The other day, I submitted a request for an new switch and some cabling work. I work in a manufacturing plant and the General Mgr is not well-versed on IT or network issues. The first reaction I got was “This network was just installed a few years ago, Why wasn’t it planned for expansion?”
I had to spend an hour explaining that 4 years ago, we had only 2/3 the number of users that we have now. That all of this growth has been in an area served by a single IDF, that with the closure of another plant, we have responsibilities that we didn’t have then, and that I had a hard time justifying the capacity and expense of the network when it was originally installed.
If this isn’t approved (I’m sure it will be) I’ll get hung out when I tell them that the next user in the new offices will not have a LAN connection. When I suggested expanding wireless connectivity, I was told that couldn’t be done because they are still working on corporate standards.
Am I just feeling sorry for myself? Should I take responsibility for “poor design”? Or is this the standard reaction to projects that have a significant expense? What’s your experience?