Keystone Jacks?

[Jerrinst]

Could someone explain to me how to wire a keystone jack for Cat6?

Do I use Cat 6, 8 Conductor Modular Plugs on each ends of my drops and then plug that into the keystone jacks? Or does only one side have a Cat 6, 8 Conductor Modular Plug and the other end terminates directly into the keystone jack?

Thanks for all of your help.

Jerrin

 

[Kelemvor]

Standard keystone jacks have the end of the cable connecting directly to the back of the wall plate. Need a punch down tool and you just put the wires in the right place. You can get Couplers for keystone jacks that let you take a cable with an end already on it and snap it into the back side of the jack but I've never used them.

Scroll to the bottom of this page to see a coupler type setup:
http://www.lanshack.com/example_home_network.asp

And here's a picture that sort of shows the jack itself. Front end is what faces out that you plug a patch cable into. The back part is wher eyou punch down the wires from the cable in the wall attaching the jack to the cable.
http://www.lanshack.com/product1.asp?SID=10&Product_ID=96

 

[jonnyGURU]

Like Franky said....

Just buy the CAT6 keystone jack, punch the wires down to the appropriate blades (the jack will be color coded) and then snap that into the back of the wall plate.

 

[Jerrinst]

So, I punch one end of the cable into the keystone jack and on the other end, I place one of those Cat 6, 8 Conductor Modular Plugs. And the Cat 6, 8 Conductor Modular Plug will go directly into my router.

Is that correct?

Franky Junior and Jonny Guru, thank you for all of your help. It is DEEPLY appreciated. This is my first home network and I know that one must be careful in order to keep with the cat6 specifications and requirements. The fact that I know little about networks helps too I suppose....

Thanks Guys!

 

[jonnyGURU]

Originally posted by: Jerrinst
So, I punch one end of the cable into the keystone jack and on the other end, I place one of those Cat 6, 8 Conductor Modular Plugs. And the Cat 6, 8 Conductor Modular Plug will go directly into my router.

Is that correct?

Depends, but it sounds like you're on the right track.

If you've got a wall plate on one end and then a drop going into a switch on the other, then yes.

Usually you'd terminate to a patch panel on the opposite end of the cable from the wall plate. I've even seen people with small LAN's (like 4 or 6 PC's) use a single wall plate with 4 or 6 keystone holes in it and put keystone jacks on BOTH ENDS and the plug patch cables into the 4 or 6 hole wall plate to the switch, hub, etc.

One real ghetto install I went to had runs going from the keystone jacks in the wall plate to a hole in the ceiling where the cables just hung down about 2 feet. At the end of each cable was a keystone jack. They just snapped patch cords from the switch into the dangling keystone jacks.

 

[Jerrinst]

JonnyGURU,


Thanks again for the info. What I am trying to accomplish is this (feel free to interject):

I'm shooting for a gigabit network for gaming and file/printer sharing. I'll actually have 1 PC, 1 printer, a Xbox next and a PS3 plugged in (when they arrive).

I'm planning on making 8-9 drops/jacks. Ideally, if I have a great multiplayer PC game, I'd like to be able to have a friend or two come over and just plug their PC's in the wall and game merrily.

My understanding was that I needed a gigabit router, cat 6 cable, 8-9 keystone jacks, 8-9 Cat 6, 8 Conductor Modular Plugs, some faceplates, and that would just about do it. Is there something(s) that I am missing?

Thanks again,

Jerrin

 

[jonnyGURU]

It depends. It sounds like your shopping list is complete if your just going from your wall plate to a modular plug that you're going to plug straight into a router.

All I was saying is that I prefer to terminate at a wall plate or patch panel before continuing to the switch or router rather than plugging my drops straight into a switch or router. Even a small, wall mount, vertical 8 port patch panel is better than nothing IMHO. But that's just me.

 

[Jerrinst]

"All I was saying is that I prefer to terminate at a wall plate or patch panel before continuing to the switch or router rather than plugging my drops straight into a switch or router. Even a small, wall mount, vertical 8 port patch panel is better than nothing IMHO."


Why is that? Is it more wire-friendly neater or easier to connect? What exactly is the purpose of a patch panel?

 

[jonnyGURU]

All of the above.

Here's a 12-port of what I'm talking about: http://www.cyberguys.com/templates/searchdetail.asp?T1=162+0820&sk=MC51419

On one end your drop terminates to a single keystone wall plate, on the other end terminates at the patch panel. Then you plug in cables as needed from the patch panel to the router/switch.

