Ethernet crossover cable

By contrast, straight through patch cables are used to connect devices of different types, such as a computer to a network switch.

Many network devices today support auto MDI-X (automatic crossover) capability, wherein a patch cable can be used in place of a crossover cable, or vice versa, and the receive and transmit signals are reconfigured automatically within the device to yield a working connection.

Although Auto MDI-X was specified as an optional feature in the 1000BASE-T standard,[3] in practice it is implemented widely on most interfaces.

In a departure from both 10BASE-T and 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T and faster use all four cable pairs for simultaneous transmission in both directions through the use of telephone hybrid-like signal handling.

For this, fiber patch cables with duplex connectors are normally configured as crossover as is the on-premises wiring.

Patch cable crossovers can usually be reconfigured very easily by swapping the connectors within a duplex bracket if required.

Certain equipment or installations, including those in which phone and/or power are mixed with data in the same cable, may require that the non-data pairs 1 and 4 (pins 4, 5, 7 and 8) remain un-crossed.