I'm working with a small company, and since I'm the only one with even a half-ounce of network infrastructure experience I've got the job of wiring up our network. So please forgive my newbie-ness.
Needed to run some CAT5e cable up the outside wall from the first floor to the second floor, to add a wireless access point upstairs — the floors must be thick concrete or something, because the signal from floor to floor is pathetic.
I had this cable: http://tinyurl.com/bl349f8
And these connectors, which I now realize were not the recommended ones (they're designed for flat cable): http://tinyurl.com/a94ttou
Anyway, I just spent a bunch of time on a ladder stringing up the cable, snipped off one end to run it through the hole I drilled in the wall, and then attached one of the abovementioned RJ45 connectors to the end. Plugged one end into the router, the other end into my mac, and got no signal. Snipped the end and tried 2 more times, and am absolutely positive I've attached the connector properly. I stupidly hadn't tested the cable before stringing it up, so I don't know whether the cable itself is faulty.
So finally to my actual question. I know the connectors I bought aren't really the correct ones. But I don't know if they're wrong in the sense that they just aren't ideal, or if they're wrong in the sense that they won't work. If the latter, OK, easy fix, just get the right connector. If they SHOULD work OK, then that means I probably have to re-run the cable, which I really don't want to have to do.
So… given the above, is it probably just that I need the proper connector, or is the cable likely bad?
Thanks!
UPDATE:
The problem is that I'm a moron and switched the green/white and blue/white wires.
Sorry to waste everyone's time on that!
Best Answer
If you just cut one end off a manufacture cable and then aligned the wires as you noted (brown, brown/white, green, green/white, blue, blue/white, orange, orange/white) you likely have a problem with the wire order.
There are two standards for cabling:
I would double check your manufactured end to ensure what the order is, and match that pattern on your re-terminated end.
As others mentioned, you can check your termination and cable with a cable tester. This should tell you if you have miss-wired or have a fault.
Also, if the cable you bought isn't using one of those standards... I wouldn't buy from them again.
Quick Edit
After seeing your comment, I realized that you transcribed the order you put them in, in reverse. Generally, you should read from the side without the clip from left to right.
Doing this would have read (orange/white orange, blue/white, blue, green/white, green, brown/white, brown). Compare to the T568B, and yes it's clear that your problem was with the wiring order.