Published: 22 October 2026 | By AOLC
A CAT lab is one of the most strategically important spaces in a South African school. Learners use it for Computer Applications Technology — a practical, technology-focused subject that directly prepares them for the workplace. Get the lab right and it delivers real value for years. Get it wrong and you spend more time repairing it than teaching in it.
This guide covers what you need to plan, buy, and configure to build a CAT lab that is reliable, cost-effective, and ready for the realities of South African schools — including load shedding.
The most common CAT lab failure is not the budget — it is buying the wrong hardware, skipping structured cabling, and not planning for load shedding. All three are fixable before you spend a rand.
Start With the Numbers.
Before specifying hardware, you need to know the size of your lab. Most CAPS schools plan for a single-class lab of 30 to 40 workstations. That number determines everything: the number of switches, the UPS capacity, the internet bandwidth, and the size of the room you need.
A few planning questions to answer first:
- How many learners will use the lab simultaneously? — This is the number of workstations you need, plus one or two spares for failures.
- How many periods per day? — A busier lab justifies more investment in UPS capacity and air conditioning.
- Is the lab for CAT only, or will other subjects use it? — Shared use affects your software licensing model.
- What is the school's internet situation? — Fibre, wireless, or none. The answer shapes your network design significantly.
30–40
workstations — the typical size of a CAPS-aligned CAT lab in a South African school, with one or two spares for fault coverage.
Choosing the Right Hardware.
CAT workstations need to run Windows reliably and handle the Microsoft 365 suite, LibreOffice, and Delphi (where applicable). They do not need to be high-end gaming machines. What they do need is durability — a school workstation that fails once a month is a teaching disruption and a maintenance cost.
Minimum specifications for a functional CAT workstation in 2026:
- Processor — An Intel Core i3 (10th generation or newer) or AMD Ryzen 3 equivalent is adequate for CAT workloads. Do not buy older second-hand processors: they increase failure rates and consume more power.
- RAM — 8 GB minimum. 16 GB if the budget allows, especially if learners will run browser-based tools alongside Office applications.
- Storage — A solid-state drive (SSD) of 128 GB or more. Avoid traditional hard drives for school workstations — they are slower, louder, and far more vulnerable to physical shocks and load shedding power fluctuations.
- Display — A 21-inch or larger monitor, ideally with LED backlighting. Larger screens reduce eye strain and allow learners to work comfortably in spreadsheet and word processing tasks.
- Form factor — An all-in-one or small form factor PC saves desk space and reduces cable clutter, which matters in a 30-seat lab.
- Warranty — Buy devices with at least a three-year on-site warranty. An out-of-warranty failure on a school PC typically costs more to repair than the machine is worth.
Tip
Second-hand corporate PCs from reputable suppliers can be a cost-effective option if they carry a warranty and are no more than four years old. Avoid consumer-grade second-hand units or machines without provenance — they are false economy.
Network Design: The Part Everyone Underestimates.
Wireless is convenient, but a CAT lab should be wired. Thirty learners streaming video or downloading exam files simultaneously will saturate a Wi-Fi access point and create exactly the kind of unpredictable performance that disrupts a practical lesson. Structured cabling — Cat 6 to every desk — is the right answer.
What a well-designed CAT lab network looks like:
- A dedicated managed switch — A 48-port managed switch in a locked cabinet handles 30–40 workstations comfortably. Managed switches let you isolate the lab from the rest of the school network and apply VLANs to control internet access.
- Cat 6 cabling to every desk — Run cable through conduit in the floor or ceiling, not along skirting boards. It lasts decades and survives the daily wear of a school environment.
- A separate internet feed or VLAN — Learners doing research should not be able to disrupt the admin network. Isolate the lab.
- A server or NAS for shared files — A local file server or NAS lets learners save work without relying on internet connectivity. This is important during load shedding, when your internet link may go down even if the lab stays up.
Cat 6
structured cabling to every desk — not Wi-Fi. Wired labs are faster, more reliable, and far easier to manage during a lesson with 30+ learners online.
Planning for Load Shedding.
Load shedding is a reality in South Africa, and a CAT lab without a power backup plan will lose hours of teaching time and risk hardware damage from abrupt power cuts. This is not optional infrastructure — it is a prerequisite for a lab that functions reliably.
