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Network cable and switch

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I made a patch cable to connect from an 8 port switch to a network printer. Will not work with the switch. Plug it into another port in another office and works. Plug it into our network switch and it works. Power cycled the 8 port and even swapped working patches with other ports and they are fine. Why would a patch cable work for any other port except for a port on a little switch? Strange to me. Thanks for your time.

*Update* I was able to get a store bought patch cable to work with the switch. Its a thicker Cat5e than the one I made. Unfortunately, it won’t reach the printer. And I HATE mysteries. So still researching.

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Clarifications

In reply to Network cable and switch

Clarifications

One possible reason

In reply to Network cable and switch

Some switches are ‘auto MDX’ (auto crossover) and some are not. If you accidentally made a crossover cable, it will work on a switch with auto MDX feature.

Also, some switches are pickier about precisely what voltage and cable characteristics they will accept. Some Ethernet switches also do POE (power over Ethernet) but I don’t think that is the issue in this case.

If you make your own patch cables, TrendNET makes a nice tester for under $50

I know they’re simple questions you’ve probably dealt with, but

In reply to Network cable and switch

IS the printer a network printer and doesn’t need to hang off a computer?

Second, is the port you want to use on the switch a normal port or an uplink port? Most switches have one on as either the first or last port and this uses a crossover cable while the rest use straight through cables.

NB you can visually check a patch cable by putting the two ends together and comparing the colours of the wires – if in the exact same order it’s a straight through cable.

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