Networking for an office of ~ 50 ppl.

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ncm123

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Dec 17, 2013
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We are planning to shift to a new premises and want to know how do i do the networking there. We are ~20 people now and are planning to expand to 50 over the next 2 years. So we want to network and wire the new office accordingly so that it can support the

How do we do LAN cabling for our small rectangular office seating 50 ppl? This is the layout planned.

lan_wiring.png


Some points that I could think of.
1) we are going to have a false ceiling. So can pass lan wires through that.
2) flooring is not yet done - so we can put wires below tiles also.
3) which cables do you recommend - cat5e or cat6? budget is a constraint for us.
4) we do not need public access to our network.
5) we need to setup wifi also in our office. office is about 1200 sq ft.
6) where should we setup routers and switches?

Thanks!
Nishant
 
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B
Putting switches at each table is fine too. The only concern would be if you would ever overload the uplinks between the switches. With one big one you can never do that since it is the backplane of a switch can normally run all ports at full speed. In your average case neither is a better design it will all come down to cost I suspect.

Cat 6 cable really has no advantage. It can run 1g at 100m just like cat5e. It can run 10g at a very short distance but when you can afford 10g interfaces in your switches then cat6a or cat7 cable which is rated to 100m is not that much more expensive.

Pretty much run which ever you can find cheaper. For unknown reasons cat6 cable sometimes is cheaper.

The only thing to be very careful of...
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das_stig

das_stig

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Cat5e linked back to couple of 48 port managed switches for desktop users.
Wireless AP's in ceiling linked back to a separate managed switch, with the AP's having a around 10% signal overlap with intelligent AP switching.
All switched interlinked to ll machines link.

Think you should budget in getting a professional company to set things up, they can do all the cabling and switch setups for you.
 
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bill001g

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Aug 9, 2012
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You would want your switches and router in a locked cabinet mounted to the wall I suspect. You always have people who "think" the are network experts that will mess with your hardware.

You problem with cable costs is going to depend on the building codes. If you run it above the ceiling this is called a plenum and you need fire rated cable called plenum cable. Likely the code requires it if you run if under the floor also but you would also likely need conduit under the floor so that adds to the costs.

The cheap but very messy looking way to run this would be to mount the switches on the west wall and then run all the cable along the floor and zip tie them together to avoid trip hazards. You do not have to use plenum cable when the cable is exposed.

You could I guess put small 8 port switches under each table and daisy chain them together. It will work but I would only do that if cost was a issue running one large central switch is going to be much more stable
 
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ex_bubblehead

ex_bubblehead

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....run all the cable along the floor and zip tie them together....
Click to expand...
I regularly threaten bodily harm to any of my people that use zip ties on cables. In addition to making it more difficult to adjust things without having to cut, then replace, the ties, they will also pinch the cables and eventually cut through the insulation. Use Velcro strips to bind cable bundles.
 
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ncm123

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I was thinking of putting switches for each group of 12 computers. Maybe put 1-2 cables extra in case of some problems later on. Four - Five 16 port switches and one main router? Do you think this will work?

My main concern is how to hide these wires and switches. Right now I have a big mess in my current place and would want to take care of it in this plan.

Also- which cable do you suggest- cat5e or cat6?
 
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bill001g

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Putting switches at each table is fine too. The only concern would be if you would ever overload the uplinks between the switches. With one big one you can never do that since it is the backplane of a switch can normally run all ports at full speed. In your average case neither is a better design it will all come down to cost I suspect.

Cat 6 cable really has no advantage. It can run 1g at 100m just like cat5e. It can run 10g at a very short distance but when you can afford 10g interfaces in your switches then cat6a or cat7 cable which is rated to 100m is not that much more expensive.

Pretty much run which ever you can find cheaper. For unknown reasons cat6 cable sometimes is cheaper.

The only thing to be very careful of in commercial buildings is the stupid government. You must run plenum rated cable if you hide your cable in the ceiling. Also some cities require you to get permits and have the cable run by licensed electricians when it is run in the wall or in the plenum.
 
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ncm123

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Thanks for the reply.

Is there any online guide which suggests how to actually install the cables? I just want to be completely aware of my options before beginning any work. My main concern right now is hiding the cables from view and marking them so problems in connections can be easily managed.
 
