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TECH THOUGHT HUMOUR ME COMPUTER MISBEHAVING?

Tech Thought
A weekly publication of the technology world

18Jul09 Cheap “Poor-man’s” Networking (Crossover Networking)

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Crossover networking is a form of network that bridges two computers without the use of
an accessory component such as a router. This allows peripheral hardware or files and
folder associated with a particular computer to be shared with another computer. Internet
Connection Sharing (ICS) can also be enabled so that both computers can access the
Internet concurrently via the crossover networking setup.

In this tutorial, I will show you, step-by-step, how to establish a crossover networking
from the perspective of two computers running Windows XP. The fundamental steps
would apply to computers running Windows Vista and Windows 7, so this tutorial should
work out fine (though you should try the wizard in Windows 7 first before resorting to
this tutorial to form a crossover network). If you stumble across any complications while
following this tutorial to setup a connection, please do not hesitate to post your queries at
the bottom of this page.

(I have jestingly called this tutorial a “poor-man’s” networking as it only requires a cable
to link up two computers. Please do not interpret it as a form of inferiority)

Crossover networking utilises the RJ-45 ports on both computers in order to facilitate the
communication. In case you haven’t come across the RJ-45 port, it looks like this. Note
that it is slightly larger that the conventional telephone port (aka RJ-11 port).

What you will need for crossover networking

1. A crossover cable
There are two types of Ethernet cables. The first one is the conventional ethernet cable,
which has this type of wire end-point configuration (golden pin facing you, reading from
left to right as per “1″ to “8″).

The second type is the crossover cable, which is what we need for this tutorial. The end-
points are slightly different compared to the above, in that four of the wires have been
crisscrossed on one end.

If you do not have a crossover cable handry, you can always make one on your own using
the conventional ethernet cable. Label one of the ends as “XOVER”, while the other end
as “STRGHTTHRU”. Using the same crossover wire diagram posted earlier, you can
easily fiddle around with the wires yourself and create a crossover cable for yourself in
no time (my first and only crossover cable was created using this method). Otherwise, if
you want to purchase a crossover cable from a store instead, make sure the salesperson
understands completely which type you need.

2. Two computers running Windows 98 and above

3. 20 minutes
If all goes well, the establishment of a crossover network should not take more than 20
minutes.

For the sake of simplicity, the two computers will be called DAD and MOM
respectively. Let’s get going!

ON “DAD”
1. Right-click “My Computer”, click “Properties”
2. Click “Computer Name” Tab
3. Click “Change”
4. A window should pop-up. Specify a name for the computer.
5. Click “Workgroup” and specify a name. (We will call the computer DAD and the
workgroup HOME)
6. Click OK
7. Click OK in the computer properties windows. Restart the computer if prompted.

Configuring IP
1. Go to Start > Control Panel > Network Connections > Network Connections
2. Right-click on your LAN connection and click “Properties”
3. Under the heading “This connection uses the following items”, click “Internet Protocol
(TCP/IP)
4. Click “Properties”
5. A new window should pop up, click “Alternate Configuration”
6. Click “User configured” radio button
7. Here, you can specify the address. For computer DAD , specify the IP as 192.168.0.2,
subnet mask as 255.255.255.0, Default gateway as 192.168.0.1. Under “Preferred DNS
Server”, enter the value “208.67.222.222″. As for “Alternate DNS Server”, enter the
value “208.67.220.220″. These values are sourced from OpenDNS, which will enable the
computer to understand the numerical address details of a website
8. Click “OK”
9. Click “OK” under the LAN connection properties.
You are done for computer DAD

ON “MOM“
1. Right-click “My Computer”, click “Properties”
2. Click “Computer Name” Tab
3. Click “Change”
4. A window should pop-up. Specify a name for the computer.
5. Click “Workgroup” and specify a name. (We will call the computer MOM and the
workgroup HOME)
6. Click OK
7. Click OK in the computer properties windows.
(You may have to restart the computer. If you are prompted to, do so)

