We have a project manager who is demanding that a private network be setup between two Windows 2008 R2 Enterprise servers using a switch instead of a crossover cable because of the following statement he made: "I don't want to use a crossover cable instead of a switch becuase Windows sometimes goes haywire if it senses the interface on the other end has dropped (e.g. if the other server goes through a reboot or something).". Is this true? Does Windows sometimes go haywire when it senses a connected network interface has gone down? Thanks! Ray

We've been using crossover cables for years to create a private network between two Windows clustered servers and I'm not aware of any problems created by the other interface going down.

Hi vbcpsgeek, Thanks for posting here. It should no problem to connect both computers directly by using crossover cable, however you can also use switch device if you have more than 2 computers in network: Connect two computers using a crossover cable http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/Connect-two-computers-using-a-crossover-cable Thanks. Tiger Li Please remember to click “Mark as Answer” on the post that helps you, and to click “Unmark as Answer” if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.