Tag Archives: fiber optic patch panel

Things You Should Know About Patch Panel Cabinet

Cables are in the right position. Patch panels are terminated. All slack cables are put orderly in the cable manager. Let’s see what is missing? Well, where should the patch panels and cable managers be? Just lying on the ground? If indeed, the previous efforts for cable management is wasted. Just with a cabinet or a server rack, you can solve the problem. There are thousands of cabinet for different use, but here we refer to the network patch panel cabinet.

Network Patch Panel Cabinets Introduction

We have wall mount cabinets that has the maximum height of 12U and the normal cabinets standing on the ground that can reach to 45U. Unlike the open frame rack which consists of two or four mounting rails (called posts) without sides or doors, the wall mount cabinet is enclosed by SPCC cold roll steel panels and a glass front door to make its inside visible. The side panels can be removed easily for quick access to equipment and cabling. On the top of the patch panel cabinet, there is a cooling vent to ensure smooth airflow, preventing over-heat in it to further protect equipment. It is designed to house the 19-inch standard that is consistent with most patch panels in FS.COM or non-standard network equipment as well as network accessories. The wall mount cabinet is shipped fully assembled and is ready to mount to the wall.

As for the floor-standing network patch panel cabinet, the ventilation can be naturally achieved as the front door is perforated and the top panel is attached with brush guards to prevent over-heating. It has four casters helping with its move. Top, bottom and back cable access openings provide convenient and multiple cable routing choices to and from the patch panel cabinet.

Layout Inside the Patch Panel Cabinet

We all know that all patch panel are put in the cabinet, be it fibre optic patch panel or Ethernet patch panel. However, the question is whether it is on the front side or back and with the jacks facing in or out?

In most cases, we will start with an empty patch panel cabinet, and then install the devices on its front rails from top to the bottle. First comes the cable manager 1, then follows the patch panel 1, cable manager 2, switch 1, cable manager 3 and switch 2, with all the connectors on the back side of the patch panel cabinet. All gadgets ready, we can go on with the cabling. The patch panel here can be fibre or copper patch panel.

patch panel cabinet

The importance of a patch panel cabinet is no less than that of a tiny screw or a nail. And great attention should be focused on it since the patch panel cabinet can support the other device and prevent them from external damages. A solid and durable patch panel cabinet is necessary, which is actually what FS.COM aims at. There are 9U and 12U, two choices for you to meet different application. To ensure the best performance, 1 bag of nuts and bolts, 1 T-Shaped Lever will be offered for free. And there are so many surprises in the patch panel cabinet that I want to leave it for you to find yourselves. You will find them when installing and using the patch panel cabinet from FS.COM.

Ethernet Patch Panel Still Shining on the Market

The patch panel, a significant element in cabling design, has many ports on it. Through these ports, the cables are located elsewhere in your building. Patch panel at present has fibre and copper patch panel(also known as Ethernet patch panel), two choices for us. As we all know, a single fibre optic patch panel is not available to all kinds of fibre cables. The same is to copper patch panels which are classified as Cat5e patch panel, Cat6 patch panel and so on.

CAT5e Ethernet Patch Panel VS. CAT6 Ethernet Patch Panel

Both as the copper patch panel, Cat5e patch panel and Cat6 patch panel don’t have many differences, except that Cat5e patch panel usually works with Cat5e, while Cat6 patch panel can work with both the corresponding Cat6 cable and any earlier generation of Cat cable. The patch panels themselves don’t have many practical differences. However, there is indeed a difference in the wire gauge specified between Cat5e and Cat6. The cat6 wire is thicker in that Cat6 usually has 23 AWG copper conductors compared to only 24 AWG in Cat5e cable.

The 24 port patch panel used for different cables are both welcomed by customers. 24 port cat6 patch panel offered by FS.COM acquires acknowledgments from many customers and IT experts. With easy installation and top-quality performance, the high quality patch panel is designed for Fast Ethernet applications. 24-port Cat5e patch panel is the most popular in the market, which has punch down and feed-through patch panel for customer choice. And when applying patch panels to special environments, for example nearby motors, generators, air conditioners, and even office mainstays such as fluorescent lights and printers, you should carefully consider between shielded and unshielded patch panels.

