Chapter 7
Oh, What a Tangled Web We Weave: Cables and Switches
IN THIS CHAPTER
Getting a whiff of Ethernet
Checking out the different types of network cable
Installing twisted-pair cable
Working with switches
Cable is the plumbing of your network. In fact, working with network cable is a lot like working with pipe: You have to use the right pipe (cable) along with the right valves and connectors (switches).
And network cables have an advantage over pipes: You don’t get wet when they leak.
This chapter tells you far more about network cables than you probably need to know. I introduce you to Ethernet, the most common system of network cabling for small networks. Then you find out how to work with the cables used to wire up an Ethernet network. Finally, I show you how to work with switches, which create the necessary interconnections so that all your computers can talk to each other.
What Is Ethernet?
Ethernet is a standardized way of connecting computers to create a network.
You can think of Ethernet as a kind of municipal building code for networks: It specifies what kind of cables ...
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