What is a Patch Panel? Do You Need One?

hey YouTube been here again today let's talk about patch panels what are they and do you need one first of all I just want to say thank you to everyone who has watched commented and liked my do-it-yourself budget palm network video link below I super appreciate the comments and the likes and never imagined it would take off like it has I'm glad there are so many that are liking it I'm learning lots from the comments and I hope maybe some of you are picking up some tips to just maybe not electrical wiring tips one of the more common questions I get on that video is about the patch panel I have in my setup what is it what does it do do I have to have one the simple answer is no you don't have to have it could it save you some money if you didn't get one maybe put it at the complexity to an otherwise simple setup depending on your setup maybe however if you understand the concept behind it and the benefits one can offer most would strongly consider one so here's the scoop what is a patch panel a patch panel is a panel with an array of Ethernet ports on the front and places to punch down bare wires on the back each part on the patch panel labeled with a number will connect via an ethernet cable punch down on the back through the wall cross base or adding to another location in a house this other location will have the same Ethernet cable terminated at a wall plate needless to say then a patch panel is something you would only consider if you are going to use wired Ethernet connections in your house or office if you only be Wi-Fi in your house or office then there is no need for a patch of panel or switch or any of the other nerdy things to be treated in my videos [Music] Wi-Fi is great and is getting better with every iteration but I try to wire everything I can it's just more reliable quicker and more secure think of a patch panel this way a patch panel is a lot like the wall plate on the other end of the ethernet cable sure you don't have to have a wall plate or a keystone there you could just have the ethernet cable hang out of the wall and you could put an Ethernet jack on the end of it you could just dangle the cable there when not in use but that wouldn't look very good the cable would always be there for anyone to see at any time also if you're going to plug and unplug the cable often you will wear out the cable right at the wall would present a spot where the solid core wires and the ethernet cable can short or break we'll talk about solid core versus stranded Ethernet cables later so if it breaks you'll have to fix the cable that's in the wall and hope that you have extra in the wall if you need it some people would argue that solid core Ethernet cable doesn't just break like that and it's just made up but I'd rather not find out most will just terminate the cable in the Keystone and have it stopped at the Ethernet jack right at the wall it's neater no cable dangling no need to mess with your cables in the wall and you can just use a normal unit cable to go from the wall plate to the PC makes sense right well a patch panel is pretty much the same thing on a bigger scale for the other end of your cable a patch panel allows you great flexibility to add other cables down the road you just run another line add it to the patch panel it gives you a neat look and a simple way to manage configure and reconfigure your network down the road for example say we are setting up a network in our home and we want to use a patch panel I have prepared a very high-tech computer rendering to assist with this explanation say our first ethernet cable we want to run will be in the office and the patch panel is in the next room in the closet so this is where we want to place the wall jack in the office and this is where we will have our patch panel so number one run your cable to where you want your wall Jack to be as you can see in this picture next pull your cable out terminate it using a keystone snap your Keystone into the wall plate and screw on the wall plate to the wall next run the other end of the cable to the location where your patch panel and other network hardware is we will take this end of the ethernet cable and we will terminate it into the back of the patch panel we use spot number one on the patch panel so we will go back and write a number one on our wall plate and they office here you can see I have some numbers written on some of my wall plates throughout my house and they correspond to the numbers on my patch mat so in this example now we can remember that the Ethernet jack in the office is connected to port 1 on the patch panel generally at this point we would use a patch cable which is just a name for a shorter Ethernet cable that goes from the patch panel to the switch to finish the connection now anything you plug into port 1 in the office will be connected to the switch that is basically how a patch panel of use it allows your permanent network wiring that is not meant to be messed with our moved ever a permanent neat and organized place to interface with the rest of your network equipment now I know what you're thinking Ben you still haven't answered the whole question why not just terminate the end of the ethernet cable with a jack and just plug it straight into a switch do I have to have one or not well before we start on the reasons why you might want one let's first look at a few reasons why you might not want one and stay tuned as we'll go over the pros of having one towards the end of the video number one save money clearly a patch panel isn't free if you are on an extreme budget then you could forego the patch panel keep in mind the savings might not be as great as you think your mileage may vary you might not have to get as many patch cables or none whatsoever and you might not need a punch down tool unless you are terminating your wall jacks around the house but you might find you need more ethernet jacks instead if you are on a budget just do your homework and see if it will save you money number 2 the initial set up might be easier once your patch panel is all set up it will for sure make the rest of your network life so much easier but if you want the initial setup of your network to be easier then you could skip the patch panel subtracting the patch panel would also mean your network might be up and running a little quicker you could just put an Ethernet jack on the end of the cable running through the wall and plug it straight into the switch number three your network size is small or you won't change anything later so if your network is super small only a few pcs for example then you might not need a patch panel and you probably would only want a small switch or just use the ports on your router and you wouldn't even be after a larger rack setup like the one featured in my videos also if you are never going to change or reconfigure your network after your initial setup then the benefits of a patch panel might be minimal number 4 only using Wi-Fi clearly if you are strictly using Wi-Fi then you won't need a patch panel all right let's talk now about the benefits of having a patch panel number one it lets you use the proper type of cable in the proper place all right hear me out the Ethernet cabling that runs inside walls and in crawl spaces is different from your normal Ethernet cables you use to plug in your computer the cable do you use the plug in your computer our mess be handled