I understand that this is what usually should be done. But if I run solid core patch cables, plugged into a patch panel on one side and punched down into a patch panel on the other side, don't I eliminate one punch connection and one plug connection overall?
I can't see why my client's method wouldn't be superior, as long as we use solid core patch cables/pigtails.
I don't have my wiring setup the right way, but that is the way I have mine done. Solid core Cat 5e/6 to punch down keystone jacks in my walls with crimps on the other end straight in to my switches at the top of my equipment rack in my basement storage room. Solid core is a little more of a pain to crimp than stranded, but it isn't that big a deal. The correct way would be a to a patch panel and then short patch cables to the switches, which I'll do at some point.
I was extremely space and cost constrained at the time that I did most of the initial wiring, and I've just run with it since as I've added new runs. Just dreading the weekend of cutting rj45's off and punching down to a patch panel. I'll do it...but not soon.
The spec was introduced as a basic "this is the meetable goal" and it is 90 meters of solid core wiring, punched down at each end with 5+5 meters of stranded wiring on either end to run to the network equipment. You CAN do more than this, crap, I've tested just putting crimp ends on most of a 500ft box of Cat5e, and it worked okay (I did see some Rx/Tx errors, but they were very low), that was easily >400ft, well beyond spec.
This is just like crash safety standards, you have a minimum to meet, many can exceed (that said, some claim Cat5e/6/etc. and do NOT meet the spec). The other issue is that some might exceed spec, but they aren't going to tell you (or don't know) just how far beyond spec the wire can manage, or it depends on the use case.
In a clean environment, a single Cat5e run, without EMI, etc might easily be able to do 500ft with some good NICs on either end (IE aren't "too low power") for a solid error free 1Gbps connection. Get that with iffier NICs, in a 9 wire bundle and crossing a bunch of power wiring and stuff and you might see errors stack up at 350ft.
Its all about "minimum standards".
If you overall wiring run is a lot less than 100 meters before retransmit, you can EASILY get away with a lot longer than 10 meters of total stranded cabling, just know that stranded cabling DOES have worse signal attenuation, I am not sure how much, but I'd assume you should figure that 10 meters of stranded is the equivelent to 20 meters of solid core and work from that assumption (I assume it is pessimistic enough).