What type of UTP cable should be used to connect two routers together if Auto MDI-X is disabled?

To connect two routers directly when Auto MDI-X is disabled, a crossover cable is the appropriate choice. This is because crossover cables are designed to connect devices that operate at the same layer, such as two routers, by aligning the transmit and receive wires correctly.

In a typical Ethernet setup, when connecting different types of devices, such as a router to a switch or a PC to a switch, a straight-through cable is used. However, when connecting similar devices like routers, the transmit pins of one device must connect to the receive pins of the other. A crossover cable accomplishes this by crossing over the wiring pairs within the cable.

Since Auto MDI-X is a feature that automatically configures the interface for the type of cable being used, disabling it means that the ports won't adjust to the connection type automatically. Therefore, the manual alternative of using a crossover cable becomes necessary to ensure proper communication between the two routers.

Options involving shielded and patch cables don’t directly address the need to configure the connections between similar devices correctly in the absence of Auto MDI-X. While shielded cables can reduce electromagnetic interference, and patch cables typically refer to short, versatile cables used in networking, they don't specifically meet the requirements for connecting two routers without