Setting up a network and sharing internet

[Steve]

On 8/18/05, Henry Spencer <henry-lqW1N6Cllo0sV2N9l4h3zg at public.gmane.org> wrote:
> 
> On Thu, 18 Aug 2005, Steve wrote:
> > Is there a way where I would not require a crossover cable?
> 
> An Ethernet port transmits on one pair of wires and receives on another,
> and to connect two together, there *must* be a crossover somewhere, so
> that each port's transmitter pair is connected to the other's receiver.
> 
> Ethernet hubs (switches, etc.) have built-in crossovers, so you use
> straight cables to connect hosts to hubs. You can avoid needing a
> crossover cable by buying a hub instead, and using two straight cables to
> connect the two hosts to the hub. If you're going to have more than two
> machines eventually, that's what you should do, because a crossover cable
> works only for exactly two machines -- there is no cable-only method for
> larger numbers. However, if you're only concerned about two, a crossover
> cable will be cheaper than a hub plus two straight cables.
> 
> As I noted earlier, *some* Ethernet ports have built-in crossovers which
> they can turn on and off, and are smart enough to adapt themselves to
> whatever's on the other end. This is starting to be common in hubs, but
> is not yet widespread in hosts.
> 
> (Terminology: a "switch" is just a smart hub. Most hubs you can buy now
> are in fact switches; for your purposes the difference is unimportant.)
> 
> > Can I make my
> > Linux machine a router, and would that mean I could use a normal 
> ethernet
> > cable out of the NIC port to run into the laptop?
> 
> No. Making your Linux machine a router just affects how it handles
> incoming packets; that's a higher-level issue, done in software. Making
> it talk to the laptop at all still requires a crossover somewhere; that's
> a hardware requirement, not something software can change.
> 
> (Boxes built as routers, like hubs, will often have built-in crossovers
> in their hardware, so hosts can connect to them with straight cables.)
> 
> Henry Spencer
> henry-lqW1N6Cllo0sV2N9l4h3zg at public.gmane.org


Henry,

Thanks for taking the time. I know more now than 2 minutes ago... that is 
always good!

-Steve.
-- 
Ubuntu :: Linux for Human Beings [Intelx86/AMD64/PowerPC]
ubuntulinux.org<http://ubuntulinux.org>
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