Solved: Gigabit crossover cable.

[TerraRizA]

I was just wondering if such a thing exists, I was going to buy a crossover cable off eBay, and the majority of them only support 10/100 mpbs connections, however there are a rare few, cat5e crossover cables that apparently support 'Gigabit'. Is it possible?

 

[TerryNet]

Yes. However, I think that all gigabit ethernet ports are auto sensing (MDI/MDIX) so a cross-over cable is not needed. Just a regular patch cable with all 8 wires working.

 

[Mumbodog]

Early gigabit nics did not support mdi-x, it was an optional standard, but I think all of them these days do.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethernet_crossover_cable

Automatic MDI/MDI-X Configuration is specified as an optional feature in the 1000BASE-T standard[1], meaning that straight-through cables will often work between Gigabit capable interfaces. This feature eliminates the need for crossover cables, making obsolete the uplink/normal ports and manual selector switches found on many older hubs and switches and greatly reducing installation errors. Note that although Automatic MDI/MDI-X is generally implemented, a crossover cable would still be required in the occasional situation that neither of the connected devices has the feature implemented and enabled. Prior to the 1000Base-T standard, using a crossover cable to connect a device to a network accidentally, usually meant wasted time troubleshooting the resulting lack of connection, but with this standard in place, that is no longer a concern.
Modern switches automatically apply an internal crossover when necessary. Besides the eventually agreed upon Automatic MDI/MDI-X, this feature may also be referred to by various vendor-specific terms including: Auto uplink and trade, Universal Cable Recognition and Auto Sensing.

 

[TerraRizA]

Ah, I see now, thanks for tha saved me from wasting a couple of quid, and probably a couple of hours worth of effort trying to use it.