What is a Patch Panel

A patch panel is a piece of organizational hardware used to manage cabling within a local area network (LAN), while connecting it to the wide area network (WAN) or internet. They provide a tidy view and management platform for large group of cablings entering a building and are an integral part of structured cabling. Additionally, patch panels are typically less expensive than running multiple cables across long distances while making those access points easier to manage.

Installation and maintenance of patch panels can be done quickly and easily by trained professionals and with minimum downtime for clients. Plus, patch panels are compatible with a wide range of cabling options, making them beneficial for organizing and updating older network infrastructure.

Types of Patch Panels

There are basically two kinds of patch panels that exist in a typical data center or commercial network – fiber optic patch panels and ethernet patch panels. Different designs, configurations or port counts are available for each panel and they can be customized to accommodate various network cabling requirements.

Patch Panels for Cable Management

Patch panels help to keep network closets neat and organized and these things bring huge benefits to business owners.

Reduced downtime – When cables are organized neatly it makes troubleshooting network problems and performing network expansions far easier. With organized cables that are properly labeled contractors can find where each connection goes much faster and tend to the root problem in record time, thus cutting down on maintenance time and costs.

By having network cables secured through a patch panel and further supported with proper wire management and ties it means there is no loose cabling blocking pathways, which makes for a safer work environment. In some unkept environments dangling cables can be prone to environmental damage and even damage from vermin.

Implement patch panels with proper cabling standards for optimal network infrastructure.