What equipment is needed to setup an office network?
Your office network will consist of hardware and software. Together this will provide the required configuration. Depending on whether you will be using wired or wireless technologies, the basic network hardware could consist of some or all of the following:
Hardware
- Ethernet cable
- Ethernet jacks – wall plates
- Patch panel – connects Ethernet cable to port on switch or router)
- Network switch
- Network router – wired or wireless
- Network server – main computer
- Work stations – user PCs and laptops
- Surge protection – prevents electrical surges from damaging equipment
- UPS – Uninterruptable power supply or battery back-up
- Cooling – when needed to maintain optimal operating environment
Software
- Operating system – MS Windows
6 Questions to Ask Yourself
With all of this said, it is important to know more about the business and the type of work is being done to more accurately determine which network features are required. So, these are some questions to ask:
- What type of business is this? Network configurations for a business performing basic sales and administrative tasks and only needing access to relatively small files such as documents or pictures, is quite a bit different than a business whose workflow consists of video production, graphic design or CAD design work.
- What types of files and how much storage will you be needing to store for employees and staff to be able to access?
- If Ethernet is being used, will you be running new cables or using existing cable? What is the grade and capacity of the existing cable?
- How much of a budget has been allocated to your network setup?
- Who will maintain the network after it’s installed? Will you be hiring a full-time network administrator or will be outsourcing your network IT support to a local managed services provider (MSP) in Delaware?
- How often and what system will be in place to monitor your network and to perform regular data backups? If no system is in place, how will you respond to a catastropic data loss?
These are just a few basic details about setting up a small office network. If you are unsure as to what your particular network needs are, contact Cipher Techonolgy Services or your local network systems provider for further guidance and assistance.
