From owner-freebsd-hackers Tue Aug 6 03:25:10 1996 Return-Path: owner-hackers Received: (from root@localhost) by freefall.freebsd.org (8.7.5/8.7.3) id DAA10545 for hackers-outgoing; Tue, 6 Aug 1996 03:25:10 -0700 (PDT) Received: from minnow.render.com (render.demon.co.uk [158.152.30.118]) by freefall.freebsd.org (8.7.5/8.7.3) with SMTP id DAA10540 for ; Tue, 6 Aug 1996 03:25:06 -0700 (PDT) Received: from minnow.render.com (minnow.render.com [193.195.178.1]) by minnow.render.com (8.6.12/8.6.9) with SMTP id LAA13795 for ; Tue, 6 Aug 1996 11:27:34 +0100 Date: Tue, 6 Aug 1996 11:27:33 +0100 (BST) From: Doug Rabson Reply-To: Doug Rabson To: freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org Subject: 100BASE-TX hubs (summary) Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: owner-hackers@freebsd.org X-Loop: FreeBSD.org Precedence: bulk Thanks for all the replies. I think I will probably try the wire swapping trick. The cheapest hub available seems to be from netgear at about $650. I thought I should summarise a couple of the replies which weren't posted to the list: From: Mike Hench > netgear (a bay networks company) make an 8 port for about $650 USD > it;s brand new. i know you can get them at computer discount warehouse and > (for more money) at data comm warehouse. > cant help in the UK (they just dont send me many catalogs :-) > a crossover cable works, i'm using one as we speak. > pins 1,2 are pair 1 > pins 3,6 are pair 2 > std cable is straight thru, crossover is 1,2 -> 3,6 > you should be able to buy one cheap (I did $20 USD) if you dont have > crimping equipment. From: Andrew.Gordon@net-tel.co.uk > > Alternatively, can I avoid a hub altogether? I vaguely remember > > something about a wire-swapped cable which could connect two systems > > together. How would I go about buying/making such a cable? > > This certainly works. For the SMC cards which have both RJ45 and > DB-9 connectors, the DB-9s are easiest to wire up - the pairs are on > pins 1/6 and 5/9 respecively, so you want a crossover wiring pin > 1->pin5 and pin6->pin9 and vice-versa. You are supposed to use > 120ohm cable on these connectors (eg. IBM type 1). Alternatively, > you can use the RJ45 connectors and cat5 cable if you have the right > tools - I can't remember the pinout offhand, but I can look it up if > you need it. -- Doug Rabson, Microsoft RenderMorphics Ltd. Mail: dfr@render.com Phone: +44 171 251 4411 FAX: +44 171 251 0939