Originally Posted by agrater
In addition to the other responses, note that there are different categories of modern ethernet cable. (e.g., cat 5, cat 5e, cat6 and some earlier Cat3, etc. Cat=category.) The connectors are the same and for most usage you would never know the difference. However, there would be some differences for high-end applications.
All patch cables are labeled to what thier certification is, as is required by TIA specification, the cable itself says what it is, including if it is a corssover cable...
-Vincent