Access Switches for a Multi Floor UK Office: Closets, Stacks, Uplinks and PoE

For a UK office spread over several floors, the access switches belong in a comms cupboard on each floor, not in one room in the basement. Size each floor on its own port and power count, decide per floor whether a stack or a single unit fits, run at least two fibre uplinks from every floor to the core, and keep one spare of each model you deploy. Everything below is the reasoning behind that answer, plus the UK specific points that matter when the hardware is supplied from Dubai.

Codeeo Tech is an IT hardware reseller based at Building A1, IFZA Business Park, Dubai Silicon Oasis. We do not have a UK office or UK stock, but UK companies can request a quote with delivery to the UK. This guide is written to help you plan the estate first, whoever you buy from.

Why each floor needs its own access switches

Copper Ethernet is designed around a 100 metre channel from the switch port to the device, including patch leads at both ends. On a typical office floor plate that distance runs out quickly once cable routes go around cores, lifts and stairwells. A comms cupboard on each floor keeps every desk, ceiling access point and camera inside that limit, and it means the riser between floors only has to carry a handful of fibre links instead of hundreds of copper runs.

There are operational reasons too. When a floor is refitted, or a tenant sublets half of level three, the change stays inside one cupboard. A failed switch takes down one floor rather than the building. And the patching on each floor stays readable, which matters more than most people expect when a contractor is trying to trace a port at 8am on a Monday.

If your building only has a single riser cupboard serving two floors, that can work, provided every cable run stays inside the copper limit. Measure, do not guess: the installer's test results for each run show the length.

Count ports and powered devices floor by floor

The most common sizing mistake is to count the building and divide by the number of floors. Floors are rarely identical. A reception floor has fewer desks but more cameras, door controllers and screens. A trading or engineering floor may have two network points per desk. A floor with a large meeting suite may have more powered video bars and touch panels than people.

For each floor, list what plugs in and whether it needs Power over Ethernet:

• Desk points actually patched today, plus the ones you expect to patch within the switch's working life.
• Wireless access points, which nearly always draw PoE and often need more than the basic class.
• Desk phones, if you still use them.
• Cameras, door entry and access control readers.
• Meeting room hardware, printers and building management controllers.

The table below shows how that count changes the answer. It is an illustrative layout, not a customer site.

Floor	Wired points	PoE devices	Likely fit
Ground (reception)	Around 20	Cameras, door readers, two access points	One 24 port PoE switch
First (open plan)	Around 70	Four access points, phones	Stack of two 48 port switches
Second (meeting suite)	Around 40	Video bars, panels, access points	One 48 port switch with a high PoE budget

Notice that the second floor needs a bigger power budget than the first, even with fewer ports. That is why the count has to be done per floor.

Stack or standalone: deciding per floor

A stack joins several switches so they behave as one: one management address, one configuration, and uplinks that can be spread across members. Cisco's data sheet for the Catalyst 9300 family lists StackWise-480 at 480 Gbps on the C9300 models, StackWise-320 on the C9300L models and StackWise-1T on the C9300X models, with up to eight switches in a stack for all three. The Catalyst 9200 data sheet gives StackWise-160 for the modular C9200 and StackWise-80 for the fixed C9200L, again up to eight members, and notes that the two cannot be mixed in one stack.

A stack makes sense on a floor that needs more than one switch, because the alternative is a chain of separate boxes, each with its own uplink or a daisy chain to its neighbour. It also lets you put the two uplinks on different members, so one switch failing does not cut the whole floor off.

A standalone switch makes sense where one unit covers the floor with room to spare. It is simpler, it removes the stacking cables and kit from the bill of materials, and there is nothing to keep in step when you upgrade software. You can still add a second unit later, as long as you chose a model that stacks. That is the one decision to get right on day one: if there is any chance the floor will outgrow a single switch, buy a stackable model and order the stacking kit when you need it.

Keep the estate consistent. Using the same family on every floor means one software train, one set of spares and one configuration template. Mixing a different vendor on each floor because each was the best deal at the time is how support costs creep up. Our longer piece on stacking versus chassis as a switch estate grows covers the same trade off at larger scale.

Uplinks from each floor to the core

Every floor's access switches connect up to a core or distribution layer, usually in the main comms room. Two questions decide the design: how fast, and how many.

Speed first. A single gigabit uplink shared by 48 users, several access points and a video bar will be the bottleneck long before the switch ports are. Ten gigabit uplinks over fibre are now the sensible floor for an office access layer, and 25 gigabit is worth considering where wireless is heavy. Cisco's data sheet lists the fixed C9200L uplink options as four 1G, four 1/10G or two 1/10/25G ports depending on the model, while the C9200 and C9300 take field replaceable network modules, so the uplink can be upgraded later without replacing the switch. That flexibility is worth paying attention to if your core is due for replacement within a couple of years.

Then count. Two uplinks per floor, bundled as a port channel and landing on two different core switches or stack members, gives you both more bandwidth and a path that survives a single failure. Run the fibre pairs up different risers if the building allows it. A single riser is a single point of failure that no amount of switch redundancy fixes.

Match the optics. The transceiver at the floor end and the core end must suit the fibre type (multimode or single mode), the distance and the speed. Order them with the switches and label both ends.

