Cisco 2940 switch set up - help needed

[CN211276]

Can't say that a switch improved my tv picture. It was not connected to the tv for long because for some reason, to do with the Sky router, it was affecting the connection to the stramer. The switch did improve SQ but not by a great margin. It was the addition of the second switch which resulted in a significant SQ gain. The 2960 is situated near the router, where it always has been, with the added 2940 near the streamer.

[antonio66]

With all this talk on here and other forums about switches, we have purchased a Cisco 2960 which will be connected to a streamer and the Sky box, unfortunately I have no idea how to connect the Cisco up. Looking at the front panel, on the left is a socket with Console, is this the one that connects to the router? Then there are 8 sockets, presumably two of these are used to connect to the streamer and Sky box, I've no idea what the two sockets are on the right hand side encircled with a yellow line. There is a mode button on the far right hand side, which mode will it want to be set to? Is there any other setting up to do? Thanks for your help

[CN211276]

I have the same Cisco model and the set up is simple. My Sky Router connects to one ethernet port with a short length of ethernet cable and a long length of ethernet cable runs from another port in the Cisco to the Eno filter. In your set up it would be directly to the streamer. All the other ports on the Cisco are not used. When I connected the Cisco to my Sky Q box I had problems connecting to my streamer. I don't know if it will be the same for you. Should you have problems connecting with your streamer, connect the Sky box directly to the router and things should be fine.

[antonio66]

Just to confirm CN, I connect the router to anyone of the 8 ports rather than the one that says Console, then connect from the Cisco to the streamer and also the Sky box. What mode should I be using?

[CN211276]

Just to confirm CN, I connect the router to anyone of the 8 ports rather than the one that says Console, then connect from the Cisco to the streamer and also the Sky box. What mode should I be using?

That is correct, ignore the Console. If you have connection problems disconnect from the Sky box. I am not sure what you mean by mode. Just push the on button wait for the lights to sequence and it is up and running.

[CN211276]

Just to confirm CN, I connect the router to anyone of the 8 ports rather than the one that says Console, then connect from the Cisco to the streamer and also the Sky box. What mode should I be using?

That is correct, ignore the Console. If you have connection problems disconnect from the Sky box. I am not sure what you mean by mode. Just push the on button wait for the lights to sequence and it is up and running.

I should have mentioned that my Nas is directly connected to the switch.

[Lindsayt]

I have the same Cisco model and the set up is simple. My Sky Router connects to one ethernet port with a short length of ethernet cable and a long length of ethernet cable runs from another port in the Cisco to the Eno filter. In your set up it would be directly to the streamer. All the other ports on the Cisco are not used. When I connected the Cisco to my Sky Q box I had problems connecting to my streamer. I don't know if it will be the same for you. Should you have problems connecting with your streamer, connect the Sky box directly to the router and things should be fine.

If the Sky Q box uses the same sort of wired network connection as a PC or printer, then it should work fine with the Cisco switch.

It might take a couple of minutes when first powered on for the network connection to work OK, but after that it should settle down and work fine till the next time the power gets cycled.
With the right config on the Cisco switch, it should work within a few seconds of everything being fully powered up.

Just to confirm CN, I connect the router to anyone of the 8 ports rather than the one that says Console, then connect from the Cisco to the streamer and also the Sky box. What mode should I be using?

That is correct, ignore the Console. If you have connection problems disconnect from the Sky box. I am not sure what you mean by mode. Just push the on button wait for the lights to sequence and it is up and running.

Indeed. The console socket on the switch isn't a data port. It's purely for configuring and managing the switch - via a console cable.

It's a great feature of business grade switches, being able to configure them via a console cable and a laptop with text files that you customise to the individual switch and then paste in. Way quicker and more reliable than a graphical user interface - when you know what you're doing. Which doesn't take much if someone else creates the text file.

[antonio66]

Thanks for your replies, I'll let you know how I get on, maybe not today since I'm busy.

[CN211276]

I have never had any problems with the Sky Q box. The issues have been with the Sky Router which seems to be something of a law unto itself. A Sky engineer more or less said as much on a visit. Some years ago I bought a Chord Poly to connect wirelessly to my Mojo. After a lot of time and frustration I ended up returning two and getting my money back. It was incomparable with my Sky Router, something Chord were reluctant to acknowledge.

I did not find connecting the Cisco to the Sky Q box improved TV picture quality. What made a huge difference was a length of AQ Carbon cable from the Sky Q box to the TV. Not cheap but well worth it. The Sky Q box is connected to the hifi through the Mscaler with a long length of AQ Cinnamon optical cable without any issues.