An Ethernet crossover cable directly connects two computers through their Ethernet ports, allowing data sharing without networking hardware. It’s easy to use, but lacks built-in security and requires the computers to be close together. The cable is wired differently from a standard Ethernet cable and can be purchased or made at home.
An Ethernet crossover cable connects two computers directly through the Ethernet ports, allowing the computers to pass or share data without having to create a network. The crossover cable eliminates the need for networking hardware by directly connecting the computers’ Ethernet terminals. An Ethernet crossover cable is wired differently than a standard Ethernet cable, designed to connect to a network router hub or switch. This crossover cable is required to connect two computers without networking hardware.
The biggest advantage of connecting two computers directly is that it only takes seconds and requires no special knowledge or software. Simply plug one end of the Ethernet crossover cable into one machine’s network port and the other end into the other machine’s port. Once connected, the computers can “see each other’s hard drives” and exchange data as easily as switching from a USB stick to a hard drive, only faster. This is a great way to share large files or large amounts of data such as music or digital image libraries. It’s also completely private because no data is transmitted over a network.
One drawback to using an Ethernet crossover cable is that the two machines are joined by a physical cable, so they must be fairly close together. Another potential downside is that there is no optional built-in security like in a network. Once the two computers are directly connected, users can access anything on both machines that isn’t protected separately via active OS encryption or permissions. This is not a problem when the user owns both systems, but if children, for example, use an Ethernet crossover cable to connect a personal computer to mum or dad’s computer, financial records or other private folders should be protected from ‘access via encryption or Other meanings.
10BASE-T and 100BASE-TX Ethernet cables use one pair of wires for sending and a second pair for receiving for a total of four pairs to connect two computers. Thus, each end of the cable has eight wires and corresponding pins. The transmit pair of each device must match the receive pair on the opposite device. In a network this crossover is accomplished within the network hardware. In an Ethernet crossover cable, it runs internally in the wire itself. Standard Ethernet cables do not cross over and are sometimes referred to as “straight” cables.
Crossover cables are available at most electronics outlets and are fairly inexpensive. You can also build your own Ethernet crossover cable by purchasing the appropriate category of spooled cable and plugging in RJ45 connectors at both ends. Wiring diagrams are available online.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