Your options:
- UPS per workstation — A small UPS (uninterruptible power supply) at each desk keeps individual machines running through brief cuts and, more importantly, protects against voltage spikes when power returns. This is the minimum viable solution.
- Centralised UPS or inverter for the whole lab — A centralised system is cleaner to manage and can provide longer runtime. It needs to be correctly sized for the load of 30+ machines, the switch, and the projector.
- Solar with battery storage — For schools that want true independence from load shedding, a rooftop solar array with a lithium battery bank can power a CAT lab through the longest scheduled cut. The capital cost is higher, but the savings in lost teaching time and hardware damage are significant over a five-year horizon.
An abrupt power cut to a workstation without a UPS can corrupt the operating system or damage the SSD. Multiply that across 30 machines and one load shedding event can trigger a day of re-imaging work. Budget for UPS from day one.
Software and Licensing.
The CAT curriculum requires learners to use word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, and database applications. In most South African schools this means Microsoft Office, though LibreOffice is an alternative. Whatever you choose, licensing must be legitimate — an unlicensed lab creates legal risk for the school and produces learners whose skills are built on software they cannot legally use outside school.
Licensing options for school labs:
- Office 365 A1 (free for schools) — Microsoft offers Office 365 A1 at no cost to qualifying educational institutions in South Africa. It includes the web versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams, as well as OneDrive cloud storage. For a lab with reliable internet, this is a strong starting point. Speak to a Microsoft CSP partner to confirm eligibility and set it up correctly.
- Microsoft 365 A3/A5 (paid) — The paid tiers add locally installed Office applications, Intune device management, and advanced security. For a school that wants full control over its lab PCs, A3 is worth the cost.
- HTML and web tools — CAT includes basic HTML and web development work. A free text editor such as Notepad++ meets the CAPS requirements and needs no additional licence. Schools that also offer Information Technology can request the free Delphi 2010 licence the DBE makes available to qualifying public schools for the IT subject.
- Antivirus and endpoint protection — Every workstation needs endpoint protection. This is non-negotiable in an environment where learners are browsing the web and connecting USB drives.
Tip
Use a Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) tool to keep all workstations patched and healthy without having to visit each one. For a 30-seat lab, the time saving is significant — and it means your IT provider can fix most issues remotely, even during a lesson.
Room Layout and Lab Management.
The physical design of the lab matters more than most IT buyers realise. A poorly laid-out room creates cable trips, makes it hard for teachers to monitor learner screens, and limits your ability to expand or reconfigure in the future.
Practical layout guidelines:
- Perimeter or island layout — Place workstations around the walls or in rows of islands facing the teacher. This lets the teacher walk the room and see every screen without learners blocking each other's lines of sight.
- Teacher's station at the front — Connect the teacher's PC to a projector or large display at the front of the room. The teacher should be able to mirror their screen to all learners' monitors using lab management software.
- Cable management — Run cables through floor boxes or ceiling conduit. Surface-run cables at desk level are a safety hazard and a maintenance problem.
- Air conditioning — Thirty workstations generate substantial heat. A lab without adequate cooling will see hardware failures increase significantly in summer. Size the air conditioning for the full load of the room, not just learner comfort.
- Lab management software — Tools like Faronics Insight or similar allow the teacher to lock screens, broadcast their display, monitor learner activity, and distribute files to all machines from a single console. This is not a luxury — it is how a teacher manages a practical lesson in a 30-seat room.
What to Do Next.
Building a CAT lab that works is a project, not a purchase. It requires a site assessment, a correctly specified bill of materials, a structured installation, and an ongoing support plan. The schools that get the best return from their lab investment are the ones that treat it as a managed facility — not a once-off hardware buy.
AOLC specialises in classroom solutions and education technology for South African schools. We assess your existing infrastructure, specify the right hardware for your budget and class size, handle the cabling and installation, and provide ongoing managed IT support so your lab stays running — regardless of load shedding or hardware failures. We are also a Microsoft CSP partner, so we can set up and manage your Microsoft 365 Education licensing from day one.
Get a Free Lab Assessment.
Tell us about your school and class sizes and we will put together a specification and budget for a CAT lab that works — including hardware, cabling, backup power, and software licensing.
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