Where every cable ends
Fifty cables arrive in a cupboard from fifty desks. They cannot all be plugged straight into a switch. They need a tidy place to end, a place that lets you change who is connected without touching the fixed cable.
That place is a termination point. There are three you must know.
Key words
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Termination point | the place where a fixed cable ends |
| 66 block | an older punch-down block for telephone wiring |
| 110 block | a newer punch-down block for data and voice |
| Patch panel | a frame of ports where fixed cables end and patch cords connect |
| Punch-down | pushing a wire into a slot that cuts its skin and grips it |
| Patch cord | a short flexible cable with a plug on each end |
| Solid copper | a single thick copper wire in each conductor |
| Category | a grade of copper cable, written Cat 5e, Cat 6 and so on |
| RJ-21 | a 50-pin plug that carries 25 pairs |
| Network | devices joined so they can share data |
| Ethernet | the common way to join wired devices in an office |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
By the end of this lesson
Note
I can describe 66 blocks, 110 blocks and patch panels, and say where each is used.
Starter: connectors and tools
Have a go
Starter: connectors and tools
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
66 block and 110 block compared
| Feature | 66 block | 110 block |
|---|---|---|
| Main use | Telephone systems | Data and voice in structured cabling |
| Wire it takes | Solid copper, about 22 to 26 gauge | Solid copper of the usual data cable |
| Cable category | Category 3 | Category 5, 5e, 6 and 6a |
| Speed it suits | Voice and slow data | Fast data networks |
| Other points | Big cables arrive on an RJ-21 plug with 25 pairs | Supersedes the 66 block in new work |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
The patch panel
A patch panel is a frame fixed in a rack. At the back, each fixed cable is punched down to a slot. At the front, each slot is an RJ-45 port, or a fibre adapter on a fibre panel.
A short patch cord joins a front port to a switch port. To move a desk to a new switch port, move one patch cord. The fixed cable never moves.
Why use a panel at all
A panel handles a large number of copper cables or fibres in a small space. It protects the fixed cable from wear, because only the patch cord is moved. It makes the work neat, easy to label and easy to fault-find.
Wired Ethernet in an office almost always passes through one.