What Is a Patch Panel?
A patch panel, which has the same meaning as a patch board, patch bay, or jackfield, is a device that assists in the connection of cables between electronic devices.
A number of connectors of the same type are placed on both sides of the patch panel, which acts as an intermediary to connect two cables.
In recent years, it also refers to repeaters installed between LAN cables and fiber-optic cables when connecting servers and PCs.
Uses of Patch Panels
Patch panels can be used in a wide range of situations, from LAN wiring in offices to studios with a great deal of audio and video equipment, because they are valuable wherever electronic equipment is connected using many cables.
Also, the patch panel makes it possible to arrange numerous cables in an orderly manner, making the wiring area cleaner and more orderly than when connecting servers and PCs directly.
Of course, since it is easy to see where the cables used are connected, it saves a lot of time and effort when replacing a specific PC or adding a new device.
Principle of Patch Panels
To use a patch panel, a patch panel must first be attached to the rack, and then the patch panel is placed in the partition of the rack.
Since the patch panel does not require a power supply, it can be placed anywhere, but ideally, it should be placed at eye level so that cables can be easily connected and disconnected.
Next, insert the cables of the electronic equipment into the female connectors of the patch panel placed in the rack. This is easy, as all you have to do is insert the male connector on the cable side.
Finally, assign numbers to the cables so that it is possible to identify at a glance which cable is connected to which device. Usually, label stickers are used, but in cases where the number of ports is small, color-coded patch cords can be used to classify them.
Also, since each cable that is plugged into a patch panel has different terminals and shapes, there is a wide variety of patch panel types, such as modular patch panels and JJ adapter patch panels.