Desktop
by guruofdos
You need a CAT5 CROSSOVER cable...a standard patch cable will NOT do!
This will link your PC's but is NOT recommended! A cheap 4 port hub inc. 2 patch cables should cost $10 or less.
Next, make sure you have the correct protocols on each machine. For simple file and printer sharing, avoid TCP/IP at all costs...use a protocol designed for file sharing such as NetBEUI.
Give both machines identical workgroup names, and NON-identical Computer Names. Create a shared folder or drive on each PC.
Run regedit on each machine. Search for the entry 'AUTOLOGON' and change the value from 00 to 01.
Reboot both machines and log on! Job done!
by hal 9000
But you should have expanded on just why not to use a crossover cable. These things are too easy to get mixed up with normal crossover cat 5 cables. Once a long time ago these crossover cables where all blue and the normal ones where a different colour but nowdays they can be any colour depending on who makes them and they can cause real problems if they get mixed up with any other cat 5 cables.
There is also 1 other posibility if the network cards have BNC conectors on them you could alwaysuse a 50 OHM coax cable between the 2 computers with a T piece at each computer and a terminator on one side of the T piece and the coax between the two computers however this form of networking will only allow a maxinum of 10 MBS instead of the 100MBS that is possible over a CAT 5 cable. If however you have Gigabit network cards you have to use CAT 5 cable as they have a possible 1000 MBS transfer rate.
by guruofdos
The good old days of coax...
The word 'ether' in Ethernet refers to the fact that the old 50 ohm coax uses radio frequencies with digital data superimposed on a carrier...the 50 ohm terminators at each end are to relect the rf back down the line and prevent standing waves which would scramble the data. The screen or 'earthy' side of the coax has to be ground referenced at each pc as the rf carrier is bounced between the screen and the core...ask a radio engineer to explain!
With TP cable,differential voltages are used on the cable and the signals are baseband digital (no carrier). Each pair has a + and - signal (TX+, TX-, RX+ and RX -) and these are NOT earth referenced. Not only that, but the differential drivers do not always use exactly the same levels. Look at the large black 'brick' on a network card...some are marked 9v, some 10v, others 12v! A hub provides buffering and protection, not only against differing drive levels, but also against cable faults, shorts and NIC card faults. Using a crossover cable directly links the two NIC's so a fault on one PC or NIC is 'hard-wired' to the other! I have seen someone put a nail through a network cable used PC-2-PC and blow both NIC's...which were integrated onto the mobos...had this happened with a hub, just one PC would have suffered and either one mobo could be replaced or an alternative NIC fitted in a PCI slot.
As luck would have it, they brought both machines to me and I managed to replace the transceiver modules on each mobo, so no permanent harm done!
The have NEVER used a crossover cable since!
by shane.freman
by nadeem afzal
by guruofdos
If the connection is just for file and print sharing, the LAST protocol you would want to use would be TCP/IP!
NetBEUI is by far faster and easier to use and needs no address or IP information (and doesn't use headers and packets). Simply assigning a workgroup name identical on both machines allows a workgroup to be created. For those using XP, the NetBEUI protocol can be added from the Valueadd\msft\net folder on the XP cd as it is NOT installed by default.
ALWAYS use a hub...only use a crossover cable as a temporary measure...see my previous postings! A cheap 4 port RJ45 hub can be had for less than ?8 or US$ 10 or so and that's not much to ask for electrical protection...plus you can always hook in a laptop if necessary!
by hal 9000
For very little cost and may even save you money in a short period of time. One job that I went to where one of the computers was off line turned out to be a damaged network lead that had been caught by a tiger bolt when some extensions where performed on the building.
The network cable ran down the cavity od a wall between the office and the storeroom and a small office was added in the storeroom. The builder drilled a several holes in the wall and bolted a piece of wood to the concrete wall and then added the roof from this piece of wood, however unfortantly there was a network cable running down near one of the holes and while it was pushed out of the road by the power drill it was neatly cought by the tiger bolt that was latter fitted. and could not be removed. not one of the easire jobs to replace that caught lead but it didn't do any damage to anything and was nothing more than a little problem but it could have been much worse.
