Switchs connected via patch panal.

Hello,

Wanted to ask,

Can I use a cat5e Patch panal instead of "Daisy chaining" my switchs?

if so, any tips?

 

Yes, but why

C-Bus is topology independent.

To use a patch panel you need to use it in reverse. All the fixed wiring will have to enter in at the front where you normally have your patch leads (thus you need to put a plug on each cable) and then daisy chain them at the back where the fixed wiring would normally be punched down.

In my opinion, you don't gain much by home-running all the C-Bus cables anyway, except for more cost. The beauty of the system is the flexibility you get from being able to daisy chain with parallel stubs hanging off the chain. It is really as simple as "As long as you can make a connection to the bus".

Mick

 

Harmonica as a star point

The Clipsal Hamonica is available in two basic versions; the 8058/8RJ has 8 lines in (punch down on the rear) each connected to a RJ45 on the front.

The 8052/4RJ has two sets of 2 lines in (punch down on the rear) to 4 commoned RJ45's on the front.

Each of the above are available in a shallow or deep frame mount.

I recently used a 8052/4RJ as a central star point for a C-Bus network. By just adding 4 very short straps on the rear you end up with 8 RJ45's on the front all commoned together using the correct 4 pins for C-Bus wiring. I divided the cable network into 6 sections and then commoned the cables at the 8052/4RJ (plugged into the front). If I get a problem in the future I can unplug each cable in turn to isolate a faulty cable, etc. It also gives me 2 spare RJ45's which could be used for future expansion. I also plug the laptop into one of the spare outlets for normal Toolkit operations.

This arrangement has been working for 18 months without any problems.

 

Thanks,

that cleared a few things up, also is there a limit on how many i can "daisy" chain? or can i actually connect 3 switchs to 1 central switch instead of daisy chaining them?

example,

if i have a switch in Room0 and i have 4 rooms around it, can i link all 4 rooms switchs to room0 or do i have to link from room0 to room1 to room2 etc...

 

You can definately wire the network as you've just described, no problem. As has been said before, C-Bus is topology-independant. As long as you're following the other specifications for a C-Bus network, such as total cable length, burdens, etc, then you should have no problems.

 

Thanks Guys!