How Many Network Switches Does My Business Need?

The number of network switches your business needs is determined by three things: the total number of wired devices, the physical layout of your building, and whether you are using a flat network or a structured access/distribution/core design. For most UAE SMB offices, the answer works out to one switch per floor — sometimes two if the floor is large or device count is high.

Step 1 — Count Every Wired Device

Start with a device inventory. Count every device that needs a physical Ethernet port — do not assume something will use WiFi. Wired is always more reliable, and many devices (IP cameras, NVRs, VoIP phones, printers) require a wired connection.

• Desktop computers and workstations
• Wireless access points (each AP needs one wired uplink port)
• IP cameras (each camera needs one PoE port)
• NVR or DVR recording units
• VoIP phones
• Network printers
• Smart TVs, digital signage displays
• Servers, NAS devices, POS terminals
• Video conferencing systems

Step 2 — Add 20% Headroom

Never buy a switch at exact capacity. Add at least 20% extra ports to accommodate future devices, temporary connections during maintenance, and cabling mistakes. A switch running at 100% port utilisation gives you zero flexibility. If your device count is 18, buy a 24-port switch, not an 18-port (which does not exist) or a 16-port (which is too small).

Step 3 — Map Devices to Physical Locations

Network switches should be located in or near a network cabinet on each floor. Ethernet runs a maximum of 100 metres (Cat5e/Cat6). If your building has devices more than 90 metres from the nearest cabinet, you need either a second switch on that floor or a fibre extension. In UAE commercial buildings, the standard practice is one Intermediate Distribution Frame (IDF) cabinet per floor, fed by fibre from the Main Distribution Frame (MDF) in the ground-floor server room.

Step 4 — Plan Your Uplinks

Each floor switch needs an uplink port to connect to the core or aggregation switch. For small deployments, a gigabit copper uplink is fine. For high-traffic floors — server rooms, floors with multiple NVRs or many users — use a 10G SFP+ fibre uplink. Huawei eKit S310 and S530 switches both have SFP/SFP+ uplink ports for this purpose. Factor uplink ports into your port count — a 24-port switch with 2 SFP uplinks effectively gives you 22 usable access ports.

Worked Example: 50-Person Dubai Office

Let us work through a real-world example. A 50-person office in a two-floor building in Dubai Business Bay, with IP cameras and WiFi:

Floor 1 Switch Requirement

Floor 1 devices: 20 computers + 4 APs + 6 cameras + 2 printers + 10 phones = 42 ports needed. Add 20% headroom: 42 × 1.2 = 51 ports. Recommendation: one 48-port managed PoE+ switch (Huawei eKit S310-48P) with 2 SFP uplinks to the core. This leaves 46 access ports free after reserving 2 for uplinks — enough for all 42 devices with some spare.

Floor 2 Switch Requirement

Floor 2 devices: same as Floor 1 — 42 devices. Same recommendation: one Huawei eKit S310-48P.

Core / Server Room Switch

The server room needs a core switch that aggregates uplinks from both floor switches plus connects the NVR, servers, and NAS. Device count: 2 floor switches (uplinks) + NVR + 2 servers + NAS = 5 ports minimum. A non-PoE managed switch with SFP+ uplink capability is ideal here — the Huawei eKit S530 series handles multi-VLAN routing between floors and provides the high-speed uplinks. An 8-port or 16-port core switch is sufficient.

Total Switch Count for This Office

• 2× Huawei eKit S310-48P (one per floor, managed PoE+)
• 1× Huawei eKit S530 (core, server room, non-PoE or minimal PoE)
• Total: 3 switches for a 50-person, 87-device, 2-floor office

Quick Reference: Switch Count by Office Size

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Buying exact port count with no headroom — you will need more ports within a year
• Forgetting uplink ports — they consume switch ports and reduce available access ports
• Not accounting for PoE budget — adding 20 cameras to a switch with a 185W budget will cause port shutdowns
• Placing a switch more than 90 metres from the furthest device — signal degrades beyond this distance on copper Cat6
• Using unmanaged switches for a multi-department network — you lose the ability to create VLANs and QoS later