PoE budget across floors

Each PoE switch has a total power budget set by its power supplies, and each port can deliver up to a maximum depending on the standard. Cisco's Catalyst 9300 data sheet lists 15.4 W per port for PoE, 30 W for PoE+, 60 W for Cisco UPOE and 90 W for Cisco UPOE+ on the C9300 models with an H suffix and on the C9300X models. The Catalyst 9200 family supports PoE+ at up to 30 W a port. Our explainer on PoE standards and classes goes through what each class powers.

Three practical points for a multi floor building:

1. Budget per switch, not per building. A spare 400 W on the first floor does nothing for a meeting suite on the second. Add up the worst case draw of every powered device on each floor and compare it with the budget of the switch or stack that serves it.
2. Plan for the second power supply. Cisco states that the Catalyst 9300 supports dual redundant power supplies and ships with one by default. On a floor where cameras and door readers are on PoE, a second supply is cheap insurance. The data sheet also describes StackPower, which pools supplies across up to four stack members by default.
3. Put each cupboard on a UPS. If the access switches lose power, every phone, access point and door reader on that floor goes with them. Size the UPS for the PoE load, not just the switch.

Spares, lifecycle and supported software

An office with four floors and one switch model needs one cold spare of that model, configured or ready to configure, plus spare optics and a spare power supply. That turns a dead switch into a one hour swap instead of a wait for delivery, which matters more when the supplier is shipping from Dubai.

Lifecycle matters for a second reason in the UK. Cyber Essentials, the government backed scheme run by the NCSC, requires software on in scope devices to be licensed and supported, and to receive critical and high risk updates within 14 days of release, according to the NCSC's Cyber Essentials Requirements for IT Infrastructure v3.3. The same document lists firewall and router firmware and network software within its definition of software. If you are working towards certification, check the end of support date of every switch you plan to keep.

Many UK offices still run Cisco Catalyst 2960-X access switches. Cisco's end of life notice for the 2960-X family gives 31 October 2022 as the last date to order and 31 October 2027 as both the end of vulnerability and security support and the last date of support. Cisco names the Catalyst 9200L as the replacement, for example the C9200L-48P-4X in place of a 48 port PoE+ model with 10G uplinks. If you are refitting a floor before late 2027, it is the moment to replace those units rather than move them.

Buying access switches from Dubai for a UK office

If you source the hardware from outside the UK, a few rules apply when it arrives.

• Duty and VAT. The UK Trade Tariff lists commodity code 8517 62 00 00, which covers switching and routing apparatus, with a third country duty of 0.00% and VAT at 20%. Confirm the code with your customs agent for each shipment.
• Postponed VAT accounting. GOV.UK guidance says a UK VAT registered business can account for import VAT on its VAT Return instead of paying it at the border, without prior approval. Your EORI number goes on the import declaration.
• Marking. In August 2023 the Department for Business and Trade announced an indefinite extension to the use of CE marking in Great Britain alongside UKCA, covering regulations including low voltage electrical equipment and electromagnetic compatibility. Switches built for the European market will normally carry CE marking.
• WEEE. The GOV.UK producer responsibility guidance says that a business which buys equipment abroad and brings it into the UK for its own use is not a producer. Importing to resell is different and carries registration duties.

Ask any supplier to state the exact part numbers, the licence tier and the warranty position on the quote. For Cisco, our guide to genuine versus grey market hardware explains why the channel behind a unit matters for support.

Frequently asked questions

How many access switches does a four floor office need?

At least one per floor, and more where a floor has more than one switch's worth of ports or a heavier PoE load. Count each floor separately and add room for growth before choosing 24 or 48 port models.

Should every floor be a stack?

No. A floor that one switch covers comfortably is simpler as a single unit. Choose a stackable model anyway so a second switch can join later without changing the design.

What uplink speed should each floor have?

Ten gigabit over fibre is a sensible minimum for a modern office floor with wireless and video. Use two uplinks per floor to different core members so one failure does not isolate the floor.

Can we mix brands across floors?

It works technically, but it doubles the software, spares and skills you have to maintain. One family across the building is easier to patch within the 14 day window Cyber Essentials sets for critical updates.

Does Codeeo Tech have UK stock?

No. Codeeo Tech supplies from Dubai and can quote with delivery to the UK. Lead times and the import paperwork should be agreed on the quotation.

What to send with an access switch enquiry

Codeeo Tech lists Cisco models such as the Catalyst C9300-48P and HPE Aruba ranges such as the Aruba CX 6300 series, all priced through Add to Quote. To get a useful reply, send:

1. The number of floors and, for each floor, the wired point count and a list of PoE devices.
2. Your existing core switch model and the uplink speed and fibre type it supports.
3. Whether you prefer one vendor across the building, and any models you already run.
4. Whether you are working towards Cyber Essentials, so supported software dates can be checked.
5. The UK delivery address and your EORI number for the import paperwork.

Send those details through the Codeeo Tech contact form and the reply can confirm models, stacking kits, optics and spares for each floor before anything ships.

Cover photo: City of London skyline viewed from Waterloo Bridge by APK, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).