Traffic bursts reach the nearby switch via wired connection
Traffic bursts reach the nearby switch via wired connection
Hi folks, So I am running into a bit of a weird problem here, and I was hoping someone can point out what, if anything, I am missing as I am befuddled. My local network looks like this: Modem <-----> ISP Router <-----> 1 of 4 wall ethernet sockets <-----> computer The issue that I am experiencing is this: As you can see, the ping to the router fluctuates pretty wildly. I've even seen it go up to 60ms. After some troubleshooting, I connected a raspberry PI directly to the router like so: Modem <-----> ISP Router <-----> Pi The connecting with that seems to be stable: At first I thought maybe the cable I am using to connect from the wall socket to my PC may be damaged, so I validated a couple of different cables using the Pi directly to the router and tried them on the computer, but there is no change. Naturally my next thought was that there must be something wrong with the cable run in the wall of the socket I was using. However, I have tried ALL FOUR sockets and they all exhibit the same problem. So either all 4 cable runs in the wall are damaged, or something else is going on. But I have no idea what it could be... electrical interference? Could my PC's ethernet port be damaged? Any advice is appreciated.
My prediction comes from a misaligned Ethernet connection. Electricians often cut corners when wiring homes, and data specialists aren’t always the most precise. Instead of using the proper tool and ensuring clean cuts at the end of female connectors, they sometimes leave tails exposed or twist them loosely. This makes termination easier but reduces reliability. Without a professional network tester, the safest check is to run a ping from the Pi directly to the modem. If it works, try connecting the modem straight to the PC via a patch cable—this confirms the issue lies with the lines. If the ping between modem and PC is good but between Pi and Ethernet line fails, the cables are damaged. The quick fix is re-terminating only what’s necessary, exposing just enough twisted pairs, and using a quality punch tool to tidy up the ends. You can find one inexpensively online. Good luck!
During extensive testing, I suspect two distinct issues. I linked another PC straight to one of the wall ports connected to the ISP router and noticed no problems. Using the same cable to my PC triggers lag spikes. Reinstalling the Network Adapter drivers helped slightly, but the problem persists. It seems there’s a fault with my built-in network adapter—my 3080 model fits the PCI-E slots, so resolving that is uncertain. Interestingly, this didn’t cover everything. My typical configuration includes: Modem → ISP Router → one of four wall Ethernet sockets → Archer AX1800 router (configured as access point) → computer and Pi. After troubleshooting, I realized network spikes also occurred when the Pi connected to the Archer directly. I began pinging the AX1800 from both devices, confirming latency spikes on both ends. A forum thread suggested possible hardware problems with the Archer line. Ultimately, I learned that networking equipment can be quite finicky, and it’s not always a simple yes or no situation.