Are you 100% certain that you have terminated correctly at both ends? Some RJ45 sockets can be a little confusing - they show which is the blue/orange/green/brown pair but not always which is the solid and which is the white/colour. If everyone is doing it, the suggestion is that you have the same anomaly on every cable as all four pairs are used in Gigabit but only 2 pairs in 100Mbit.

Do you have a continuity tester or meter? Get a couple of RG45s with flying leads and then at one end connect 1 and 2 together, check for continuity across 1 and 2 at the other end. Then 1 and 3, 1 and 4 &c.

I've tested the connections at both ends using a LAN signal tester, the type where you plug one end into the RJ45 socket, the other end into the patch panel, and the test unit sends a signal down each pin 1 to 8 which I've checked at the receiving end and all looks okay from that.

In reply to a post by shtu:

I would be tempted to move the mini-switch next to the device in question, connect a short patchlead between the two, and see what happens. If it doesn't negotiate to Gb then, it rules out your fixed wiring.

That's my next step

That confirms 1:1, 2:2, &c but not that pairs are correctly distributed.

Can you provve that each colour pair are working as a twisted pair?

On the back of a socket or patch panel, punch a link between the Gn & Gn/W then at the other end put a meter across 3&6 (use a patch lead and touch the pins - ignore the colours)

repeat with Blue 4&5
Orange 1&2
Brown 7&8

At least then you have proved that all 8 connections are end to end and the twisted pairs are being used as pairs.

At that point - you need to definitely revisit the card and switch.

Can you provve that each colour pair are working as a twisted pair?

So if they're not then that identifies a problem with the patch panel or RJ45 socket?
I'm not sure what you're getting at?

Yes it could - not necessarily with the panel or socket but with the identification or interpretation of the pin outs. 1&2 must be twisted together similarly, 3&6, 4&5 and 7&8 The LAN tester will only prove all wires are connected end to end, broken or crossed. Some top end ones may suggest there is incorrect pairing but basic ones do not.

All I am trying to do is go though proving your wiring is 100% correct.

I used to have a 8 port GS608 & I never manged to get all ports to run at 1GB. I always had 2 or 3 ports that would run at 100mb (orange LED). After a lot of messing around swapping nics & cables I came to the conclusion that it was the switch that was the problem.

I eventually replaced the switch with a Zyxel 8 port switch & I've not had any problems since.

Al

Any half decent lan tester will check the appropriate pairs rather than just a continuity test of 1 - 8.

In reply to a post by Rockh:

Any half decent lan tester will check the appropriate pairs rather than just a continuity test of 1 - 8.

Any recommendations then? The LAN tester I've used just tests signal continuity and was borrowed from a mate, so I'm happy to invest in a half-decent one

Sorry can't recommend a consumer grade one . You need to make sure it does wiremap or can identify split pairs, not just continuity.

I found quite a few pro-grade ones upwards of 100 quid, but also found a few consumer ones from various electrical distributors like TLC and QVS for between 15 and 30 quid so I might invest in one of those.

However, I replaced the patch leads with 0.5m ones and hey presto, I'm getting 1Gbps ethernet according to Windows 7!

I would like to test the real world network speed though, are there any tools for doing this?