Question : Connecting 2 patch panels with just 4 cables

Hi all,

My problem is as follows:

The company I work for will soon be moving office.  Our new office was originally designed as 2 separate offices (I'll refer to them as Office1 and Office2) on the same floor.  Consequently, there is a dedicated patch panel in each of Office1 and Office2.  Panel1 controls the data points in Office1, and Panel2 controls the points in Office2.  There are approx 60 data points attached to each panel.  Easy.

So, what I want to do is control ALL points, from both Office1 and Office2, from a single patch panel.  And as it turns out, there are four Cat5 or Cat6 cables running from Panel1 to Panel2.  Without running 60-odd cables between the two panels (not feasible), is it possible for me to be able to isolate and control each and every single data point in Office1 and Office2 from Panel1?

If so, what additional hardware and configuration would I need?  I presume I won't have a problem sharing an Internet connection between Office1 and Office2 by using the 4 linked cables and a switch or hub on the other end, but is there a way that I can unplug a point on the panel, and have it turn off just that one point in the 'other' office?

Also, does anyone see any problem joining all points to a single domain server?  Will all points in both offices be able to see all other points, even though there are just 4 cables running between the two panels?

I hope I've explained this ok, please let me know if you need more info.

Thanks,

Paul.

Answer : Connecting 2 patch panels with just 4 cables

>>"To RobWill and from_exp: is there or isn't there a way to isolate each point? "
Sorry. I know I am sometimes "verbaly impaired"
It is possible to extend the 2nd patch panel to the location the first one, but it requires adding another patch panel at the location of the first, and running another 30 wires, or however many connections are on panel 2. Or, you can run a multi-pair cable, instead of 30 independant wires. By multi-pair I mean a backbone cable made of 100 wire pairs. Neither is really practical or necessary.

If you want to be able to disable a connected port, use manageable switches at  least the second patch panel location. This way you can logon to the switch and disable the port with the switch software.

Your configuration is typical of a larger building. Often you have a central communications room with a patch panel and a switch. From there there will be a cable going to other communications rooms, such as 1 per floor, with another switch and a patch panel for the connections on that floor or general area.

                            |=> location 1=switch 1 => patch panel1 => local computers
primary switch =>|=> location 2=switch 2 => patch panel2 => local computers
                            |=> location 3=switch 3 => patch panel3 => local computers
                            |=> location 4=switch 4 => patch panel4 => local computers

Only 1 wire needs to run from the primary switch to each of the others. However, your 100mbps is shared with all users connected to switch 1, 2, 3, or 4. With 30+ users/switch  this should not be a problem, but if your switch supports trunking you can use 2 wires to each switch which gives you 2x100mbps to each switch, effectively doubling the bandwidth.