Configuring IP
1. Go to Start > Control Panel > Network Connections > Network Connections
2. Right-click on your LAN connection and click “Properties”
3. Under the heading “This connection uses the following items”, click “Internet Protocol
(TCP/IP)
4. Click “Properties”
5. A new window should pop up, click “Alternate Configuration”
6. Click “User configured” radio button
7. Here, you can specify the address. For computer MOM, specify the IP as 192.168.0.1,
subnet mask as 255.255.255.0, Default gateway as 192.168.0.2. Under “Preferred DNS
Server”, enter the value “208.67.222.222″. As for “Alternate DNS Server”, enter the
value “208.67.220.220″. These values are sourced from OpenDNS, which will enable the
computer to understand the numerical address details of a website
8. Click “OK”
9. Click “OK” under the LAN connection properties.
You are done for computer MOM

When the steps above are done correctly, the computers will automatically discover and
connect to each other.

Internet Connection Sharing

1. Go to Start > Control Panel > Network Connections > Network Connections
2. Right-click on your LAN connection and click “Properties”
3. A new window should pop up, click the “Sharing” tab
4. Tick the checkbox that lies next to the statement “Allow other network users to
connect through this computer’s Internet connection”
5. Select the crossover network in the network selections (this option may or may not
appear on your computer)
6. Click “OK”

Checking IP configuration
1. Go to Start > Control Panel > Network Connections > Network Connections
2. Right-click on your wireless adaptor and click “Properties”
3. Under the heading “This connection uses the following items”, click “Internet Protocol
(TCP/IP)
4. Click “Properties”
5. A new window should pop up, click the radio button ” Obtain an IP address
automatically”
6. Click “OK” to save

Printer Sharing

1. Go to Start > Printers and Faxes

2. Right-click on the desired printer, click “Sharing…”
3. Click the radio button “Share this printer” and specify a name in the textbox
4. Click “OK” to save

Keywords: Crossover LAN, Cat5e, Windows XP, Crossover Ethernet, Computer-to-

computer networking, Direct networking, Easy networking, Mobile Ad-hoc connection,
Wireless networking, WiFi networking, Mum and Dad networking, Home networking,
Cheap networking, Cross over, Poor-man’s, Poor man’s, Poor man

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What are the Differences Between a

Standard Category 5 Ethernet Cable
and a Crossover Cable?
Hardware: PXI/CompactPCI>>Controllers

Problem:
When do I use a standard cable and when do I use a crossover cable? How is a standard
Category 5 (CAT 5) Ethernet cable different from a crossover cable? How do I know if a
cable is a standard Ethernet or a crossover cable?

Solution:
A crossover cable should be used when connecting hardware directly to a computer. A
standard (straight through) cable should be used when connecting hardware to a
computer through an Ethernet hub or switch. A standard CAT 5 cable has a 1-to-1
mapping of pins from one connector to another. A crossover cable connects the
transmission pins from one end to the receive pins on the other end (crosses them over,
hence the name).
If you do not know whether your cable is a crossover cable or standard Ethernet cable,
this can be verified by sight. Most of the time you will be able to see the color of the
individual wires through the connectors. You can then use the table below to determine if
the cable is a crossover cable or a standard Ethernet cable. You can also use a multimeter
to probe the connections. Connect the positive end of the multimeter to a pin on one end
of the cable and probe the pins on the other end of the cable to figure out if two ends
have the same pin connections. If they are the same on both ends, it's a straight through
cable. Otherwise, it's a crossover cable.

Details:
When performing Ethernet communication, the transmit pins on one device need to be
connected to the receive pins on the other device. A router or hub will perform this
crossover function internally, thus standard Ethernet cables should be used with them, or
any device that performs this internal crossover function.

When connecting two devices directly, there is no intermediate device to perform the
needed crossover function, so you will need to use the cable itself to do the job. Standard
Ethernet ports are also referred to as MDI (Medium Dependent Interface) ports. The
ports on a router, hub, or switch will have an internal crossover connection configuration
known as MDIX (Medium Dependent Interface Crossover).
Related Links:
Products & Services: Ethernet Cables and Accessories
KnowledgeBase 27K9UNKN: Connecting to a LabVIEW Real-Time (RT) Target with a
Crossover Cable

Attachments:
Report Date: 04/02/2002
Last Updated: 09/17/2009
Document ID: 2K1AIUGU

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