What is the difference between a patch or straight through cable, shielded cable and a crossover cable?
Patch or Straight through cables, are used to connect almost all networking components together and are the most common cable as a result. Some examples of connections made with patch cables would include: •Patch Panel to Computer •Computer to DSL/Cable Modem •Computer to Hub •DSL/Cable Modem to Router •DSL/Cable Modem to Hub •DSL/Cable Modem to Wireless Access Point •Wall Plate to Computer Crossover cables are used in situations where two devices have the same interface, for example, connecting a hub to a hub, or a switch to a switch, or patching a hub or switch into a wall plate. Some examples of connections made with crossover cables would include: •Switch to Switch •Computer to Computer (peer-to-peer network) •Hub to Hub •Access point to Access point These types of cables also come in shielded versions. Shielded Cable or STP (Shielded Twisted Pair) has a protective “foil” that surrounds the cable. Shielded cable was designed to prevent strong sources of Electromagnetic Interference
