NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
Solved
Acceptable distance from Nighthawk X4S to unmanaged switch?
hi, Anyone know what is a comfortable cable length that should work from an X4S LAN port to a Netgear FS108 uplink port? My setup is cable modem -> X4S on the second floor of a home. I cannot move th...
> [...] Anyone know what is a comfortable cable length that should work
> from an X4S LAN port to a Netgear FS108 uplink port?
100m is the usual limit.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethernet_over_twisted_pair
As you've observed, an FS108 is not a gigabit switch, so using it
with an R7800 could add a new bottleneck.
> [...] When I put everything in the same room [...]
If "everything" really means "everything", including all the gizmos,
all connected the same, then I wouldn't expect any less-than-house-size
cables to matter much, unless there's something wrong with the cables or
one of the switches.
> [...] I am able to use a pass through cat5E connector in the basement
> and that works for a single connection to the IP phone, but I can't put
> the FS108 in that same location.
You might try a (cheap) gigabit Ethernet switch instead of the FS108,
if the cables are good.
thank you, I really appreciate the response and pointer, that was my expectation too but it's within spec and still not working. Without the switch it works fine: modem - X4S (2nd floor) - approx 70' cat5e - passive cat5E coupler (basement) - approx 70' cat5e - IP phone (2nd floor). But if I change the cat5e coupler to the FS108 switch then the IP phone connects but the quality is terrible. I've tested the FS108 with the IP phone in close proximity with short cables and that works fine too. You've given me the idea that I can test the IP phone with the long length upstream or downstream but not both, so I'll try different combinations
I presume there are two issues,
This coupler which I would not use.
Your switch is a 10/100 max speed switch.
https://www.netgear.com/support/product/FS108
While the R7800 is a up to 1000mb speeds on it's LAN ports. So your having a bottle neck of some sorts. You can use a 100Mb switch however its always best to keep same max speeds as your router supports throughout the LAN network if possible. I would only use 100mb switches for printers and older legacy devices.
Gb switch:
> [...] Anyone know what is a comfortable cable length that should work
> from an X4S LAN port to a Netgear FS108 uplink port?
100m is the usual limit.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethernet_over_twisted_pair
As you've observed, an FS108 is not a gigabit switch, so using it
with an R7800 could add a new bottleneck.
> [...] When I put everything in the same room [...]
If "everything" really means "everything", including all the gizmos,
all connected the same, then I wouldn't expect any less-than-house-size
cables to matter much, unless there's something wrong with the cables or
one of the switches.
> [...] I am able to use a pass through cat5E connector in the basement
> and that works for a single connection to the IP phone, but I can't put
> the FS108 in that same location.
You might try a (cheap) gigabit Ethernet switch instead of the FS108,
if the cables are good.I've installed a GS308 and it's working. I wish I knew why the FS108 didn't work but I have no idea. Thanks for the advice.