Re: OT : Network setup advice?

On Fri, 01 Jul 2005 15:46:21 -0700, Alex Dean writes:

>     * If I have a switch with an 'Uplink' port, and I'm hooking it to
>       one of the numbered port on my router, I'd use a crossover?
>     * What about my original question : If I have add a second router,
>       but I really only want it to function as a switch, will that work?

The first question: no. Let's compare this to sex - we all get that (or
at least try). ;)

Let's say a NIC on a PC is female. You would need a X-over cable to connect two PC's
directly, as they are both female.

The regular ports (1,2,3,4,etc) on a hub are male: they're designed to
connect to PCs. This male-to-female connection is made with a
*straight* cable.

To connect two hubs without a crossover/uplink port (if that's your thing), you need
a crossover cable, as they are both male.

Now a hub with a X-over cable is...... bisexual (I guess, maybe asexual?). It has
both male and female capablities.

The regular ports 1,2,3,4,etc are male, and connect to the PC (straight
cable).

The X-over port, however, is female. This female x-over port connects to another
hub's male connector (the 1,2,3,4, standard ports) with a straight cable.

The female X-over port can't connect to the female PC without a crossover cable
(which sorta defeats the purpose of a crossover port).

Now if you wanted me to be annoyingly hyper-technical, a connection between a x-over
port (female) on hub1 can be made to the x-over port (female) of hub2 with a x-over
cable.

The ports on switches and routers work like the ports on a hub. Additionally,
the ports on other nodes (print servers, network scanners, etc.) act just like the
port on a computer's NIC.

The less simplified explanation involves which wires on twisted pair cable (cat5,
etc) are used to transmit vs. receive data. The crossover cable and crossover port
reverse these wires so one device's transmissions are another device's receptions:
kinda like fixing the problem of holding a phone upside down.

Hope my babbles made any sense!
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