Which network cable do I need?
- Thread starter nLinked
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I've just asked Linksys to check from that site and they said any as long as it's patch crossover. As you say crossover is for like-to-like devices, the router may be on the network layer of the OSI model, but it has a 4 port switch built in which is the data link layer. And a network interface card is also data link layer, so they become alike.
your putting too much into this...just because they run on the same layer doesnt make them like devices. let me put it this way, its used to connect two network devices of the same TYPE.
compared to a standard patch, crossovers reverse the transmit and recieve signals. standard patch cables have an identical sequence of wires on each end, crossovers have the 1st and 3rd wires crossed, and the 2nd and 6th wires crossed.
could you buy a crossover and get away with it? probobly...most newer soho routers contain the ability to auto detect crossover cables and switch them. however ideally you want a normal, regular, good ol run of the mill, slap me silly and call my patty PATCH CABLE.
compared to a standard patch, crossovers reverse the transmit and recieve signals. standard patch cables have an identical sequence of wires on each end, crossovers have the 1st and 3rd wires crossed, and the 2nd and 6th wires crossed.
could you buy a crossover and get away with it? probobly...most newer soho routers contain the ability to auto detect crossover cables and switch them. however ideally you want a normal, regular, good ol run of the mill, slap me silly and call my patty PATCH CABLE.
Yup I agree it would probably work with both but I've just confirmed with Linksys after posting this topic and they said crossover patch. All over their support site they've got it saying make sure it's crossover between their router and the PC (I checked this just now). It says this in a lot of their knowledgebase articles. I suppose this is because of the NIC and the built-in switch.
You've got 2-3 people here saying to get the patch cable. Linksys said to get the crossover cable. I agree with the people here, but I'm curious to know if you get it working.
My very general knowledge of networking says that crossover cables are used for a direct connection between 2 devices that both expect to send and receive data on the same wires. This would include such things as PC's, uplink ports on switches/routers, etc. And yes, the MDX stuff is a great idea, it's just never worked in all situations reliably enough for me.
When connecting to a switch, (not a direct connection) the switch handles the cross for you. So when the switch receives data on wire 1 and 2 on port X, it sends it out on wires 3 and 6 to port Y. (I may have the wires backwards in regards to which pair is send and which pair is transmit).
So since the switch is doing the cross for you, the crossover cable you bought should "un-cross" the connection and you'll be sending and receiving on the same wires. So if it does work, it will be due to the MDX working, and not because you've got the right cable.
Anyone with more knowledge should feel free to correct me.
My very general knowledge of networking says that crossover cables are used for a direct connection between 2 devices that both expect to send and receive data on the same wires. This would include such things as PC's, uplink ports on switches/routers, etc. And yes, the MDX stuff is a great idea, it's just never worked in all situations reliably enough for me.
When connecting to a switch, (not a direct connection) the switch handles the cross for you. So when the switch receives data on wire 1 and 2 on port X, it sends it out on wires 3 and 6 to port Y. (I may have the wires backwards in regards to which pair is send and which pair is transmit).
So since the switch is doing the cross for you, the crossover cable you bought should "un-cross" the connection and you'll be sending and receiving on the same wires. So if it does work, it will be due to the MDX working, and not because you've got the right cable.
Anyone with more knowledge should feel free to correct me.
I understand. And I will be buying the straight-through cable instead of the crossover. So why would Linksys say themselves as well as through so many knowledgebase articles that you should connect a crossover cable between the router and their PC? I would say it's because the router's built-in 4-port switch and my NIC is on the same layer of the OSI model. If the switch is going to "un-cross" the crossover connection, why don't they just say put a straight-through cable in?
I'm doing CCNA at the moment and have read in the modules that a router to PC connection should be crossover. But I'm just going for the normal patch since everybody here says so.
Could you link any of these Linksys online sources that say that?
I really don't care though because you are really overthinking it.
I really don't care though because you are really overthinking it.
- Oct 25, 1999
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I decided to chime in when I saw that you are doing your CCNA. I.e. you want (or are) a professional in this field.
1. Functional consideration.
As a pro, you should always have some spare things around, since a patch cable cost less than a one combo meal in your favorite Fat and cholesterol joint, you should buy both, and have a spare cable for rainy day.
2. As a pro, you should read the data sheet of the device that you install.
The data sheet states:
Supports 802.11g and 802.11b wireless LAN
Built-in ADSL modem with G.lite, G.dmt,
G.992.3, G.992.5, and T1. 413 support
Supports 4 10/100 Auto MDI/MDI-X LAN
switch ports.
3rd entry in data sheet (Auto MDI/MDI-X LAN ) means that it Does Not matter which cable you use with this particular device.
3. Quote from your last post: ?I'm doing CCNA at the moment and have read in the modules that a router to PC connection should be crossover?
The output of all Entry Level Cable/DSL Routers is a regular switch.
Regular Switch's port to PC is always Straight patch.
1. Functional consideration.
As a pro, you should always have some spare things around, since a patch cable cost less than a one combo meal in your favorite Fat and cholesterol joint, you should buy both, and have a spare cable for rainy day.
2. As a pro, you should read the data sheet of the device that you install.
The data sheet states:
Supports 802.11g and 802.11b wireless LAN
Built-in ADSL modem with G.lite, G.dmt,
G.992.3, G.992.5, and T1. 413 support
Supports 4 10/100 Auto MDI/MDI-X LAN
switch ports.
3rd entry in data sheet (Auto MDI/MDI-X LAN ) means that it Does Not matter which cable you use with this particular device.
3. Quote from your last post: ?I'm doing CCNA at the moment and have read in the modules that a router to PC connection should be crossover?
The output of all Entry Level Cable/DSL Routers is a regular switch.
Regular Switch's port to PC is always Straight patch.
Well the KB articles I looked at were many months ago. Just did a search and found the following in this article:
"All LAN Ports Support Auto-Crossover / No Need for Crossover Cables (MDI/MDI-X)".
It says that for a different router but as JackMDS points out, the data sheet also says it's auto. I wanted to know the reason why Linksys and their previous KB articles keep saying go for crossover and why everyone here says straight-thru.
I didn't know this before, thanks for pointing it out to me.
As I have said in previous posts I will be going for the straight-through (and save money too). Now I'll know what specs to look for on the data sheet to determine the cable.
I'm actually going to research a bit into the MDI feature and how it works. I don't believe this has cropped up in my course yet but I can't ignore it.
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