What do I need to do when my company moves to a new office?
The important part of the move, in terms of your computer system, is installing the network and phone wiring in the new location. We feel that the best time to start this process is while the new location is still under construction. This allows us (or your own wiring contractor) access to the ceiling and walls before any desks or other obstacles are in place. If the suspended ceiling is being replaced, the ideal time to install wiring is before the new ceiling tiles have been installed. This provides unimpeded access to the ceiling area.
Twisted-pair wiring (also referred to as 10base-T or 100base-T) is by far the most common type of wiring for computer networks. If you will use twisted-pair wiring in the new office, you should have the same company install both the phone and network wiring. Usually they run to the same plates on the wall, and to the same "wiring closet" at the other end. Otherwise much of the labor is duplicated.
Ensure that your wiring contractor performs a frequency test on any new network wiring. The Category-5 wire they should use should pass a 100 MHz frequency test. This will allow expansion in the future to faster network speeds without replacing any existing wiring. Phone wiring is nowhere near as critical; we usually use Category-3 wire to be on the safe side.
If the wiring is in place before the move, it is a relatively simple process to move the PCs. Any PC will be able to plug into any network location in the new office, so it is just a matter of keeping each PC's equipment and cables together during the move, and reconnecting them properly.
May 1998
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