How best to terminate GigE/phone runs in wiring closet?

My favorite layout tends to be like one voice and two data with the jacks different colors for voice/data, although alot of places I go into are two voice and two data just in case. One data just seems not to be enough ever, although with laptops being mostly wireless now, it hasn't been too much an issue lately.

I like terminating the voice run onto 110, and the data runs onto patch panels. You can still run 110 into a patch panel if needed, or use those patch cables direct from 110 into whatever if needbe, although I tend to use direct copper punchdowns myself.

110's can be cat5e compliant (check the vendor's datasheet to make sure), making gig speeds possible. But, most VOIP phone systems only run at 100. There are a few of the cisco phones that are gig, but only because they have the built-in switch to hook up a PC through the phone as well for a single run used.

I've also seen everything into patch panels and voice patched off there to the appropriate spot on the phone system.

So, really, its more up to you and how you want to deal with it, because both ways you state are very commonly used.

That's what I would do. Get a 48 port patch panel and terminate all the voice and data jacks 1d 1v 1V 2V 1AV 1B V etc. on the panel. When you install a phone system, you can pick up a Cat-5 or used 5e panel for about $1 a port and terminate the extension jacks on that panel and use different colored patch cords.

Carl Navarro

Thanks for the recommendation. This is pretty much how we've wired our current office. Voice extensions are terminated on 66 blocks, data on a Cat5e patch panel. I'm hoping to achieve additional flexibility in the new space by making all runs 'ambidextrous'.

The color coding of jacks is an interesting point. The current office uses two colors to distinguish phone from data. But for the new one I'd planned on using the same color for both and labling them appropriately. With VOiP everything would be a network connection anyway (unless we ran a separate subnet for voice traffic, which I don't think will be necessary). But with a more typical KSU I wonder at the danger of having both jacks the same color - both in terms of confusion and potential damage to equipment by plugging in to the wrong system. It's either use one color with labeling, or change out the jack color when a run is switched in purpose. Or leave the jack colors wrong when one is switched and invite further confusion.

I'm hoping to achieve maximum flexibility without the need need for 60 drops for an office of twelve people.

Thanks Carl. Current phone system is a Panasonic KX-TD which uses 25 pair Amphenol connectors for the extensions, as you know.

So, say I terminate all runs at a Cat5e patch panel. How best to do the phone extension connections into the KSU? I could take patch cables with one RJ-45 and punch the other end down to 66 blocks and then from the 66 blocks run my 25 pair cables. That seems a little messy, although it would certainly work. If I give these patch cables a little slack then I could move an extension to any jack in the system and avoid reprogramming the system to change extension numbers when someone moves their desk.

Another thought was to have a second Cat5 type patch panel for the phone extensions. Punch down the 25 pair cables onto it, then run patch cables between that panel and the one terminating all the runs. This might be a little neater.

Ding ding ding ! The last TDA install I did, I did just that. We brought out the AMPS to a 66 block and ran two 25-pair cables from another 66 block to a patch panel, terminating 2 pairs per jack on a

24-port panel. It didn't disturb the order of the cables from the phone system, and it gave us 8-wire patch cord flexibility back into the infrastructure. Plus, when you change out your TD system, because of lack of parts, you just mount the new system, and plug in the AMPS and change the cross connects. Your patch cables stay the same.

Carl