The Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology (ECET) department of the Southern College of Technology is developing a Local Area Network (LAN) laboratory to support a new Local Area Networks course. Southern Tech realizes the impact networking has on the world today and is striving to educate and prepare undergraduates for work in this growing communications era. With the help of a grant from the National Science Foundation, the ECET LAN laboratory is giving students hands-on experience with state of the art communications equipment. The lab consists of (1) various network configurations, e.g. Ethernet and Token Ring with Novell and IBM network operating systems, (2) a variety of transmission media, e.g., coax, twisted pair, and fiber optic cabling, (3) network analysis tools that have the ability to monitor signals, examine protocols and simulate network traffic, (4) a LAN simulation package used to analyze designed networks and optimize performance, and (5) a gateway to X.25, the long haul environment, with access to DSO up to T3 lines. The students are designing, installing, and testing various LAN configurations and preparing to configure a company-wide local area network. This hands on education gained in the laboratory is preparing Southern Tech Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology graduates to contribute immediately to today's communications industry.
