From my perspective, even in a data-center without significant walls, I put a switch in each rack. It's just much easier to upgrade things that way, and there's less cabling (by a huge lot) when you can aggregate higher bandwidth links in few quantities to a central place.
We tend to upgrade in rack-ish units, anyway. I'm not a big fan of home run. The extra cabling is difficult to manage properly and is expensive to replace when obsolete. I'd make the long haul links fiber. It's a little bit more expensive at the start, but you are much more future proof on bandwidth. Run 50micron fiber instead of 62.5. 62.5 is more common, but the incremental price is minimal and the 50 micro MMF can get much longer distances at the same bandwidth. For the 150feet you'd be pushing it for 10G at 62.5 micron. $.02. On 9/29/2010 2:08 PM, John BORIS wrote: > Somehow someone here figures I am a network layout guru and I got tagged > to guide one of our schools in restructuring their Network. I am looking > for some type of guide or spec that would say when it is best to use a > Home run to Network Center or to set up a Terminal Closet and have just > one (with a spare) run back to the Network Center. > > The current situation has the Server Room (Network Center) in the > middle of the school (well it is about 50 feet off of center). On one > side of the building they have a Terminal Closet and one home run from > the TC to the Server Room as it is about 150 ft from Network Center. The > other side of the building are Home runs to the Network center. That is > the side that is in question. Runs to a Terminal closet may be the same > distance as the network Center. > > I have to add 8 drops to this side and have been having this mental > battle. Add a TC, no add the home runs. Back and forth. So is there > such a Rosetta stone that says when you reach the x ft limit put a > terminal closet. Or should the longest run be one from the TC to the > Center and keep your runs from the Peripheral to the switch as short as > possible. > > Thanks as always the list has always proven a great source. > > > > John J. Boris, Sr. > JEN-A-SyS Administrator > Archdiocese of Philadelphia > "Remember! That light at the end of the tunnel > Just might be the headlight of an oncoming train!" > _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Tech mailing list Tech@lopsa.org http://lopsa.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tech This list provided by the League of Professional System Administrators http://lopsa.org/
