The second task in our project plan was to establish a base of operation for the tech support team. Our team set out to create a small work station consisting of switch, router, and desktop. To connect these systems together the team did some crossover cabling using CAT5 wires for the small work station.

Guidelines to Consider When Doing Crossover Cabling:
1.Maximum Cable length for connectors must be 100meters (328 feet).
2.Do not allow the cable to be kinked or bent because it could cause permanent damage to the interior of the cable.
3.Do not over tighten cable ties.
4.Do not use excessive force when pulling cable through walls, floors and ceilings.
5.Use the correct hangers when to secure category 5 cables.

Tools used to do Crossover Cabling:
1.Cable – Use the proper CAT 5 cable.
2.Connectors – Crossover cables are terminated with CAT5 Registered Jack (RJ) modular plugs.
3.Crimp – used to compress the cable and jack together.
4.Stripper – used to strip the jacket off of the cable.
5.Cutter- a pair of cutter will allow you to cut a group of cables in a straight line.

Procedure:
Start by stripping off about 2 inches of the plastic jacket off the end of the CAT5 cable. Spread the wires apart, but hold onto the base of the jacket with the other hand. Try to avoid the wire to become untwisted down inside the jacket. Begin to untwist the twisted exposed wires on the cable. Follow the pin layout and color code in the attachment below. Carefully slide the wires into the jack. Now use the crimps to compress the jack and the cables together. Repeat this same procedure to the other end of the cable. To make sure that the cabling was done correctly try to get a signal from a router, switch or hub.