Activity Originally Created By:
Walter Hamilton
Procedures for the Punchdown
Part of Lesson Plan: Patch Panel Punchdown
Activity Overview / Details
1) Use a wire stripper tool to strip off approximately two inches of the protective plastic cover from each end of a CAT5E cable. Untwist one inch of wire at the end of each twisted pair.
2) Place each untwisted wire in a slot on a 110 punchdown block corresponding to a single port on the back of the patch panel. Arrange the wires from left to right as shown in the following pinout:
Pin 1 - white/blue wire
Pin 2 - blue wire
Pin 3 - white/orange wire
Pin 4 - orange wire
Pin 5 - white/green wire
Pin 6 - green wire
Pin 7 - white/brown wire
Pin 8 - brown wire
Each wire should extend beyond the end of the punchdown block slot.
3) Press each wire into its slot using a punchdown tool with the "Cut" or "Cutter" blade positioned toward the wires being punched down. When each wire is pressed into its slot, the punchdown tool will trim the excess extending beyond from the slot.
4) Repeat the punchdown procedure for each CAT5E cable that will be connected to the patch panel.
