What is a patch panel?
A patch panel is a piece of hardware that has multiple ports that help organize a group of cables, each of these ports containing a wire that goes to a different location.
Patch panels can be very small with just a few ports or very large with hundreds of ports and they can also be used for fiber optic cables, cat5 cables, RJ45 cables and many others.
What is the purpose of the patch panel?
Patch panels connect all kinds of IT equipment together and are found in many different environments, including telecommunications closets, telephone company central offices, and data centers, and understanding the role they play can help determine if your facility needs a patch panel , how to set it up if needed.
Each port in a patch panel is connected to a different device somewhere in the facility, and each panel bundles all the connections together for connection to another network, which is usually how a LAN connects to a WAN or the Internet, and the wiring Racks are also commonly used in facilities with a large number of telephone lines, where one main line is used for all telephones.
Advantages of patch panels
Patch panels are an important piece of equipment in a data center, and there are many advantages to using them that make them well worth installing.
1. Scalability
Once the patch panels are installed, you can easily add new equipment without having to run new cables end-to-end.
2. Reduce cable clutter
Patch panels are often located closer to the actual equipment, which makes it possible to use shorter patch cords to run from the panel, fiber optic or other high-capacity connections to the next network or the Internet.
3. Cheap
Patch panels aren't considered "smart" devices because they don't perform any function other than facilitating data delivery, which means they're very cheap.
4. Reduce cable costs
Having a patch panel allows you to use shorter cables that cost less than longer cables, and you can often use inexpensive cat-5 cables instead of expensive fiber optics to connect to the patch panel.
5. Easier maintenance
If you need to run test cables, test ports, or perform any other common maintenance tasks, it can be done faster and easier than if you had to cable each device to its final destination.
Patch panels are one of the oldest types of technical equipment still in vogue today, and they are simple in design and function, yet still help improve the organization and function of a data center or almost any other environment with a lot of equipment.
Patch Panel Cable Management System
With dozens or even hundreds of cables going in and out of the patch panels, things can easily get very messy and messy. A clutter of cables can make troubleshooting much more difficult and can even cause a power outage if someone pulls the wrong cable. Here's why Keeping organization in mind from the very first cable you plug in is critical.
Then the following measures can help keep the patch panel organized, including:
1. Mark the cable
All cables should be properly marked at both ends and in many cases along the middle as well, having labels on the cables will make it easy for technicians to confirm they are working on the correct line.
2. Jumper manager
The patch cord manager lets you route wires neatly and evenly to each port so you can see exactly where things are coming from and going.
3. Color coded cables
Color-coded cables allow you to quickly identify the type of cable in each location.
4. Cable tie
Using cable ties to bundle together cables connected to the same server rack or elsewhere will help keep things neat and organized.