Also look at my previous post about crossover cables getting mixed up with conventional CAT 5 cables this can cause hours of wasted time for the few dollars for the hub and proper cables this is a much better alternative and allows yo room to grow if the need ever arisses. The hub performs thecrossover fuction far better than any cable could and gives you greater flexability into the bargin.
The ONLY place where use of a crossover cable is valid is for stacking hubs, switches or routers where no 'crossed-over' uplink port is available.
Those who use a CAT5 crossover to link two PC's 'sans hub' deserve everything they get.
All power to your soldering-iron, Mr Guru!!
by warbug
by zzmagwheels
If one reads the question. No problem with using them if your experienced and no how to wire one up. Not requimended for business applications though. Home use only.
And get real, nic card cost much less than hubs. $4.95 the last time i checked.
by guruofdos
Had the poster posted the 'question' in the Q&A section, he/she might have just received that answer BUT, dear friends, this is the DISCUSSION FORUM.
That means, Gentle Readers (yes I AM an Isaac Asimov fan!), that you ask a simple question and expect to NOT receive a simple answer. Posting a simple Q and A in this area of Techrepublic is FATAL if you just want a question answered.
Firstly, questions SHOULD be posted in Q&A and an appropriate number of Techpoints awarded to Acceptable answers. Secondly, there are many denizens of this dark and murky area who have nothing better to do than share our collective wisdom AND to play 'Devils Advocate' with the weak and feeble, or Lesser Mortals' as they are more accurately described. The likes of Mr Edison, His L33tness Admin and Lucky Col like nothing better than to prey on those posting simple questions and will let no-one escape without elucidation, enlightenment and, perchance, a modicum of entertainment!!
Remember, in the Discussion Forums, we all like children...but a few of us cannot manage a whole one!
by froogger
I totally agree w/the others that you should certainly use a hub/switch, but when you're in dire need you could always make your own crossover cable (null-hub cable) for direct ethernet connection.
I have done so on a couple of occasions by cutting a regular one-to-one (or 'straight' cable) and shortwiring threads 1-3 and 2-6. The other two pairs are for ISDN and such so don't bother with them. Just twist those suckers together and use a lot of electrical tape to hold it all together. You probably wont get a full 100Mbit out of it but it works.
Oh, and make sure the NICs aren't completely different :)
-froogger
by oz_media
Having worked in the telecom and cabling filed for a few years, I saw a lot of really badly built crossover cables.
Buying the correct connectors is cheap, just hit a computer supply store or local Telco/interconnect company.
They'll yard you off as much CAT 5 as needed, and will a) sell you quick connector ends that don't require tools or b) make the cross connect for you for a couple of bucks or a cold beer on a Friday.
Where do you live and how much cable do you need?
by guruofdos
Todays Tech Republic Mini-Poll!!!
Just post 'AYE' as the reply title if you would use a 'hubless wonder, and 'NAY' if you wouldn't be seen dead without one between two PC's.
Just curious.....is all!
by read
I'd go with the hub. The main advantage for me is ease of expansion and setup (add a new machine to the network simply by plugging it in). Somebody shows up with a laptop - plug them in. If you have two machines now odds are you'll get another one sometime. Turn one of your old machines into a file server, or MP3 server, or whatever. Going with the hub means you've got room for 4. If you go beyond 4 machines you can always:
a) get an 8 port hub
b) get another 4 port hub and connect it to the first (giving you 7 machines)
However, as soon as you throw Internet access into the mix I'd go with a router. The main advantage here is that they typically come with firewall protection to keep nasties out. They're not much more expensive than hubs now ($30+).
If you don't go this route, and you are connected to the 'net then you better seriously think about installing a software based firewall.
by guruofdos
By 'hub' I meant a hub or any other RJ45 interfacing, connectivity thingy whatsit.....you know what I mean!
Anything with buffering/partitioning/line conditioning rather than just a cable :-)
by oz_media
by oz_media
I often cross connect to three different friends PC's, however I don't use the Internet.
It's just for gaming and file sharing.
by curlergirl
by jim phelps
I vote for the router.
Quite frankly, I'm not sure how I'd be voting if I put "Aye" or "Nay". Were you ever a politician?
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"Just post 'AYE' as the reply title if you would use a 'hubless wonder, and 'NAY' if you wouldn't be seen dead without one between two PC's."
by froogger
by curlergirl
by oz_media
by curlergirl
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