[lug] NIC Question

[Jeffrey Siegal]

Timothy C. Klein wrote:
>>I use a 2-way satellite system for broadband.  The satellite modem connects
>>to my PC via USB.  I want to network another PC, so my question is;  Can I
>>connect two PC's NIC to NIC without an ethernet hub, the Server machine
>>naturally being the box with the USB satellite modem connection?
> 
> Yes, you can do this, but you need a special cable: a crossover cable.
> I don't remember which lines are crossed, but they are very common.  You
> may have high collision rates, but it works OK.

Some cards (many newer cards) will do the swap automatically, so you can 
use a regular cable.  And you won't have *any* collsions, since each 
system will transmit over a separate pair of wires.