Network Installation: 7 Steps to Install a Network

How do you move from wanting a wired network to actually having one?
Network installation is accomplished by following a standard series of steps. It starts
with assessing the location where the install will take place and defining your own
network needs. You and your installer can then use that information to create a
network design, determine how much hardware is necessary, and configure the
entire system installation to make sure all devices can communicate on the new
network. The final step is ongoing maintenance.

Want to know about the specifics, plus how to make your network scalable in the
future? Keep reading for a deeper dive into these network installation steps.

1. Evaluate Your Physical Space

The floorplan and features of the physical space will shape how a network
installation is planned for, designed, and carried out.

Sometimes, the physical space imposes obstacles such as solid walls (instead of
hollow), HVAC-adjacent plenum space (which requires specially shielded cables),
multiple floors, bolted-down equipment, etc. It’s important to take these into account in
the planning process.

This step should also include identifying one or more possible spaces for the network
hub, such as a convenient closet or small room with conduits of some kind to the rest of
the facility. This is where the hardware components of the network–servers, routers,
firewalls, and other crucial devices–are grouped. If you deal in sensitive information,
your network hub needs to be in a room that is not easily accessible to the public and
that can be locked from the outside.

2. Evaluate Your Needs

What exactly do you need to get out of a network?

Make your needs clear to yourself so that you can make them clear to your
network installation company, and design a network that works for you.

A few of the most relevant questions may be:

 What data speeds do I need?

 What types of cable can support the programs or software I use without lag?
 What’s my budget?
 How much equipment or how many devices need to be hooked up to the network?
 Can I move any equipment to facilitate a data jack, or is it permanent and stationary?
 Do I have plans to scale this network up in the future?
  Where do I want to place computers, printers, VOIP phones, etc.?

You can also take this opportunity to ask your employees or IT department for their
input based on their experience with the equipment and network as it stands.

3. Develop a Network Design

There are different network architectures for different network applications and settings.
These are often referred to in the industry as topologies. Essentially, topologies are
various ways of arranging and connecting devices on a wired network in the most
efficient way.

A great network design balances physical elements, such as the layout of cables
and data ports, with IT elements such as data speed, security, and overall
reliability.

It’s hard to select the right network design and topology, so don’t be afraid to bring in an
expert at this point! Professional network designers will be able to guide you through the
process to reduce stress and produce a workable network installation plan.

4. Measure Cabling and Count Hardware

Cabling is the backbone of a wired Ethernet network. The amount of cabling your
project requires will dictate how many pieces of additional hardware you’ll need.
For example, twenty-five feet of cable will need fifty data jacks (one for each end for
each cable), a corresponding number of wall plates, patch panels, and cable
management to keep everything organized.

The type of cabling you select for your project should be based on its technical
specifications, not its cost. Cat5e cable, the cheapest available, is also totally
inadequate for most business applications today; whereas Cat6 and Cat7 cable both
perform well with high data speeds, but Cat6 begins to falter over long cable runs. Fiber
optic cables provide the fastest data speeds and largest bandwidth, but that level may
not be necessary for your objectives.

5. Build or Request An Estimate

A network installation estimate is based on the length of cables, number of
hardware items, and cost of devices such as routers, firewalls, and servers, as
well as the predicted number of man-hours it will take to install them. Depending
on the network and the location it will be installed, this number can range from hundreds
to thousands of dollars.

If you’re working with a network installation company, you can ask them for two
estimates: one that accounts for the cost of a basic no-frills network, and one that
estimates the cost for extras such as extended coverage, Wi-Fi segments, or upgraded
hardware. With that information you can make the best choice for your budget.

Never take an over-the-phone, sight-unseen estimate from an installation

company at face value. Each installation is unique, and accurate estimates are built by
on-site walkthroughs and thoughtful, tailored design processes.
6. Configuration

Configuration is the process of testing your network to make sure it is one hundred
percent operable, as well as linking all devices to the network and training them to
communicate with each other through it.

This step follows the physical installation and is the important final leap to achieve an
efficient, streamlined, fully integrated network that meets your needs and helps you
accomplish your business goals.

