# Netwrok Switch....Help Thanks



## horsegoer (Aug 15, 2010)

Ok, I have network switch shown for my security on each floor. It is a 15 story building with a IDF on each floor. On the SECURITY riser it says "network cable" and it shows it originating from the head end and hitting each network switch on each floor. I was talking with someone today in estimating and they were saying this is individual runs of Cat 5( which he was guessing that's what is was because it only says"network cable" but it makes sense to me) from the head end to each IDF. Ok I only included on main run assuming it was daisy chained because that's actually what someone told me to do. Do I have a leg to stand on that they are not individual runs or maybe not even a Cat 5/cat 6 cable.


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## Flyinlab (Aug 9, 2010)

I believe each switch should have an it's own individual "home run" And yes depending on the design of the system it is usually a cat 5e or 6 cable.


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## mikeh32 (Feb 16, 2009)

it can be either, but since they are a switch and not router... leads me to assume they all go to the home run/mdf


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

If it's truly an IDF, I'd assume that each switch is fed with a home run off the MDF, and they're not daisy-chained. You could have anything, though. If you go to the first floor IDF, and you have 14 more network cables than you have cameras on that floor, chances are real good that each floor's IDF is fed from a home run to the MDF.


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## JohnR (Apr 12, 2010)

I agree with MDShunk, besides this is the much safer route. Otherwise if 1 of the floors switch/router goes down, all the ones above that floor will too.

With this plan yes all of the floors will go down if the main router goes offline, but that would happen anyway and each floor could go down without affecting the others.


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