Facilities proposes placing a new network closet directly under a restroom drain line to shorten cable runs. What site-design response is most appropriate?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
Putting servers under a toilet drain is inviting a flood into your network. Site design means avoiding obvious hazards first, not patching them with cute paint or cheaper cabling. Move the closet.
Full Explanation
Site and facility design for municipal network infrastructure prioritizes hazard avoidance before cable-run convenience. Locating a new closet under a restroom drain line creates direct water-damage risk to switches, routers, and power distribution—an environmental adjacency failure. The appropriate response is to reject or relocate the closet away from plumbing and other hazards so availability and equipment integrity are designed in, not hoped for after a leak.
Approving the site because cabling savings exceed a trivial dollar threshold elevates short-term cost over facility risk and violates secure site-selection principles. Installing under the drain and relying on extra Wi-Fi does not protect wired gear from water and misunderstands mitigation. Painting ceilings to hide leaks is concealment, not control.
Exam caveat: CISSP facility security expects avoidance of water lines, hazardous adjacency, and similar environmental threats when siting critical IT spaces—prevention over cosmetic or connectivity-only mitigations.
Operational check: review architectural drawings for plumbing, HVAC condensate, and exterior wall exposure above proposed closets; walk the site with facilities; require relocation before procurement; document exceptions only with engineered drip protection, leak detection, and risk acceptance by appropriate authority—never as the default.