Hello,
We completed another Alta project today. I noticed the Apple TV port on the 24P SW is flashing between orange and blue, link speed changing. In the theater, we have an 8 port switch, and the same thing happens with the ATV in this room as well. On our core 24P switch I briefly saw a red loop detection but it went away. So, we have several connected to switches and a couple Apple TVs on the WiFi network. Thoughts on this issue?
Thanks!
I had somewhat similar issues. It all came down to a bad connection, where I didn’t properly terminate a connector. It was not possible to identify the issue using regular network test tools. So, I probably had some cross-talk and/or shield ground issues. The symptom was rather peculiar, where each of two affected cables and connections separately worked well, but when both being active one or two of the connections started to behave oddly and the link flipped between full speed (1000) and low speed (100). The actual throughput was down to zero in one direction for one of the connections.
Thanks. Did you notice any issues with the Apple TVs?
And when I see that RED dot for loop detection, is it mitigating the issue?
STP protocol requires that the port be in blocking state for the first few seconds after the link comes up. This just means that the link was down, and is in the process of coming back up. I agree, I would strongly recommend reterminating the cable; that is very likely to resolve the poor link speeds.
In my case, with the two faulty connections, I had an S8 switch and an AP6 Pro (PoE-powered) downstream of an S8 Switch and Route10, respectively. Both conmections going through the same conduit and outlets. Clients on the downstream S8 Switch were IPTV, LibreElec Media player on an SBC and an XBox. The symptoms were like a constantly moving target, and I had a hard time understanding what could be the issue; cables within conduits, connectors on custom terminated cables, pre-terminated cables, AP, ports on S8 Switch or switches or Route10. I ended up re-terminating RJ45 connectors for in wall cables towards the outlets…and boom…all issues gone.
I will re-terminate the RJ45s today and test. The odd part is that I also see this on another Apple TV on an 8 port switch. So I see the red dot flashing on the 24P switch in our distribution rack and also the 8 port switch in the theater. Both are Apple TVs. The Ethernet cable in the theater is a pre-made. I will replace this as well.
Fingers crossed 
Amazing how when you take over a big network project and miss that hidden 568A terminated punch down keystone buried in the wall. We fixed it and the connection is somewhat stable now. It has reverted back to orange/100 data rate. It was providing gigabit speeds initially but this morning I noticed it reverted to orange/100 data rate. Probably the old Cat-5e in the wall. Happy to report the 8 port switch in the theater is stable now for the Apple TV connection. I am assuming this self healed when we fixed the loop detection port on the 24P Switch. I do not see loop detection anymore.
Is there any data on max temperatures for switches? Our 16 port switch is reaching 119 degrees.
Thanks!