Geek question
Jun. 14th, 2004 08:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ciphergothAbout network switches. Can you join two cheapo (Dabs Value) 100BASE-T switches with a crossover cable?
One friend argues "no" on the grounds that before any switch will send a packet to the other, it would have to know of an address at the other end, but neither switch will know of any addresses on the other switch until some packets have been exchanged. (Is that right?) This makes sense, but it occurs to me that if switches broadcast any packets they don't know how to route then all will be well. I don't know if they do though.
I also have no idea what to do if I can't connect them this way! Possibly buy another PCMCIA Ethernet card for the laptop that's also the gateway, but they are costly.
Advice gratefully received...
One friend argues "no" on the grounds that before any switch will send a packet to the other, it would have to know of an address at the other end, but neither switch will know of any addresses on the other switch until some packets have been exchanged. (Is that right?) This makes sense, but it occurs to me that if switches broadcast any packets they don't know how to route then all will be well. I don't know if they do though.
I also have no idea what to do if I can't connect them this way! Possibly buy another PCMCIA Ethernet card for the laptop that's also the gateway, but they are costly.
Advice gratefully received...
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Re: Yeah...
Date: 2004-06-14 12:39 pm (UTC)Has yours got an MDI/X port on it? (I.e. mine is an 8 port switch, but with 9 ports, one for patching, or, if required, the 8th port is made redundant by plugging in a crossover to another switch).
But yeah, shouldn't be a problem (probably).