All offices are connected via ethernet copper cables (cat7) to the switch room in the cellar. The number of connections is in general four per window:
- one for the telephone (the leftmost in each set of four)
- two for computers
- one contingency (the rightmost in each set of four)
The telephone outlets are special in the sense that they are patched to the separate telephone switch, the main feature of which is to provide Power over Ethernet (PoE). The other two outlets should suffice for a desktop PC and a notebook computer. In case that more are needed, see #Patching. When in doubt, the patch field can still be viewed without needing LRZ help to find out whether a certain outlet is patched. All outlets are labeled with a patch field name (A to I) and a number (1 to 24), which is the horizontal index in the patch field. Grey cables are for computers, black ones for telephones.
Connection to the LRZ
The topmost patch field houses the fiber connections to the LRZ. All fibers go first to the IPP main switch room, from where the telephone network is directly connected to the LRZ across the street. The other traffic goes via the Maschinenwesen, where the big LRZ router for Garching is situated. Both fiber connections have a capacity of 1Gbps. The actual internet connection is in the IPP main switch room, where the DFN (Deutsches Forschungsnetz) router is. In case of a failure of that connection, there is a backup line provided by m"net at the LRZ.
Patching
Since the network is completely managed by the LRZ, we need to call their personnel in case changes are needed. The main persons are Wloka and Briemle.
In the upper two floors only three of the four outlets are connected to the central switch room downstairs. There would have been a massive problem of space with four cables. Here again: on the left: telephone, the two in the middle: internet and the one on the right: empty.