Patch Panel Plays a Role in High Density Cable Management

In a structured data center cabling, patch panel is a functional unit which can increase efficiency and the usefulness of the such a cabling. Without it, the transmission of data is rendered ineffectively, it consolidates all the horizontal cabling in any piece of infrastructure, allowing IT managers to terminate long and troublesome cables so that a signal is connected directly through a patch code to its destination. This post aims to introduce patch panel in the following text.

What More Benefits We Can Get from Patch Panel

Patch panel is a device which enables cable connections, usually involving a short cable plugged in the front and a long cable into the back of the patch panel. The primary advantage of using patch panel is improved organization and easier management of your network. It also serves as the nerve center for the cabling network. Simply put, the patch panel is where all the horizontal cabling in the infrastructure is consolidated. Besides, patch panel plays a central role in the administration of the telecommunications network by enabling the process of moves, adds and changes (MACs) in complex spaces. For example, if two workers must transfer desk locations, a simple switch of patch cords into various ports on a patch panel can ease the move. Without this capability, much time and energy would be spent termination cable that would have to be hard-wired. Here shows Cat5e patch panel.

Patch panel is so critical to a system that if anything goes wrong with them, the entire system may fail, so it makes sense to choose patch panels carefully.

Copper VS. Fiber Patch Panel

Generally, there are copper and fiber patch panel available on the market. Some professionals are adamant that there is no real differences in the performance and construction, while others see a drastic differential between the copper and fiber products.

Cost: Cost is always the key consideration that most IT managers will concern. Commonly, the cost of fiber patch panel which having improved over the past year is far more than the copper equivalent. Such explains that the cost of actual installation is compatible but estimate a 30% to 40% per premium for fiber patch panel. Take FS.COM as an example, a 24 port Cat5e patch panel is only $41, but a MTP patch panel for 40G is about $850.

Ports Requirement: If we compare these two patch panels from the ports that they need, there is a night and day difference between copper and fiber patch panel. With copper panel, each pair of wires has one port, while fiber patch panel requires two port—one for the transmit end and one for the receiving end, because each tube of glass can only transmit in one direction.

Installation: Most professionals believe that fiber patch panel is a lot simpler to install than copper panel. A copper patch panel typically has up to four or eight modules, each with eight ports, which bring a total of 32 and 64 ports respectively. However, a traditional fiber patch panel typically features 72 or 96 ports, and some fiber panel may have up to 1,536 ports. (Note: The number of ports on a panel is not subject to physical limit other than the room to place them.) A high port count is required since two ports must accommodate each fiber cable.

Summary

Patch panel is highly functional systems, and will not at any point stand in the way of modifying your office or business design. FS.COM provides both copper fiber patch panel (Cat5e and Cat6 patch panel) and high density fiber patch panel (MTP patch panel) for different requirements. For any detailed information, please visit FS.COM.