Shielded Ethernet Patch Panel VS. Unshieleded Ethernet Patch Panel

Shielded and unshielded patch panels are required to match with the shielded and unshielded copper cable applications. Shielded patch panels are designed for high EMI (Electro Magnetic Interference) environments. If the application environments have special requirements for crosstalk and EMI functions, especially when the copper cable runs near power cables then you should choose to use shielded Ethernet cables with shielded patch panels. However, someone may wonder whether they can use unshielded patch panel for shielded cable. To be honest, it depends on the environment in which your cable will run through. If the place has no high power electrical wires, you can go with unshielded patch panel. On the flip side, if you are in a noisy environment like using arc welders or near high power radio transmitters, then you’d better select the shielded one. FS.COM shielded and unshielded patch panels can meet not only 1G network speed, but also 10G network.

For both shielded and unshielded applications, you can find what you need at FS.COM. The port number marked on the FS.COM patch panel provides easy cable identification. The cable manager on the rear side is removable, providing efficient and organized cabling.

Conclusion

CAT5e and CAT6 cables are the most popular Ethernet cables on the market. To create a nicely organized cabling environment, choosing the right patch panel is essential. Sometimes Cat5e, Cat6 or other Ethernet cables need to be managed in a single panel, in this type of situation, the blank keystone patch panels can support mixed cabling with installation of different rj45 insert modules. In addition, you can customise your patch panel according to your specific applications. FS.COM provides a large variety of patch panels and Ethernet cable and also presents a selection of cable managers to help you create your ideal cabling network. For more details, please visit our website.

Fibre Optic Patch Panel Best Practices

The fibre optic patch panel, one type of the patch panels, is getting more popular with many expertise and customers getting to use it. It rides the waves of the optic product and meets appropriately our demands. As the fibre is fed through a coupler, the fibre patch panels are a lot easier to install and no hardwiring is needed.

What Is a Fibre Optic Patch Panel?

Fibre optic patch panel, also known as fibre distribution panel, serves as a convenient place to terminate all the fibre optic cable running from different rooms into the wiring closet and provides connection access to the cable’s individual fibres. Fibre patch panels are termination units, which are designed with a secure, organised chamber for housing connectors and splice units. Fibre patch panels are available in rack mounted or wall mounted and are usually placed close to terminating equipment (within patch cable reach). Both types can house, organise, manage and protect fibre optic cable, splices and connectors. Rack mount panels also come in flat and angled versions.

fiber patch panel

Why We Use Fibre Optic Patch Panel to Manage Cables?

Of course, if we skip it and just connect all cables directly into the hub, then we will miss the following advantages:

You can label the patch panel so you know which room the cable run goes to. Putting the labels on the cables is tougher to read than labels on a patch panel and there is also a risk of falling off. Having patch panel will become very handy and achieve neat cabling.

Best Practices in the Installation of a Fibre Patch Panel

In this part, we will use a 12 port rack mount fibre optic patch panel as an example. And the main body can be divided into 3 parts, namely cable preparation, splicing, and patch cable installation.

First, prepare fibre optic cable or blown tube as required and secure the network cable to the rear of the panel by using cable ties. For the easy operation, we need to unscrew and remove the splice tray. In addition, we need to cut the cable jacket off to punch down but avoid excess to limit crosstalk or damage. Then, splice input fibres onto the pigtails or field terminate connectors as applicable. Finally, put the cables in the panel form its back. Remove the protective covers of both the adapter and the connector and clean the connectors and place them in the adapters.

Conclusion

In a few words, a fibre optic patch panel gives you a very good cabling organisation. The better cable management can spare you a lot of energy and time in case that you do trivial things. Though many people view it as a waste, I believe that everything has its meaning to exist in the world. What matters most is whether you can take advantage of it and apply it to the situation where it is actually needed.