What kind of cable do I need.

[classicsoftware]

I presently oversee a small peer to peer network woth 5 users. The cable internet connection and one PC will remain at the present location and the other pc's will join 7 additional PC's in the room next door.

I want to connect the 2 groups of PC's each with their own hub via the uplink port on each hub. My assumptions are that I will connect the two bubs with a cross over cable as opposed to a regular patch cable and also that the cross over cable will go from the uplink port on one hub to the uplink port on the other hub.

Thanks in advance for your views on my thinking....

[PrntRhd]

I would use a switch vs a hub, but yes the crossover for the uplink would be standard networking procedure.

[classicsoftware]

Dear PrntRhd:

Thanks for confirming my hunch. This is a small computer lab used only for internet access. I have checked the hub while all computers are being used and the collison light has NEVER ben lit. I have never experienced the speed advantages of a switch. That may be because I have always spent a little extra and used 3COM hubs. Who knows???

[jabarnutcase]

I may be off the wall here..(it wouldn't be the first time), but don't most Hubs have an uplink port that is crossed internally, in which case, you would use a straight through cable to connect the two Hubs? :confused:

[classicsoftware]

That is the question I am asking. I guess I'll just have to test the hubs before I have the wire monkey run the cable....

[jabarnutcase]

Classic...I know you're a big Linksys fan like me...This was taken from the Linksys site:Straight-through cables are used for connecting computers to a hub. Crossed cables are used for connecting a hub to another hub (there is an exception: some hubs have a built-in uplink port that is crossed internally, which allows you to uplink hubs together with a straight cable instead).

With the "exception", I think they mean going from an uplink port to a regular port though...Not uplink port to uplink port.(The "second" uplink port could be used to link to yet another hub)

[PrntRhd]

Yes, I meant (usually last) regular port to the uplink port with crossover.
Switches are faster because they direct packets only to intended clients instead of all clients on a hub, meaning less traffic on that segment of a network. If low intensity traffic there will be little difference, but if heavier traffic occurs it can slow things to a crawl at the time the network demand is greatest.
Some new switches just recently come with "smart" ports and will work with either straight patch cables or crossover ones, there was post about this about 2 weeks ago here on the forums.
:)

[classicsoftware]

So our best guess is, we DO NOT need a crossover cable to go from the uplink port to the iplink port?

[PrntRhd]

I guess I'll just have to test the hubs before I have the wire monkey run the cable....
It will take one or the other, post results of the test. Now I am confused........
:p

[classicsoftware]

Just so you are not confused. You need a regular patch 5 cable to go from the uplink port on one hub to a regular port on the second hub. works like a charm.

Thnaks for helping me work trough this.