7. Ongoing Maintenance
Not everybody thinks about maintenance when they think about installation, but like any
system, a wired network will need it.

Routine maintenance for networks include:

 Replacing aged cable or hardware

 Repairing damage
 Upgrading parts for best performance
 Responding to regulatory changes to remain in compliance
 Troubleshooting

Ask your network installer for their guidelines and suggested timelines for maintenance,
repairs, and upgrades.
Be proactive about network maintenance! It will save you time and money.

The Next Step: How to Scale a Network

Existing networks frequently need to be scaled up as a business grows.

The scaling process actually follows the same basic framework as a network
installation:

 Site assessment
 Evaluate the capabilities of current access points
 Measure current network capacity
 Define how many new access points are needed
 Measure ideal projected network capacity
 Replace any older hardware as necessary
 Install new hardware
 Configure all devices on your new expanded network

When you’re ready to scale up, make sure you have your original installation records
handy. They’ll make the process of site and hardware assessment much more
streamlined

https://thenetworkinstallers.com/blog/network-installation-steps/

Network Maintenance

Network maintenance basically means you have to do what it takes in order to keep a
network up and running and it includes a number of tasks:

 Troubleshooting network problems.

 Hardware and software installation/configuration.
 Monitoring and improving network performance.
 Planning for future network growth.
 Creating network documentation and keeping it up-to-date.
 Ensuring compliance with company policies.
 Ensuring compliance with legal regulations.
 Securing the network against all kind of threats.

Of course this list could be different for each network you work on and perhaps you are only
responsible for a number of these tasks. All these tasks can be performed in the following
way:

1. Structured tasks.
2. Interrupt-driven tasks.
Structured means you have a pre-defined plan for network maintenance that will make
sure that problems are solved before they occur. As a network engineer this will also make
your life a whole lot easier. Interrupt-driven means you just wait for trouble to occur and
then fix it as fast as you can. Interrupt-driven is more like the “fireman” approach…you wait
for trouble to happen and then you try to fix the problem as fast as you can. A structured
approach where you have a network maintenance strategy and plan reduces downtime and
it’s more cost effective.

Of course you can never completely get rid of interrupt-driven tasks because sometimes
things “just go wrong” but with a good plan we can reduce the number of interrupt-driven
tasks for sure.

You don’t have to think of a complete network maintenance model yourself; there are a
number of well-known network maintenance models that we use. It’s best to use one of the
models that is best suited for your organization and adjustments if needed.

Choosing which network maintenance model you will use depends on your network and the
business. You can also use them as a template to create your own network maintenance
model.

To give you an idea what a network maintenance model is about and what it looks like,
here’s an example for FCAPS:

 Fault management: we will configure our network devices (routers, switches,

firewalls, servers, etc.) to capture logging messages and send them to an external
server. Whenever an interface goes down or the CPU goes above 80% we want to
receive an e-mail so we can see what is going on.
 Configuration management: Any changes made to the network have to be logged.
We will use a change management so relevant personnel will be notified of planned
network changes. Changes to network devices have to be reported and
acknowledged before they are implemented.
 Accounting management: We will charge (guest) users for usage of the wireless
network so they’ll pay for each 100MB of data or something. It’s also commonly used
to charge people for long distance VoIP calls.
 Performance management: Network performance will be monitored on all LAN and
WAN links so we know when things go wrong. QoS (Quality of Service) will be
configured on the appropiate interfaces.
 Security management: We will create a security policy and implement it by using
firewalls, VPNs, intrusion prevention systems and use AAA (Authorization,
Authentication and Accounting) servers to validate user credentials. Network
breaches have to be logged and a appropiate response has to be made.

You can see FCAPS is not just a “theoretical” method but it truly describes “what”, “how”
and “when” we will do things.

https://networklessons.com/cisco/ccie-routing-switching-written/network-maintenance
Answer the questions then translate them!

1. Mention 7 steps to install a network!

2. How do you scale a network?
3. Mention some tasks in Network maintenance!
4. Mention some Maintenance Models!