This handbook is required of each participant of CTER (Curriculum, Technology, and Education Reform), a program of the Department of Education of the University of Illinois.  This handbook can be used as a resource for all staff members in my school.
Included in this Handbook is Chapter I:

• Network Terminology- definitions of the technical terms
• Network Infrastructure- our local networking resources
• Support System- where do we go for help?
• Problem Solving- solving network problems, and troubleshooting

Network Terminology
 
 

T3, DS3

OC3

FIREWALL

PROXY

RJ45

BANDWIDTH

NETWORK CLOSET

UPS

T3, DS3
A connection made up of 28 T1 carriers, used to transmit digital signals on fiber-optic cable at 44.736 megabits per second.   The T3 can handle 672 voice conversations or one video channel. The T3 line has enough bandwidth to transmit full-motion real-time video and very large databases over a busy network.  A T3 line would be installed as a major networking channel for a large corporation or university with high volume network traffic.  Additionally, the T3 is a dedicated phone connection supporting data rates of about 43 Mbps.  A T-3 line actually consists of 672 individual channels, each of which supports 64 Kbps. The Internet Server Providers (ISP’s) connecting to the Internet backbone and for the backbone itself use mainly T-3 lines. T-3 lines are sometimes referred to as DS3 lines.

Relevance: The Springfield School District 186 uses a T1 line to eventually link to the Internet.  My personal ISP has three dedicated T1 lines that join into a T3 line into the Internet backbone.
Sources:  Webopedia.internet.com
 www.currents.net/resources/dictionary/index.html

OC3
Short for Optical Carrier, used to specify the speed of  fiber optic networks conforming to the SONET standard.   A SONET is short for Synchronous Optical Network, a standard for connecting fiber-optic transmission systems. With the implementation of SONET, communication carriers throughout the world can interconnect their existing digital carrier and fiber optic systems. The table shows the speeds for common OC levels.
 OC = Speed
OC-1 = 51.85 Mbps
OC-3 = 155.52 Mbps
OC-12 = 622.08 Mbps
OC-24 = 1.244 Gbps
OC-48 = 2.488 Gbps
 

Relevance:  I am unaware as to the relevance of the OC3 in this geographical area.
Sources: Webopedia.internet.com
 www.currents.net/resources/dictionary/index.htm
 
 
 
 

Firewall
A firewall is a hardware and/or software boundary that prevents unauthorized users from accessing restricted files on a network. The part of the network that is not behind the firewall is available to whoever logs on. There are three standard firewall architectures: the dual-host gateway, the screened-host firewall system, and the demilitarized zone firewall

Relevance:  The school district has established firewalls in its Intranet to prevent unauthorized access in certain areas which are not for public use.  Some of these areas are recorded grades, cumulative records concerning students, teacher personnel records, etc.  The firewalls detract from observing some training aids because they will not allow "cookies" to pass that permits access to that website.
 We are establishing a home network with firewalls to prevent malicious operators from acquiring unauthorized personal information such as credit card numbers, utility account numbers, bank account numbers, personal health records, etc.
Sources:  http://www.netlingo.com
 

Proxy
A server that provides access to files from other servers by retrieving them either from its local cache or from the remote server

Relevance:  Currently, I have no association with any proxies.  In the future, however, it is my intent to let our ISP maintain a family WebPage.
Sources: http://www.netlingo.com
 

RJ45
A serial connector used with Ethernet and Token Ring devices that looks like a telephone jack but has eight wires instead of four or six. 
 
 
 

Relevance:  Last year in my classroom I had only wiring for the RJ-11 connections.  The Speech classroom had the proper wiring supporting RJ-45 connections.  My classroom has been rewired with an Ethernet connection.
Sources: Webopedia.internet.com

Bandwidth
Bandwidth is the amount of data that can be sent through a network connection, measured in bits per second (BPS). It is also the range of transmission frequencies a network can use expressed as the difference between the highest and lowest frequencies of a transmission channel (in Hertz, or cycles per second). High bandwidth allows fast transmission or high-volume transmission.

Relevance:  The speed of Internet reception is dictated by the bandwidth connection to the server.  The connection I have in my classroom is extremely limited.  The connection that I have at home has an increased bandwidth allowing me to do a much more efficient job of surfing the Internet.  Therefore, much more of my classroom preparation is done at home instead of at school.
Sources: Webopedia.internet.com
 
 

Network Closet
A network closet is the place where network hardware (other than cabling) is installed. The space should be used primarily for storage, be dry, and have electricity available. Since network equipment rarely needs attention once installed and tested, the network closet can have limited accessibility.

Relevance:  All of my schools sixteen classrooms are connected to a network system.  This system is kept in the teacher’s workroom without correct protective covering.  We were able to observe several network closets in the Education Building at the U of I campus on May 20th.
Sources: http://www.netlingo.com
 
 
 

UPS
Uninterruptible Power Supply. A backup power supply that works when electrical power to the computer is interrupted.  A small UPS can supply battery power for a few minutes so files can be saved and the computer can be shut down properly; a larger UPS can supply power for much longer.

Relevance:  To my knowledge we do not have a UPS at school.  I also do not have one at home, but it sounds like a good idea.
Sources: http://www.netlingo.com
 
 
 

Sources Used: http://www.netlingo.com
http://www.webopedia.internet.com
http://www.whatis.com
http://www.currents.net/resourses/dictionary/index.html
http://www.computeruser.com/resources/dictionary/index.html
 

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