Spec me a router in a small office

almoststew1990 · 2 Dec 2015 at 15:30

We're opening a new office with up to 12 people in it. We're getting BT ADSL broadband. We have a NAS for all our files accessed by this new office only, with software installed on the PCs themselves. We don't need particularly high speed access (we're using a "3mbps" connection atm!) and don't open files bigger than 10mb.

To avoid having four or five ethernet cables along the floor we are considering going wireless for both internet access and NAS. Can you recommend a router than can handle lots of 'lite' users at once? Or is this a terribad idle?

Also would it networked up like this:

ADSL socket ---> Wireless Router ---> NAS

Cheers

Craig321 · 2 Dec 2015 at 15:33

Wireless is a terrible idea for work machines/desktops if you don't absolutely have to go wireless imo.

Can't you get some proper cabling done with trunking along the skirting the and/or run cables in the ceiling?

almoststew1990 · 2 Dec 2015 at 15:42

If we do run the wires on the skirting board, would this kind of layout work? With 'normal ethernet cables' ?

Craig321 · 2 Dec 2015 at 15:43

Yep, that'll be fine. ADSL wall socket into router, then router in to switch though.

I would also get gigabit switches. They're not expensive and will speed up access to the NAS regardless of the file sizes you're using - more speed is always better!

Avalon · 2 Dec 2015 at 15:51

Conventional wifi should be viewed as a convenience for devices that don't support wired (tablets, phones etc.) and visitors/guests who may need internet access but have no place on the private network. It's never a good idea for this kind of set-uo.

Cat5e and gigabit switches are cheap and easy to route/duct, they'll also give you a lot less agro over time and you can cater for voip etc if this becomes a requirement in the future.

almoststew1990 · 2 Dec 2015 at 15:55

Cheers guys sounds good! Would this Switch be ok?

Will the BT ADSL router be sufficient to manage 12 internet users?

Thinking about it, if we get a solid router with four Ethernet ports, will it not need the switch between the switch between the router and the NAS?

Also would this basic NAS be ok? We have 300GB of files atm and wouldn't need the files to be accessible over the internet.

bledd · 2 Dec 2015 at 16:04

What you want is a 24 port switch in a central point (IE, near your router/server(s)),
Then a patch panel with cables going to wall ports around the office.

If you don't know how to do it, pay someone who does to do it.

Use a decent NAS, like a Synology with WD Red drives and have external USB3 hard drives connected to it for taking backups offsite at the end of the day.

Do it properly once.

Router, look at Draytek, good for a small business. You only need 1 port on the router (well, one for connection input and one to the switch).

Don't use wireless for anything other than light phone use. Avoid powerline at all costs.

Wall port >
ADSL router >
24 port switch, connect NAS and computers to this.

What about phone system?

almoststew1990 · 2 Dec 2015 at 16:40

So the less switches the better? The office is only big enough for 16 people, four to a desk so would a patch panel not be overkill- I'm not really sure what it does tbh. Could we just have one 24 port switch with 16 PCs and four phones attached with wires going along the skirting board and into the tables directly to the PCs?

Phones would be IP phones.

I would just like to say I'm not the boss I'm just trying to help my boss out! Are we definitely in "pay a professional to do it" territory for setting up this office?

Avalon · 2 Dec 2015 at 19:10

You aren't in 'pay a pro' territory by any means, but you do want to make sure it's done right - 'helping' is often a euphemism for 'sacrificial lamb' when it all goes wrong - I think this is what bledd is getting at, if you aren't comfortable with running your own cable then get someone who is.

The router is more than capable of dealing with 12 users, if you don't anticipate any significant expansion in the office (and you say it's space limited) then your plan will work fine, but Bledd's suggestion removes a few potential bottlenecks that I don't think from your OP really apply here. Running a single 24 port switch centrally is preferable, but you'll have more cable to run and as you're not anticipating large files being used and usage seems light in general then bandwidth isn't likely to be an issue. 3 gigabit switches (you don't technically need a 4th) would work fine. Most VoIP phones have pass through but i'd still suggest 8 port's rather than 4, depending on how easy it is to cable to each desk then running multiple feeds from a central switch may make more sense.

Danny091 · 2 Dec 2015 at 19:42

almoststew1990 said:
So the less switches the better? The office is only big enough for 16 people, four to a desk so would a patch panel not be overkill- I'm not really sure what it does tbh. Could we just have one 24 port switch with 16 PCs and four phones attached with wires going along the skirting board and into the tables directly to the PCs?

