Michael Parker wrote:
I've made my share of Ethernet cables, and my opinion
that it varies on ease depending on cables and tools
that you have. But to be sure, this is not easy the
first time you do it, and you are likely to mess up
many times initially.
Quality gear:
- Good cable
- Good connectors that match the type of cable, ie
solid-copper (cross-connect) cable connectors or
woven-copper (patch lead) cable connectors
- A GOOD QUALITY CRIMPER
If you only need a few cables and they are set
distances that you can buy, you are better off buying
them. Typically purchased cables are more reliable
than cables hand made because people screw up (stating
the obvious). Most of the time, this screw up,
involves (assuming the cable works) not forcing the
entire cable far enough inside the connector so that
the individual cables are prone to yanking out over
time and becoming flaky, with certain wires only
making contact some of the time.
Yep. Using the wrong type of connector for the cable, or using shoddy
connectors and/or a crappy crimper is also a great way to ensure you
have problems.
It sounds like your missing some basic tools (like a
cable tester). That can only make this tougher, but
it's still possible.
Note that most "cable testers" are actually just continuity testers.
Sometimes they also check that the wiring order is correct. A real cable
tester that can detect *flakey* cables (the worst kind) will cost you a
very large sum of money from someone like Fluke.
I used to make my own cable, but have since decided it's not worth it.
For small batches I buy it in, for larger batches I get a cable tech who
has good quality (and expensive) equipment to make up a bunch. I still
make my own cable at home, but it's less important there.
Remember that Ethernet cable doesn't just work or fail. Bad cable can
cause truly bizarre issues - sometimes ones that don't even appear to be
related to the computer in question. The most fun one I ever had was due
to a cable that'd been damaged by rats - the Mac OS 7 box connected to
it would take forever to log in to the network, and AppleTalk worked but
TCP/IP didn't. The issues went away when I moved it to use a different
under-floor cable, and came back if I put it back on the first one.
Moral of the story: Don't waste your time and money making cable unless
you can test it properly; it'll cost you more time and frustration than
the purchase price down the road.
--
Craig Ringer
