1

The motherboard of my desktop PC features two Ethernet ports. Each port has its own network controller from Realtek and they are both capable of Gigabit Ethernet. Now, I have this crazy idea to take a short Ethernet category 5e cable and connect it between the two ports, to create a loop. The idea is to test the throughput of both of these ports using the shortest possible cable length.

enter image description here

I have already connected the two ports. One of the connections is identified as Network 6, and I have chosen Home as network type to make it discoverable. The other one got stuck at "identifying". But it's seen as unidentified network now and I have manually changed the type from Public to Home. I was then prompted by Windows Media Player to share media files between these two. Under Network, one is seen as a network computer and the other one shows up as a portable media player. There are three devices with the same name.

a b

Update

I have set one connection to IP 10.1.1.1 and mask 255.255.255.0 and the other one to IP 10.1.1.2 and mask 255.255.255.0. I also added 10.1.1.1 as gateway on the second connection.

c d

After doing this, "Network 7" has now been identified.

e

Using pcattcp...

On the receiver end:

C:\PCATTCP-0114>pcattcp -r
PCAUSA Test TCP Utility V2.01.01.14 (IPv4/IPv6)
  IP Version  : IPv4
Started TCP Receive Test 0...
TCP Receive Test
  Local Host  : GIGA
**************
  Listening...: On TCPv4 0.0.0.0:5001

  Accept      : TCPv4 0.0.0.0:5001 <- 10.1.1.1:8127
  Buffer Size : 8192; Alignment: 16384/0
  Receive Mode: Sinking (discarding) Data
  Statistics  : TCPv4 0.0.0.0:5001 <- 10.1.1.1:8127
16777216 bytes in 0.089 real seconds = 184089.89 KB/sec +++
numCalls: 2061; msec/call: 0.044; calls/sec: 23157.303

C:\PCATTCP-0114>

On the transmitter end:

C:\PCATTCP-0114>pcattcp -t 10.1.1.1
PCAUSA Test TCP Utility V2.01.01.14 (IPv4/IPv6)
  IP Version  : IPv4
Started TCP Transmit Test 0...
TCP Transmit Test
  Transmit    : TCPv4 0.0.0.0 -> 10.1.1.1:5001
  Buffer Size : 8192; Alignment: 16384/0
  TCP_NODELAY : DISABLED (0)
  Connect     : Connected to 10.1.1.1:5001
  Send Mode   : Send Pattern; Number of Buffers: 2048
  Statistics  : TCPv4 0.0.0.0 -> 10.1.1.1:5001
16777216 bytes in 0.091 real seconds = 180043.96 KB/sec +++
numCalls: 2048; msec/call: 0.045; calls/sec: 22505.495

C:\PCATTCP-0114>
Samir
  • 21,235

1 Answers1

3

I'll preface this by saying I've never actually tried this, but I can't see why it wouldn't work as such:

  • Hook up the wire (since they're Gb ports, you shouldn't need a crossover cable to get Link).

  • Configure the adapters to be on the same subnet (say 10.1.1.1 and 10.1.1.2, mask 255.255.255.0). Only one of them can/should have a gateway, and if you need to put one in, just pick one of those IPs (10.1.1.1 or .2).

Even if it's stuck on "identifying" you can should still be able to use the connection ('identifying' often requires DNS, which may act weird if not available, but won't prevent IP address-based connections).

You also don't need to make them 'discoverable' per-se. Just turn off the firewall and use IP addresses for targeting.

  • Test with ping: ping 10.1.1.1 to ensure connection.

  • Run a host-to-host TCP bandwidth tester. I like this one for Windows use.

Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007
  • 113,841