Networking between two floors

donte10

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Hopefully I can explain the setup well enough for help with a solution. I have a new client in which I'm creating a proposal for. This project is for a client who is moving to a new location. The new office location has two levels to it and the client will be using both floors as part of their new office.

The first floor has 15 offices that will have a computer in each office and voip phone. The network cabling has already been ran for the entire first floor and the cables are nicely terminated to a patch panel in an equipment room on the first floor. Each office has 1 network jack and a standard phone jack.

The second floor has 13 offices that will have a computer and voip phone in each. The network cabling is messy on this floor. It looks like the previous tenants quickly threw it together. All the internet cables are simply hanging from the ceiling in each office and terminates in a closet on the second floor. In this closet the connections end up directly male connected to 3-4 daisy chained home routers..and switches.

So you got it... Im going in to clean it up. The project objection is to clean up the cabling and connect the two floors together as one network.

Solution 1 is to simply clean up the closet on the second floor, installing a patch panel and 24 port unmanaged GB switch and placing the cables in the wall of each office to create a jack. Then run a single cable run feed downstairs to the first floor 24 port unmanaged GB switch approx 100 feet in distance. Will this option create any bottlenecks in performance by connecting the two floors together with a single feed? This is the more economical and less time consuming. That is my main concern.

Solution 2 is to run all brand new cables from each second floor office directly down to the first floor equipment room and punch it down into a patch panel, then connect to a 48 port unmanaged switch. Would it be best to install a single 48 port switch and connect all the connections of both floors to it, or install two, 24 port switches? My only thought is with the 48 port switch it causes a single point of failure. Any bottlenecks in performance by connecting two switches together?

Which would be the best solution? I want to go with option 1 if there are no performance problems.

Each voip phone will be connected to the internet jack in each office and the computer will plug into the phone since each office has a single ethernet jack. Does this cause any performance problems? Is it better for the client to have a separate ethernet jack for each phone separated from the computer?

If you any added suggestions or better solutions, Im all ears. Or if I left something out let me know.

PS. This client will have a really good Internet connection and business router.
 
I would suggest for possible expansion on second floor run 2 cables to each office to a patch panel on second floor. Instead of using unmanaged switches use managed switches and trunk the switches together so you are not creating a bottle neck, this way if they need separation for departments you can create VLans.
 
1) Agree that you should use managed switches.

2) I'd go with 24-port switches. Yes it's a little more convenient to have one point of failure with a 48-port, but if/when that thing goes down, a lot more people will be out of commission until you can get a replacement installed.

Either that, or have a spare switch on-site/in stock.
 
HP ProCurve! //end thread

just realized something made me close this before I finished the reply. Musta gotten distracted my a shiny light.

Ideally, option 2. Each workstation has a full gigabit connection to the server(s).
If you go with option 1, those 12+ users upstairs all share a single gig connection to the downstairs...or visa versa. Effectively just under a 100 meg connection per client. Bottleneck. Depending on what apps they're running on the network...could or maybe not be a bottleneck.

Good quality switch on an APC....don't really need to worry about that 48 port switch being a point of failure.
 
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