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sg4rb0

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Hi,

We've got loads of these offices around EMEA. Is the building shared or not?

The way we usually do it is that we usually get our own comms room in the corridor, or within the office itself. At work case scenario we have to share a comms room with another company.

So basically, in the comms room we have a 48 port patch pannel. We wire the network cables to the back of the pannel, which leads to RJ45 boxes in the floor in the office (something like this - http://www.smartdesks.com/Computer-Floor-Access-Floor/data-connections.jpg).

For position of the Wi-fi, check you have enough coverage using a tool like AirMagnet (http://www.flukenetworks.com/enterprise-network/wireless-network/AirMagnet-Survey). Order your first access point and just run a scan around the office to check for signal in each area. The most common thing affecting our Wi-Fi is the density of the walls.

Hope this helps.
Steve

We then cable the front of the patch pannel to our switches
 
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Ijack

Ijack

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If you have a free hand, by far the most satisfactory solution to wiring is a raised floor with removable tiles. Not only does this make wiring very simple (much easier than running wires up to a ceiling and down again) but it allows you to rearrange tiles with access points. That way you can always have the access point under the desk and so have no trailing wires for people to trip over.

As for the switches, etc., not to mention the server, they absolutely must be in a locked cabinet or, even better, cupboard to which only a very few trusted people have access. Make sure that you keep the cables to the switches neat and labelled; there is nothing worse than trying to track down which cable goes to which access point. Cat 5e should be fine, particularly as you cable runs are going to be short. Don't forget that you can also use cat 5e (with baluns) for telephones; that makes the wiring more versatile.
 
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ncm123

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Thanks for all the replies. I will need to do inquiries about the removable tiles.

Some more points
1) We are currently using a windows 8 pc as a server - All files are stored in this pc. Everyone has read-write access to these files. I want to get something more secure for this usage. What do you recommend?

Also something that can backup specific folders to itself.
 
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Ijack

Ijack

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You need to create user accounts on the Windows 8 server and then you can apply permissions to folders and files restricting access. For ease of use the username and password on the server should be the same as on the user's computer. (This is where a proper server makes life easier with centralised accounts.)

However, there is a restriction on the number of connections you can make to a Windows 8 machine - 20. This may, just, be enough for the moment but will soon not suffice for your needs. At some stage you are going to have to look at using a proper server system (it has several other advantages). It may be that it would be easier to do that from the outset rather than setting up a system now that you have to change in a year or so.

You don't have to use Windows Server if cost is a problem. You can either use Linux (free) or OS X Server (not free, but cheaper than Windows Server). The disadvantage is that both these will need more learning to use and are slightly less powerful (though probably fine for your requirements). If you are looking to install a proper server it would be a good idea to pay a consultant to help with the planning and setup plus some initial training.
 
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ncm123

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I was reading up on NAS servers. I thought they might be useful for me.
Suppose someone accidentally deletes a file on your server - can we set it in such a way that a copy is stored?
 
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Ijack

Ijack

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If all you want is file and print sharing then a NAS device makes a very good solution.You would want to go for one of the 4-bay (or more) ones with RAID 5 to provide the best protection against a disk failure.

Once you allow people write access to files it is nearly impossible to prevent them from deleting them. This is where a good backup routine is needed. I have found the most useful (in a larger office) to be a system that regularly takes incremental backups and easily allows you to restore a single file from a particular date. A good example of this sort of software is Time Machine in OS X; there are similar programs available for Windows. I'm not familiar enough with the various NAS devices available to know the best way of backing them up, but what you ask is a very relevant question that is often neglected. You definitely need some backup system to guard against human error.

There's an article here that gives an overview of some NAS devices http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2401086,00.asp
 
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ncm123

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I need a NAS which can handle 30-40 people at the same time. I think even the most basic NAS drive will be able to handle this? Since not all people are going to be accessing data from it at all times. How do I know if a NAS system is OK to support simultaneous 40 connections?
 
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Ijack

Ijack

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Even the cheapest NAS systems ought to be able to handle that. But it would be a good investment to go for something a little more substantial that supports RAID. That way a failed disk will mean little or no downtime.

The Windows 8 restriction on connections is purely a software thing as Microsoft want to push you towards their sever software. The hardware and OS could easily handle many more connections, particularly for simple file sharing.
 
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