Fiber Patch Panel

What are fiber optic patch panels?

Fiber optic patch panels are also known as fiber distribution panels. They make it easy to terminate fiber optic cables and provide access to the cable’s individual fibers for cross connection.

A basic fiber optic panel is typically a metal enclosure that encloses the adapter panels and fiber splice trays. Splice trays allow fibers to be fused together with fiber optic pigtails which in turn are plugged into the fixed inside ports of the adapter panels.

The inside ports of the panel is usually fixed, meaning that the cables aren’t disconnected at any point. The outside ports of the panel is reserved for fiber patch cables that can be plugged and unplugged frequently to arrange the connections between devices as needed.

Fiber patch panel has two compartments. One contains the bulkhead receptacles or adapters, and the other is used for splice tray and excess fiber storage.

The benefits of using a fiber patch panel

All changes are made at one place

Patch panels make it easier to connect different devices in different orders, because all of the changes can be made at the patch panel.

No more hunting for input ports

A patch panel groups all of the input jacks/ports into one location. This means that devices mounted in racks can be connected without having to hunt around behind the rack or instrument with a flashlight for the right port.

Saves wear and tear of expensive networking equipment

Using a patch panel also saves wear and tear on the input ports of expensive networking equipment such as servers and switches, because all of the connections are made with the patch panel.

Fiber optic patch panel types

Patch panels can be categorized into different types based on a few different criteria.

• Rack Mount versus Wall Mount
• Fiber Enclosure Design
• Indoor versus Outdoor
• Rack Sizes
• Loaded versus Unloaded
• Does It Have a Splice Tray
• Port Numbers
• Major Brands
• Upgrade to 40/100G