I am trying to use the 2.5Gb (Intel® I225-V) or 10Gb (Marvell® AQtion AQC107) ethernet port of my motherboard (Maximus XII Extreme) to connect to a Netgear XS508 and/or GS110MX switch.
I have run through different scenarios and even if the computer is the only device plugged into one of the switches (without the router) it causes an instant power outage in my apartment as soon as the ethernet cable comes in contact with any of the rj45 ports of the switch.
I know that this behavior is very unusual but I have tested this thoroughly. (Also with different cables)
Every other network device I have does not cause this while testing including a direct connection with the router (In this scenario everything works and I have Internet).
However, if I plug the cable into the router AND the switches are also connected with the network, it causes the same behavior with the power outage, it is definitely caused by either of the Netgear products, independently, and/or when they are both connected and in the same network.
I was not able to find anything online and would be very great full if you could advise on this issue.
Re: Netgear XS508 and GS110MX causing power outage
@Messtori Everything is AC de-coupled in such a set-up, including PoE. Either we face a massive AC power installation issue (phase on ground or null), massively broken power supplies, or probably water in a box .. wild guess from far away.
Re: Netgear XS508 and GS110MX causing power outage
@schumaku Thank you very much for giving my issue a shot. I can confirm that there is no PoE in my network also the theory with water does not seem likely. Both switches I have, are in a completely enclosed and locked server rack in my storage room since they have been unboxed.
I was able to do further tests today and found other devices that cause this issue with the switches.
HP USB-C Dock G5
Intel® I219V, 1 x Gigabit LAN Controller(s) on a TUF B360
Other devices such as a HP EliteBook 840 G6 can be connected directly to the onboard ethernet jack without any problems.
Re: Netgear XS508 and GS110MX causing power outage
Whatever also PoE is mostly isolated.
If the fuse or breaker is blowing, there is AC where it does not belong and it has a way to zero or to ground. Due to cabling or a power supply issue. Hard do say which of the two switches and it's power supply is causing it. Time for warranty or safety replacement.
Re: Netgear XS508 and GS110MX causing power outage
Hello @schumaku , I agree with your statement in the end, this is what is happening somewhere in the system.
The odd thing is that it is happening on either of the two switches independently. Meaning if I disconnection them from the network and set them up for a 1:1 test
GS110MX -> Marvell® AQtion AQC107 or HP USB-C Dock G5
XS508M -> Marvell® AQtion AQC107 or HP USB-C Dock G5
Again the behaviour is the same, and I tested this with different power outlets that are not shared between any appliances. The mathematical chances of having two different models with the exact same AC issue just seems to be so very unlikely to me.
Just some additional thoughts about this problem:
1. If it is an AC issue, why is the connection with the HP EliteBook 840 G6 Ethernet port working? (Also all the other devices that are currently connected over the switches?) If so there must be a difference in power being drawn, but that does not make sense with 3.
2. Why is the AC issue occurring on every port also ports that are working fine with other devices?
3. Why is the AC issue occurring if I plugin these network cards over the router and they just share the same network but the Ethernet ports of the switches remain untouched?
In my heart, this really feels like a incompatibility issue, somewhere during the initialization of these network cards there must be a wrong package or a wrong byte being transmitted somewhere that causes the AC issues. The hole issue is beyond bizarre for me.
Also a thing I observed is that all the network ports display both green LED’s before the power goes out just for a split second, even the ones that are empty.
Or is it a power drawing issue? I use cat 7 cables with cat6 rj45 jacks, one cable is already 20m in the network, the one I am adding is 10m. is this drawing more power from the network then other cables types length’s? But they again why should it malfunction if I only have one cable connected for the test, so probably not.
I have now also contacted my reseller and the official Netgear support team. I will keep you updated about my progress.
Re: Netgear XS508 and GS110MX causing power outage
Hello everyone,
There has been some progress on this topic so I thought il update. Unfortunately still not solved.
I think this problem is related to what @schumaku mentioned, and is caused by electrical wiring problems of some sort (which I am very unfamiliar with). I have been able to find more resources online by counterintuitively searching for the topic in my native language rather than in English. Which has yielded a lot more information. It seems that there are substantial differences on how electricity is handled in a household depending on country.
I have done some additional testing and if I take both switches out of the server rack and connect them to one of the power sources that is in the same room as one of the devices that cause a current circuit breaker outage I can attach all devices except for the NAS and HPE server to the LAN until it the same problem occurs again.
This and the information I found online leads me to believe that the problem is cause by either or both of this two factors:
Cat 7 uses S/STP shielding, this shielding causes cross currents between the switch (and possibly other component is the rack) and the network cards, each coming from their own respective power circuits, because the devices I am now trying to connect are in a different room.
2. As far as my understand goes these cross currents can either be caused naturally or by having a “leak” in the grounding due to a old practice that is called “classical grounding” or by insufficient grounding inside the server rack case.
To test point 1. I have now ordered a rJ45 modular coupling adapter that is unshielded and a rj45 Cat 6 cable that is UDP (unshielded). In this case I should be able to cut the cross current because it is not relayed over the shielding of the cable anymore. - This could solve the connection problem but the "current leaking" problem would still remain.
For nr 2. I will have to hire an electrician at some point anyway and test for possible lacks in the grounding as well as potential cross current between devices.
Will keep you updated as soon as i can test, regards
