[TriLUG] ethernet ports on Linksys wrt54g are autosense

[Aaron S. Joyner]

Joseph Mack wrote:

>Joseph Mack wrote:
>
>  
>
>>>A growing (?) trend I've seen is to merge the
>>>Link and Activity indicators into one..  Dark = no link; Lit = link good, no
>>>activity; Blinking = activity (implying link).
>>>      
>>>
>>hmm, I guess I'm a two light kinda guy.
>>    
>>
>
>I like plugging in a wire and see the link light on the RJ45 
>and not have to turn the device around to figure out if I have
>a connection.
>
>Joe
>  
>
The purpose for them being this way, regardless of my personal 
preference, is so that when the device sits on a surface you can have 
the wires tucked out of the way in the back (presumably running out of 
sight), and look at the front of the device to measure activity, or if 
you suspect a connection problem.  If the LEDs were on the back you'd 
have to turn it around to see if an issue had occurred with the Link, or 
if there was activity present.  By converse, if they put both the LEDs 
and the jacks on the front, you'd have wires spilling out onto your 
desk, or bent unnecessarily.  The trade off of course is slightly less 
convenient setup, and significantly easier operation over time.  As you 
can realize, when you're setting it up, you already have your hands on 
it and can easily turn it around or reposition yourself to see the 
lights after plugging in the cables.  If you simply want to check 
activity on your wife's computer (which you know is connected to switch 
port 2), it's easy to just look over at the switch and see if the 
activity light is blinking.

Note: I don't design these devices, and I don't purport to defend their 
design decisions.  I'm just trying to shed some light onto why they may 
have done it that way.

Aaron S. Joyner