If I don't have any hardware tool, how do I check whether its a cross over cable or regular RJ-45 cable? I have few cables and need to select the cross over cable. I'm pretty sure I have cross over cable, but not sure which one is it . All look same. Thanks in advance.
That's why it's always good idea to have the proper tools. Most cables you should be able to peer through the transparent ends and compare the pinouts to determine how they're terminated. Most times it's pretty obvious because you can compare both ends and if the colours are in different order then generally it's safe to assume it's a XO (cross over) without having to know the precise pinout. This is under the assumption though that you're ordering premade patch cords. Cross overs have the orange and green pairs crossed over.
A nice little tool to have is this:
I started off with this signal tester and it can be worth its weight in gold when used properly. But it'll also help you determine if a cable is a straight through, reversing, roll over, or cross over by the flashing patterns on the LED. I used this as a low level tester when I first started off and it works great. Sometimes it's also a good thing to use to help trace cabling, or check to see if a termination is bad. Especially good if you don't have a toner.
Nowadays, I'm using a Fluke DPS4000, and a Fluke toner so I don't use the above all that much anymore. But it's fairly inexpensive and a worthy investment if you're working with a small budget.
Last edited by Neoeclectic; 11-13-2008 at 04:27 PM.
Reason: Image tag don't seem to work.
Also,
If you have older switches that link up regardless of cable types, you could always plug the from one switch port to the switch port on the same switch.
I do not recommend this on a running network as Layer2 loops SUCK! I had someone do it and the network would hiccup for about 30 seconds.
I agree having the proper tools is very essential to being able to complete tasks quickly when necessary. I try to use tranparent ends as much as possible that way when others come in they will be able to know what they are dealing with.
That is very nice question asked.I also had the same problem.It is difficult to recognise the cross over or regular cable.If you understand the color scheme of the cables then it is easy to differenciate.
Another thing I like to do is keep a separate colour for cross over cables only. I've used various colours from orange to pink. I think pink is the ultimate cross over colour since nobody else really uses it for anything else. Nobody needs a sparkly/glittery/girly datacenter. :-P
how to check cross over cable?
