ethernet cables

Just make sure it's a "straight"  ethernet cable and not a "crossover" cable.Other than that dont spend fortunes, the ones i used cost about 49p for a 1m length.

All the same, Ethernet uses error correction so no real need to spend a lot of money on a cable. Maplin will make you one up to the exact length you need, should cost less than a tenner unless you need a particularly long length.

There is a spec standard, but for this purpose it won't matter. Ethernet cables have "Category or Cat." denominations. Cat 5 is most common and allows 100Mbit speeds, which should be enough for your purpose. These are cheap. Cat 5e allows higher speeds (1000 Mbit) and is more expensive. Cat 6 is more expensive still and allows for the same speed as Cat5e, but over longer distances and with added EMI shielding. If your ethernet cable is going right next to something transporting high currents, say mains to a high power amp, then go with something shielded, if not, don't bother.

And yes, you'll need straight, but that's usually not specified on the cable since it's the default type. If they state "cross" or "crossover" don't get them. 

thanks everyone.

What's the difference between straight and crossover? With the crossover type could I just connect either end to two computers and transfer files across like a USB drive?

Basically yes. If you want to connect two computers up directly using an ethernet cable, you need to use a crossover cable. You'd still need to set up the networking on both computers to allow this though. This has been made much easier in the likes of Windows 7.

I don't know about Windows, but on the Mac you can just hook two computers together with any cable and no additional set-up.

Also decent network switches don't need crossover cables nowadays -- they adjust themselves to what's in the other end of the cable.

Windows is also fussy if you've changed the workgroup on the pc, as standard the PC is set to Workgroup, if its changed both PC's require to be in the same, the auto negotiation for the ip addressing is better than it used to be, however if you have problems with the 2 pc's negotiating which gets what Ip, setting static can address this. You also need to make sure the user accounts are the same name and pwd on both PC's.

As Fahnsen indicates cabling is not such an issue if you use a switch, however its a small additional expense and usually requires a power point too.

Fahnsen:

I don't know about Windows, but on the Mac you can just hook two computers together with any cable and no additional set-up.

Also decent network switches don't need crossover cables nowadays -- they adjust themselves to what's in the other end of the cable.

No two Macs will be able to communicate if you link them together by just a straight ethernet cable. They too require a crossover cable. The technology used is no different than for PC's. Unless your PC or Mac uses Auto-MDIX ofcourse (and both devices you're trying to connect do so!), but this technology too isn't PC nor Mac specific.

Your comment on switches makes no sense. You do not use crossover cables when employing a switch ("decent" or not, and nowadays nor yesteryear).

There's a good explanation on wikipedia.

KevinOK:

No two Macs will be able to communicate if you link them together by just a straight ethernet cable.

Yes, they are, and have been so for quite a few years. It will also work with a crossover cable though. 

Perhaps it's called Auto-MDIX -- it's built into all modern Macs anyway, and works out of the box.

Your comment on switches makes no sense. You do not use crossover cables when employing a switch ("decent" or not, and nowadays nor yesteryear).

You don't use a crossover cable between your computer and the switch of course -- but in the old days you'd need a crossover cable between your switch and other network devices.

The switches I use today can be connected to the wall socket (I'm connected to the Internet via a WAN system; no cable modem) or to each other with a straight cable, as well as with a crossover cable -- just as my Macs.

The bottom line is: At least using the equipment I have, you won't ever need a crossover cable -- though if you have one, it's actually interchangable with a straight cable.

Unless you're connecting a router to a router

Tonestar1:

Unless you're connecting a router to a router

I might be mixing switches and routers here -- but I don't think it really matters. I'm pretty sure I used both types of cable between my Apple router and the local router-modems during my recent stays in different locations abroad... To put it short, I always bring a number of EtherNet cables, of which one is a crossover cable (the only one I own, actually), just in case. I usually keep the crossover one as a back-up, and don't use it for permanent connections unless all the others are taken.

I'm no expert, but surely with the proliferation of networked devices auto-detection would be a standard on just about anything having an ethernet port? I would hope that manufacturers would prefer their products to be user friendly rather than to perpetuate basic networking as some sort of arcane science, then again I have been known to be hopelessly optimistic before...