Hal & Inge Marcus School of Engineering

Computer Science students create live network in simulated scenario

Students work in a computer classroom, cables crossing desks to create a network

"This hands-on training provided valuable experience and practical lessons that are difficult to teach by other means."

Peter Truax
Computer Science Professor

CSC345 Data Communications and Networking class conducted hands-on training using enterprise-grade networking equipment. This gave students an opportunity to gain valuable experience beyond what is available in a traditional lecture-based classroom setting.

CSC345 Data Communications and Networking is a class about the inner workings of communications in today成人抖音computing world. From home networking, to fiber optics, to satellite technology, this class discusses how computing devices are able to communicate effectively with each other.

In the scenario, students set up a simulated network of schools in the Puyallup area and managed the connections to allow for resilient networks. If one of the links to a school were to be cut, then other connections would take over automatically, and the school would still have network connectivity. This same process is used by the internet as a whole, so that if one connection at an internet service provider (ISP) goes down, the whole internet does not go down.

As a result of this practical exercise, students gained a greater understanding of the inner structure of the internet and training as our community's future network engineers.

 


Networking Lab photo gallery 

The pictures on this page illustrate one of the labs in which we learned how routed networks operate. We used equipment to create a live network that conformed to the scenario set by the instructor.  

Students sort through computer equipment on a table
Students select their equipment
A student standing in a row of desks poses for the camera, her peers working around her
Posing for the camera
A student plugs a cord into the back of a device
A student cables a network computer
A student works at a computer, with a professor reviewing at side
Students use their lab computer to configure a network switch
Students work with cables and devices at long rows of desks
Students study a network configuration guide for a stack of routers
Several electrical boxes stacked atop each other with connecting wires
A stack of routers, cabled to create a mini-Internet. Described as "adult Legos."
Three students work at a computer at a long row of desks
Students configure a stack of routers, which are connected to other equipment in the room
Students sit work at rows of computers, with a diagram on a screen at front of classroom
In addition to printed configuration guides, an overall network map is projected on screens in the front of the room
Undergraduate

Computer Science

Ready to put your computer skills to use in a career serving others through future technologies? Computer science may be the best major for you.

Campus
  • Main (Lacey)
Type of Instruction
  • In Person
Degree
  • Bachelor of Science in Computer Science