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Swapping an ethernet cable between devices

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  • 15-01-2014 10:09pm
    #1
    Synode
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,967 ✭✭✭


    Hi all,

    I recently ran a 10m ethernet from my UPC router around the room to an IMac. It was a pain to install as there was very little room under the beading (hiding the gap between wooden floor and skirtings). However, it worked out well and I'm getting speeds of up to 150Mb on the IMac.

    This evening I needed fast speeds on a Windows 7 laptop so I decided to unplug the ethernet cable from the IMac and plug it into the laptop. I was expecting to get the same fast speeds but when I ran speedtest.net and speedtest.upc.ie I was only getting speeds of approx 20-30Mb. I was also having terrible problems with a SonicWall VPN on the laptop. When I unplugged the ethernet cable and went back to WiFi, I was getting speeds of 40-50Mb and the VPN started working perfectly again.

    So my question is, are ethernet cables not interchangeable between devices? Is there something else I should be doing when I swap the cable between a Mac and a Windows device?

    All help is much appreciated.

    Cheers.


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    #2
    White Heart Loon
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,788 ✭✭✭White Heart Loon


    Synode wrote: »
    Hi all,

    I recently ran a 10m ethernet from my UPC router around the room to an IMac. It was a pain to install as there was very little room under the beading (hiding the gap between wooden floor and skirtings). However, it worked out well and I'm getting speeds of up to 150Mb on the IMac.

    This evening I needed fast speeds on a Windows 7 laptop so I decided to unplug the ethernet cable from the IMac and plug it into the laptop. I was expecting to get the same fast speeds but when I ran speedtest.net and speedtest.upc.ie I was only getting speeds of approx 20-30Mb. I was also having terrible problems with a SonicWall VPN on the laptop. When I unplugged the ethernet cable and went back to WiFi, I was getting speeds of 40-50Mb and the VPN started working perfectly again.

    So my question is, are ethernet cables not interchangeable between devices? Is there something else I should be doing when I swap the cable between a Mac and a Windows device?

    All help is much appreciated.

    Cheers.

    You were limited by the speed of the VPN, a VPN is a tunnel and your download will depend on the upload on the VPN server.

    Also, your laptop network port may be slower than the Mac, it's common for laptops from a few years ago to only have Ethernet (100 mbit), not Gigabit, but the VPN was the limit in your case


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    #3
    Synode
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,967 ✭✭✭Synode


    Cheers. When I close the VPN the laptop is getting speeds of 150Mb so it's definitely the VPN.

    Any idea why the VPN isn't working properly (extremely slow access to network drives and can't connect to Outlook exchange) when wired but is working fine when using WiFi? Or why I'm getting speeds of 40-50Mb when using WiFi (connected to VPN) but only 20-30Mb when wired (and VPN not working properly)?

    The laptop is only 3 months old (i3 processor and 500Mb HD).

    Thanks again.


  • Options
    #4
    White Heart Loon
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,788 ✭✭✭White Heart Loon


    Synode wrote: »
    Cheers. When I close the VPN the laptop is getting speeds of 150Mb so it's definitely the VPN.

    Any idea why the VPN isn't working properly (extremely slow access to network drives and can't connect to Outlook exchange) when wired but is working fine when using WiFi? Or why I'm getting speeds of 40-50Mb when using WiFi (connected to VPN) but only 20-30Mb when wired (and VPN not working properly)?

    The laptop is only 3 months old (i3 processor and 500Mb HD).

    Thanks again.

    A VPN depends on the server and is out of your control. When you're using a VPN you are not really on your own network or using your own provider, everything goes through the tunnel from your laptop to the server and you will be faced with the issues and limitations that presents.


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