could try a different NIC but that doesn't necessarily make this one duff! Is your NIC configurable? is it autosensing, and are the hubs/switches? because that is where they fall over, one thinks its going to talk 10mbps half-duplex and the other 100mbps at full! for example. Hard set them to the same, 100-full probably. Is your NIC 100mbps?
Am I right in saying then that this PC acts solely on the main network without connection to a more local one? and there can therefore be no relating issues? How many hus/switches/patch panels/outlets does the data cross?
You could physically pick it up and walk it thru to the main office and swap it for one of the working PCs. This could take location of the equation.
(Sorry if I ripped of my other answer! Saved me writing it all again.)
Pritch
pritch5000@altavista.com

 

[fenris]

SRG, I checked the dlink site out as well and they don't have the switch listed. I guess they don't make it anymore But on the unit it says des-1008m fast ethernet switch. And an odd looking switch it is. It has a number of expansion cards that I am not sure what they do except for the fibre card. I wish I could tell you more but this system was put in place long before I got here and all the documentation has disappeared (I guess the office documentation fairy got them!). I managed to find the make of the fiber conversion card (ie from 100baseTX to 100baseFX) and it is an ethercom model efm12.

At the garage, as far as I can tell they have 100baseTX performance (downloaded a file from the main server at 3000 kb/s). The fiber comes into the switch in the garage. In that switch are two fiber conversion cards of the make I described above, one card to receive the fiber from the main office and the other card to send the fiber to the dispatching center. At this switch, ethernet cabling is run to supply the rest of the garage with networking capabilities. This switch is the only difference between the setup at the store and the dispatch. I am figuring that this is the problem. Unfortunately the ready-mix business is hitting the busy season and I don't want to experiment unless I am sure what the problem is.

I know ethernet well, but when it comes to fiber I don't really know any troubleshooting techniques for it. I am almost positive that the problem has something to do with the switch in the garage(FYI, when I say garage I don't mean something small it can hold 40 full size cement mixers, the ones with four axels!).

I am not sure what other kind of information that you could require.

BTW, the ping times from the dispatch to the main server are over 10ms, on average they are 15-20ms.

 

[SRG]

Well as far as fibre goes the more I work with it the moer I treat it like any other piece of wire. One thing I might try it to reverse the fibre in the garage. Switch the incomming and outgoing fibre links. If everything in the garage and further out slows to 10BT I would say you have a problem with a tranceiver card in your switch. If you have an config interface on the switch you might want to check it, I am not really familiar with that switch but most switches have a telnt, http or serial connect, config/diag option. If the problem remains out at the further site, you might have a problem with the tranceiver card in that switch. If you really want to test you could move fabre cards or whole switches arround. Perhaps have a fiber guy come in and run an OTDR test on the cable it's self if you cant find anything else.

 

[fenris]

Thanks for the info, I was thinking of getting some specialists in to look at the problem.

 

[nevgress]

From reading the documentation above i would try just replacing the switch in the garage first -- ( start where the trouble seems to be ) I have seen switches act like this in the past it seems like they are sending bad data packets and therfore keep resending. The distance you are sending is not an issue ... If possible try to set on a new fiber circuit if available ---make sure you are using cat-5 copper to yor Pc's... You can by a fiberport switch for testing for as little as $300 from black-box corporation--might be good idea to keep an extra switch around for just these types of problems..let me know if you resolve this issue....