CAT5e straight or crossover?

[Nickd]

Wanting to link my 2nd PC to an Orange Livebox - should I be using a straight through cable or a crossover job? Can't seem to find the answer to this anywhere and the cable linking my existing PC doesn't specify what it is, or maybe I just don't understand the code on the cable sleeve.

Thanks, Nick

[Anton Redman]

I am almost positive it is straight through. I bought a cable and a gender bender before I installed mine and do not appear to have installed the cross over bit.

[pachapapa]

Straight ethernet cable with RJ45 connections.

The same as the connection with your No 1 PC to the ADSL port on box.

The No 2 PC connects to the second ethernet port.

Assume the second port usually configured for Internet TV has been modified in the Services "gestion" interface to function as a bog standard ethernet port. DHCP will assign an IP to the No2 PC.

[AnOther]

A lot of modern equipment will able to automatically adapt to whatever cable is connected, straight or x-over.

It's easy enough to tell what a cable is though.

Straight:

[img]http://michaelmckenzie.com/images/Cat5_Diagram.gif[/img]

x-Over:

[img]http://michaelmckenzie.com/images/Cat5_Diagram_Cross.gif[/img]

[Jonzjob]

That's exactly how I have our 2 PCs set up. All you need to do is to go into the configuration of your Livebox and change the 'TV over ADSL' from Enabled to Disabled and plug your second PC into the red ethrenet socket.

Dead easy if I can do it!!

Edit:- Just seen Ernies post. Straight through is the cable I used....

[pachapapa]

The reconfiguring of the Orange LiveBox is I think easier than some of the other boxes.The LiveBox "interface de gestion" is more practical as it contains several parameters. I have an AliceBox which requires knowing the destination IP. Just shout if someone wants to disable ADSL TV on an Alice.

 Not sure about the ethernet cables making their own protocol arrangements; in my neck of the woods there are "biddies" who made the mega technical jump from an IBM golfball to Windows 98 and have not progressed since. But then the chance of a "biddy" needing a "cable croisé" to connect two PCs together is remote.

A word of caution with connecting two PCs with a USB cable, USB ports have low voltage DC power on them, the loss of a motherboard may be the result. There are in fact cross-over USB Link cables to connect two PCs , which can be useful for connecting two PCs on a non permanent ad-hoc basis. These cables can be recognised by the funny looking plastic box in the middle of the cable run.