 

[skyking]

You really do not need a gigabit router, unless they are cheap.
The connection to the wan is less than 10baseT.
You do need a gigabit switch. The SMC 8 port is the least expensive gigabit switch that supports jumbo frames. If you want to move the maximum data over the lan, you will want to use jumbo frames.
pagecomputers has the best price on these.
I ordered two patch panels from this outfit for less than $30 each, along with some other parts. They have a great seller rating, so I gave them a chance.
http://deepsurplus.site.yahoo.net

 

[jonnyGURU]

Hey! If the guy wants gigabit, so be it. I wasn't going to say anything.

Point is, the one that skykind is making, you could save a lot of money on cable and switch/router if you go 10/100. And if you decide to do it... Even the patch panel would be cheaper.

The printer and the X-Box don't have Gigabit ports. Your broadband doesn't. Does the PS3 and your PC? And then you've got your friends. Do they all have Gigabit? It's cool, though. You definitely would never have bandwidth issues that could be blamed on the switch/router or media if you went with Gigabit/CAT6.

 

[skyking]

I was not suggesting that he give up gigabit, quite the contrary. That link is for a gigabit switch, for around 95$ shipped.

 

[jonnyGURU]

Oh! You were saying he didn't need a gigabit router because his interface to the WAN was not gigabit. Gotcha. I was thinking he was talking about a gigabit router/switch. Like a Broadband router. I was thinking there was a broadband router with a gigabit switch, but after looking around I guess there isn't!

I guess I thought this beause you were steering him away because you linked him to a CAT5 patch panel and not a CAT6... not that it would make much difference really. I linked him to the more expensive patch panel because he was intent on using CAT6.

 

[skyking]

If you need CAT6, there is a 24 port patch panel at the same link for $51.25
Unfortunately, they don't have any 12 port CAT6.

 

[Jerrinst]

"The connection to the wan is less than 10baseT"

When you say that, what do you mean? Are you talking about the DSL speeds (less than 3 meg/sec)?

My understanding was that a router was better for my needs. Would a switch be better for my situation?

I'm about to buy my keystone jacks and connectors today, as I'll be running the wire this weekend (which I already have) since the sheetrock guys will be doing their magic next week.

 

[jonnyGURU]

You're still going to need a router on the network edge. The economical solution is your typical 10/100 broadband router going to the DSL signal, and then uplink that to the gigabit switch.

Last night I tried to look for a broadband router with a gigabit switch and couldn't find one! At least not something that wasn't made for an enterprise solution.

I'm sure the DSL company provided you with a broadband router, correct? Mine gave me a Westell DSL modem/wireless router. If not, they're only about $100. Uplink that to a gigabit switch for about $100 (the one in skyking's link, for example) and you should be golden without forking out the big bucks.

 

[Jerrinst]

Thanks Jonny!

Another question for ya. Is this what I need to make the connection to my keystone jacks (i.e. "punchdown")? http://www.lanshack.com/product1.asp?SID=10&Product_ID=120

The site has an "economy" version that is much cheaper, but it lacks the built in blade. I'm guessing that the version with the blade is easier to use. What has been your experience?

 

[jonnyGURU]

That's a punch down tool. That's even the correct blade in the picture (110) for keystone jacks and patch panels.

One without the cutting blade on the punch isn't so bad, but your punchdowns will need a hair cut after you make each punch. For the money, it's worth it to get the one that cuts the end of the wire off when you punch.

Thank you for not opting for the little plastic POS that comes with the box of 10 keystones. That thing is HORRIBLE!

 

[Jerrinst]

*laughs* That's exactly what I wanted to know! I figured the blade would likely be the best way to go for a novice. Thanks again for all of your help Jonny and the rest of you!

 

[Jerrinst]

One last question (for awhile).... Is the wiring scheme needed for the cat6 keystone jacks the same as the layout of the modular connectors on the other end of the cable? In other words, do I have to place the ends of the wires in different configurations?


Thanks for all your help!

 

[jonnyGURU]

The keystone jacks, or anything with 110 terminals for that matter, will have color coded labels on them dipicting both 686A and B. No worries.

 

[skyking]

Update: the patch panels arrived, and they ARE CAT6, for less than 30$ each shipped.
I got one of the cheap keystone jack to test, and it looks fairly good, with no need to split up pairs like the standard levitons.
The SMC switches came also, and work as advertised.