# BIX block and patch panel installation



## quarky2001 (May 29, 2014)

Here's what I'm dealing with, and I'm a bit new to data, despite being an electrician, so I'm hoping someone can clue me in.

I'm doing the telephone terminations for a 10-storey apartment building. There are 4 floors with data closets, and the prints show both patch panels (punch-down blocks on the back side, RJ-45 jacks on the front side) and BIX blocks being used in each data closet. Each suite has a Cat-6 home run cable (only the blue pair will be used) pulled to a data closet, and each data closet is fed with a 50-pair cable. Some data closets contain more than 50 suites worth of phone lines though.

Here are my questions:
1. Are the patch panels really necessary? It seems like I could just terminate the 50-pair cable onto the back of the BIX blocks, and the suite home runs onto the front. This raises the question of the 50 pair cable for a data closet with 56 phone lines though.

2. Is there a standard method of using BIX blocks together with patch panels for the phone lines I'm missing? It seems like a waste of time to use the BIX blocks to connect the 50-pair to a jumper to the patch panel, and then put a crystal on the end of each suite home run.

Again, I'm new to this. If anyone has any knowledge that can help me out, it would be much appreciated.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

quarky2001 said:


> Here's what I'm dealing with, and I'm a bit new to data, despite being an electrician, so I'm hoping someone can clue me in.


Knowing your stuff about power doesn't teach you anything really about communications just because wire is involved  

Terminating the home runs to the front of the riser blocks would certainly work, but usually it's better to terminate the horizontal cables in blocks or patch panels, terminate the riser cables in blocks or panels, and cross connect. The cross connects are easier to test, maintain, and make moves / adds / changes. 

The only confound here is terminating the horizontal cables in patch panels and riser cables in blocks. The cross connects will be modular on one end, punched down on the other, which is a big pain in the ass. The advantage to patch panels for the horizontal cable is, if you ever wind up with network equipment in that closet, you can connect the suite directly to the network equipment without a punchdown cross connect. 

Personally I'd terminate it all in blocks because I'd rather have 

good cross connects now for sure, 
and maybe PITA cross connects in the future, 

than 

PITA cross connects now for sure, 
and maybe easy cross connects some time in the future.


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## electricguy (Mar 22, 2007)

BIX nortel networks hacked by the Chinese apparently


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

electricguy said:


> BIX nortel networks hacked by the Chinese apparently


I knew it, I never trusted those rube goldberg BIX punchdown tools. 

I thought Nortel got bought by Avaya years ago, and Avaya filed for bankruptcy a couple years ago, but neither one has come out with a decent product since the 90's.


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## Navyguy (Mar 15, 2010)

Whether it is BIX or any other system, the standard design approach is to “cross connect”. The cross connect could be with single strand (or multi strand) wire or actual patch cables. The intent of this installation is that you essentially leave the infrastructure alone and simply use renewable “patch” materials for system changes such as moving stations, identifying faults, etc.

There is a specific design process for BIX (Belden) approved installations which include approved brackets, blocks and cables. We are a Belden certified company and do this on a regular basis.

From what you are describing, you need to “punch down” the 50pr cables in one rack and punch down the individual cables from the units in another rack, and then “cross connect” them. If you want to do it with “patch panels” verses BIX blocks, that is acceptable. BIX make blocks that have “phone jacks” on the front as well as “data jacks” in Cat 3, Cat5e and Cat 6 so you can use them as “patch panels” if there is matching equipment. If you are starting fresh, then you can install a GigiaBix block that use a different IDC molded patch cable.

Most common Cat5e modular AX100798 punch down block, and you can use standard patch cord to cross connect.

Most common Cat6 modular AX101447 punch down block, and you use special molded patch cables to cross connect.

Voice (Cat 3) is done the same way, you can use the same materials, but if you are using existing Cat 3 cable then you can use standard punch down blocks and simply cross-connect. If you want to modularize the installation then you can use A0330863 blocks and cross connect with telephone patch cables, but I have only see that done in old government installations, 99% are simply cross connected.

Belden, like many other companies make a number of options and you are not limited to “BIX” punch downs. You can use modular connectors if you want in a “rack approach”, but since it is a telephone installation, likely with Cat 3 cable, using this approach would be non-standard.

Cheers
John


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## electricguy (Mar 22, 2007)

my bix punch down tool is 25 years old, 66 and 110 tool is a fluke 1 am lucky to get 1 job every couple years that needs punch down work lol


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