can a switch connect directly to a hub?

[Goog]

I've got my home network with only 2 computers (a third planned to be added very soon) connected with a switch, and my neighbor next door (about 200 feet away) has a home network with three computers, but he's using a hub. We ran a cat5 cable directly between my switch and his hub, but the lights don't go on, they won't even acknowledge the wire, it's strange..

Any ideas? Thanks a lot!

[homer15]

sometimes it is possible for the two to be daisy-chained together, but either the switch of the hub have to have an uplink port (another rj45 connection that is designed specifically for connecting the two together). they would be labled on the switch and the hub if they were available. normally, they take the last open port on the hardware (like port 4 on a 4-port switch).

[HAL9000]

You can do it without an uplink port, but you will need a crossover cable then.

[homer15]

...oh... i guess i never actually tried it without the uplink port. sorry.

[Goog]

Mmm.. thanks for the advice.

My switch has an uplink port, but I don't think they have an uplink on their hub.. and we don't have a crossover cable 250 feet long


Thanks alot for your help though

[homer15]

that's perfect, just plug the hub into the uplink port.

[Goog]

Ok, thanks, we're trying that right now.. I think they found out they have an uplink port and we're trying to connect directly uplink to uplink because it didnt work the other way.

I'm pretty sure something is working because on my switch one light lights up when they plug in. There's three lights for each port on my switch:
Link/Act
100m/10m
FDX/COL

For the computers in my house, all three lights light up on each port, but for the one connected to my neighbors hub only the Link/Act one lights up. And when they disconnect it on their hub, it goes off...

Thanks again, I really appreciate it

[Goog]

Mmm.. I just heard that to connect a hub with a hub, or a hub with a switch, or a switch with a switch you need to use a crossover cable..? Is that true? I'm using just a regular cat 5e cable.

[HAL9000]

To go from hub to hub, switch to hub, switch to switch (or whatever) you either need to use a crossover cable on the standard ports, OR a standard cable plugged into a standard port on one device, and on the uplink port on the second device.

[Confused]

Use his uplink port connected to one of you switch ports. Your uplink would be connected to your modem.
Chas

[ktkendall]

You just need a little crossover adapter that has a straight thru female-female (barrel) with a litttle usually 4 to 6 inch segmentmthat has the crossover in it! Or if you wanted to cut the end off and put a new end on with crossover in it, you must reverse the positions of the green and orange pairs!

[glc]

No need to screw with the cable - a straight Cat 5 works fine, as long as it's connected from a standard port to an uplink port. If his hub is only 10 megabit, you will only get one light - a link light. If it's 10/100, you will also get a 100 light, but NOT a fdx light, hubs are only half duplex.

Note that on most inexpensive hubs and switches, the uplink port shares with either the first or last port, and you cannot use both simultaneously. On other devices, one port may be a combination port and uplink/straight is controlled by a button.