A connection on a router or switch called an uplink port is made to attach to another router, switch, or Internet access device. A cable or Broadband modem can be connected to the uplink connection found on the majority of residential networks.

A typical Ethernet port, which is a female socket for an RJ45 connection, resembles an uplink port in appearance. The uplink port differs from other ports on a router or switch in two key ways, though:An uplink port looks like a standard Ethernet port, which is a female jack for an RJ45 connector. However, there are two primary differences between the uplink port and other ports on a router or switch:

• The send and receive connections are switched around by the uplink port.
• More speed may be supported by the uplink port than by the other Ethernet connections.

Reversing the connector

The Transmission pins from the Ethernet wire link straight to the Receive pins inside the port when a desktop or laptop is connected to a standard port on a router. Since the data merely goes through the modem, this link is referred to as a "straight-through" connection. In a similar manner, the Receive pins on the attached Ethernet wire are immediately joined to the Send pins inside the socket.

The Receive and Send connections must be adjusted for proper operation when connecting a router to a cable modem, switch, or another router. Utilizing a "crossover connection," which flips four of the eight conductors, is one possibility. Utilizing an uplink connection, which performs this immediately, is an additional choice.

Greater Bandwidth

To prevent data overload, many routers and switches offer additional capacity through the uplink connection. A gateway, for instance, might have one 2.5 Gbps uplink connection and four 1 Gbps Ethernet terminals. One 10 Gbps uplink port and sixteen 1 Gbps Ethernet terminals are both possible on a router.

The uplink port must have more capacity than the other separate ports because it handles all inbound and outbound data. The bandwidth of the uplink port is typically less than the total bandwidth of the other ports because standard ports rarely use their entire maximal bandwidth at once.

The Uplink Port's Usage

On the rear of most contemporary routers is a broadband connector. This port frequently has the word "Internet" or a symbol in the shape of a circular indicating that it should be used to link to an Internet device, like a cable or Broadband modem. Since it frequently links to another switch or router, the uplink port on switches is frequently referred to as the "Uplink" port.

The "Auto-MDIX" feature of some networks determines whether a link is straight-through or split. Without a crossover connection, a modem can be connected to an Auto-MDIX port, but it might not offer the additional speed of an uplink port.