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Patch panels have the purpose of managing cable connections that involve patch cables mixing with permanent cables.

In the front of a patch panel, there are jacks in place for patch cables that correspond to the longer permanent cables that are arranged in the back. Patch panels allow circuits to be monitored and tested in the convenience towards the technicians, where they are able to quickly remove the patch panel on the rack and change the circuit signals.

A patch panel connects computers to each other and the Internet in a LAN (Local Area Network) and can also be used to further connect to a WAN (Wide Area Network).

CMX—–Cat5e/Cat6

• Covered in a PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) jacket
• Has insulation around the conductor wires surrounded by a jacket
• Above ground use
• Ex. Running a Cat5e cable above ground in a conduit.

CMXF—–Cat5e/Cat6

• Covered in a PVC Jacket and flooded core
• The flooded core is a gel fill which protects the twisted pair inside the jacket for extra protection
• Underground use
• Ex. Running a Cat5e cable underneath a walkway.

CMXT—–Cat5e/Cat6

• Covered in a PVC Jacket, AL Foil, and a water proof tape
• Direct Burial w/ water proof tape (dry)
• Underground in wet conditions use
• Ex.  Running a Cat5e cable underground in flood prone area.

RJD2? Okay that is not a registered jack, but how would you know with the lack in descriptions.  Though who has the time to sit down and read millions of documents just to understand the facts.  Well don’t sweat it, we have done the research for you and put together just the simple facts on knowing the differences between RJ11, RJ14, RJ25, and RJ45.

RJ11

• - 4 wires using a 4 contact for connection
• - 22 to 24 AWG
• - Mostly used in analog (telephone) wiring
• - Able to deliver 1 telephone line

RJ14

• - 4 wires using a 4 contact for connection
• - Able to deliver 2 telephone lines

RJ25

• - 6 wires using a 6 contact for connection
• - Able to deliver 3 telephone lines

RJ45

• - 8 wires using a 8 contact for connection
• - 24 to 26 AWG
• - Used in telephone wiring (ISDN and T1)
• - Also used in LAN connections (10baseT and 100BaseT)
• - Supports Cat5 & Cat6 connectors
• - Able to deliver 4 telephone lines

We hope by letting you know the simple differences between registered jacks we have cleared the confusion.  If you have any questions or ideas on articles just drop us a line.

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Have you always wondered what was the difference between T568A and T568B when making a patch cable or punching down a Keystone Jack; and did it really matter which one you used?  Both wire standards use eight position ports for connection to transmit data, but both have a different color scheme making them different.

T568A has a color scheme of: green/white, green, orange/white, blue, blue/white, orange, brown/white, brown.  Though T568B only switches up the orange and green position making its color scheme the following:  orange/white, orange, green/white, blue, blue/white, green, brown/white, brown.  As T568B is more up-to-date than T568A, it is the preferred wiring scheme to use since it accommodates for the current and future needs of transmitting data according to the ANSI, TIA, and the EIA.

While it does not matter which wire standard is used, they should never be combined since it will result in data loss during transmission.  When upgrading your existing system, be sure to check that the same wiring standard is being used, regardless of whether you are adding a patch cable, patch panel, or Keystone Jack.