Source
r/cableadvice•
killswitch1968

Server cabinet with patch panel - what is the conventional way to organize this?

Network newbie here! I ran a ton of Cat5/6 cables in my house (around 60) and now looking to patch them into a rack. The rack has some AV gear, home automation, receiver, etc. and of course a couple switches.

I have a server cabinet with 4 posts and a front and rear 19U mounting panels. What is the conventional way to organize this?

  1. Patch panels mounted on the front, then use small patch cables to connect the patch panel to the switch? This seems to make the most sense except I didn't plan for such a deep cabinet and a couple of my runs are a few inches short! (I told you i was a newbie :( )
  2. Patch panels mounted in the rear but facing forward, switch mounted on the front, then run patch cable forward toward the switch? This would work but very awkward to reach inside the cabinet to patch cables in future, but not impossible.
  3. Patch panels mounted in the rear, facing the rear, with the switch also mounted in the rear, rest of AV gear toward the front. This would look a little weird since all the cables from the home would enter the cabinet then do a 180 degree turn into the patch panel.
  4. Get a separate floor standing rack for the Patch panels, and horizontally patch them to the Switch in the cabinet (I'll need advice on cable management if this is the way to go!)

Thanks for the help everyone!

Posted Oct 28, 2018, 5:52 PM UTC

28
toaster_knight•
  1. is the conversion.
2
9100•

It's also the convention.

2
Klose2002•

Solution 1 is the easiest way. Just make connections between patch panels and the swtiches.

2
zanfar•

1 is the most common in homes.

If they won't reach, placing the patch panel and switches backwards is common in data centers--most everything else will have the network ports in the rear.

You might also consider installing a standalone patch rack, considering the cables will stay with the home, and the equipment will probably go with you if you move. Just use longer patch cables.

1
killswitch1968OP•

1 is where I'm leaning toward, again, because of convention, and because I believe it's only 1 cable for sure that won't reach and it's a backup cable buried in a wall 'just in case'! I think worst case scenario I could splice it in the future.

I just wanted to make sure that option 1 wasn't a 'weird' way to do things and I was making my life harder for no reason. Thanks for the advice!

1
9100•

I'd do 1 for that, but if the cables don't reach then maybe you're going to have to do 2 anyway.

3 would be fine as long as you have easy access to the rear.

For some home cabling though, you could just terminate the shorter runs in the rear and then extend them forwards so you can do 1. I would never do this on a customer site but I would be happy to do it at home and it is very unlikely you will see any issue for cat5/6 with gigabit over it unless you fuck up the terminations.

1
RocketTech99•

Most if not all the gear you mention only requires 2 posts- you should use a 2-post rack if depth is a concern.

Separate gear with blank panels and/or horizontal cable management (finger duct, d-rings, velcro, etc) for a neater appearance. A rack shelf or drawer is also a good idea for component remotes (you're using an all in one, right) and manuals, adaptors, etc.

Pay attention to the depth devices are mounted at, and how close they do each other vertically. Mounting your switch even with the rails, and then putting devices above and below which protrude make it virtually impossible to unplug cables- blank panels above and below would be a good plan.

Remember, your goal is not to copy a dense data center rack- it's to create something usable, and probably aesthetically pleasing. Play around with it, have fun, and find out what works for you.

1
blueskin•

1 is most common. 3 can work depending on space, 4 is workable if you either don't mind a mess, or have amazing cable management skills.

1