A patch cable is basically your common everyday cable.
A patch cable is basically your common everyday cable. It is used to connect your NICs or other devices to your hub/switch or what have you. With a patch cable the signal goes straight through.
A cross over cable is a specialized cable. It basically has three roles: 1) It is used if you wish to connect two computers together without using a hub. 2) It can be used to uplink one hub to another in situations where an uplink port isn't available. 3) It is can be used to daisy chain on a network device like a Cable modem in some situation.
When constructing a network it is a good idea to use a different color of network cable for Cross-over cables. This helps prevent potential confusion.
