A patch panel is the fixed end of your structured cabling: solid-core cable from the walls terminates permanently into the back, and short stranded patch leads connect the front to your switch. Buy 24 ports for a small office, 48 where you have the density, and always Cat6 unless you are matching something existing.
The panel itself is cheap. What it buys you is the ability to change something in five years without tracing every cable in the building.
1. Why bother, when you could just plug into the switch?
Because solid-core cable is not made to be moved.
The cable running through your walls and ceilings is solid copper — excellent electrically, and it work-hardens and cracks if you keep flexing it. Plug it straight into a switch and every time somebody re-patches a port they are bending the one thing that must never be bent.
A patch panel terminates that solid cable once, permanently. Everything after it is a flexible stranded patch lead designed to be unplugged a thousand times. That's the whole point.
Trade Tip: Never use solid-core cable to make patch leads, even for a quick fix, and never use a stranded patch lead as fixed cabling in a wall. They are different products for opposite jobs. We see both mistakes, and the second one is worse — it fails months later, intermittently, and you'll be chasing a switch fault that isn't there.
2. Cat5e or Cat6?
For anything new, Cat6. The cost difference on the panel is small and the cable is the expensive, disruptive part to replace later.
Cat5e still has a place: matching an existing Cat5e installation, where mixing categories gains you nothing because the channel performs to its weakest component. There's no virtue in a Cat6 panel on Cat5e cable feeding a 100 Mb switch.
If you're still deciding on the cable itself, read our comparison of Cat5e and Cat6 first — that decision drives the panel, not the reverse.
The Knightsbridge NETC624 is the workhorse: a 19-inch, 1U, UTP Cat6 24-port panel with RJ45 ports, modular design, black, IP20. For most small-office and light-commercial jobs this is the right answer without further thought.
3. Port count — and the mistake everyone makes
Count your outlets, then add room. Not a token spare port: real room.
Every desk position tends to want two outlets. Add wireless access points, cameras, door controllers, a printer, a till. The number always grows, and it never shrinks.
- 24-port, 1U — small offices, retail units, most domestic installs.
- 48-port, 2U — higher density, where you'd otherwise fit two 24s anyway.
The Adastra 853.002UK is a Cat6 rackmount IDC panel, 48-port, 2U, with removable blocks — the removable blocks being genuinely useful when you're terminating in a cramped cabinet. Where you're extending a Cat5e installation, the All-Rack PNL24AB is a 24-port Cat5e panel, 1U, 110 punch-down.
Trade Tip: Two 24-port panels often beat one 48-port panel, even at the same total. You get a natural split — floor by floor, or data and voice — and you can add the second one later when the budget arrives. A 48 forces you to buy all the capacity on day one.
4. Rack space: count in U, and leave gaps
Panels are measured in rack units. 1U for a 24, 2U for a 48. That's the easy bit.
The bit people forget is space between things. A panel bolted directly above a switch leaves nowhere for the patch leads to turn, so they bend hard against the ports and the whole face becomes a wall of cable you can't read.
Leave a U for cable management between the panel and the switch. In a shallow wall cabinet, that single decision is the difference between a cabinet you can work in and one you dread opening. Our guide to comms cabinets covers depth and mounting.
5. Terminating and labelling
Punch down to the pin colours printed on the block, keep the twists as close to the termination as you can, and don't strip more sheath than you need — untwisting pairs is where crosstalk performance goes.
Then label both ends. Every time. A panel with numbered ports and no record of which room each one serves is only marginally better than no panel at all, and the person who has to work it out will not be you.
Our position: label as you terminate, not afterwards. Nobody has ever gone back and done it later.
Summary: choosing a patch panel
| Decision | Answer |
|---|---|
| Category | Cat6 for anything new; Cat5e only to match existing |
| Port count | Count outlets, then add real headroom |
| 24 or 48 | 24 (1U) for small sites; 48 (2U) for density, or two 24s for flexibility |
| Rack space | Panel U plus a U for cable management |
| Cable type | Solid core into the panel; stranded patch leads on the front |
| Labelling | Both ends, as you terminate |
Expert Help in the West Midlands
Villa Road, Birmingham, since 1975. Tell us how many outlets you're terminating and what cabinet they're going into, and we'll tell you the panel, the U height and whether the cabinet you've bought is deep enough — before you're on site finding out it isn't.
Browse wiring accessories for faceplates and modules, or come in with the drawing.
Frequently asked questions
Do I really need a patch panel for a small network?
If your cabling is solid-core running through walls, yes. It gives that cable a single permanent termination and moves all the plugging and unplugging onto flexible patch leads that are built for it.
What size patch panel do I need?
Count your outlets and add genuine headroom. 24 ports in 1U suits most small sites; 48 in 2U suits higher density. Two 24-port panels give you a useful split and let you buy capacity in stages.
Can I mix Cat5e and Cat6 in one cabinet?
Physically yes, and it is common when extending an older installation. Just remember each channel performs to its weakest component, so a Cat6 panel on Cat5e cable gives you Cat5e performance.