Patch Panels / Cabling

What are Patch Panels?

A patch panel, patch bay, patch field or jack field is a mounted hardware assembly, typically comprised of RJ45 ports in which Ethernet cables trace out of from the rear of the panel.

These cables then trace to the Ethernet ports based in classrooms/work spaces , usually located on walls or the ceiling.

Patch panels are primarily responsible for connecting the infrastructure within school buildings to the infrastructure in the communications cabinet.

Data Outlets/Wall port

Above is a RJ45 terminated wall port. These will be located in various places within rooms on site. They can be based in ceilings or within walls and should have a unique identifier for each port clearly labelled.

Patch Panels

Above is a well maintained patch panel. Practising effective cable management can save time and effort when troubleshooting within communication cabinets.

How do they work?

If you want to set up a wired network that includes multiple wall ports in various rooms, a patch panel in a central location (Communications cabinet) can provide a simple, neat and easy-to-manage solution. A patch panel is essentially an array of ports on one panel. Each port connects, via a patch cable, to another port located elsewhere in the building.

For more information on how to patch and un-patch Ethernet enabled devices, please see the Port Allocation Guide.

Cabling in Infrastructure

Communications cabinets come in a wide array of sizes. Typically, a core cabinet at a school will hold:

  • A Router
  • Fibre Switch
  • General POE Switch
  • Patch Panels
  • Fibre Tray


These devices will also come in a wide range of different sizes, as technology changes in different ways everyday.

Each of these devices require connections to each other, and must be wired with varying types and lengths of cables.

For any communication cabinet, cable management is essential.

Types of Cables

Fibre Optic

To the right is a standard LC terminating OM4 Fibre Optic Cable (i.e. 'Fibre'). This type of cable typically connects network devices together, such as a switch to the router.

This type of cable also requires special attention when being unplugged to avoid damaging any software components currently using it's connection.

Please do not remove these types of cable unless specifically told otherwise.


Ethernet Cable

Shown to the left is a standard RJ45 CAT 6 Ethernet Cable. These cables are used for most of the cabling between infrastructure within a school.

In the past, there have been different categories (i.e. CAT rating) of Ethernet cable, such as CAT 5, CAT 5e and CAT 6 (i.e. CAT 6 is provides a faster connection over its predecessors).

Ethernet cables are used for the connections between POE Switches to Patch Ports, then Patch Ports to End Devices.

Troubleshooting Cabling

Fibre Optic:

Fibre optic connections will only exist within communications cabinets and should be left untouched.

Ethernet

There are various connection points within an Ethernet connection between a device and a site's core.

There's the cabling between the device and the wall port (i.e. WAP to wall port if over Wi-Fi), between the wall port and the patch panel, and between the patch panel and switch.

Because of this, there are several points where connectivity issues may occur.

If a connected Ethernet device is experiencing issues where:

  • The Internet drops out.
  • The device is unable to resolve a domain name (i.e. CEOPARR.LOCAL)
  • The device returns excessively slow upload/download speeds.
  • The device cannot receive an IP Address (i.e. connected but with no Internet).

Attempt the following with a known working Ethernet Cable handy (i.e. CAT 6):

Note: Ensure that the port the device is connected to has been patched correctly before attempting troubleshooting.
  • Replace the Ethernet cabling between the device and wall port. If unresolved, this could either mean that the issue lies with the cabling within or wall or within the connected communications cabinet.
  • Replace the Ethernet cabling between the patch port and the switch. If unresolved, this means that the issue lies within the cabling within the wall or with the switch.
  • If able, plug the device directly into the switch, using the same switch port used with the other steps of troubleshooting. If the device successfully receives an Ethernet signal, this means that the issue lies within the Cabling within the wall. If not, this could either mean the switch configuration requires updating, or the device's Network Interface Card (NIC) required maintenance.