crossover cable

[Ben Pfaff]

Don <chormand@pilot.msu.edu> writes:

> OMG! How in the heck do I tell the difference? I just bought a cable,
> and the package reads:
> cat5e snaggless patch cable, rj45 ethernet/token ring. 

That's not a crossover cable.  Crossover cables will be labeled
as such.  I don't know if they're commonly sold over-the-counter;
whenever I've needed one I've wired one myself.  Anyone know of a
local source?

Just to clarify: you need a crossover cable to connect two
network cards directly to each other without a hub (or to connect
two hubs directly to each other).  The difference between
crossover cables and ordinary cables is that crossover cables
have the receive and transmit wires switched ("crossed over")
between the ends of the cable.  This is analogous to the
difference between serial cables and null-modem cables, if you're
familiar with those.