High error count on a port

[Patrick]

For some reason I was looking at the Netgear XS712T's stats page. Check out xg8!


Very interesting since there are at most 3m cable runs. I did a bad job and forgot to label the ports in the UI (will do it this weekend.) I am however a bit alarmed at the error rate.

 

[Mike Bailey]

Do you have a cable tester on hand? I'd pull the cable and test it.


If you have one of the fancier ones, you can also check to see the loss per meter on the cable.

Also, is the cable routed near any power cabling? If it is, try to separate them asap. Power cable near any kind of data cabling can lead to bit errors and, in turn, packet errors.

That's a solid .045% error rate which is way above what Ethernet considers acceptable BER. You've got a nearly 45 *billion* times higher error rate.

 

[Lost-Benji]

The fact they are on the Rx packets, the device Tx-ing may be suspect. Don't bother with testing Patch leads, golden rule applies: If in doubt, THROW it out. Swap the cable, reset stats and see what happens. Make sure cable is not run near power or any other electrically noisy devices. Take photo of cable run/setup if you are not sure what might be electrically noisy.
I know in the past, you raved about a bloody PDU that also had a network Switch in it....

 

[Patrick]

I know in the past, you raved about a bloody PDU that also had a network Switch in it....

It works well as a dumb IPMI NIC switch actually, but demands are much lower there. It is actually generating fewer errors than the XS712T.

Need to get to the datacenter to see what is up with this. Seems like they are FCS errors.

 

[mstone]

For some reason I was looking at the Netgear XS712T's stats page. Check out xg8!
View attachment 1246

Very interesting since there are at most 3m cable runs. I did a bad job and forgot to label the ports in the UI (will do it this weekend.) I am however a bit alarmed at the error rate.

1) I suggest using LLDP to keep track of what's attached to each port. In the meantime you should be able to figure it out from the MAC table on the switch, no?
2) FWIW, I've also had problems with cables that were too short (<<1M)

 

[maze]

Found out what was wrong?

I'v seen quite a few patch cables being bent and twisted throwing out stuff like that. If you get a cable that might not have been that great from the beginning, it might not take much to have it pop out with errors like that.

But yeah, as @Lost-Benji said.. if it doubt, throw it out. The time you spend troubleshooting isnt worth the cost of a new cable really.. is it?

 

[Patrick]

Found out what was wrong?

It has not incremented in terms of error count after 3x more traffic. It may have been from an older config as I did forget to reset the counters when it moved to the rack.

I was going to head to the datacenter today, but there is a 49ers game so I might pass on that and wait for less traffic.

 

[Biren78]

I couldn't figure out why a NFL game would matter to you, then I re-read. Good luck. Not like the 49'ers are gonna win anyway.

 

[Marsh]

Stadium Traffic.
49'ers stadium is between Patrick's point A and Point B.

 

[Patrick]

Stadium Traffic.
49'ers stadium is between Patrick's point A and Point B.

Exactly. And sometimes they close the road.

 

[maze]

Those NFL people........

 

[Marsh]

Hard to figure which great mind would build a stadium in the heart of Silicon Valley.
Traffic is already a nightmare without help from football event.

On paper, the idea sounds great and profit for the franchise owner. I heard on the news, there are many empty seats.