upstatemike
Senior Member
Switches are dumb with no configuration of any kind.
Trouble Installing ELK-M1XEP
- Thread starter upstatemike
- Start date
Switches are dumb with no configuration of any kind.
upstatemike
Senior Member
Makes sense since the M1XEP is working fine in the current configuration but absolutely everything else I plug into the linksys switch works fine so... ?
upstatemike
Senior Member
I spent some time last week converting everything from DHCP to static addresses... out of 38 network devices only one is still using DHCP. In any case these are cheap unmanaged switches that do not have IP addresses themselves so I don't think that is the issue.
Because there is no link light on either the M1XEP or the switch, I would normally think it was a cable/connector/port problem. The fact that I get a link light on both the M1XEP and the D-Link switch would seem to support that. However, the fact that the D-link can talk to the Linksys switch using the same port and cable puts me back to square one on troubleshooting. Unfortunately I do not have another 8-port switch to just swap out the Linksys but that is probably my next move once I get one.
What is a good brand to try next? I need a cheap 8-port 10/100 switch with good throughput. Would I be better off with Netgear? D-Link? Is one brand better than another?
upstatemike
Senior Member
I just did another interesting test. I grabbed a Linksys SD205 (the 5 port version of the SD208) and it worked fine! For some reason the M1XEP specifically does not like the ports on the SD208. For now I will link two SD205s togther to make 8 ports and move the SD208 someplace else. I like the Linksys switches because they run on 12VDC so are easy to use in security/automation applications. But if they are going to be this flaky I will need to find an alternative brand to standardize on. Unfortunately D-Link uses 7.5 volt supplies so I won't be going with them. I'll have to see what Netgear uses.
123
Senior Member
Netgear ProSafe 16 Port 10/100 Network Switch FS116
I got mine from eBay for less than $20 (including shipping). It uses a 12VDC/1A AC Adapter. It has a slim, steel case that can be wall-mounted.
I got mine from eBay for less than $20 (including shipping). It uses a 12VDC/1A AC Adapter. It has a slim, steel case that can be wall-mounted.
upstatemike
Senior Member
Looks like a nice switch but I get kind of confused with Netgear stuff. The FS105 and FS108 models are 7.5VDC but the FS116 is 12VDC EXCEPT some versions of the FS116 appear to be 5VDC! Also the mean time between failure for the FS105 and FS 116 is twice as long as it is for the the FS108. So I guess I would need to get the FS116 even though I only need 8 ports but only if I can be sure I am getting the 12VDC version. Maybe these are newer than the 5VDC ones? I also see that the FS116 specs say auto MDIX but it still has an uplink switch... what is that about?
Anyway, thanks for the tip. I'll keep an eye out for a good deal on ebay.
BraveSirRobbin
Moderator
Wow, that's probably it (at least it sounds like the best possible scenario so far).
upstatemike
Senior Member
It sounds logical except I don't have any crossover cables and all of my switches are (supposedly) auto sensing. In troubleshooting I tried several cables so I would have caught it if there was a crossover cable mixed in someplace. Also the same cable that is working fine with the SD205 did not work at all with the SD208.
After reviewing the Netgear specs in some detail I have concluded that 5-port and 16-port switches are generally well built but for some reason 8-port models, even in the same product family, appear to be cheap junk. I think this is true regardless of brand.
