New Perspectives Classic Labs

BUILDING A NETWORK

How many times have you waited in line to use the computers in your school labs? Here's your chance to become a computer lab manager and see if you can please all the students who use your labs. In the Building a Network Lab, you control a simulated computer network that provides services to student computer labs and to students dialing in from home. By monitoring usage and installing new equipment, see if you can make all your students happy!

1.  Click the Steps button to learn how to use the simulation to monitor and configure the network. As you work through the Steps, answer all of the Quick Check questions that appear. After you complete the Steps, you will see a Quick Check Summary Report of your answers. Follow the directions on the screen to print this report.  

2.  In Explore, use File/Open to set up the network configuration stored as msu.net.  

a. How many hours during the day are more than 25 percent of the lab users without computer access?

b. Are remote users satisfied with the level of dial-in service?

c. Would you characterize the printer load as high or low?

d. Does the current demand exceed the capacity of the file server?

e. What should you do to improve the network to meet demand?

3.In Explore, install a network hub and a file server in the Tech Room.  Install a print server with an attached printer in Lab 1.Install another print server and attach a printer in Lab 2.Install three workstations in Lab 1 and five workstations in Lab 2. Record the statistics for one day in Figure 11-32, then answer questions a through e.  

a. How many hours during the day are more than 25 percent of the lab users without computer access?

b. Are remote users satisfied with the level of dial-in service?

c. Would you characterize the printer load as high or low?

d. Is the current demand exceeding the capacity of the file server?

e. What should you do to improve the network to meet demand?

4.   In Explore, use File/Open to set up the network configuration stored as wfcc.net. Use no more than 30 devices to construct what you think is an optimal network for the students in the simulation. (Hint: Don't forget to save your network frequently on your floppy disk as you are working on it.) Make sure you test your network for at least five days. The percent of students unable to access workstations and modems should rarely go above 25 percent. Server and printer loads should never reach 100 percent. After you are satisfied with your network, print out your network configuration report.