Most IT projects that overrun on site do so because nobody checked what was actually there. An IT site survey fixes that: an engineer visits before the project, records the facts and sends back a report you can plan against. This checklist covers what a good survey should capture for offices, comms rooms and data centre racks.
1. Site and access
- Full address, building name, floor and room
- Site contact and out-of-hours contact
- Access process: ID, inductions, escorts, permits and opening hours
- Loading bay, lift dimensions and parking for deliveries
- Any restrictions on noise, working hours or tools
2. Comms room or cabinet
- Rack type, size, depth and free U positions
- Rack elevation as it stands today, with photos front and rear
- Cooling and ventilation, plus any signs of overheating
- Security: locked room or cabinet, and who holds keys
- Cable management condition and labelling quality
3. Power
- Number and type of PDUs, socket types (C13, C19, UK plugs) and free sockets
- Whether A and B feeds are available
- UPS presence, model and condition
- Location of the electrical distribution board
4. Network and cabling
- Make and model of switches, routers and firewalls, with serial numbers
- Patch panel count and which ports are live
- Cabling category (Cat5e, Cat6, Cat6A) and fibre type where present
- Data points per desk area and any dead or unlabelled outlets
- Routes available for new cabling: ceiling voids, floor boxes, trunking
5. Connectivity
- Internet and WAN circuits: provider, type and where they terminate
- Carrier equipment (ONT, NTE, routers) and its location
- Mobile signal strength for backup connections
- Phone lines still in use, such as alarms, lifts or card machines
6. Wi-Fi and end-user areas
- Access point locations and models
- Areas with weak coverage reported by staff
- Desk count, printers and meeting room equipment
7. Photos and report
Ask for clear, labelled photos of every rack, cabinet, patch panel, distribution board and carrier termination, plus wide shots of each room. Combined with a written report and a list of risks or blockers, these give your project team everything it needs without a second visit.
When to commission a survey
- Before an office move or refit
- Before a data centre migration or rack and stack install
- When taking over support of a new client site as an MSP
- Before a roll-out across many branches, to find the outliers early
Simplify Networks carries out site surveys and audits through vetted engineers across the UK and worldwide, coordinated from London. Surveys are a common first job for smart hands and field engineering customers, and MSPs can book them under their own brand through our white-label service.
Need a site survey?
Send us the address and what you are planning, and we will send an engineer to record what is really there.