Planning tool
Cabling and rack calculator
A quick take-off for a structured cabling job: what to order, and how big a rack to put it in.
Result
Cable
2,165m
8 boxes of 305 m
Network points
48
53 ports including 10% spare
Face plates
24
2 outlet(s) each
Patch cords
96
One at the desk, one in the rack, per point
Patch panels
3
24-port, with a cable manager each
Switches
2
48-port
Rack space used
14U
17 U with 20% spare
Rack size
22U
Conduit
10× 25 mm
5 cables each at 40% fill
- Good:Runs are within the 90 m permanent link limit.
Method
How the numbers are worked out
Cable length
Points × (average run + slack), plus spares, divided into 305 m boxes.
Rack space
Each 24-port patch panel uses 1U and a cable manager 1U; each switch 1U; plus your other equipment. A fifth is added for growth, and the next standard rack size is chosen.
Conduit
Cables per conduit are limited to 40% of the pipe's inside area, the usual fill rule for more than two cables.
Assumptions and limits
- A permanent link may be at most 90 m of solid cable; with patch cords the channel is 100 m.
- Rack figures leave out PDUs, fibre trays and wall-mount versus floor-standing choice.
- Cable Class (Cat6, Cat6A) and any shielding must match the switches and the standard you are cabling to.
Related
Nothing you type here leaves your device unless you choose to send it to us. These are planning estimates; a survey or the equipment data sheet confirms the final figures.
Want an engineer to check it?
Send us what you worked out and we will come back with a design based on the real site.