Full Duplex slower than Half Duplex?

JeffL · Post by **JeffL** » Wed May 10, 2006 2:18 am

Anyone ever seen this scenario before? I've checked my cables. I've changed various NIC settings, etc.

But no matter what, I get the most reliable connection (no packet loss) and fastest connection when my NICs are set to half duplex.

I'm thinking this is because of my switch. It is a generic Linkmax 16 port 10/100 switch. Could that be the bottleneck?

I'm running a small network with a file server, and according to the network utilisation monitor in the XP task manager, I don't even get 1% utilisation when the NIC is in FDX mode. It is a Dlink 530TX PCI NIC. Another box has a nForce Ethernet Controller, which is also forced to HDX mode. The odd thing is that the Realtek 8139 NIC in my laptop runs just fine on full mode. WTF??

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Wed May 10, 2006 7:45 am

Things are supposed to be compatible if they follow ethernet standards....but in the real world...sometimes you'll get an odd mixture of hardware and environment that just won't get along. When you start straying from mainstream brands...that likelyhood increases.