SETTING UP A COMPUTER NETWORK-AN EXAMPLE

An educational society (say XYZ Educational Society) with its head office in Chennai (Tamil Nadu) and schools in various parts
of the globe. The society is setting up a new senior secondary school, 'SF School' in Bahadurgarh (Haryana). The 'SF School'
will have 3 computer labs with 30 computers in each, one Accounts office with three computers, one Administrative block
with five computers, and Principal' s office with 1 computer.
Let us see how a computer network can be set up in the school. First of all we can draw a rough sketch of the school with
computers at various locations as follows:
1. Independent LANs can be set up in each of the following buildings:
Computer Lab 1, Computer Lab2, Computer Lab3, Administrative Block, and Accounts
Office with three computers , one Administrative block with five computers and Principal’s
office with 1 computer.

2. These LANs can be set up in STAR topology using UTP cable (economical, reliable, and
easily available).
3. For this 1 switch (with suitable number of ports) will be required in each of these buildings.
More than one switch can be used in computer labs if a switch with more than 30 ports is
not available.
4. Two internet connections (broadband for high speed) can be procured in Administrative
Office.
Two connections should be procured from two different ISPs so that:
(i) Internet connection in Administrative office can be kept separate from the
Other Computer labs where students may do a lot of experimentation.
(ii) If one internet connection is not working, the other can be used in case of urgent requirements.
These buildings can then be connected as follows:

5. This interconnection will ensure that each building is directly connected to Administrative block.
6. This way internet connection will be available in each building irrespective of the status of the other building.
7. Server (if any) of the school may be placed in Administrative block so that it remains safe (physically) and a
firewall can be set up so that the whole network remains safe from any kind of virus or intrusion attacks.
There is no need to do any extra efforts or expenses to link the school to its head office.This can be taken care
of using the internet connections.
TIPS TO SOLVE TECHNICAL QUESTIONS BASED ON NETWORKING
1. Where Server should be placed: Server should be placed in the building where the number
of computers is maximum.
2. Suggest a suitable cable layout of connection: A suitable cable layout can be suggested in the
following two ways:
(i) On the basis of Server: First, the location of the Server is found out. Server should be placed in
that building where the number of computers is maximum (according to 80-20 rule). After
finding the server position, each building distance is compared with the Server building directly
or indirectly (taking other building in between). The shortest distance is counted whether it is
directly or indirectly calculated.
(ii) On the basis of Distance from each building: The distance between each building is compared
to all other buildings either directly or indirectly. The shortest distance is calculated whether it is
direct or through some other building.

3. WHERE THE FOLLOWING DEVICES SHOULD BE PLACED:

DEVICE PLACEMENT
Server Large number of computers in building
HUB/Switch Each Building
Modem In server room
Repeater It is used if the distances are higher than 70m. It regenerates
data and voice signals
Router When one LAN is required to be connected to the other LAN.
Best Layout Star Topology( from server), Bus topology
Best Cable Twisted pair, Ethernet Cable, co-axial cable( when distance is in
meters)
(short Distance)
Best Cable Fibre Optics
(Large distance)
Best connecting technique In Hilly Region- Radio waves
City to city / state to state – Satellite Transmission