Building a UTP networking cable & Connecting two computers

Overview section
The most common cable found in Local Area Networks is the UTP cable. This
exercise will teach you how to build a UTP cable, build a UTP crossover
cable, and connect computers with these cables.
Objectives section
At the end of this lab you should be able to:

Build a UTP cable for connecting a computer to a network

Build a UTP crossover cable
Check the IP Address
Load the TCP/IP Protocol
Assign an IP Address
Connect two computers together using a crossover cable
Share a drive on the network
Map a network drive

Components Section
The components needed for this lab are:

Category 5 cable
RJ-45 connectors
Cable/connector crimpers
Wire strippers
Cable tester
Two PCs with peer-to-peer networking capability and NIC
cards

Key Point
UTP cable is the most common cable in LANs.
Lab Length: 1 Hour
Lab

In this lab you will make a UTP network cable, and a UTP crossover network
cable, and then use the crossover cable to connect two PCs together to
transmit and receive data over a small peer-to-peer network.
1. Cut the appropriate length cable with wire cutters.

2. On one end of the cable, strip approximately three quarters of an inch

off of the outer jacket exposing the eight colored wires.

3. To make a regular UTP cable, arrange the wires in the following order
from left to right:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)

Orange-White
Orange
Green-White
Blue
Blue-White
Green
Brown-White
Brown

4. Trim the ends of the wires to an even length with wire cutters.

5. Slide the wires into the RJ-45 connector with the copper tabs facing up
(hook is facing down), and the wires in the order listed above. Make sure
all the wires seat all the way forward in the connector.

6. Crimp tightly using the crimping tool.

7. Follow steps 2-6 again on the other side of the cable.

8. Test cable with cable tester.

9. Now make a UTP crossover cable. To make a crossover cable follow the
same procedure on one end, and on the other end follow the same
procedure with the following wire order from left to right:
1) Green-White
2) Green

3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)

Orange-White
Blue
Blue-White
Orange
Brown-White
Brown

10. Test crossover cable with cable tester.

11. Take two PCs and connect them from NIC card to NIC card with the UTP
crossover cable.

12. On both computers enter the DOS Command Prompt by clicking on

Start, Programs, Accessories, Command Prompt.
13. Type ipconfig and press Enter to find the IP Address of both
computers.

In this case the IP Address is 12.253.8.111. If no IP Address appears or if

it appears as all 0s, go to step 15 to load the TCP/IP Protocol.
14. To verify that the computers are indeed connected we will have them
ping eachother. Type ping 12.253.8.111 (replace my IP Address with
your IP Address) and then press Enter. Do this to both computers, but
do not type the IP Address of the computer that you are currently on,
rather type the IP Address of the other computer. Its like calling
someone. The IP Address is like the telephone number of the computer,
so if I want to call you I have to dial your number, not my own. You should
see something similar to this:

Notice that the host computers IP Address is still posted on top,

12.253.8.111, but I pinged the other computers IP Address which was
12.253.8.120 and got a response. Do this with both computers. If it works
then proceed to step 29.

15. THE FOLLOWING STEPS ARE ONLY TO BE DONE IF NO IP ADDRESS

IS FOUND IN STEP 13. To load the TCP/IP Protocol right-click on the
My Network Places icon on the desktop and select properties from
the pull-down menu that appears. This opens the Network and Dial-up
Connections Properties window. It should look something like this:

16. Right-click on the Local Area Connection icon and select Properties
from the pull-down menu that appears. The Local Area Connections
Properties box will appear and should look something like this:

17. Click the Install button. The Select Network Component Type box will
appear and look like this:

18. Select Protocol from the list and click Add. The Select Network
Protocol box will appear and look like this:

19. Select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) from the list and click Ok. This will
install the TCP/IP Protocol. You also want to make sure you have a Client
for Microsoft Networks and File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft
Networks. If you already have BOTH of these items and your screen
looks similar to the picture below then you may proceed to step 26. If
not then click on Install again and go to the next step to install the
client and service.

20.The Select Network Component Type box will appear again and look like
this:

21. Select Client from the list and click the Add button. The Select
Network Client box will appear:

22.Select Client for Microsoft Networks from the list and click OK. This
will take you back to the screen depicted in step 19. If you still do not
have all three items proceed to the next step, otherwise skip to step 26.
23.Click on Install one more time. The Select Network Component Type
box will appear again and look like this:

24.Select Service from the list and click Add. The Select Network
Service box will appear:

25.Select File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks from the list
and click OK. This will take you back to the screen depicted in step 19.
You should have all the items on that list now, and can proceed to the
next step.
26.Now that all the items you need for networking are installed you have to
establish an IP Address. Select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click
the Properties button. The Internet Protocol TCP/IP Properties box
will appear:

27.Click the radio button next to Use the following IP address:. Fill the
boxes below to look like this:

For each computer make the last digit in the IP address row different
(example: 10.0.0.2), but make sure the number in the Subnet mask row is
the same for all computers on your network. When you are done click on
OK.

28.Now you have established an IP address and all of the items needed for
networking. Click Close and then go back to the beginning of step 12.
29.Now we will use another method to see what computers are on the
network. Close all open windows. Double-click on the My Network Places
icon on the desktop and something similar to this should appear:

30.Double-click on the Entire Network icon and this should appear:

31. Click on the entire contents blue link. Something similar to this will
appear:

32.Double-click on the Microsoft Windows Network icon and a list of all

the workgroups in your network will appear. It will look similar to this:

33.Double-click on the workgroup you wish to view and you will see a list of
all the computers network names that are actively in that workgroup. If
you wish to view shared information on a specific computer all you have to
do is double-click on it from this screen and use it like it were on your
local computer if you have the appropriate network security clearence.
34.Now that we have verified the connection, we will use the connection to
map a network drive, but before that can be done we must share a drive
to be mapped to. Do the following steps on both computers. Close all open
windows. Double-click on the My Computer icon on the desktop. This will
bring up a screen that shows all of the disk drives on your computer, like
this:

35.Right-click on the Local Disk (C:) icon and select Properties from the
pull-down menu. This displays the hard disks properties window that
provides information about the local hard disk:

36.Click on the Sharing tab towards the top of the window. This will display
something like the picture below:

37.Select Share this folder. In the text box next to Share name type
C:

38.Click OK. The hard disk on that computer is now shared. Remember to
do this to both computers.

39.Once both computers have their hard disks shared close all open windows.
Right-click on either the My Computer or My Network Places icon and
select Map network drive from the pull-down menu that appears. The
screen that appears will look like this:

40.Make sure the box next to Reconnect at logon in not checked. In the
box next to Folder: type two backslashes followed by the network name
of the computer you want to map to followed by one backslash and the
share name on that computer that you want to map to. Look at the
example below. When the information is correct click Finish.
A new window will appear. This window contains the contents of the drive you
just mapped, in this case the other computers hard disk. Depending on the
network and share permissions you can use this window just like it was a
second hard disk on the compter you are on. You can get information from it
and you can send information to it. It functions like a part of your computer,
even though it is still physically in the other computer. Sharing is not limited
to entire disk drives. You can choose to share a single folder if you want, and
the procedure is the same for sharing it and mapping to it.
41. To disconnect from the mapping close the window viewing that mapping.
Right-click on either the My Computer or My Network Places icon and
select Disconnect network drive from the pull-down menu that appears.
This will display a window similar to this:
42.Select the network drive you wish to disconnect and click OK.

Conclusion
In this lab you learned how to make UTP and UTP crossover cables and
connect two PCs using the crossover cable. You also learned how to verify
that two computers are able to transmit and receive data to and from
eachother.