DESIGNING COMPUTER NETWORKS

• One of the major themes of the course was to give the students experience in designing a computer network.

• One of the graduate students in the class is the network administrator for one the local middle schools. The class was assigned the task of developing recommendations for a new computer lab and network for her school.

• Another student in the class is the university network administrator. He provided building layouts which were used by the students to draw wiring diagrams for networking the buildings. The class was fortunate to be able to tour the university library which is currently being expanded. This gave the students an opportunity to see the different stages of wiring a network in both a new and a renovated building.

• The two high schools (Robertson and West Las Vegas) and two middle schools (Memorial and West Las Vegas) in Las Vegas, NM recently were provided with a computer with Internet access in each school's library. Pairs of students in the Network Management class were assigned to each school and asked to talk with the school personnel, survey the needs and requirements of each school and then develop a computer network plan for each school. The results are impressive. The students have developed comprehensive network plans for their assigned schools.