Cisco Systems 274, 474

4-5

Cisco Wide Area Virtualization Engine 274 and 474 Hardware Installation Guide

OL-17739-01

Chapter 4 WAVE Inline Network Adapter

Inline Network Adapter Cabling Requirements

Some switches support automatic medium-dependent interface crossover

(MDIX). You can configure MDIX by using the mdix auto global configuration

switch command. If your switch supports MDIX, you do not need to follow these

cabling rules because MDIX automatically adjusts transmit and receive pairs

when an incorrect cable type (crossover or straight-through) is installed on a

10/100 Fast Ethernet port. However, when you configure MDIX, you must also

configure the port to use autosense (not manual selection of speed/duplex).

Caution If you are connecting to Fast Ethernet ports on both the LAN and the WAN sides

of the WAVE inline appliance, you must consider the types of devices that are

being connected, and you must use the correct cables. You must follow these

cabling instructions for the inline network adapter to work properly. (See

Tabl e 4-3. For illustrations and examples, see the “Installation Scenarios and

Cabling Examples for Fast Ethernet Connections” section on page 4-7.)

To connect the inline network adapter using the correct cables for Fast Ethernet

connections, follow these steps:

Step 1 Determine the type of cable that you would use for a direct connection between

your two end devices (without a WAVE inline network appliance connected

between them) by using the following standard cabling rules:

• When you are directly connecting two network devices that are similar, such

as two switches, use a crossover cable.

• When you are directly connecting two network devices that are different, such

as a switch and router, use a straight-through cable.

Router to WAVE and

WAVE to Router

Crossover or straight-through

WAVE to WAVE Crossover or straight-through

Table 4-2 Cable Requirements for WAVE Connections Using Gigabit

Ethernet (continued)

Connection Required Cable