So I recently did a job where we just punched down all the Cat cable (except for baluns) on a 24 port knock down panel on the back, top of the rack. Then below that rack mounted the Netgear 24 port switch.

This worked out really well. Is there any reason you would need the switch to be visible from the front?

I'll try to take a pic next time i'm there. We left the top space of the rack open for the wires to come in (from the ceiling) then the punch panel is in the 2nd space down and the switch at the third space.

In this particular job, they have doors that open to the side of the rack also making it very easy to get or look behind the rack if needed, but I liked the layout and am considering it for every project.

well, i think the motivation for facing the switch ports forward is to see the status lights that provide link and activity info. so, alongside the other rack components that tend also to have status info on the front, the whole front side of the rack becomes a status/activity/diagnostics dashboard. so, that's what you give up. that's just my quick thought.

I always mount the network switch right under the cat5 patch panels at the back of the rack. IMO there is no real need for the switch to be visible or touched by the client and it makes it easier to patch your cables to it. I use front mounted horizontal power strips that are labeled "Network" so the client can manually power cycle everything if they need to.

Keep in mind though that i do all freestanding racks with 1.5'-2' minimum behind them so its easy to get to the gear. I have a few old projects that had the racks on casters rolling out of closets so i put those patch panels in the front. I don't think you want to be in a situation where a rack has to be pulled out to see the status lights.

Another related issue is that i always put the cable or DSL modem outside of my racks. I dont want them touching my stuff. In this pic you can see the cable modem on the right. Cable guy has enough slack to pull his modem out and service it without opening the door on my rack.

That's where Pakedge stuff comes in nicely... diagnostic lights on front, wires in the back.

I take back what i said above.. this is a valid issue. I prefer the trade off for the wiring convenience though.

Exactly, while the Pakedge gear is nice, when you have a 26"+ deep rack, their little 8" deep (or whatever it is) switch becomes a pain to get to, especially if you have a standard depth shelf above and below.

So far all my racks on Casters have been very easy to pull out or at least turn to see the back. I don't think this setup would be good on an AXS or similar rack that required a track system and some work to get to the back.

I thought about just putting it all on the front of the rack, but the jumper wires just look terrible. Plus you have to put in a brush blank or something to get the net cables to the equipment.

I thought about using a punch down that was big enough to cover all the wires in the home, plus one net line to each shelf in the rack. Then the front would be blocked out with plates and only jumpers would be in place. But really, if it can go on the back, it just looks better.

This is a caster rack and a slide out rack i upgraded last year. Rather than the brush blank i punched holes in the rack ears to run cables thru.

You have to make every patch cable to get them thru the hole and then terminate them. But it puts them in neat little bundles and it looks really good.

I put the patch panels on a SFR or SGR, then cable ladder to the main rack with a Pakedge.

 39 cent I love your rack!

I just used this solution from Middle Atlantic. Worked out very nicely. Lets me pick from a large variety of switches on the market, most of which have the RJ-45s and the status lights on the front. As Sofa King pointed out, the aesthetic advantage of having the RJ-45 jacks on the back is countered by the difficulty in getting to those connections due to how shallow the switch is.

While this costs more space in the rack (2U vs. 1U) than 39 Cent Stamp's elegant solution, it requires no drilling or modification and still looks neat.  It provides access to the patches without getting to the back of the rack and you can still see the status lights.

The Middle-Atlantic stuff isn't cheap, but it's still about half the price differential between the all-front switches and the front-status/back RJ-45 switches, and I don't like the very limited selection of those split switches.  An HP switch?  Really?

Middle Atlantic: [Link: middleatlantic.com]

see: RR2-3RCN (recesses the switch 3" from the front of the rack)

[Link: middleatlantic.com]

see: BR1 (allows cables to pass through from back of rack neatly)

[Link: snapav.com]
[Link: snapav.com]
I really like these, although I do wish they made them deeper.

Recently I used these SnapAV units.
I liked them so much I ordered 6 more today.

+1!