Do you use a patch panel?

[cmx]

I don’t I have always just plugged in my cables directly to a Poe switch.

I can see a patch panel cleaning up the cables but I also have limited space in my rack.

 

[Flintstone61]

I'm a bit prehistoric, the Cisco 24 port POE and the NVR are on a shelf in the garage. then 1 ethernet goes into the house to send the feed to a BI computer. ( and then to a server in the Peoples Republic probably )

 

[TonyR]

I have no patch panel(s).....less punchdowns and connectors, less opportunity for mechanical issues.
Once my cams and cables are in place (from cam to POE switch), they don't get moved around.

This setup fits my use case and is just my opinion....YMMV

 

[mat200]

I have a patch panel in my main "rack" ..

Trendnet patch panel .. used to be more affordable ..

hmm .. HEY when did these become NDAA compliant ( what the heck, how is it NDAA compliant )

 

[tigerwillow1]

I have no patch panel(s).....less punchdowns and connectors, less opportunity for mechanical issues.

Ditto that. Plus, when I look at the switch, it kind of looks like a patch panel to me.

 

[bp2008]

I have exactly one patch panel and it isn't even rackmount.

My house was built in 2003 and this is what I found when I moved in, in 2021.



The builders had run coax (for TV) and cat5e cable (for telephone) from this box to nearly every room in the house. The cat5e was just begging to be converted to ethernet, and it was a perfect opportunity for a patch panel given all the fixed-length cables where the price of damaging any of them is very high so you don't want to be handling them a lot.

I didn't have a rack yet and besides, I wouldn't have wanted to tether a rack quite that solidly to the house's permanent wiring. I wanted something I could leave here if and when I move out. So I bought this Trendnet 12-port patch panel, wired in all the cat5e cables, and mounted it inside the box.

 

[The Automation Guy]

Patch panels are appropriate when the purpose of the wiring will change over time. Being able to make these changes simply by "repatching" things is so much simpler. It also makes terminating runs of wires that aren't currently being used better looking and easier to use in the future. If you only have a handful of wires, then grabbing each wire to read a tag until you find the correct wire that you need is probably OK. But when you have 20, 50, or 100 or more wires all coming to the same location, this can become tedious and a patch panel would be easier to use. For all of these reasons, I think most connections being made to a "wall jack" should be terminated in a patch panel IMHO.

On the other hand, there are many times when a cable is run for a singular purpose. Obviously CCTV camera wiring often times falls into this category. If this is the case, and the wiring purpose is NOT likely to change over time, then terminating the wires with plugs is probably more appropriate.

Long story short, both methods have their place and a typical home will likely benefit from both strategies when used appropriately.

 

[Ri22o]

Yes, and there are even more connections now.

 

[Jimmyjames]

I put in a keystone jack patch panel at one of my facilities. It supports a separate network that segments the atmospheric controllers from the cameras. It probably wasn’t necessary but I didn’t want the setup to look sloppy. More connections equal more potential failure points. I haven’t had any problems tho.

 

[rdxny]

I move things around, so a patch panel is nice. I started with the ones that have a punch down connection in the back, but any changes, especially in the middle and if the cables are tied down, are crazy hard. I changed to keystone jacks in the panel... so much easier to connect a cable to the back or change it out or add.

 

[VorlonFrog]

One patch panel here, just for the various switches and wires routed from all over the house. It was NOT fun punching down all of those jacks.

 

[Smilingreen]

I have installed many patch panels in the past for my employers, but for home, I just plug directly into the POE+ switch. If I had a fully managed switch, I might do it. Otherwise, nah......

 

[cmx]

I have no patch panel(s).....less punchdowns and connectors, less opportunity for mechanical issues.
Once my cams and cables are in place (from cam to POE switch), they don't get moved around.

This setup fits my use case and is just my opinion....YMMV

That makes sense, i never understood the need for a patch panel it just means more work adding connections etc I was always under the impression it was just for appearance.

 

[Jimmyjames]

That makes sense, i never understood the need for a patch panel it just means more work adding connections etc I was always under the impression it was just for appearance.

Sometimes yes sometimes no. For appearance cable management bars can also be utilized:

 

[Iemand91]

For my own situation no, since at the central location I have only like 5 or so networkcables coming in. But for my brothers new build house I did.
Al ethernet runs are solid cat6 and using RJ45's on those are not recommended which is also my own experience.

 

[TonyR]

OK, I'll fess up, I do have a small patch panel in the basement.
</end big fat lie>