Question : Slow network

Good monring,

I have a client which was constantly complaining their 100 Mbs network was slow. In an attempt to alleviate their problem, I have installed four stacked Netgear GS724TS managed switches. It seems their network is slower than ever. If I reset the switches, the problem seems to lessen temporariliy. I have used IPERF tests on the LAN and gotten results as poor as 65 Mbs between two machines with GB NICs.

I would like to know if there is a program/protocol I can use to monitor the amount and type of traffic at all the 96 ports. How can I tell if the traffic is being consumed by email, a virus, or Farmville? We use Windows exclusively.

Thank you.

Answer : Slow network

If you tested two computers connected to the same switch and were only getting 65Mbit/sec (bit, not byte), my first question would be about the cabling.  It it up to speed (so to speak) for gigabit networking (or even 100baseT)? Two devices on the same switch should communicate at full speed, regardless of other activity on the network.