Network topology

[daveza]

Picking brains please.

A client is trying to save costs on a cabling installation and I need a justifiable reason why / if it's a bad idea.

Office has 2, maybe 3 tables with 6 pcs on each.

We quoted a network point for each which will connect to the switch in the server room.

They want to know if a single cable from the server room to a switch at each table will work.

Essentially the price of 6 points is more expensive than 1 point plus the cost of a switch.

One downside I see is that if the single cable from server to switch at table goes down, they lose 6 pcs.

Are there other negatives to this scenario ?

Thanks

 

[Segg]

Possibly the speed, this depends though
If the cable to the server is 1000mbps and the links to the PC's are 100 then you shouldn't worry, but if its all 100 I'd expect a bit of competition between the computers

EDIT: For management sake though I'd rather put in a smart switch near the server and run cable from that to all the PC's, IMO the less network hardware there is, the less there is to go wrong

 

[funkzar]

Cable length is a question?????
Switch make and model is a question?????
How many network clients?????

For a small enterprise ,wireless and concentration on wireless routers can work barring no issues.

The best redundancy just for workstation connectivity is wired and wireless, so both. Easily achieved with little cost.

 

[Electron1]

Having a switch at each table for 6 pc's can work. If pricing is the issue, I assume you are talking about a cheap switch (actually a glorified hub). In a scenario like this it will not take long for some idiot to create a routing loop by connecting both ends of a patch cable into a switch or between switches. Then the fun starts - it will take a long time to figure out why the network is not functional / very slow.

Also this means all traffic is limited - 6 computers connected to one uplink per desk to main network switch. Ideally a proper switch in server room / patch cabinet will be able to handle traffic better than cheap switches. Cabling will be neater, less chance of switch being damaged by negligence (falling off desk / stood on / liquid spill etc).

 

[funkzar]

Possibly the speed, this depends though
If the cable to the server is 1000mbps and the links to the PC's are 100 then you shouldn't worry, but if its all 100 I'd expect a bit of competition between the computers

EDIT: For management sake though I'd rather put in a smart switch near the server and run cable from that to all the PC's, IMO the less network hardware there is, the less there is to go wrong

You right, if the techies follow the network hub rules. Fat chance, because I've never seen it. That includes me. Major fault=quick fix. And no one ever fixes the quick fix until a MAJOR overhaul.

 

[SauRoNZA]

Wireless. Cheap as chips these days and does the job just fine.

Ubiquiti UniFi. Problem solved.