Connect Printer with RJ45 Splitter

[fiza]

I need to add a printer into an office but no only 1 port available. If I get 2 rj45 splitters - one at the switch end and one this end to connect the printer and a PC will that work?

i thought it would but I dont get an activity light on the printer when I connect the cable. If I connect 2 computers in the same way it works.

 

Should this work or not?

 

 

The printer is a HP 1606DN

[localzuk]

Should work, but it really depends on a) the device, b) the speed at which the printer is trying to connect and c) a bit of luck in my experience.

 

Also, what type of splitter is it? Some of them are a bit odd - we had some which were 'data/phone' split and they didn't match up in pairs!

[Timeout]

You are best getting a small 5 or 8 port switch for about £25 to £30 , my experience of splitters is they fail to work well at all.

[localzuk]

You are best getting a small 5 or 8 port switch for about £25 to £30 , my experience of splitters is they fail to work well at all.

 

I don't agree completely with this - cheap small switches have been the downfall of many a network when they inevitably go doolally and start spewing nonsense across the network. It happened here and I remember others on this site saying it had happened to them. If you can find a good quality small switch, then that might be a good option though.

 

A splitter, while crude, is an effective tool. However, the best solution is to get a new cable run installed. We have splitters in use in about 10 places around this site, and never have an issue with them. For a cost of about £10 per pair, that isn't bad. Compared to £50+ per cable run.

 

However, nothing 'critical' is on them.

[hardtailstar]

like one of these Netgear 5 Port 10/100 ProSafe Network Switch | Maplin

[Timeout]

I agree that a new cable run is always the way to go if there is budget to do it and you have switch capacity to do so.

[localzuk]

like one of these Netgear 5 Port 10/100 ProSafe Network Switch | Maplin

 

I've used this one before, has been good. Its the no-name ones you should avoid (you know the ones; they have manuals in Engrish).

[fiza]

You are best getting a small 5 or 8 port switch for about £25 to £30 , my experience of splitters is they fail to work well at all.

 

Dont really want to add any unmanaged switches to the network.

 

Also, what type of splitter is it?

 

Its this one Rj45 Economiser Cat5e Splitter :: Data Comms Direct Ltd - First in Network Infrastructure

[localzuk]

Those are the same as the ones we've been using lately. Got a phone and a printer plugged into one in the room next door.

 

Is the printer set to use a specific connection speed/duplex?

[fiza]

Or you can do what the installers did at one school I used to support and just split the cable and fit a double face plate. Who needed Gigabit anyway!

 

Those are the same as the ones we've been using lately. Got a phone and a printer plugged into one in the room next door.

 

Is the printer set to use a specific connection speed/duplex?

 

Will the fact that the printer is running at 100Mbit and the PC at 1000Mbit make a difference? As I said if I connect 2 PCs then they both work.

[hallb15]

Just to confirm, does the printer work if you connect it on its own, without a splitter at either end?

 

Double check your cables - you may have inadvertantly used a crossover cable which the PC/Switch can handle but the printer can't.

Edited December 6, 2013 by hallb15

[localzuk]

Will the fact that the printer is running at 100Mbit and the PC at 1000Mbit make a difference? As I said if I connect 2 PCs then they both work.

 

They should all auto-negotiate down to 100Mbps. For 1Gb, it needs all 8 wires, so even with 2 PCs plugged in, they should work at 100Mbps.

[fiza]

They should all auto-negotiate down to 100Mbps. For 1Gb, it needs all 8 wires, so even with 2 PCs plugged in, they should work at 100Mbps.

 

OK thanks. Will try again once all the ofsted shenanigans is over.

[FN-GM]

They should all auto-negotiate down to 100Mbps. For 1Gb, it needs all 8 wires, so even with 2 PCs plugged in, they should work at 100Mbps.

 

Hi @fiza the advice from localzuk is sound but with some switches i have found take a while to automatically sort themselves out. Meanwhile if you have a startup script or a GPO MSI deployed it will miss running them. To avoid this I would force 100mbs on the switchport. If it is a Cisco switch the command you would use is "speed 100".

 

Thanks

Edited December 6, 2013 by FN-GM

[fiza]

Hi @fiza the advice from localzuk is sound but with some switches i have found take a while to automatically sort themselves out. Meanwhile if you have a startup script or a GPO MSI deployed it will miss running them. To avoid this I would force 100mbs on the switchport. If it is a Cisco switch the command you would use is "speed 100".

 

Thanks

 

We have Procurve switches.

[mac_shinobi]

Power Line adapter - would a pair of these be any good ?

[teejay]

We have HP Procurve switches and use those splitters in a number of places, they work best for us just leaving them on auto negotiate. If you are going to set the switch to manual settings, make sure you set the printer and computer to manual rather than auto.

[fiza]

Power Line adapter - would a pair of these be any good ?

 

Use them at home. Never used one in School. If the splitter doesnt work I might have to make the printer local. Dont want to but might have to.

Edited December 6, 2013 by fiza

[fiza]

We have HP Procurve switches and use those splitters in a number of places, they work best for us just leaving them on auto negotiate. If you are going to set the switch to manual settings, make sure you set the printer and computer to manual rather than auto.

 

So there is no viable reason why the printer shouldnt work?

[teejay]

None whatsoever, does the computer get a network connection from both sockets on the economiser?

[mac_shinobi]

Does the printer get a valid ip address ie not APIPA etc, or have you manually configured the ip address, subnet mask etc onto the printer and done a DHCP Reservation in your DHCP Scope etc using the printers mac address

 

When it is connected using these splitters, can you ping the printers ip address from a computer on the same subnet / vlan etc ?

 

You adding the printer on a print server or onto a client or what exactly ?

[fiza]

Does the printer get a valid ip address ie not APIPA etc, or have you manually configured the ip address, subnet mask etc onto the printer and done a DHCP Reservation in your DHCP Scope etc using the printers mac address

 

Manually set but not reserved in DHCP

 

When it is connected using these splitters, can you ping the printers ip address from a computer on the same subnet / vlan etc ?

 

didnt try a ping. when I try again on monday will try a ping.

 

You adding the printer on a print server or onto a client or what exactly ?

 

Print Server

[mac_shinobi]

Manually set but not reserved in DHCP

 

 

 

didnt try a ping. when I try again on monday will try a ping.

 

 

 

Print Server

 

Might be worth reserving the same ip address in dhcp so that dhcp is not trying to or giving that ip address out to another device ( so that the printer is always getting that ip address for definite )

 

Which drivers are you using on the print server and for the clients ?

Edited December 6, 2013 by mac_shinobi

[fiza]

Might be worth reserving the same ip address in dhcp so that dhcp is not trying to or giving that ip address out to another device ( so that the printer is always getting that ip address for definite )

 

The static address is part of the scope that is not given out. Will still reserve it on monday but it shouldnt be allocated to any other device as its outside the dhcp range.

 

I suppose if it loses its static settings then a reserved address will be good if it goes looking for a dhcp address.

Edited December 6, 2013 by fiza

[6Foot2]

We have PCs and printers on our networks and they do work. We only use them when we have no other choice [staff moves occasionally mean that there are not enough outlets in an office]

 

We did see a circumstance where the printer would not connect to a split cable but a PC would. After some head scratching we limited the port speed where the printer was to be connected [100 Mb] and everything returned to normal.

 

Happy days.