Building an office network properly: six steps

When a company moves into a new office or renovates an old one, the network is usually the last thing anyone thinks about. But pulling cable after the walls are finished means drilling and opening ceilings again. Planning it first costs less and hurts less.

1. Put numbers on what you need

How many workstations, printers, cameras and mobile devices? Include the growth you expect over the next two to three years. The number of network points should always exceed the number of desks.

2. Pull cable before the finishing work

Cat6 cable, wall sockets and trunking belong in the building before the decorating is done. Retrofitting means surface trunking, drilling, and a worse-looking result.

3. Plan Wi-Fi by calculation, not by guess

"One router will do" is the most common mistake. Concrete walls, metal shelving and glass partitions all weaken the signal. Working out how many access points you need and where they go prevents the complaint that one room never has internet.

4. Give the equipment its own space

Keep switches, routers and recorders in a cabinet, clean and cool. A UPS buys you at least enough time to shut the equipment down safely. Proper grounding protects against lightning and voltage spikes.

5. Separate the network

Guest Wi-Fi, staff computers, cameras and the point-of-sale system do not belong on one flat network. Separating them means one infected device cannot reach the rest. This is a matter of configuration, not extra hardware.

6. Document it

Record which port goes where and how everything is configured, in a diagram and on labels. A year later, when something breaks, that document saves hours.