Patch Panels are a part of structured network LAN cabling. Let us look at why they might be required, what are their major classifications and the disadvantages of network patch panels, in this article.

Photo courtesy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stp/

As shown in the above diagram, patch panels are generally kept in the front of network switches, in the network racks. All the cables from the desktops are brought to the patch panels and they are terminated at the back side (The UTP cable consists of 4 Pairs, all these 8 cables are separated at the end and punched individually behind the patch panel). This is the permanent connection, which is not disturbed. A patch cable (with RJ-45 connectors at both ends) now goes from the front (a port) in the patch panel to one port of a network switch which is placed behind the patch panel.

But why introduce a new component in the already cluttered data centre? Can’t we just terminate the cables directly to the switch? Yes, it is fine to terminate the UTP cables from the desktops directly to the network switches. The set-up would still work. But a patch panel is introduced in between the network switch and the desktop cables for the following reasons:

¤ Identification: The patch panel ports can be labelled (Location, desktop number etc) to help identify which cable from which location is getting terminated on which port of the patch panel. Now, when there is a need for testing or disconnecting a particular cable, you could easily locate them on the patch panel.

¤ The switch is not disturbed, when small changes are being made with the network cabling. The changes can be made quickly and easily.

¤ All the cables can be terminated on the patch panels (irrespective of whether they need to be connected to the switches or not) and they could be selectively connected to the switches by just moving the patch cables, whenever needed.

¤ Testing: Patch panels help identify easily if the switch is not working or if there is any fault at the cable end. They also help in troubleshooting.

¤ It helps all the routine network monitoring tasks like testing, switching, routing etc. to be done quickly.

¤ The position of the patch cords, can be changed by anyone when there is an urgent need to do so, without having to wait for the network administrator. Or the network administrator can remotely guide the person performing the changes as it is easy to identify the routes and make changes.

¤ The active components like switches are kept behind the patch panels and hence direct tampering with them is difficult. The switches and their connections are permanently fixed, reducing the chances of error.
¤ Patch Panels come with cable ties and mounting hardware for efficient cable routing and management. It also looks neat this way.

¤ Some vendors offer patch panel management/monitoring software with sensors attached to patch cables which can monitor if any changes are made to the network and intimate the network administrator if any cables are changed, connected or disconnected. This helps identify and correct unauthorised tampering.

There are many types of patch panels. There are various patch panels based on the number of ports like 12 Port, 24 Port, 48 Port etc. There are also separate patch panels for Cat 5E, Cat 6, Cat 6A and cat 7 cables. So, if your switches support 1GE, your patch panels also need to support 1GE, only then you can realize 1GE in the edge port. There are different patch panels for UTP and Shielded pair cables. Patch Panels are also available as Flat Patch Panels or Angled Patch Panels (Here, the modules are angled at 45 degrees to increase the cable bend radius, in certain applications).

Disadvantages of Patch Panels: The network cabling, if done without patch panels, do not lose any functionality. So, they are actually redundant but an important component of structured cabling installations. The patch panels are quite expensive. They need to be upgraded (or changed) when the switches are changed to support higher bandwidth (The patch panel which supports 100 Mbps max. will not support 1000 Mbps when the network switches are upgraded to that level). There are also possibilities of errors during installation of patch panels as each UTP cable that needs to be fixed has 8 terminal cables which need to be punched according to a colour scheme.

excITingIP.com

In case you have any questions, you can contact us using the contact form or leave a comment below. You can also subscribe with your email address (on the right side of this site) to get intimated when a new article is published on this site.