Why have the punch side at all?

Is there any advantage to a punch block over a feed through patch panel?

Punch can be done much faster and generally with less errors.
That is the consensus from TIA and other organizations that have done studies on it.

Terminating a permanent link (patch panel to outlet) with RJ45 male plugs was not part of the TIA standard. Up until recently the TIA T568C did not recognize "direct attach" cables. Fully tested/certified networks require permanent link testing and you could not do a valid permanent link test with direct attach cable.

I wonder how many of them have stood on concrete for hours terminating around a hundred punch downs

id rather do that than a hundred crimp ons

My immediate impression is that the punchdown is a better connection and a punchdown on both sides would make better connections than modular connector on both sides, and in fact better connections than using modular connectors AT ALL. But it would give no flexibility, so there would be no need for a patch panel. What a patch panel offers over wires going straight to their intended device is flexibility.


Here's the punchdown: It's an IDC or insulation displacement connection. A piece of insulated wire is jammed between two pieces of metal with sharp edges that are spaced such that the insulation is stripped off the wire, but only at the point between the connector blades, jammed so hard that the wire deforms a bit and makes an oxygen-free connection.

Here's the plug: Crimping the connector makes IDC connections of the wires to the plug contacts. The plug and socket then are connected by the pressure between the plug contact and the socket contact.

So... if you had a punchdown on both sides, your connection would be two punchdowns, which are two possible points of failure. If you had a plug and socket on both sides, you'd have two crimps and one place where contacts press against one another, which is three possible points of failure.

The standard setup is a punchdown on one side and a plug/socket on the other side, which has a punchdown, a crimp, and contacts pressing against one another, for a total of three possible points of failure.

Punchdowns on both sides allow for no flexibility, so they're not a great idea in a real system.

It would be harder (for me, anyway) to install plugs onto wires going to the backs of rack panels than it is to punch down the wires. Plus, to get total connection versatility, if you can change the connections on the front of the panel by moving cables, you have full flexibility, so having plugs in the back of the panel offer no wiring advantage.

It seems that a system with punchdowns on the back and sockets and plugs on the front gives the best flexibility.

Thanks for asking. I had never thought this through before.

To those for whom this answer was too long:

Because it would be worse.

probably about the same amount that stood on a concrete floor and terminated 100 RJ45 ends?

Probably not a bad idea to have one of those Memory foam anti-fatigue mats on the truck if your doing that.

I’d rather do 100 male 45’s any time over 100 punch downs. The worst job was a commercial project where we had several buildings and they all had wall mounted racks. I had to sit on top of a ladder to reach a comfortable position.

I'd prefer that myself. I can more quickly and more accurately do rj45's than punches (maybe because I've just made more patch cables than done punches).

That and I had a defective cat5 run when I restrung the bar and I had to pluck that bastard out of a terminated and trimmed punch panel to replace it.

+1

So I guess my final ? would be a source/manufacturer for reasonably priced rj45 pass through panels.

I relocated my rack in my bar to the opposite side of the building and re-pulled all the wires to the new location (two 42u dell poweredge racks) because we remodeled one side of the building this year.

Right now everythings temped in as a beautiful horror story rats nest you guys like to walk in to on abandoned jobs.

you guys are crazy!!!

Normal crazy or tide pod mmmm good crazy

Comes in juicebox form now...

For 100’s of cables, give me a panel all day long. It would be done much faster.