Moving the IT infrastructure of a company selling industrial cleaning equipment: from the makeshift network of the old premises to a network that is designed, cabled and documented, without stopping a single working day.
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Loose cables and lost passwords
In the old premises the server was an ordinary PC running Windows Server. The passwords of the computer accounts had been lost, cables ran loose, and the modem and router were chained together, stacked one on top of the other.
Before the move I took care of maintenance: setting up and sorting out the PCs, and upgrading their hardware where needed.
A move in one day
A site survey of the new premises and goals set together with the company.
A technical report with a network diagram and a quote: the components, the tasks, the testing and the documentation to hand over.
All the equipment bought before starting.
The work prepared in advance, and the switch to the new network done on a non-working day, so production never stopped.
It all starts from the rack
At the centre, a wall-mounted rack with a glass door. From the top: the modem, a 24-port Cat6A patch panel, a 28-port TP-Link switch with 24 PoE+ ports, an Eaton UPS and two power strips, one on the UPS and one on mains. Next to it, the old server, kept for the legacy programs.
Ten Cat6 cables run from the rack:
Open space: two workstations, the multifunction printer and an access point.
Office 1 and Office 2: one workstation each.
Warehouse and workshop: one workstation each, and the second access point.
The rooftop antenna.
Three networks, one switch
Every office workstation has an 8-port TP-Link switch on the desk, for the PC and the other devices. The two TP-Link EAP610 dual-band Wi-Fi 6 access points draw power from the network cable itself (PoE): no power adapters lying around.
Every cable is labelled with its destination, and the network is documented.
Three separate networks, with VLANs on the switch:
the wired LAN, for the fixed workstations and the server;
an internal Wi-Fi, for the PCs and the terminals in the warehouse and workshop;
a guest Wi-Fi, for visitors and non-company devices, which can't see the company network.
Ready to work the next day
Cabling, rack, switches and access points installed and connected.
Every workstation set up.
The old server reinstalled next to the rack, for the legacy programs that still need it.
UPS and IP phones configured.
Testing: wired network and Wi-Fi, internet access, and a UPS test by cutting the power.
Documentation handed over to the company: the updated network diagram, the labels on cables and ports, the credentials and access settings.
A network that makes sense
A clear structure, with modern technology.
Improved security: guests have their own network, separate from the company one.
Wi-Fi in every corner, warehouse included.
Tidy cables, from the rack to the desks.
Easy maintenance: everything documented and labelled.
Passwords don't get lost any more: credentials and access settings are handed over to the company together with the diagram.