Small network, less than 24 ports. Why use a patch panel? Why not straight into a switch?

[MichaelD]

Interesting article, Heartsurgeon; I've never seen anything like that before...very cool.

Being that the house will have NOTHING run yet...it's just as easy to drop four wires as it is one...at this point, I'm going to go with the traditional solution...safer that way, and to me, seems to be less to go wrong. If I need two boxes in a room, I'd just feel safer knowing they both have individual hard lines back to the server...maybe I'm thinking too old-fashioned, but that's what I think about it.

Thank you for the suggestion, though. If I had an existing network that needed expansion, I'd probably go that route. Excellent article.

 

[ScottMac]

I haven't been able to find the Interop picture, I'm trying to get in touch with the marketing guy that ran the booth to see if he has one (He's appaently changed jobs a couple times...har to find...). "Spring Cleaning" is gonna be happening soon here, maybe I'll run across it. Chances are it's a couple years down in the paper glacier...

The reference is to when I was doing the tech setup of the company's Networld - Interop booth. On the "pod" that held the core switch (~dozens of jumpers, panel --> switches), I used long jumpers (all the colors we could get), layed them out spelling out the company name, then tacked them together with hot melt and mounted them over a 5U rack panel blank.

If I get some time, cable, and another hot melt gun, maybe I'll do a "ScottMac" bundle and put it up on my site.

It's not that hard to do.....no real magic; got a lot of comments though.

FWIW

Scott

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: ScottMac
I haven't been able to find the Interop picture, I'm trying to get in touch with the marketing guy that ran the booth to see if he has one (He's appaently changed jobs a couple times...har to find...). "Spring Cleaning" is gonna be happening soon here, maybe I'll run across it. Chances are it's a couple years down in the paper glacier...

The reference is to when I was doing the tech setup of the company's Networld - Interop booth. On the "pod" that held the core switch (~dozens of jumpers, panel --> switches), I used long jumpers (all the colors we could get), layed them out spelling out the company name, then tacked them together with hot melt and mounted them over a 5U rack panel blank.

If I get some time, cable, and another hot melt gun, maybe I'll do a "ScottMac" bundle and put it up on my site.

It's not that hard to do.....no real magic; got a lot of comments though.

FWIW

Scott

:Q <--understatement of the week. Wow, that must've taken days! Sounds way cool though. If you find the pic, throw it up for us, ok? Have a good day.

 

[Tallgeese]

Don't let ScottMac's humility trick ya...that pic of the Interop setup is WICKED awesome!

 

[Tallgeese]

Originally posted by: Garion
One other item to note.. If you use a patch panel, you can do some things you can't - For example, putting a crossover cable between two of the ports on the panel to create a stand-alone network.. Plugging an RJ11 jack into one of the ports to extend a phone line. Etc.

I use the phone line "trick" all the damn time at work...it never fails to amaze folks.

A good structured cable plant is a BE-YOO-TEE-FUL thing!

BTW: The firm I work had a new, professionally installed Cat5 cable plant run about 3 months before I started working for them. One of my first projects was switching everything over to the new wiring. Before it was a mishmash of half-ass installed Cat 5, Cat 3, Coax, etc. etc. What a fricken mess that old crap was...YEESH!

BTW2: They've estimated that based on the uptime they have enjoyed for the last 4.5 years since paying for the new wiring...they have recouped that cost nearly 25 TIMES OVER!!!

BTW3: Of course, the wiring isn't TOTALLY responsible for the newfound stability. But it definitely is the cornerstone which we build upon.

 

[ScottMac]

"Can I have a HAL - A - LOOOOOOOOOOO- YA "

Cabling done well is a wunnnerful thing......


Thanks for your testimony Brother Tallgeese.....

FWIW

Scott

 

[BlackTegSE]

Thank you very much for this thread. It helped me a lot wiring the network at my office. I ended up using a 24 port patch panel and everything seems to work great.

And I'm dying to see that Interop pic.

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

I always wondered what the point of patch panels was, now I know

 

[skyking]

As I stated above, if you do not have a good closet, you can terminate to several 6 or 4 hole wall plates with keystone jacks, as an alternative. It has the same affect, being able to jumper things quickly and easily.

 

[xSauronx]

damn

wouldnt wireles be alot easier than so much damned cat5, and the rj45 jacks in each room?
dunno about the price but damn....a wireless router, wireless usb adapters/pci cards and an ap or two seems easier to me

ill find out soon, i get to put together a wireless network next week in an oddly designed house and then move it to a new house later this year so i dont have to run all the cat5 and what not

 

[skyking]

If you push large bunches of MP3's around, back up hard drives, other intensive things, you will begin to hate life if you have a purely wireless network. It is dang slow, compared.

 

[xSauronx]

hmm
i did not know this
how about on the 54mbps wireless networks? still that slow?

