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Basic Network Setup Checklist for Small Offices

Poseidon Network Systems · Cape Town

Most network problems trace back to the original install, too few cable drops, access points placed for aesthetics rather than coverage, no spare capacity for growth. None of it is expensive to get right up front; all of it is expensive to fix once walls are closed up and desks are in place. Here's what to plan for before cabling and Wi-Fi go in.

Before the installer arrives

  1. Count desks, then add spare drops. Plan for at least one wired network point per desk, plus 20–30% spare drops for growth, meeting rooms, and printers/access points, retrofitting cable runs later means reopening walls or running exposed trunking.
  2. Map where equipment actually lives. Server/rack location, switch position, and where the internet line enters the building all drive the cable run design, decide this before, not during, installation.
  3. Decide wired vs. Wi-Fi per area. Desks and anything stationary (printers, POS terminals, servers) should be wired, more reliable and not competing for Wi-Fi bandwidth. Wi-Fi covers laptops, mobile devices, and guest access.

Access point placement

  1. Central, elevated placement beats a single point stuffed in a server cupboard, Wi-Fi signal degrades through walls and distance, not just distance alone.
  2. One access point rarely covers an entire office beyond a small footprint; multiple access points on the same network name (SSID) let devices roam between them without dropping connection.
  3. Keep access points away from thick walls, metal cabinets, and other electronics that cause interference.

Cabling standards worth insisting on

  1. Cat6 cabling as the baseline for new installs, it comfortably handles gigabit speeds and has headroom for future equipment upgrades, at a marginal cost over older standards.
  2. Structured, labeled cable runs, every cable terminated, tested, and labeled at both ends. Unlabeled cabling turns a five-minute fault-find into an hour of tracing wires.
  3. A properly sized switch with spare ports, not just enough ports for today's headcount, since running out of switch ports is one of the most common (and cheapest to avoid) small-office network problems.

Signs the original setup was done wrong

  1. Devices plugged into daisy-chained switches instead of a structured run back to a central switch.
  2. No documentation of what cable goes where, the next person to troubleshoot has to start from zero.
  3. Wi-Fi "dead zones" that were never resolved because there was never a proper site survey to begin with.

A simple pre-installation checklist

  1. Desk count confirmed, with spare drops added for growth
  2. Server/rack and switch location decided
  3. Wired vs. Wi-Fi mapped per area
  4. Access point count and placement planned for full coverage, not just convenience
  5. Cat6 (minimum) specified for all new runs
  6. Labeling and testing included in the install, not left as an afterthought

Planning a new office fit-out or moving premises? Get in touch before the cabling contractor starts, a short conversation upfront is far cheaper than a rework once the desks are in.