The document summarizes the network configuration of Dodgeville High School from the perspective of a teacher returning after a 4 year absence. The key points are: 1) The network uses a star topology with Ethernet cables running from each classroom PC through the ceiling to hubs in the network administrator's office. 2) There are 6 servers including 2 Novell servers for student/teacher data and 4 Windows servers for other functions like the library catalog. 3) Software runs locally on each PC rather than from a server for faster performance. Files are stored on user directories on the file server. 4) The school has 2 networked printers and internet access that is filtered through the servers via a 40MB connection provided

1. Anatomy of a Network A Student’s Perspective Lori Crum EDTECH542-Network Field Trip

2. My How Things Have Changed (and some things not at all) For my presentation I thought I would take a look at how Dodgeville High School’s network functions from my student’s perspective. I taught in the district for ten years, but moved away and returned after a four year departure. As we get ready to update our technology plan it occurred to me that now would be a good time to get reacquainted with the high school’s network structure. Our network administrator’s desk. One of the things that has not changed at all.

3. Let’s Begin in My Classroom My classroom has 28 PCs in a wired LAN. Each PC has a built in NIC card and a jack for the Ethernet cable. The cable runs from the back of the computer to a jack in the wall. From there the cables actually travel through a drop ceiling to a hub in the network admin’s office.

4. A Star is Born The network is set up in a star configuration. When I first started working in Dodgeville we had a linear network and the kids would pull the cable out of a jack just enough to break the connection and have all the computers further down the line drop from the network. Frustrating! With a star network if a jack is unplugged only that PC drops from the network. Yeah!

5. At the Hub of it All The cables that run above the drop ceiling funnel into several hubs in the network administrator’s office, which also contains the DIP switches. From the hub the cables again travel above the ceiling to the server room down the hall. Switches

6. Servin’ in Up We now have six servers at the high school. There are two Novell servers and four Windows servers. The Novell servers are primarily used to house student and teacher data. The Windows servers store the library’s information, the Skyward student data information, and antivirus software.

7. Software It surprised me that the software the students run is actually not stored on a server. The software is stored locally on each PC in my room. It allows the software to run faster. Students and teachers are allocated limited space on the file server to store their information. That directory is known as their H: drive. There is also and O: drive for teachers that allows for sharing of files.

8. Peripherals The PCs in my room share two networked printers, a color laser and a black and white laser. The printers connect to the network in the same way that the PCs do, through an Ethernet cable in a jack at the back and into a wall jack.

9. Internet Access When students access the internet that request actually travels through the Ethernet cabling and is funneled through a server due to our Wiscnet filtering service. Internet data is received through a 40 MB pipe. WiscNet is a non-profit, membership-based association of public and private organizations that provides access to worldwide information and computing resources with primary emphasis on education, research and public service.

10. Glossary Star configuration-The star pattern connects everything to a host computer or a network hub, which handles the network tasks. All communications between computers go through the host/hub. Wired LAN-A local area network (LAN) consists of two or more computers connected together in a building using software and hardware. In a LAN, there is a main computer or server, and remote computers called clients. Computers on the LAN can share files, resources, and if desired, an Internet connection .A LAN can be one of two types: wired or wireless. A wired LAN requires Ethernet cable to physically connect all computers on the network setup. Each computer requires a network interface card. A switch is also required. This is a device that resembles an external modem and directs information on the network. Switch-a device that filters and forwards requests between LAN segments. Hub-A common connection point for devices in a network. Hubs are commonly used to connect segments of a LAN. A hub contains multiple ports. Server-a file server is a computer attached to a network that has the primary purpose of providing a location for shared disk access, i.e. shared storage of computer files (such as documents, sound files, photographs, movies, images, databases, etc.) that can be accessed by the workstations that are attached to the computer network. A file server is not intended to perform computational tasks, and does not run programs on behalf of its clients. It is designed primarily to enable the storage and retrieval of data while the computation is carried out by the workstations. Peripheral-A computer device, such as a printer or CD-ROM that is not part of the essential computer. Ethernet cable-An Ethernet cable runs from each NIC to the central switch or hub.