Are network patch panels basically just a row of jacks that are wired up to organize them. If so why not have jacks on both sides to more easily facilitate moving connections around as needed rather than stripping wire and connecting individual wires to the panel.
Also if I am missing this a pointer to a good online tutorial of the joys of patch panels would be helpful.
Thank you,
Drach, who began tiptoing into some bigger networks than I have ever messed with yesterday.
What you’re suggesting would certainly work - I suppose the reason that it isn’t commonly done is that the patch panel will usually represent the termination of permanent structured cabling. Why would you actually want to move connection around? - you can do that by rearranging the patch cables on the front.
Ok gotcha, was just wondering if it was just an organizational thing for a block of what would otherwise be a ton of wall jacks or is there some other interconnections going on in the panel like hub type functionality. The system I am working on has the patch panels 7’ off the ground and I can’t see much without climbing up there on a ladder and poking around. I figured a little internet research was in order before taking a screwdriver to anything.
Patch panels are just a bunch of ethernet sockets, just closely packed together - you can, for example, use them to connect one computer directly to another by patching one outlet directly to another and using a crossover cable in place of one of the patch cables at either end, or the one in the middle (in the cabinet).
There are patch panels that are just double-ended jacks, but they’re not really common.
About the only reason you’d want them is if you had some screwball consumer-grade device in your rack with jacks on the back and you wanted to bring them around to the front. Nornal rack-mount gear has its jacks all on the front, so it’s a pretty rare issue.
As for why you’d want to strip and connect wires, first off, you’re not stripping much - just the outer jacket of the cable. The individual wires get “punched down” into what’s called a 110 block.
Properly done, a punch connection will be much more reliable over time than a plug and jack connection as it takes two sub-connections out of the connection. For a plug and jack, you’d have wires to the plug, wires to the jack and plug to jack, for a total of three sub-connections to make up the overall connection.
They’re also far cheaper - a significant consideration when you’re setting up enterprise networks with hundreds or thousands (or for someone of our scale, millions!) of cables.
Well on the scale I operate (<25 machines, usually more like 3-5) Consumer grade crap is unfortunately the MO.
Great the subconnections issue makes alot of sense in addition to not having to thread any more of those damn plugs than I need to. I have seen 110 block connectors and I actually own a punchdown tool, just never had need to use it yet.
Thank you, I can think of several uses for such an arrangement like being able to load patches or software from a laptop in the network room without cutting into any of the bandwidth for other areas of the network.
Forgot to mention that there are hybrid cables that have an RJ45 plug at one end and a set of teeth at the other end that can be pressed into a 110 block. These are the bee’s knees when you’re wanting to connect consumer gear into a patch panel, as long as the 110 blocks are in-line. Unfortunately, to steal a term from the video camera market, my “prosumer” grade patch panel at home has two sets of four terminals for each jack, similar to these, rather than all eight in a row, so these cables don’t work on it.
That’s what a network switch is for - unlike a hub, it directs traffic from Point A to Point B without sending it to everyone, and without making you unplug and plug things and mess with going out to the client PC to do a DHCP renew so it can talk to the patch-supplying laptop. If you’re going to touch the PC, you may as well carry the patches on a CD.
Or, something to dream for in the future is to manage patches through SMS so the server does multicast or broadcast pushes at a convenient time.