I am sooo confused!?

Question

Because a NIC is layer 2, can I hook a PC to a switch with a crossover cable? Also is it possible to hook a PC to a router with crossover? Explain if you can...

Thanks!

Answer 1

You can use the cross over cable pc 2 pc or device to device  like hub to hub or switch to swich.

A crossover cable is a cable that maps all output signals on one electrical connector to the input signals on the other connector, allowing two electronic devices to perform full-duplex communication. Most commonly, the term refers to the Ethernet crossover cable, but other cables follow the same principle. It also allows devices to communicate without a switch, hub, or router. Cross-Over cables are used to connect two computers directly through NICs without the use of a Hub or Switch or to uplink two or more hubs, switches or routers. The Pins of the RJ-45 Connectors at both ends of a cross-over cable are connected as follows:

                                Pin 1 ----------- Pin 3

                                Pin 2 ----------- Pin 6

Only two pairs of wires in the eight-pin RJ-45 connector are used to carry Ethernet signals. Both 10BASE-T and 100BASE-T use the same pins, a crossover cable made for one will also work with the other.

Answer 2

A NIC is a piece of hardware, this is layer one.  And you can connect a PC to a switch with a cross-over cable (and make it work) if the switch has auto-sensing ports.