[Tfug] Patch cords

[Bexley Hall]

Hi Steve,

--- On Sat, 9/29/12, az teech <azteech at gmail.com> wrote:

> Providing you have all he RJ45 ends for cat5e/cat6, and you have the 
> appropriate crimping tool, the cords are easy enough to re-fabricate to 
> the length you need. Plenty of instructions out there on how to make 
> them. Also, if you look at the ends, you should be able to figure out 
> the proper color code to match.

Yes, I regularly "make cords".  But, only for situations where
the cord sees very little abuse.  E.g., the drops that feed my
access points all terminate in RJ45 plugs (which connect
directly to the access points).  These are effectively "never
unplugged" -- since the access points are affixed to the
ceiling/wall (and thus unlikely to move) and the cords that
connect to them are equally unlikely to require movement.

At the other extreme, are individual machines being plugged/unplugged
into nearby wall jacks -- those cables see *frequent* (ab)use.

The patch cords connecting patch panel to switches are somewhere
in the middle in terms of use/abuse.  They are moved far less
often than a machine plugged/unplugged to/from a wall jack.
Yet, *sometimes* are moved as the network topology is reconfigured
(and drops move from one switch to another, etc.)

Flakey/intermittent cords aren't worth the savings to make them
yourself.  OTOH, getting several different sizes (all very
similar -- 1 ft, 1.5 ft, 2 ft, 2.5 ft, 3 ft, etc.) from a COTS
source would probably be difficult.  The alternative of using,
for example, 3 ft for everything less than 3 ft and 6 ft for
those longer (yet less than 6 ft) results in just too much
slop in this little area.  <frown>

--don