cat5e laptop-to-laptop?

[Rick Stevens]

blank wrote:
> Trevor Smith wrote:
> 
>> Can I take two computers (laptops both) and plug them together 
>> directly from one nic to another with a "standard" ethernet cable? Or 
>> do I need a crossover cable or something to do that? And if I have the 
>> correct cable, will the two machines do some sort of peer-to-peer 
>> networking more or less automagically or will it be difficult to set 
>> up? One runs FC2, the other Mac OS X 10.3.7.

You need a crossover cable if you're going computer-to-computer.
Computer ports are "MDI" (transmit data on pins 1 and 2, receive on pins 
3 and 5...think "DCE" for serial ports), a switch's ports are "MDIX"
(transmit on pins 3 and 5, receive on pins 1 and 2...think "DTE" for
serial ports).  If you use a straight cable, you MUST connect MDI to
MDIX in the same way that a straight serial cable will only work with
DCE to DTE.  To go MDI-MDI (DCE-DCE), you need a crossover (null modem) 
cable.

Confused yet?  :-p

> i'm not sure how permanant a solution you are seeking, but even if this 
> is only one-time, having a little 4 port switch/hub around the house is 
> worth a fortune :) Plus room for friends when they visit.

That's the best solution.  Good switches will sense what kind of cable
you have and automatically switch.  And at $30 US or less, they're
a great bargain.
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- Rick Stevens, Senior Systems Engineer     rstevens at vitalstream.com -
- VitalStream, Inc.                       http://www.vitalstream.com -
-                                                                    -
-    Working with Linux is like wrestling with a worthy opponent.    -
-   Working with Windows is like picking on an annoyed child with a  -
-                            loaded handgun.                         -
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