A Main Distribution Frame (MDF) is a signal

distribution frame or cable rack used in telephony to

interconnect and manage telecommunication wiring
between itself and any number of intermediate
distribution frames and cabling from the telephony
network it supports.

The MDF connects equipment inside a telecom

munications facility to cables and subscriber carrier
equipment. Every cable that supplies services to user
telephones lines ends up at an MDF and is distributed
through MDF to equipment within local exchanges.

Historically this would be the same as the telephone

switchboards of yesteryear where telephone operators
inserted connecting wires into a matrix of sockets on a
patch panel to connect calls. Todays jumpers are more
permanent, assigning a line to each individual subscriber
account and only need to be changed as people change
their numbers, to reroute networks, dedicated lines or for
maintenance purposes.

MDF can provide flexibility in assigning

telecommunications facilities at a lower cost and higher
The most common kind of MDF is a long steel rack that is
accessible from both sides. Termination blocks are
arranged horizontally on one side at the front of the rack
shelves. The jumpers lie on the shelf and move through a
steel hoop in order to run through vertically arranged
termination blocks.
A typical MDF can hold hundreds of thousands of jumpers
and dozens of them can be changed every day for
decades without tangling when administered by
experienced professionals. Jumpers are twisted pairs of
cable, each one corresponding to an individual telephone
line.
MDFs are single-sided so that the workers can install,
remove or change jumpers. However,
old manual jumpering systems are now mostly
automated using automated main distribution frames.
Computer systems that control MDF operations assign
terminals close to one another so that jumpers need not
be long and shelves are not congested with wires as the
jumpers are shorter.
MDFs in private branch exchanges perform functions that
are similar to those performed by those in central offices
but on a smaller scale.

The most common kind of large MDF is a long steel rack

accessible from both sides. On one side, termination
blocks are arranged horizontally at the front of rack
shelves. Jumpers lie on the shelves and go through an
insulated steel hoop to run vertically to other termination
blocks that are arranged vertically. There is a hoop or
ring at the intersection of each level and each vertical.
Installing a jumper historically required two workers, one
on either side of the MDF. The shelves are shallow
enough to allow the rings to be within arm's reach, but
the workers prefer to hang the jumper on a hook on a
pole so their partner can pull it through the ring. A
fanning strip at the back of each termination block
prevents the wires from covering each other's terminals.
With disciplined administration, the MDF can hold over a
hundred thousand jumpers, with dozens changed every
day, for decades without tangling