Weird Network Work Acting Odd

[Knuckles2002]

Hello 2xg, been looking at the Sonic Wall TZ 105. Got a couple questions

1. Are there any fees associated with this device such as monthly payments or updates that you have to pay for and if so how much are they?
2. Should I place the device in between the Comcast Router and the Switch I take it?
3. What are your thoughts on replacing the Linksys router with the Sonicwall Wireless Router?

 

[office politics]

regarding #1, you can buy hardware and software support on annual basis. i think advanced replacement comes with this service. I think this is somewhere around 100-200 per year.

be careful about which sonicwall you buy. i know TZ170's end of life is coming up.

 

[Knuckles2002]

Hello Office Politics,

Thank you for your help. I was looking at SonicWALL TZ 105 Series. What are your thoughts on this model? And Do you recommend placing this in between my comcast router and 24 port switch?

 

[ugoboom]

I looked over everything and your diagram and it doesn't seem to make sense, although there is one thing you were unclear about. I noticed in your diagram that you are using a patch panel in building 2. In case you overlooked this scenario, is it possible you've wired the patch panel improperly?

You said here:

If I take my laptop in building 2 and connect directly to that cable without the switch I'm able to get on the web.

Does directly to the cable mean you bypassed the patch panel?

However, when I plug it in to the 5 port switch I can't get on.

100 ft Cable direct to 5 port switch or through patch panel?

- I bypassed the 24 port Switch in building 1 by plugging the external 100 ft. cable to the Comcast modem and then plugged it in to the 5 port switch in building 2 then to my laptop and I was able to get on. However when I try to plug the Linksys Wireless router to the switch and then from linksys to my laptop it doesn't pull an IP address.

Does this avoid the patch panel? Btw from what I read in one of your later posts, you have not set the wifi router up correctly to pull an address at this point anyway (if you had the lan dhcp turned on), so that naturally wouldn't work.

- I tested the 5 port switch with my laptop in building 1 connected directly to the 24 port switch with a 7ft cable and it worked fine.

I would certainly try that other 100 ft cable you made along with the 5 port switch and bring it all into building 1 and hook it all up just for the hell of it.
















Thank you,
Frank G.[/QUOTE]

 

[office politics]

tz 100 series has been discontinued and is in ARM

Product Lifecycle - Dell SonicWALL, Inc.

quoted

Active Retirement Mode (ARM)
Active Retirement Mode (ARM) is a statement by SonicWALL that it is no longer actively manufacturing or selling the product. Products in ARM are removed from all price lists and marketing collateral. Support contracts for products in this phase will remain on price lists and will continue to be available. During this time SonicWALL will release a limited number of firmware updates, new features and bug fixes. The duration of this phase is typically two years beginning one day after the last day to order.

 

[Knuckles2002]

Hello ugoboom thank you for your response. Below are answers to your questions:

Q1. Does directly to the cable mean you bypassed the patch panel?
A1. No what I mean is I bypass the 5 port switch but I connect directly to the patch panel.

Q2. 100 ft Cable direct to 5 port switch or through patch panel?
A2. I ran the 100 ft. cable from the 24 port switch directly to the switch. Bypassing the patch panel.

Q3. Does this avoid the patch panel? Btw from what I read in one of your later posts, you have not set the wifi router up correctly to pull an address at this point anyway (if you had the lan dhcp turned on), so that naturally wouldn't work.
A3. Yes it avoids the patch panel and the 24 port switch. The comcast cable modem is a 4 port modem/router. So I plugged the 100ft. cable in to port 1 of the comcast cable modem and the other end in to port 1 on the netgear 5 port switch. Then from there plugged a cable to port 2 and to the laptop.

PS: I have the wifi working fine I disabled the DHCP and connect the cat 5e cable directly from the 24 port switch to port 1 on the wireless router.

Q4. I would certainly try that other 100 ft cable you made along with the 5 port switch and bring it all into building 1 and hook it all up just for the hell of it.
A4. We essentially did that because we connect the 100ft. cat 5e cable to one of the ports on the 24 port switch and plugged the other end in to one of the ports on the 5 port switch. The process was the same.

Do you have any idea of what you think would be the problem here? I'm leaning on either the 24 port switch isn't powerful enough, Or the cable is to long and might need some kind of repeater or possibly fiber optic instead of cat 5e. What do you think?

 

[ugoboom]

Ok so the patch panel is fine then.

Racking my brain and came up with one other thing. This 5 port switch is powered right? it's not PoE right? if it's PoE then that is probably your culprit.

 

[Knuckles2002]

Yes, the 5 port switch is powered and it is not a PoE. I also took the switch and brought it in to building 1 plugged in a 7ft. cable to the 24 port switch and plugged the other end to port 1 of the 5 port switch and plugged the laptop in to the 5 port switch and all was fine. No problems. I personally don't think its the 5 port switch. But is it possiable that a switch could weakin a signal? I don't see a problem going from a 24 port switch to a 5 port switch.

Info on the Netgear 5 port switch you can find here: GS105

Any other suggestions?

 

[Knuckles2002]

The Netgear GS105 5 port Switch is powered and is not a PoE. I also took that 5 port switch and plugged a 7ft. cat 5e cable from the 24 port switch directly in to the 5 port switch in port 1 and plug another 7ft. cable from the 5 port switch port 2 to my laptop and all was fine.

Any other suggestions that you might be able to think of? Thanks again for your efforts!!!

 

[2xg-ray]

Hello,

Sorry for the late respond, been vey busy.
105 Series is not discontinued yet according from this link. I've purchased Sonicwalls from sonicguard bec. they are reasonable. You may ask them anything before you buy.
SonicWALL Firewalls, SonicWALL Email Security, CDP, SSL-VPN | SonicGuard.com

1. Are there any fees associated with this device such as monthly payments or updates that you have to pay for and if so how much are they?
- In order for you to get the support including firmware upgrades you will need to buy the support package, better to get the 2 to 3 yr agreement with Sonicwall. Please checkout the sonicguard.com regarding different options. Overall...you will give a full support from them, from initially setting up the device, just have all the IPs ready - Public & Private IPs, port-forwarding...etc...they'll even do a remote session with you once an internet connection has been established.

2. Should I place the device in between the Comcast Router and the Switch I take it?
- You will connect the ethernet cable from your Comcast device to the Sonicwall WAN port, then from the Sonicwall's LAN Port to the Switch. Any additional routers can be plugged in to X2, X3....ports
Sonicwall Tech support will guide you through out the entire process of setting up your device, I guarantee you that.

3. What are your thoughts on replacing the Linksys router with the Sonicwall Wireless Router?
- If you will be purchasing the Sonicwall wireless device, you may still utilize the Linksys router to extend the wireless coverage in your network.

In addition:
We have a 200ft cable in a PVC pipe coming from one Bldg to the next Bldg and no issues at all. Cat5e shd be good enough with your Switch. Something else is not right....
You are absolutely correct here: "I thought a cat 5e cable can go as far as about 300 feet."
We have a 200ft cable in a PVC pipe coming from one Bldg to the next Bldg and no issues at all. Cat5e shd be good enough with your Switch. Something else is not right....It won't hurt to try a different switch, is the other 24-port switch managed or unmanaged?

Do you have any idea of what you think would be the problem here? I'm leaning on either the 24 port switch isn't powerful enough, Or the cable is to long and might need some kind of repeater or possibly fiber optic instead of cat 5e. What do you think?

Hope this helps.