Phones would be IP phones.

I would just like to say I'm not the boss I'm just trying to help my boss out! Are we definitely in "pay a professional to do it" territory for setting up this office?

The less switches the better as the less connections between them is needed.

Patch panels are for terminating cables.

Honestly for the layout and the amount of people you are looking for you should be fine just running cable to the desk then using switches.
Or
As you have said getting a 24 port and running the cables back to it. I also use a TP-LINK TL-SG1024D 24-Port Gigabit Desktop/Rackmount Switch at home they can be gotten for £66 had no issues with it but it has no features except for gigabit. If your running cables to desk's for each computer and phone again run a few extra than you need should some stop working or you find out you need them.

If your getting a BThomehub 5 or any router with gigabit ports you should not need a switch at that point.

I would recommend running 2 cables to each desk. Just having 1 in use and one as a backup / spare / expansion. This means if someone breaks runs over / cuts one of the cables you can easily just switch to the other.

I would go for 8 port switches at the desk because they dont really cost that much more and allow you ports for the phones and expansion. 4 port switches will be limiting.
These switches are good and i use 3 of them at home and not had a problem with them you might have to look around as they seem to be out of stock. https://www.overclockers.co.uk/tp-link-8-port-gigabit-desktop-switch-tl-sg1008d-v6-nw-175-tp.html

Good luck

visibleman · 2 Dec 2015 at 20:04

bledd. said:
Wall port >
ADSL router >
24 port switch, connect NAS and computers to this.

A thousand times this. Don't daisy-chain (consumer) switches unless you absolutely need to; it sounds like you're in a small office so cable runs from computers back to a centrally positioned switch shouldn't be a problem.

And 'second' Draytek for a SMB environment - rock solid routers from my experience.

Re. phones, if they are IP-based then you might need to think about QoS and VLAN'ing (probably OTT for this case but still) depending on how those are setup.

Caged · 2 Dec 2015 at 23:47

12 people on ADSL? I assume you're having IP handsets but doing your calls over ISDN?

Steveocee · 3 Dec 2015 at 06:59

As advised already, Draytek router, a decent non consumer switch (16 or 24 port for scalability) and some decent cable management and you'll be away.

You shouldn't need a professional in to do the work. It won't take 5 mins to do correctly but it is certainly possible for 1 person to do in a day.

almoststew1990 · 3 Dec 2015 at 15:37

Ok, so it would be like this?

With a 'good' 241 port switch?

I would have thought 100mbps would be OK if a) our internet is 17mbps and b) we don't have large files. Are all NAS' 1000mbps because I can't find out if our ReadyNAS Duo is or not. It has been fine for our use over the past four years or so.

Danny091 · 3 Dec 2015 at 15:42

Yes what you posted will work fine. Honestly the price for gigabit switch is not that much more and i think its worth the investment rather than getting a 100mbit one. Just remember to run a few extra cables to each desk for the future. Your nas is most likely gigabit but if you looked on it for a model number or something a quick google will tell you.

bledd · 3 Dec 2015 at 15:42

^Yes, but..

Switch > Patch panel > ethernet > wall ports > PCs.

If You don't want wall ports, then go straight into the switch, but it's messy.

No point getting 100Mbit switch, the price difference is nothing between 100 and 1000.

What about backup for the NAS?

Do you know how to recover files from it if the enclosure dies?

Hodders · 3 Dec 2015 at 15:54

If you are thinking backup I would suggest something like a Synology DS415s linked to an external USB3 hard disk that gets rotated daily/weekly.

Please don't ignore backup !

bledd · 3 Dec 2015 at 15:56

bledd. said:
Use a decent NAS, like a Synology with WD Red drives and have external USB3 hard drives connected to it for taking backups offsite at the end of the day.

SC0TTRS · 3 Dec 2015 at 16:03

Get a PoE capable switch. You can do away with power sockets for the VoIP phones then. :cool:

visibleman · 3 Dec 2015 at 16:43

almoststew1990 said:
With a 'good' 24 port switch?

Recently grabbed a D-Link DGS-1100-24P (PoE) and for the money, roughly £110 (ex), it's not too shabby. Alternatively look at HP switches, something like a 1920-24G or 1420-24G-POE+ (does PoE+ which is handy for future proofing).

And yes, your diagram is spot on.