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Patch panels are switchboard-like devices that connect cables, replacing expensive switching equipment. They are used for telephone, data, audio, and video connections with different types of connectors. They are used in LANs and WANs, transmitting signals without loss of data. Software monitors signal strength, temperature, and power fluctuations, and redundant power supplies prevent data transfer errors.
Patch panels are switchboard look-alikes that house the cable connections. In a typical configuration, the connection consists of a shorter cable plugged into the front of the patch panel and a longer cable plugged into the back. In this way, the panel can replace otherwise expensive switching equipment.
The telephone switchboards of yesteryear are the progenitors of today’s patch panels. Even today these devices are used for telephone connections. However, they are also used for data transfer and for audio and video applications.
In addition to having different lengths of cable connecting to the front and back, patch panels can also have different types of electrical connectors. An example of this is a breakout box, which has individual connectors on the front that lead to a compound connector on the back, into which all the individual cables connect. Breakout boxes usually have an even number of individual connectors, but this isn’t always the case.
Patch panels are also used in computer networks. Local area networks (LANs) incorporate them by using them to connect computers on a network to each other and to the Internet. They can also be used to connect a LAN to a Wide Area Network (WAN).
In all cases, these devices transmit signals from one cable to another without any loss of signal or data. Many users also like it because of the ability to switch and swap individual cables on the front. Patch panels have compound connectors on the rear side that do not differentiate which signal comes from which individual port.
Unsurprisingly, software has been developed to facilitate the data transfers that happen through patch panels. This software includes among its features the ability to monitor data transfer signal strength, temperature changes, and power fluctuations in the panels themselves. Most patch panels have redundant power supplies connected to ensure that power outages do not cause data transfer errors.
