Installation guide

4-1
Chapter 4: Making Network Connections
Connecting Network Devices
The switch may be connected to 10 or 100 Mbps network cards in PCs and servers,
as well as to Ethernet and Fast Ethernet hubs and switches. It may also be
connected to remote devices using the optional fiber optic modules.
Twisted-Pair Devices
Each device requires a shielded or unshielded twisted-pair (STP or UTP) cable with
RJ-45 connectors at both ends. For 1000BASE-T Category 5, 5e, or 6 cable is
required, for 100BASE-TX connections, Category 5 cable is required; for 10BASE-T,
Category 3, 4 or 5 cable can be used.
Cabling Guidelines
A twisted-pair connection between two ports must have a crossover of the transmit
and receive wires to be able to function. This crossover can be implemented in
either of the ports, or in the cable connecting them.
Network card ports in PCs and servers do not contain an internal wiring crossover,
these are known as straight-through (MDI) ports. Therefore, most switch and hub
ports implement a built-in crossover — known as fixed crossover (MDI-X) ports —
so that they can be connected to PCs and servers using standard straight-through
cable. Some switches and hubs also have an MDI port, so that they can connect to
another switch’s/hub’s MDI-X port using straight-through cable. To connect between
two switches/hubs that only have fixed MDI-X ports, the wiring crossover must be
implemented in the cable — known as a crossover cable.
The RJ-45 ports on the switch base unit support automatic MDI/MDI-X operation,
which means that they automatically detect the wiring in the link and configure as
MDI or MDI-X accordingly. So for these ports, you can use standard straight-through
twisted-pair cables to connect to any other network device (PCs, servers, switches,
hubs, or routers). However, note that auto-negotiation must be enabled on these
ports for automatic wiring configuration to function properly.