All workstations go to the server for their information. Most of the software is on the server. There are even diskless workstations. There are times when a lot of people are utilizing the systems, at that point, sometimes it could be too much for the server to handle and a collision (crash) can occur. Less intensive software is put on the server, therefore, fewer collisions can occur. The more intensive software is left on workstations, and will be placed on the hard disk. You will not be able to modify your desktop, you can delete files.

No routers are in Pierce's computer systems. What are installed in Pierce College's systems are hubs. Hubs basically take the server and let each workstation have a connection. Each wire that we saw goes to the hub.

Green lights seen on the server are machines that are on, and connected. You can also see the green lights blinking-this shows activity occurring within the network.

Per the instructor, a lot of experimentation occurs in the Pierce College Computer lab. Students are learning Novell, NetWare and Unix. The security in the lab is minimal. Students that work in this lab are given administrative passwords.

Ports are what the RJ45 plug into.

Hubs can be linked together.

Protocol used at Pierce College is the following: IPS & TCPIP. Pierce will have priority over the new fiber optic drop on campus.

100 BaseT = Collisions are happing 10 times faster.

A Switch is a hardware device. Its main function is to stop packet collisions. The switch's function is to allow data to go around each other, and is lightening fast. You will not put every machine on a switch.

Pierce College runs Novell Servers. These servers are very stable. The servers can go for months, and if a server goes down, there is an image on disk. For example, if a drive goes down, the instructor will place that image on the drive. The Novell server must be backed up on a regular basis.

If a server does go down, and you can't get it to restart, just restore from the back-up image. You will go through the installation until you get to the part where you can launch the device, which is the back-up unit. This will allow you to restore the files. It will take several hours to restore the data.

From the PC, to use the UNIX server, you will use the application Tel-Net to attach to the server. The server serves each box in the lab. Anything that needs to be done in UNIX is done on that specific server.

If you boot into Novell, and then Windows 98, you can then Tel-net into the UNIX server using TCPIP.

NT is known for being a very difficult operating system.

Are sets of instructions predefined, and agreed upon by both sides to facilitate communication. Novell is a bit modern, it uses STXIPX.

For UNIX, the protocol is TCPIP.

Windows 95 & 98 default to the Novell server. When you are in TCPIP, you can multitask.

You usually do not see double booting.

In each hub, there is a network interface card in each workstation, and a cable is connected to the network interface card. There's also a cable connected to the hub, out of its own port. Out of the back of the hub, the servers are connected.

At the Pierce computer lab, all 5 servers go to the hub. And the client you use at boot - up will be where you're going to go.

A small box has been developed as a print server. When you think of a star topology, you think of the central concentrator of the hubs, and that's the center. Everything goes out from there, e.g., printers, scanners, or workstations.

The hub connects to the server, and everything connects to the hub.

An IP address is a particular way of identifying a particular computer or network using TCPIP. Each IP address must be unique or the server will not know whom it is talking to.

IT administrators at Pierce College issues IP addresses to the Computer Department. Each IP address can consist of many numbers or characters. And will be very unique for security purposes.

The servers were observed, but were not yet hooked-up. The servers are Pentium II's, upgradable to two Pentium III's. They are very powerful, and Novell will be installed on them. The processor speed is believed to be 450. A special rack was built for these servers, which cost around a $1,000. The servers are still in need of their software, and will be replacing the experimental lab's servers.

DSL's speed can be compared to the speed of Netscape 4.7, which is 18 megabytes, and takes less then a minute to download.

T1 line, when you share it, it becomes slower.

Firewalls: there is a large amount of software involved, and it is very difficult to enter.

Within the new Pentium II servers, there are six hubs. They will be set-up to service the two labs, three hubs for each lab.

You must be careful to not touch the BNC connector. If touched or moved, it will take down the lab's computers. To bring the systems back up, you will have to verify which systems are down. If the light is not on, you will have found the problem computer. You can then work to resolve the problem.