why use a patch panel?

[PammyBoy]

Hello All,

I'm new to the hardware aspect of networks and was hoping someone would be able to help me out. A friend of mine is running a small business and asked me to help him setup a network of 8 computers with hopes of adding more in the near future. Now, I've setup small home networks, but nothing serious like this. The question I have is, why should I use a patch panel instead of having every computer and my internet connection directly connected to a switch? I know you're supposed to use a patch panel, but why? Anyone know of any good tutorials online i can peruse? Thank you in advance.

-Tom

 

[franklin97355]

If you are wiring a SMALL office and the switch has more ports than the total number of ALL future locations you could get by without a patch panel. But if you are wiring for future expantion and don't need all the locations hot all the time a patch panel is the way to go. It's not required only convenient.

 

[PammyBoy]

great thanks for the info!

Tom

 

[Bobg1]

The standard patch cords are made of stranded wire and thus over distance have more loss than the solid wire in station cable. By running from fixed jacks to a patch panel you reduce your losses.

 

[PammyBoy]

okay... so no patch panel. I'm going to setup a peer-to-peer network... Can I just connect the DSL router to a 16-port switch and have all the computer share the DSL connection without a server?

 

[rpearson]

If you plan to expand the network,use a patch panel.This is a standard in the the installation of a basic link cabling installation(which is the cabling from the jack to the patch panel.Not only is it the right way to do the job,but it also adds flexibilty to the network cabling system,and ease of changes that will need to be made in the future.Do you plan on installing modular plugs on each end of the cables to be used?You can purchase a 24 port patch panel w\a mounting bracket fairly cheap.This will leave plenty of expansion left on the patch panel for future after you terminate your 8 locations.Then use factory terminated patch cables from your panel to your switch.

 

[jeffbouldin]

As for the DSL Modem, if you have an internet plan that provides an IP address for each computer in your office this will work. A lot of plans only allow a couple, in this case you will need a router. The router will interface with the ISP and the computers will interface with the router.

 

[daronwilson]

You question is far more indepth than patch panel or not. If you are installing a permanent wiring solution, by all means do it right and terminate the solid UTP data wire on modular jacks at the work stations and a patch rack in the data closet. However, if you are just going to run wire around the room on the floor and want to use stranded patch cables, you could do that too and not have any need for a patch panel.

Essentially the solid UTP data wire is for permanent installations where the wire is secured and not subject to frequent movement. You may want to look at some of the vendor sites like Leviton where you can download some good PDF files of how a network should be installed and get some guidelines.

The DSL connection is a different issue. In theory (without going into the addressing issues or firewall at all) you can connect the DSL into the switch and put all the computers on there.

The more correct method would be to connect the DSL connection to a router, then the router to the switch. The router can then be configured to take care of NAT, DHCP, and firewall settings to prevent the entire network from being visible to the public from the internet.

Hope that helps.

It is only my opinion, based on my experience and education...I am always willing to learn, educate me!
Daron J. Wilson, RCDD
daron.wilson@lhmorris.com

 

[InnoTech]

once again daron is correct.

you might want to call your friend's ISP and ask if your friend is limited on IP addresses or if it is extra for each one. try not to let them know what you want to do because they might try to tell you that you need a "commercial" account if you don't already have one. if it is extra $$ for anything but 1 IP address for your ISP, always settle for the lowest cost and buy a router. i personly know other techs that WILL jack up your account status just because the customer tells them they are useing it for buisness and want to get more p.c.'s online.

 

[jonnybb1]

I agree with daronwilson. The costs for doing it right for 8 stations with a 50% growth may be only about $150 to $250 extra if mounting on a wall, a little higher if you use a wall or floor mount rack. When you have a structuredcabling enviroment, no matter the size, you are setting yourself up for easier maintenance and upgrades!

Good Luck

john@lantexco.com

 

[neoice]

With regards to connecting 8 computers to the internet. You only need 1 real IP from your ISP and a router that performs NAT.

Best reagrds

Neil

 

[MontrealSoft]

By all means, get yourself a router. A cheap Dlink will do the job and will prevent you to have to install the crappy software many dsl-providers needs to enable PPPoE, and it will do a nice job at protecting your computers from internet hackers..... (not 100% secure but far more than being directly on the net!).

With no special tools involved, only a win98 or win2000, it takes me about 5 minutes to find someone on the net with his entire drive C fully opened to us... Worse, sometimes it's a Win2000 Terminal server with no administrator password enabled... Pretty scary huh ?

About the patch panel, Usually, when crossing the 12-computers line, I suggest my customer to upgrade to a patch panel solution and spend an hour or two to build a nice setup that will be easy to diagnose later on. (if no rackmount equipment, at least neatly fix your boxes on the wall)

Luc



MontrealSoft.com

http://www.montrealsoft.com