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I am going to be playing some local multiplayer with a buddy. The game is Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, and it supports local multiplayer. What is the most reliable way to set up a LAN session between two consoles?

I've heard that I can plug both consoles into a router with ethernet cables, but since we only need to connect two consoles, is it at all possible to link the consoles directly with an ethernet cable?

I will not have internet access, if it makes a difference.

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  • @DangerZone, to clarify; OPs question is not specific to Call of Duty. As such, the tag should not be used. OP is asking about the most effective measure to link two PS4s together via network. This application is exactly the same if OP was to be playing any other game that supports two player LAN. Actually, the same application applys to all consoles capable of networking; but well tackle that issue if we come to it.
    – user106385
    Commented Mar 10, 2016 at 0:38
  • I only mentioned the game to preempt any questions like your game has to support LAN play, what is the game?
    – RTF
    Commented Mar 10, 2016 at 8:59

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I've set up various large LAN parties involving multiple consoles (once with ~12 Xboxes for a Modern Warfare 2 party).

If you're only hooking up two consoles, you can generally get away with a "crossover" Ethernet cable hooking between them. A crossover Ethernet cable is wired differently than a standard CAT5/6 Ethernet cable, and is designed to directly connect two devices. This is probably the cheapest solution, a quick trip to Amazon or Monoprice will score you one of these cables for a couple of bucks.

That said, you could try hooking up the two consoles with a standard Ethernet cable - some Ethernet hardware is capable of detecting and auto-switching internally to a crossover mode. There's no risk to your hardware - if it fails, the network just won't work.

If you've got a router, even if you don't have internet access, it's still worthwhile to hook both consoles up to it. Routers have built-in services (DHCP, chief among them) that make setting up a small network much easier. There's no need for crossover cables here, just use standard Ethernet cables instead.

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  • Is there any problem, as far as you know, with using a home DLS modem/router, something that would normally have a phone connected to it etc. Would that work just the same as a piece of hardware that's dedicated to LAN situations like this, like some kind of switch?
    – RTF
    Commented Mar 9, 2016 at 16:30
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    Two things: Yes, it should work with a home router, PS4's are consumer devices and are designed to work with these consumer routers. Also, the PS3 supported using normal cables instead of a crossover cable (at least for data transfers anyways...) so I wouldn't be surprised if PS4 did as well, you should try it.
    – Probst
    Commented Mar 9, 2016 at 16:40
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    @RTF, if your DSL modem has multiple Ethernet ports for LAN (some do, some don't) then I'd think it would work fine.
    – agent86
    Commented Mar 9, 2016 at 16:54
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The PS4 has Gigabit ethernet ports. As part of the requirements for that spec, they have to support auto-crossover. You should not need a special crossover cable. To add a third console or more, you would only need a network switch. A router is only needed if you are connecting to the Internet with them.

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