Hello,
I’ve moved into existing house and am trying to set up the network but have a mystery I would appreciate your advice on.
There is an Arris cable modem in bridge mode connecting via ethernet Cat5e to an Asus AX6600 also known as a ZenWiFi AX (XT8).
The Asus connects to a NAS via wired ethernet and provides wireless service. All this works fine.
The house has a rack with an old 10/100 switched and a patch panel. The backside of the patch panel runs ethernet to the office 2 floors up.
Now the mystery.
When I connect a Cat5e Crossover cable or a normal straight-through Cat5e cable between the Asus and the Patch panel there is no connection to the office. (Note: I’m not using the older switch because the Asus has enough ports and the old switch would throttle the speed to 100mbs).
Here are the scenarios.
A) This configuration works but is 100mbs.
[AsusRouter]–[Cat5e cable]–[10/100 switch]—[an older 10/100 “Y” shaped “HomeWay” cable]—[patch panel]—[long ethernet of unknown type]—[PC].
B) This configuration doesn’t work.
[AsusRouter]–[Cat5e cable]–[10/100 switch]—[either straight-through or crossover cable]—[patch panel]—[long ethernet of unknown type]—[PC].
C) This configuration doesn’t work, but is what I want to work for the fastest speed.
[AsusRouter]----[Cat5e crossover cable]—[patch panel]—[long ethernet of unknown type]—[PC].
I’m not familiar with the “Y” HomeWay cable. It has an RJ45 on one end that splits into a blue and a separate green cable A bit of research suggests it is a propriety cable and patch panel system but other research says that system should work with standard cables too. I’ve read “it is a German thing”.
Note: The “[long ethernet of unknown type]” runs from the cellar to the top floor. It doesn’t feel like Cat5e/Cat6 but it is hard to tell. I’ll add a picture from the backside of the patch panel.
Any ideas on how I can get scenario C to work?
Thank you!
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Okay, ive read your post a few times and i think i got a grasp of the situation. First, your pic doesnt work. Can you direct-link it rather than linking to something in reddit?
Until then, have you tried using the proprietary Y cable between the Asus Router and the patch panel rather than the standard CAT5s you’ve been trying? There’s obviously some proprietary thing going on between the patch panel and that Y cable. You didnt say where all 3 ends of the Y cable go, are there specific blue and green ports for it on the patch panel? Does the patch panel have any branding or model numbers on it?
The RJ45s (normally) are clear so you should be able to see the pin layout with the wire pairs, that could also tell us what is going on.