Network Infrastructure Articles
Cabling, switching and Wi-Fi: the layer nobody thinks about until it fails.
Office network work sits between facilities and IT, which is why it so often arrives unfinished. A fit-out contractor pulls cable to finish the sockets, then nobody certifies the runs. Access points go in later as desks fill, often onto copper that cannot feed them. Operations directors inherit that estate, then spend months on intermittent wireless complaints that a faster internet circuit will not touch. They're also the people who approve a recable or a firewall replacement, usually after the complaints have already cost working days.
When the office grows, the original install is asked to carry denser traffic than it was sized for. A wireless refresh only pays off if the copper and the switches can feed the new radios. Switches also have to supply Power over Ethernet to ceiling access points, and an undersized PoE budget is a common reason new wireless fails on day one. Firewalls need current firmware and a rule set someone still owns, not an appliance that was racked at fit-out and never opened again.
3 articles in Network Infrastructure
Network Infrastructure: common questions
Do I need Cat6A cabling in a business office?
Cat6A is the grade to specify for new office cabling. It carries 10Gbps over a full 100-metre run, which current business access points need if they're to run at rated speed. Cat5e is not specified for new work. Many existing floors still run on Cat6 at 1Gbps without trouble. Recable if the copper is Cat5 or older, or if a wireless upgrade is planned and the current runs cannot feed the new access points.
Should my business upgrade to Wi-Fi 7?
Specify Wi-Fi 7 when congestion or delay is already a problem, or when access points are due for replacement. A healthy Wi-Fi 6 floor doesn't need replacing. The new radios need Cat6A copper and multigigabit PoE switches; Cat5e caps them at 1Gbps. Most current laptops still lack a Wi-Fi 7 radio, so the extra capacity appears only as those devices are replaced.
Should guest Wi-Fi be on a separate network?
Yes. Guest phones and visitor laptops should sit on their own VLAN with internet access only, so a compromised guest device cannot reach servers or staff machines. Printers and CCTV belong on a separate VLAN too. The firewall at the edge has to enforce those boundaries. Leave the factory admin password in place, or start from a rule that allows everything, and the appliance is not doing the job.
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