Making Your Own Crossover Networking Cables UPDATE
Last night, or earlier this morning, I posted about F-I-N-A-L-L-Y getting around to making my own crossover networking cable using a length of CAT 5e Ethernet cable, two RJ-45 connectors, and the Klein Tools crimper/stripper that I had bought from Home Depot a couple of weeks ago.
How did I do? I will get to that in a moment.
For those who do not know, here is a brief review.
There are two types of Ethernet cables used in computer networking.
- Straight-through Ethernet cable
- Most commonly used Ethernet cable.
- Typically used to connect different devices, such as a host to a switch.
- Uses the T568-A standard.
- Crossover Ethernet Cable
- Used to connect similar devices.
- A host to a host.
- A switct to a switch.
- A router to a router.
- Uses the T568-B standard.
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| T568-A and T568-B Cabling Standards |
Making your own Ethernet cables can be a frustrating exercise.
When I was taking the in-person class for the CompTIA A+ certification at UMBC a few years ago, each student was given a short length of Ethernet cable, two RJ-45 connectors, and a cutter/crimper. We were instructed to make our own Ethernet crossover cable. That is, one end of the Ethernet cable had to be set to the T568-A standard, while the opposite end had to be set to the T568-B standard.
More to follow.
I will probably end up re-writing this post.
