Hello All
I’m using an SQ5 as my console, an AR2412 as my stage box (45m / 150ft), and using the ‘expander’ (on AR2412) to run to a remote AB168 about 60m / 200ft away.
The technical specs say I can run a CAT5 cable for up to 100m / 330ft from my SQ5 to my AR2412 (no problem).
However, is there a max length I can run my CAT5 cable from my AR2412 to my AB168?
Or is it the same - 100m / 330ft?
Up to 100m is the standard, more might be possible, but not guaranteed.
Marwie
Thank you for your reply
Phil
The spec is generally for the cable run length between individual devices. The device itself acts like a repeater/amplifier, so you should be able to go 100m to the first device, and then daisy chain a second device that is another 100m away from the first device.
The fact that the second device might be 200m from the original source really shouldn’t matter. It’s the 100m between devices that is the most important element.
And it is possible to use Ethernet extenders or Ethernet switches to extend the distance between devices. Keep in mind, dSnake is 100MBit, it will not work with GBit Ethernet switches and no other devices should use the network.
A test run is recommended. 
I’ve never met a gigabit switch that can’t handle 100Mbit connections. There are tons of modern devices out there that still use rely on the older Fast Ethernet standard, whether to keep costs down when more bandwidth simply isn’t needed (a lot of cameras and other dedicated devices) or for power consumption reasons (a PlayStation 5 will switch to Fast Ethernet mode when it’s asleep, and back to gigabit when it wakes up.)
The test run recommendation is heartily seconded, though, as there can be any number of other subtleties that can affect an otherwise plausible setup.
That isn’t the point here.
dSnake is 100Mbit only. It will not work with GBit.
Normally it doesn’t matter since dSnake is used as point to point connection in 99%.
I was trying to provide a hint for the 1% special applications were a switch or a repeater can be used to solve a problem.
I’m not sure what your point is. Any gigabit switch I’ve ever encountered will gladly create a 100Mbit connection with a device as needed. The fact that other links on the network might be gigabit is irrelevant because as far as the dSnake devices are concerned it is a 100Mbit network. That’s the difference between a switch and a router. Routers put every device on a shared bus at the physical layer, but they were only common several decades ago before the advent of affordable switches. Switches partition traffic to reduce contention and allow this kind of interoperability.
The “problem” is, that the console trains to Gbit if the switch provides it, and changes to the 96KHz protocol.
Result it does not connect to the dSnake device running 48KHz.
That is the description of a hub. A router is much more complex than that.
As already written, the dSnake protocol works with 100Mbit only.
Aha! That’s the part I was missing. Thank you for the clarification. There are certainly gigabit switches that offer more explicit control over port speed negotiation but they are rarer and this is an important gotcha to be aware of.