Managed connectivity in electrical systems and methods thereof

Abstract

An electrical connector arrangement includes a storage device coupled to a connector housing. The storage device is configured to store physical layer information pertaining to the electrical connector arrangement. The storage device also has contacts that enable the physical layer information to be read from the storage device by a media reading interface. A connector assembly includes at least one receptacle assembly; a printed circuit board; and a media reading interface.

1 . A patch panel comprising:
 a circuit board;   a jack module mounted at the circuit board, the jack module defining a front opening configured to receive a plug connector, the front opening of the jack module extending parallel with the circuit board, the jack module including a plurality of main signal contacts positioned in the jack module, the jack module also defining a cutout region; and   a media reading interface arrangement including a jack interface connector mounted to the circuit board at the cutout region of the jack module, the jack interface connector including at least three contacts aligned with the cutout region.