Wire selection in a cable management system

In a cable management system interposed between a plurality of service lines (16) and a plurality of user lines (18) and including a plurality of service termination unit circuit cards (22) each connectable to a first predetermined number of respective ones of said plurality of service lines, a plurality of line termination unit circuit cards (20) each connectable to a second predetermined number of respective ones of said plurality of user lines, connecting means (24, 36, 37) for connecting each of said plurality of service termination unit circuit cards to all of said plurality of line termination unit circuit cards, each of said line termination unit circuit cards including a respective port connector (160) for each of the user lines connected to that line termination unit circuit card and a respective user line circuit path (110) between each of said port connectors and said connecting means, each of said plurality of service termination unit circuit cards including switching means (126) for selectively connecting one of the plurality of service lines connected to that service termination unit circuit card to one of said plurality of user line circuit paths, each of said user lines consisting of M wires within a cable (162) having M+N wires, where M and N are integers, each of said port connectors being connected to said M+N wires of the cable carrying the respective user line associated with said each port connector, each of said user line cables being terminated at a respective outlet (200) for connection thereat to a peripheral user device, and said respective outlet including a connector (204) having M+N contact positions, an arrangement in said outlet for controlling the connection of said M cable wires to said outlet connector comprising:

• an M by (M+N) matrix (222) of controllable crosspoint switches, a first side of said matrix having M lines each connected to a respective one of said M cable wires and a second side of said matrix having M+N lines each connected to a respective one of said M+N outlet connector contact positions, each of said M lines of said matrix first side being connectable through respective crosspoint switches to all of said M+N lines of said matrix second side;
• and
• control means (224,226) for effecting the selective closure of said crosspoint switches so that each of said M cable wires is connected through said matrix to a respective one of said outlet connector contact positions;
• whereby a particular set of M outlet connector contact positions can be selected and ordered to define the user line connection to the peripheral user device.