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CompTIA A+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide

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network tech’s best friend! Simply place a tiny label on the patch panel to

identify each cable, and you will never have to experience that sinking

feeling of standing in the telecommunications room of your nonfunctioning

network, wondering which cable is which. If you want to be a purist, there is

an official, and rather confusing, ANSI/TIA labeling methodology called

ANSI/TIA 606, but a number of real-world network techs simply use their

own internal codes (see Figure 18-28).

Figure 18-28 Typical patch panels with labels

Patch panels are available in a wide variety of configurations that include

different types of ports and numbers of ports. You can get UTP, STP, or fiber

ports, and some manufacturers combine several different types on the same

patch panel. Panels are available with 8, 12, 24, 48, or even more ports.

UTP patch panels, like UTP cables, come with Cat ratings, which you

should be sure to check. Don’t blow a good Cat 6 cable installation by buying

a cheap patch panel—get a Cat 6 patch panel! A higher-rated panel supports

earlier standards, so you can use a Cat 6 or even Cat 6a rack with Cat 5e

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