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Do I still need a crossover cable to connect two PC's directly? (NIC <-> NIC)?

If not, then why was this needed in the past, and when was it used for this? Specifically, when did crossover cables stop being needed to directly connect 2 PCs?

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  • 7
    Note: Cross-over cables only applied to 10 and 100Mb Ethernet. Gigabit sends and receives on all 4 pairs at the same time.
    – Chris S
    Mar 5, 2014 at 14:36
  • 2
    Why is this off-topic?
    – Heinzi
    Oct 13, 2016 at 8:56
  • @ChrisS, what you describe only applies to UTP cabling. Ethernet on fiber-optic cabling still requires a crossover cable between two like devices, even at gigabit speeds.
    – Ron Maupin
    Oct 11, 2017 at 14:44

1 Answer 1

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Most (all?) current devices have implemented ethernet auto mdix. The answer is simple: You don't need such cable.

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  • but from when? from 10 years ago? Mar 5, 2014 at 11:22
  • @evachristine there is probably no border date..
    – neutrinus
    Mar 5, 2014 at 11:24
  • Then I will say about ~2005... according to google searches.. Mar 5, 2014 at 11:25
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    @evachristine I remember having to use on in the 90s. I think by the early 2000s most devices were Auto MDI-X. Then 1GbE took over and made the whole thing moot.
    – Chris S
    Mar 5, 2014 at 14:44

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