A PATCH PANEL WITH POWER OVER ETHERNET FUNCTIONALITY

摘要

A patch panel (10) comprises one or more support members (11) supporting a plurality of cable terminations (13) that are each operatively connectable to a respective data cable (16) for the transmission of data. Each cable termination (13) is operatively connected to a respective first socket (12) that is open on a side of the patch panel such that a plug inserted into the first socket (12) is connectable to a said data cable (16) via a data transmission path (14) forming part of the patch panel. The patch panel (10) additionally includes in at least on of the data transmission paths (14) a further connector (18) that permits the connection in the first data transmission path (14) of one or more additional components, such as a module providing status information or power over Ethernet capabilities.