How can I check I have the correct cable for connecting to the network?

To connect to the University network you need to use a straight-through network cable . The correct cables are available to buy from Information Services ( Where can I do that? )

Straight-through cables are sometimes known as patch leads and have the wire colours in the same order at both ends when held side by side. This is because each wire is connected to the same pin at either end.:

Crossover cables will have the wire colours in a different order at each end, effectively crossing the wires over to connect different pins together at each end. Crossover cables can be used to connect two computers together directly from network card to network card.

To tell whether a cable is straight-through or crossover, hold the ends of your cable side by side with both spring clips facing down and compare the wire colours to the diagrams above.

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