Procurve & Linksys E4200 Setup

[Glitchy]

Some backround:

I’m getting a Galaxy Tab 10.1 this week (still have the chance to change to iPad, but for right now, I’m in the Android court.)

My notebook has wireless “N”, and I have stayed with “G” but with the Tab decided to upgrade to a Linksys E4200 router. (I’m not ready for the pfSense learning curve, VMs, etc)

Even with all the latest HTPC hardware & software, I have always had Bluray “stuttering”, so with the “N” upgrade, I decided to update my switch and purchased a HP Procurve 1910.

So two things/questions:

1. Are these good purchasing decisions? Just ordered “N” & ProCurve today? So can still backout.

2. The Procurve, Help? Can someone help me take advantage of the better switch and set it up right when it gets here? (networking has always been my weakest, and I have no idea other than plugging it in and connecting the network cables!).

 

Thanks

Jeff

[Aaron Ledger]

I have no experience with either product. If you plan on streaming Blu-ray, Wireless-N is a must and even then, I’m not sure you’ll get the best result.

What exactly is it that you need the HP ProCurve to do for you? It looks like a great switch and obviously geared toward advanced use cases when management capabilities are needed.

[Glitchy]

[quote=Aaron Ledger]

I have no experience with either product. If you plan on streaming Blu-ray, Wireless-N is a must and even then, I’m not sure you’ll get the best result.

What exactly is it that you need the HP ProCurve to do for you? It looks like a great switch and obviously geared toward advanced use cases when management capabilities are needed.

[/quote]

 

I’m not wifi’ing bluray, just got that for the tablet.

I bought the hp curve because I’ve bought every piece of hardware and/or software available for my HTPC and server ….changed every network cable and … I still have bluray stuttering. Core i7 2600K, 16gb mem, ssd, tmt5, you name it. WHS is core i5 8 gb , gig network. Last thing left to replace is the switch.

 

Jeff

 

[Aaron Ledger]

It is certainly possible you have a switch issue. What type of NICs are in your server and client?

Have you tried bypassing the switch (direct connect between client and server) for troubleshooting purposes to verify that the switch is the issue?

[Glitchy]

[quote=Aaron Ledger]

It is certainly possible you have a switch issue. What type of NICs are in your server and client?

Have you tried bypassing the switch (direct connect between client and server) for troubleshooting purposes to verify that the switch is the issue?

[/quote]

All intel nics

We no I’m lazy :}

So many configurations, so much hardware/software, it’s my last ditch effort.

Now I don’t mean every BR stutters all the time, but it seems like maybe every other one does. I know I am just being “picky” but I’ve got a lot of time and money into this setup.

[mikinho]

The HP ProCurve is a solid switch.  What model 1910 did you get?  the -48 and -24 I’ve used and have had no issues with.  The -16 I read of a couple firmware issues but that is probably fixed already.

The Linksys E4200 I’m not a big fan of but at the same time there aren’t any consumer routers I really like.  The few people I know with a Linksys E4200 are happy with them.

In terms of your Intel NICs….not all Intel NICs are equal.  For instance the Intel PRO/1000 GT PCI is crap.

[Glitchy]

[quote=mikinho]

The HP ProCurve is a solid switch.  What model 1910 did you get?  the -48 and -24 I’ve used and have had no issues with.  The -16 I read of a couple firmware issues but that is probably fixed already.

The Linksys E4200 I’m not a big fan of but at the same time there aren’t any consumer routers I really like.  The few people I know with a Linksys E4200 are happy with them.

In terms of your Intel NICs….not all Intel NICs are equal.  For instance the Intel PRO/1000 GT PCI is crap.

[/quote]

Procurve is a 16. I go with that updated firmware thought 🙂

Server and HTPC nics are onboard i5 650 (DD MB) i7 2600 (GD MB), PRO/1000 ??? nics. All other nics built in also. xboxs, HDHRs, Squeezebox, AVRs, etc.

I read about pfsense here and told a buddy. He set one up and is setting up one in a vm and is very  happy. I’ll probably follow his lead when he is all settled in.

Thanks

Jeff

[Glitchy]

I just took a stroll thru the procurve manual, 438 pages

Hopefully I can just plug it in and use it till I “do some learning”

[Ugadata]

The Procurve should work out of the box as an unmanaged switch.

I would suggest using the Procurve as the switch you plug all your computing equipment into.  The Linksys would be the gateway to the Internet as well as wireless access and one cable between the Linksys (LAN side) and Procurve should do it.  (forgive me if you already knew all this).

 

For future reference you may want to look at MicroTik products.

http:\www.microtik.com

Wired and wireless routers very inexpensive but very powerful.  You can even buy the RouterOS and run it on a PC.

[Glitchy]

[quote=Ugadata]

The Procurve should work out of the box as an unmanaged switch.

I would suggest using the Procurve as the switch you plug all your computing equipment into.  The Linksys would be the gateway to the Internet as well as wireless access and one cable between the Linksys (LAN side) and Procurve should do it.  (forgive me if you already knew all this).

For future reference you may want to look at MicroTik products.

http:\www.microtik.com

Wired and wireless routers very inexpensive but very powerful.  You can even buy the RouterOS and run it on a PC.

[/quote]

Thanks for all.

That manual for the procurve was the first “tech” thing I’ve looked at that “scared me”.

Yes for me, all devices to the switch and a cable to the router. Bu thanks for making sure for me (or others)

I’ll check out that site.

 

Jeff

[PAPutzback]

[quote=mikinho]

The Linksys E4200 I’m not a big fan of but at the same time there aren’t any consumer routers I really like.  The few people I know with a Linksys E4200 are happy with them.

[/quote]

Can you recommend an alternative to the Linksys. I was looking at that same model since it has a second guest wireless band.

I lways had issues with bluray stuttering on my realtek nics and then I moved to an intel and everything is good now. I just got the one with the most reviews from NewEgg.

[Glitchy]

Well I got the ProCurve. Installed it, hooked up the cables and I have a network.

Now I’m trying to use the web interface to set it up. The router is supplying DHCP.

I got the DHCP IP, entered it into browser, get the login interface, login, it goes to the “page”, flashes “loading” for a second and then I get this message.

“3Com Baseline Switch 2920-SFP Plus Software Version Release 1101P10enab020000HelpLogout3Com Baseline Switch 2920-SFP Plus Software Version Release 1101P10ie00admin3″.

And that’s it.

It must be logging in, because I also got a message about maximum logins at one time. (So I did a hard reset.).

Any ideas?

Thanks

Jeff

[Aaron Ledger]

Did you try a different browser? Is there anything in the manual where you need to do something special to enable the managed aspect of the switch?

[Glitchy]

[quote=Aaron Ledger]

Did you try a different browser? Is there anything in the manual where you need to do something special to enable the managed aspect of the switch?

[/quote]

 

Thanks! Tried Chrome and it worked! (was using explorer)

Jeff

[Author]

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