and plug in and out many times they are made from stranded wires and are more flexible the type of cable that you should run through your walls and crawl spaces are solid core wires each wire in the cable is a single solid copper wire this type of wire is stiffer and can be a little more fragile and Bend a bunch then it's stranded cousin and often times just won't Bend quite how you want it to this solid core cable is meant better punch down and patch panels and Keystone's ideally once you run this type of cable you never want to move it or mess with it again and let you happen if you terminate this type of cable with a jack and just plug it into the switch which of course it is possible you can wear out this type of cabling if you're removing the cable a lot when configuring your network the more you mess with it the better chance you have of messing up the cable breaking a wire or creating a short if this happens you are troubleshooting the cable that runs through your walls and crawlspace and that's not easy if you have a patch panel that's stiffer solid for Ethernet cabling stops add your patch panel you never have to mess with it again like I mentioned earlier some would say this is not true that it is perfectly fine to use solid core anywhere and the higher chances of ruining it is just made up while it is possible to use solid core Ethernet anywhere I would rather use stranded cables where I can also since running some of these cables through walls and crawl spaces is oftentimes not simple I would rather not chance having to do it twice once your cable is terminated at the patch panel from there you are using a patch cable to go the rest of the way to the switch or anywhere you might be routing it the patch cable is made of the stranded Ethernet cabling and it is much better suited for task of being messed with been and changed as you reconfigure your network over the years which brings me to our next point number two easy configuring and troubleshooting of your network all right so hardware gets old breaks it becomes outdated maybe you decide to set up a few cameras video cameras around the house so you need to get a POS which that of a normal one maybe your son is grounded and you want to disable disease banette ports in his room perhaps you decide to rearrange the ports in your house to be on a specific switch to help with speed and congestion all of this is quick and easy with a patch panel instead of messing with the solid core ethernet cables you never have to touch them or move them like I said all you have to mess with are the patch cable the patch cable goes bad toss it and grab another it also helps add to the neatness and professionalism not to mention nerdiness and complete awesomeness of your setup you can label the patch panel as well if you want instead of having to label your switch or labeling your cables with hard to read markings on the cable itself or without having to put tags on the cables that might fall off over time and then they just don't look as good you'll know that port 1 is B 4 2 is the IP Phone 4 3 the camera port 4 is the TV etc troubleshooting is much easier as well in my opinion with a patch panel there are exceptions of course but most of the time when there are connectivity problems you first look at the patch cables or the PC as they are most often the problem you will rarely need to troubleshoot the cables in the walls and crawlspace as they are set up once and tested to be working and never touch it or moved again number three professional-looking and neat clearly it's hard to debate that a patch panel looks cool and it makes any job looks professional it is also very obvious that it makes cable management easier and gives a much neater look in my setup for example if I had my ethernet cables going straight to the switch it would not look as neat you would see much more of the cables and they would have to come up under the whole rack over the power strip and into the switch doable yet recommended no and certainly not if neatly remember for me this had to look neat it was a goal of mine I wanted something I could show off and without a patch panel I might not want to show it off as much as I do now also as I mentioned in might do-it-yourself budget Network video link in the description by the way I do have some all Jags that I am not using yet for example the wall jack behind the TV once my current TV bites the dust' my replacement will for sure be an internet capable TV I have a wall jack behind it terminated at my patch panel just waiting to be plugged in when the time comes it's currently not being used but because it's terminated at the patch panel it's not seen yet still ready to go it's not dangling there and it's not needlessly plugged into my switch waiting they're taking up a space a spot on the switch being an eyesore remember neatness was very high on my list so I had to have one number for flexibility if you were running other types of cables through your house or office such as telephone wiring you could use telephone wire or even Ethernet cabling for phone and have your data say ports 1 through 15 and phone wires 16 through 24 for example terminate on the same patch panel or another patch panel for phone use also normal phone jacks will fit into an Ethernet port and you can use your Ethernet cabling to extend or route a phone line through your house you could also use a crossover cable and plug it into two specific ports on the patch panel and create a mini standalone Network so there's lots of flexibility for the patch panel number five in larger applications it could save you money in a large home or office with lots of connections a patch panel could save money here are a few examples most of my videos will focus on networks in homes it's just more fun but with a larger office for example patch panels make quick work of reconfiguring networks so your text can get in and get out quicker some money if you don't use the patch panel we can all assume your cables will run to the switch even the unused cables are taking up a port on the switch if I had more than 24 ports in my house for example and had them all plugged straight into the switch I would need another switch even though not all of the ports on them are being used with a patch panel all the ports around my house are still ready to go at a moment's notice and yet are not taking up space on my switch nor just hanging there would not need it and number six total serious nerve Street Craig I mean come on seriously look at them it's pretty awesome nothing says I love over engineering things and Maj an IT nerd like a patch panel in a comm closet in a residential home its nerd bling and sometimes that's the only reason you might so I leave it up to you guys in the end the decision is yours I hope this information helps you decide if you need one or not do you have a patch panel or would you in your setup would you not did I miss something let me know in the comments I'm genuinely interested to hear what other setups you all have to leave a comment or a question I try to answer as many as I can thanks for watching

Channel: Budget Nerd

Views: 1,414,845

Rating: 4.8616319 out of 5

Keywords: patch panel, how to, network, switch, do i need a patch panel, home network, run ethernet cable, punch down patch panel, what is a patch panel

Id: lg2oGE02DJE

Length: 17min 0sec (1020 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 28 2017