 

[skyking]

Here is the deal on that: 54 is the theoretical max speed, but walls, interference, placement always knock that down some. It is a rare thing indeed to see any of those wireless connections actually max out, unless in the same room. if it is in the same room, then why not run the wire??!? Cat5, on the other hand, if done right, is just as fast for 5 meters as 50. It is secure in and of itself, unlike a wireless connection, which needs to be secured by some means. I would use wireless where it fits, but my opinion is to run wires between computers that i want to do big transfers to, or that can be done for a reasonable expenditure of time and effort.

 

[ScottMac]

......AND(!) you can only run network stuff over wireless (802.11).

If you have a good structured cabling plant, you can run damn near anything over it - Network, Video, audio, serial, RF, Phone...

All you need is the right adapter or BALUN.

Wire is a wunnerful thing.... (and fiber, well, let's just not go there right now..... )

FWIW

Scott

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

WEP is all crackable at this point, isn't it? That would keep me from using wireless on a "real" network (vs. using it on a laptop at the airport or whatever, where it would be a short period of time and then you're gone again).

 

[Confused]

:camera:'s please ScottMac

I'm hoping to get me a nice fully-cat5'd house if/when we move end of this year! Should be nice to be able to plug anything in anywhere, phones, computers, make up some adapters for running A/V down it too TV-Out/5.1 in bedroom, patched through to the TV downstairs, controlled via wireless kb/mouse, or a wired/wireless PDA! That'll be the dream!

I'll definately be taking pics if I get that done!!!


Confused

 

[tm37]

Picked up a patch panel at a swap meet for five bucks when I was in San Diego. I am re doing the servr closet tommorow. (I was looking for stuff on switches when I ran across this.

I have four comps currently on the netowork. Two have female ends and patch cords one is basicall a long pach cord and one is a long extension. I have replaced the male end on my comp (that runs all the way back to the switch. Three times in the two years this spot has been running on the nretowrk. The others have stayed the same. I added the female plug tonight and I am going to mount it in a box tommorow.

I was using a bunch of little surface mount boxes but I really wnated more space on my shelf so I am going to use that patch panel, it's a rack mount so I am going to build a rqack out of 2X4's

Oh and I want to see thoose pics too.

 

[jonmullen]

Originally posted by: Confused
:camera:'s please ScottMac

I'm hoping to get me a nice fully-cat5'd house if/when we move end of this year! Should be nice to be able to plug anything in anywhere, phones, computers, make up some adapters for running A/V down it too TV-Out/5.1 in bedroom, patched through to the TV downstairs, controlled via wireless kb/mouse, or a wired/wireless PDA! That'll be the dream!

I'll definately be taking pics if I get that done!!!


Confused

If anyone could do it, it would be ScottMac

 

[Glendor]

I did a HomeRun in my old house using a patch panel in the wiring closet, and in my new house with just the Cat5e coming out of the conduit from the attic.

Both ways worked perfectly, and the hydra head bundle coming out of the conduit was much simpler than the patch panel. Since the wiring closet is in an upstairs closet, and the conduit runs from the ceiling into an electrical box where the LABLED cables plug directly into my switch, nobody sees it but me, and it actually looks very nice.

Each room has one CAT5e LAN (blue), one CAT5e for 2 voice lines (yellow), and one CoAx for satelite TV.

The Blue cables branch off the bundle into the Switch. The yellow cables branch off the bundle and connect to an phone splitter from R-Shack (You've got questions, we've got blank stares). The Coax cables connect into one of two 4 way amped CableTV splitters. No cable is longer than necessary, and they are velcroed to stay neat.

Looks good, and is MUCH simpler than using the Patch Panel method.

As for the people worried about breaking cables...what the HECK are you doing with your cables, hanging from them??? After I ran the cables, attached the rj45s, and plugged them into the switch/splitter/etc... (which is mounted to the back of the box) they don't get moved, and if they did, they could take it.

I don't see need to justify the time and expense of using a patch panel again. mater of fact, I have a second one I bought for the project for sale.

It is a Ortronics 24 port panel for sale: $50 shipped if you want it.

Later...

 

[MichaelD]

Wow, this thread is still alive! It warms my heart so to see it. :heart:

Never did get to buy the house...work took me overseas for awhile. I did buy all the stuff though.

Half-height (4-foot) equipment rack
DLink DSS-24+ 24-port 10/100 NWAY switch
3,000 feet of CAT5e (two different colors )
1,000 feet of RG6
48 port CAT5e patch panel
24 CAT5e 2-foot patch cords
RJ45s/Coax ends
Wall plates
Punch down tool
Crimper
Etc.

It's sitting in my storage unit.

I'll use it one of these days.

I learned a helluva lot though, by preparing to do something the right way that I never got around to doing. In MY home at least. I've since done a little here and there...mostly running drops at work. Later.

 

[spidey07]

As said eariler, crimping ends onto cables limits you severely in what you can do with your cable.

No video.
No speaker cable.
No telephone.

...without a whole bunch of work and re-wiring. With a patch panel you can do anything you want with the cable and never worry about it or re-crimp it.