Question : Problem: Crossover cable from router to switch? WHY?

What is suppose to happen if you hook a switch to a router that doesnt auto cross over and you dont use a crossover cable and same ? but only for a switch to another switch.  have done this at my home for about 3 years now and I have no problems but I read on here that you have to use a cross over cable. So why shouldnt this work and why is mine working for 3 years now?

Answer : Problem: Crossover cable from router to switch? WHY?

It depends on the type of equipment that you have. You can hook up HP switches with straight thru cables, They auto sense and set themselves accordingly. Cisco devices are famous for needing crossover cables. You will almost never need cross over cables for any technology that was designed for home based technology. The exception would be connecting two computers directly together. The reason for the cable crossover, and i usally get the transmit and receive backwards, is that say computers transmit out pair 2 on the cable and both ends of the cable are pinned out the same then the switch would have to be made to receive on pair 2. So that alos means the computer would receive data on pair 3 so the switch would need to send data on pair 3. If you hook two switches together they would both be tring to send on pair three and would both receive on pair 2 so no communication could happen. A crossover cable switches pair 2 and 3 on one end so the two switches will be able to comunicate with each other. Routers also fall into this catagory but again some manufacturers detect other switches automatically and set the connectors internally in the switch, so no crossover cable is needed.