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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - Rick Stevens, Senior Systems Engineer rstevens@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx - - 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. - ----------------------------------------------------------------------
