This is a rudimentary diagram representing the basic network that is employed in the Boston College Rochford Campus.
This section represents a room, or department within the campus, showing how the Nodes are all connected to a multi-port switch using straight-through cables (Used to connect non-similar devices, such as a PC and a switch). The diagram on the left is a bog standard star topology, whereby a switch is connected to multiple nodes via an RJ45 straight-through cable, thus allowing the transfer of packets to and from the devices on the sub-network; I.E. PC to printer, or laptop to PC and so on. By the connecting the switch to the router(s) at the centre of the college network, you are allowing the sub network above to communicate with other departments and devices around the campus. Such as the Student file server, and the email server, (Which are used for the storage and retrieval of files, and the sending and storing of emails.) both of which are connected to the entire network, allowing access from around the campus, regardless of what device a user chooses to try and access them. The college has also incorporated a server which is used to host the website, and the various services (DNS, ADDS, DHCP) required for students and staff alike to access the internet whilst in college. This method is a very effective way of creating and maintaining a functioning multi-user network. It’s cost effective, and in terms of labour and parts required very simple to set up (Apart from the cable management) Another advantage of this type of network is that if one component breaks, as long as it’s not something crucial like a switch, then the network will continue to function for other users in the areas that have working components.
As a broad explanation, Networks communicate by passing packets from one end device to another, along a series of cables, like straight-through and crossover cables, which...