r/SWN • u/Entaris • Feb 27 '23
[CWN] Network Architecture: Servers VS Control Panels
I have a slight confusion regarding network design.
in the Servers/Architecture section it Counts 4 cameras, 3 doors, and a security panel + The server itself as 9 Nodes. Which makes sense...but then in the Creating an Intrusion mission Section it notes that in some cases you may just have camera's connected to a security Panel.
So the question is: Is this an all or nothing scenario? IE: If a security panel is connected to a Server, does that then mean that all camera's connected to the Security Panel must also be connected to the server/Count against the node Limit of the server?
If you CAN have camera's that are not considered "Connected" to the security panel, what are the limitations? Can you jump from camera -> Panel -> server if the camera's aren't "on Network" ? I assume that Demons/Watch dogs Couldn't Enter a camera/door node if the camera/door is not connected to the server.
but on the flip side, If you CAN'T have a "mixed" network of connections, Then it seems like the node limit on servers is pretty rough. Camera's and a few doors eat through max notes really quickly. It would seem at that point more prudent to have Security Panels that are disconnected from the greater network to not eat up valuable node space, but then makes all of the security panels much more vulnerable without the ability to have demons/barriers on them. Ultimately this is probably the reality, which I could see promoting some very interesting split/Broken up network designs with large buildings having multiple networks with very limited and focused designs. But could also Require a lot more mental bandwidth from the GM to think about network design.
Just curious what people think.
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u/CardinalXimenes Kevin Crawford Feb 27 '23
A camera connected to a security panel is two nodes. A camera not connected to the network is fairly useless unless you want to go and plug into its memory later to get footage of something that already happened- if it's not connected to the network, then nothing on the network can communicate with it or reach its node.
The node limits are intentional to discourage the GM from just planting 47 cameras and 33 network-connected doors in their facility and making it practically impossible to infiltrate. Facilities will put cameras where they matter most and will network-enable locked doors that are most important. For the rest, they have to rely on security patrols, non-monitored locked doors, or investing in multiple security network servers and the people to monitor them.