How to Terminate a Patch Panel

Strip the cable of its protective outside jacket about 3–6 inches (7.6–15.2 cm) from the end., Stripping the cable can cut and damage the wires at the area that we cut the cable so we want to expose about 6 more inches of fresh wires., If your cable...

14 Steps 2 min read Advanced

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Step 1: Strip the cable of its protective outside jacket about 3–6 inches (7.6–15.2 cm) from the end.

    This can be done with the cabling scissors by applying pressure from the scissors to the cable and rotating the scissors around the cable.

    After you have punctured the cables jacket, you should be able pull the jacket off easily leaving exposed wires. , Most twisted pair Cat5, Cat5e and Cat6 cables have a small string inside the cable to assist with this., Cut the string after you have enough exposed cable., All Cat5,Cat5e and Cat6 cables follow a standard color pattern for the individual wires.

    Blue, Orange, Green and Brown.

    There are two wires per color.

    White/Blue and Blue, White/Orange and Orange, White/Green and Green, White/Brown and Brown.

    If you look at the back side of your patch panel, you will see the corresponding colors where you will terminate the cable to.

    Note:
    There are two color patterns, T568A and T568B.

    Make sure to terminate both sides of the cable on the same pattern.

    If you have already terminated one side of the cable, look to see what pattern was used! If you have not already terminated, choose a standard that you will always use.

    Both patterns will produce the same results. , It is general practice to terminate in ascending order so start at the lowest number.

    First cable should be terminate to the 1st port and so on., Place the wires into the appropriate color slot on the patch panel.

    Make sure to place the wires as tightly as possible in the slots in regards to the jacket.

    There should be as little exposed and untwisted wire as possible to keep the signal strength as high as possible.

    Make sure to place the White/Blue in the White/Blue spot and not the solid Blue spot.

    The White/Color wire is not the same as the solid color., After all the wires are in the correct spot and double checked to make sure as little amount of exposed wires will be left as possible, use the punch down tool with the 110 blade and terminate each wire individually.

    The 110 blade will fully cover the wire connector on the patch panel.

    Push down until the tool clicks and cuts the end of the wire off.

    Repeat this step if the wire was not fully cut.,,
  2. Step 2: Stripping the cable can cut and damage the wires at the area that we cut the cable so we want to expose about 6 more inches of fresh wires.

  3. Step 3: If your cable has the small string

  4. Step 4: make a small cut in the jacket of the cable

  5. Step 5: making sure not to touch any wires

  6. Step 6: and then use the string to pull towards the fresh end of the cable exposing about 6 inches (15.2 cm) of cable.

  7. Step 7: If your cable does not have the small string

  8. Step 8: make a small cut in the jacket described above and gently pull all of the wires together in one hand and pull the jacket in the opposite direction.

  9. Step 9: After choosing the correct pattern

  10. Step 10: choose the port on the patch panel you wish the cable to connect to.

  11. Step 11: Untwist the wires completely to the jacket.

  12. Step 12: Terminate each wire.

  13. Step 13: Secure the cable to the patch panel with a zip tie if there is a slot or tab for a zip tie.

  14. Step 14: Use a cable tester to assure that you correctly terminated all the wires.

Detailed Guide

This can be done with the cabling scissors by applying pressure from the scissors to the cable and rotating the scissors around the cable.

After you have punctured the cables jacket, you should be able pull the jacket off easily leaving exposed wires. , Most twisted pair Cat5, Cat5e and Cat6 cables have a small string inside the cable to assist with this., Cut the string after you have enough exposed cable., All Cat5,Cat5e and Cat6 cables follow a standard color pattern for the individual wires.

Blue, Orange, Green and Brown.

There are two wires per color.

White/Blue and Blue, White/Orange and Orange, White/Green and Green, White/Brown and Brown.

If you look at the back side of your patch panel, you will see the corresponding colors where you will terminate the cable to.

Note:
There are two color patterns, T568A and T568B.

Make sure to terminate both sides of the cable on the same pattern.

If you have already terminated one side of the cable, look to see what pattern was used! If you have not already terminated, choose a standard that you will always use.

Both patterns will produce the same results. , It is general practice to terminate in ascending order so start at the lowest number.

First cable should be terminate to the 1st port and so on., Place the wires into the appropriate color slot on the patch panel.

Make sure to place the wires as tightly as possible in the slots in regards to the jacket.

There should be as little exposed and untwisted wire as possible to keep the signal strength as high as possible.

Make sure to place the White/Blue in the White/Blue spot and not the solid Blue spot.

The White/Color wire is not the same as the solid color., After all the wires are in the correct spot and double checked to make sure as little amount of exposed wires will be left as possible, use the punch down tool with the 110 blade and terminate each wire individually.

The 110 blade will fully cover the wire connector on the patch panel.

Push down until the tool clicks and cuts the end of the wire off.

Repeat this step if the wire was not fully cut.,,

About the Author

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Rebecca Phillips

Rebecca Phillips specializes in lifestyle and practical guides and has been creating helpful content for over 8 years. Rebecca is committed to helping readers learn new skills and improve their lives.

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