say I connect two Macs that support gigabit ethernet. can I use a plain-old crossover cable (cat5) and get "gigabit" speeds? or is there a special gigabit version of cat5? I'm confused. this is a ...

The overlooked detail that decides whether your install holds up.

I have been given a small FastEthernet network to administer. I have never used this level of equipment before but I am quick to learn! There are several Cisco 2621 routers and a Cisco 2900XL switch.

Ethernet is ubiquitous, fast, and simple. You only need two diffpairs (four wires) to establish a 100Mbit link, the hardware is everywhere, you can do Ethernet over long distances easily, and tons of ...