Terminating CAT6 Into Sockets & Patch Panel

[Matt-Page]

Hi,

I'm currently building an office in my garage. I've run UTP CAT 6 Cable from socket back boxes to a central location where I'm going to put a wall mounted Comms rack/shelf.

I'm now at the stage where I need to terminate my cables into the sockets on one end and into a patch panel at the other.

I had a look at my CAT6 Sockets and they all seem to have the T568B label on them without one for the A standard. Reading online, they recommend using the A standard (particularly in Europe). Will it matter if I use the B standard? I've looked online for wiring diagrams for the A standard but all the socket terminals seem to have the wires going to different places so won't be able to match mine up.

Pretty annoyed about this as I spent extra to get the sockets/modules from a local known org.

Second, As I've never done this before I've done a dry run with a spare bit of CAT6 on one of the socket modules. It seemed particularly trickery/fiddly to line the cables up and I'm worried that I am untwisting too much cable. Do you normally line up each cable then punch down, or line one up, then punch down? I find some of the cables slip out of the module wire groove then positioning the next cable.

Also, all the wire strippers I've tried seem to be very slightly catch the twisted pair insulation despite being on the biggest setting...

Appreciate any feedback/advice.

Thanks.

 

[Sparx]

B is actually most common and what I go with too. There's no difference between the two at all, as long as both ends of the run are wired in the same method (A or B) they will work the same. So there's nothing wrong with your gear, they prob only printed B because as mentioned it's actually the most common, not A.

You want to unravel as little cable as possible when punching down the connection to the RJ45 or faceplate module to restrict the potential for intererence.. But don't get too hung up on it, in the real world you will highly unlikely cause any issues unravelling more if needed. They are fiddly at first, but eventually you'll get the nack for it.

 

[WJA96]

This is how I do it - don’t untwist it!

https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/posts/33677009/

 

[Matt-Page]

Thanks for the advice.

Well I've had a go. The first one didn't go great, so I chopped off and started again. The first socket was a 2 port one. The second was a 4 port.

Although I aimed to untwist the pairs as little as possible, I am a little bit worried I took off more insulation than I should have, (Particuarly on the 4 port socket) however it made it easier to manipulate the cables into the separate ports.

First one I did:

Pair done:

I then did the 4 port Socket:

The socket faces/modules I've got look a lot different to the ones I've seen online that have a cable tie slot/plenty of room for the insulated cable part.

Hopefully I've not done too bad a job. The next stage is to terminate the other ends into a CAT6 patch panel. I'll then be able to test my butchery to see if any of them worked!

 

[Matt-Page]

My next query is about terminating some of my AWG24 CAT6 cable with a RJ45 connector.

Looking online it seems doing this with solid core cable is a bit of a pain, and when I look at reviews people have said despite their spec, the standard cores are too thick.

Can anyone recommend any they've used?

 

[bremen1874]

You appear to be using screened cable with unscreened modules. Not a great idea.

Why do you need to crimp plugs on?

BTW you’d usually expect Cat6 to be 23AWG. The thinner 24AWG conductors are what you get in Cat5e.

 

[Matt-Page]

You appear to be using screened cable with unscreened modules. Not a great idea.

Hi, can you elaborate on why this isn't a good idea or link me to what I should be using? I purchased the cable from a friend (I thought it was just CAT 6) and purchased the modules from a local network component shop.

Why do you need to crimp plugs on?

I only need to do one as it will be going into a ceiling mounted Access Point. Does that make sense?

BTW you’d usually expect Cat6 to be 23AWG. The thinner 24AWG conductors are what you get in Cat5e.

Of right, so is what I've got/done naff? Bummer if it is as the cables ae behind plasterboard now with no easy way to swap them.

 

[andy_mk3]

The shielded cable should be grounded at both ends to be effective. If its not it can have to opposite effect and act as an antenna to pick up interference.

 

[bremen1874]

I might not be screened cable, but does look like it in some of the pictures. It could just be a plastic layer I'm seeing. If the jacket says it's UTP then it's UTP.

For the AP I'd terminate at a nearby module and then use a short patch cord. As long as you use plugs designed for the cable type you should be able to get a plug on. Look for some 'Easy' feed through plugs of the correct category if you're new to it.

The thinner wires point to it not being the best cable in the world, but it isn't likely to cause you any problems.

 

[Matt-Page]

OK - So when I stripped the cable it was, Outter sheath, blue foil like sheath, thin plastic sheath/wrapper, then the twisted pairs. There was a VERY fine metal cable and some string in it (I assume this is the earth point mentioned?) along with the middle separator plastic piece that I stripped away.

What issues will I get if I don't earth it? They are essentially to create a small network in my garage and all go back to a single location where I will be terminating them into a patch panel.

Crikey, I hope these will work or I have wasted time/money trying to do things properly. Maybe I should have just used Powerline Adapters like I currently am!

How frustrating!

 

[bremen1874]

What you need to do is see if what you've done works. If it works, and it probably will, then don't worry about it.

With that cable, you should have used screened modules. How easy that would be to redo will depend on how much slack you've left on the installed cables. If there's a patch panel that should also be a screened version, and it should be grounded.

I've done quite a bit of networking in various roles over the years, but never with screened cable. Knowing the potential problems (and not having all of the answers) I've successfully managed to avoid screened cable completely. Nowadays I only do the occasional bit of SME cabling. In the unlikely event that UTP isn't suitable, I'll either do the full research or not do the job.

 

[Matt-Page]

Balls!! Did some Googling and it seems you are right. Pah I wish this had come up when I was doing my research. I would have avoided the cable and got some at the same time and been advised by the shop of what type to get.

I guess I'll just have to connect everything up and see if it works. I don't think the patch panel I purchased is shielded. I have got a borrowed Fluke tester so hopefully this SHOULD tell me if it is working properly or not.

Ahh really annoyed with myself for making this error.

 

[Caged]

If it works (and I'm 99% sure it will) then don't worry about it. There's an awful lot of worse terminations functioning perfectly well in the world.

 

[andy_mk3]

Yeah I wouldn't worry too much at this point. The chances of issues are pretty slim.

Looks like you've done a tidy job!

 

[Semple]

Not sure if it's the done thing, but at the neck of the sleeved wire, you've got a small platform on the module that a cable tie can also go under. I cable tied mine just to secure it a bit more - just in the event that the network cable ever gets tugged at some point, and causes the cable to come loose. (As i say, not sure if it's the done thing, but can certainly prevent some future headaches / ripping hair out moments).

 

[Caged]

Yeah that dish-shaped thing has a slot underneath for a zip tie to go through, good spot