support, network operations and user services. These support
functions are usually performed through the establishment of a
Network Operations Center (NOC) and Network Information Center (NIC),
however both functions can be performed by the same individual or
groups of individuals.
Network Operations Center (NOC)
The Network Operations Center (NOC) oversees the performance of the
physical network and some of its software support systems. The staff
may install networks, configure network devices and provide
configurations for computers attached to an organization-wide
network. Real-time monitoring of the network can be performed using
the Simple Network Management Protocol and many vendors produce
monitoring systems that graphically display network performance, log
events and usage, and produce trouble tickets. The use of this type
of network monitoring allows NOC staff to quickly detect problems and
greatly reduces the personnel required to perform this function.
Routine monitoring of the network can help to anticipate problems
before they develop and lead to reconfigurations and upgrades as
indicated. If problems do arise, NOC personnel may go on-site to
troubleshoot a problem and repair it. If the problem is not local,
NOC personnel will work with school district, County or regional
network technical staff to resolve the problem.
NOC personnel also assign addresses to network computers and devices
and maintain the Domain Nameservice (DNS) for their organization.
Domain Nameservice is a machine registry service that runs on a
network server and enables access to machines by easy to remember
names, rather than a network number. DNS is required for any
organization connected to the Internet and critical to the
establishment of an electronic mail system.
It is most cost effective to have the Network Operation Center serve
an entire organization or region. In order to ensure timely service
all the way out to the most remote LAN, it is recommended that an
organization assign local area network administration duties to on-
site personnel to interact with NOC staff and assist with the
maintenance of the network. In the case of a school district,
administrative support staff, teachers, librarians or school based
technical staff can each take responsibility for a LAN or group of
LANs. If a problem arises, it can be reported to the LAN
administrator. The LAN administrator can determine if the problem is
local or remote and if NOC staff need to be notified. If so, the LAN
administrator acts as the single point of contact for the NOC to
provide a good communications channel for information and ensure
efficient coordination of problem resolution. This method of
delegating responsibility provides for a high level of service for
each LAN and optimally uses the time of NOC staff to provide
economies of scale.
Network Information Center (NIC)
The Network Information Center (NIC) provides information and support
services to facilitate the use of the network. The NIC often
provides a help-desk service to answer questions about use of the
network, references to useful resources and training in new tools or
applications. The NIC may also provide services such as an on-line
directory of network users and their electronic mail addresses,
bulletin board services of information and notices about the network
and on-line training materials. These NIC services could be provided
on a school district or County level. Most of the information would
not be site specific and can be delivered electronically using
electronic mail, electronic conferencing, on-line bulletin boards or
other document delivery mechanisms. These types of services may be
well suited for a school or school district librarian.
Other types of support services may be performed by NIC personnel
such as maintenance of the electronic mail system or Postmaster
duties, coordination of an on-line bulletin board or campuswide
information system (CWIS) and management of an on-line conferencing
system. These duties are more technical in nature and will require
technical staff to maintain them.
Postmaster
Every organization which uses electronic mail should have an
Electronic Mail Postmaster and a mailbox, postmaster, for the receipt
of messages regarding use of the electronic mail system, mail
problems and general inquiries about reaching people within the
organization. The Postmaster is responsible for reading postmaster
mail and responding to inquiries. These duties can be performed by
non-technical staff with forwarding of messages to the appropriate
technical support person as required.
CWIS Administrator
Campuswide information systems or bulletin boards are one of the most
useful applications on the network. These systems allow people to
share timely notices, documents and other resources with large groups
of people. These systems typically provide a hierarchical or tree
like structure of menus that lead to on-line documents or other
services. Common types of information include deadline notices,
grant announcements, training schedules, lists of available resources
such as videos in a library or reference materials.
[Figure 7: Distributed Network Information Servers]
Information need not be stored all in one location. Figure 7 shows a
set of distributed servers. These servers can receive new
information automatically from a central server and can also contain
information generated locally that may pertain only to the local
school. Users of the information need not know where the information
is stored: the information access software will present choices on an
integrated menu.
A CWIS or bulletin board must have an administrator or sponsor to
oversee the design and maintenance of the system so that it is easy
to navigate and find information, provides a professional
presentation of information and ensures that information remains
timely and relevant. This function can be performed by NIC staff, or
trained librarians or administrative staff as appropriate.
Management of On-line Conferences
On-line conferences provide a way for groups of people to share
information, discuss ideas and pose questions. Conferences usually
are set up to serve the needs of a group of people sharing a common
interest. For example, an on-line conference might be established
for teachers to discuss a new science teaching framework or a teacher
may establish a conference for the discussion of the Civil War as
part of an American History class. Some conferences are on-going and
may exist for years. Others are short term and may exist for only
one semester. Conferences may be created using the electronic mail
system or a facility called Usenet News.
On-line conferencing systems require a server computer on the network
that collects messages posted to a conference and distributes them
when requested. Usually these systems are managed by a systems
administrator and someone must configure the system to establish and
delete groups upon request. Other management duties include
scheduling the deletion of old messages and archiving especially
valuable conversations. Typically these duties are performed by a
systems administrator or technical staff.
Staffing Considerations
The duties described above do not necessarily require hiring new
staff and they may be shared by people already within an
organization. Small schools or districts may rely on County Office
of Education Information Systems staff to perform all functions.
Larger schools or districts may have staff to take on any combination
of duties and rely on the County Office of Education for others.
Access to the network and the use of electronic communications allows
people throughout the organization to perform these functions
remotely. The assignment of responsibility for any of these duties
is flexible and should be approached with the goal of providing the
highest quality of service in the most cost effective and workable
manner.
V. References
Honey, Margaret, Henriquez, Andres, "Telecommunications and K-12
Educators: Findings from a National Survey", Bank Street College of
Education, New York, NY, 1993.
Susan Estrada, "Connecting to the Internet", OReilly & Associates,
Inc. (ISBN 1-56592-061-9)
Carole Teach, Editor, "Building the Future: K-12 Network Technology
Planning Guide", California Department of Education, Research,
Evaluation & Technology Division, 1994.
VI. Special Thanks
Special thanks to Brian Lloyd of Lloyd Internetworking, Inc. for his
contributions to this document. Brian was one of the contributors to
the California Department of Education "K-12 Network Technology
Planning Guide" which served as the motivation for writing most of
this document. Brian contributed significantly to Section II,
"Rationale for the Use of Internet Protocols" and thoroughly reviewed
Section III, "A Technical Model for School Networks", providing
valuable feedback.
VII. Security Considerations
Security issues are not discussed in this memo.
VIII. Authors' Addresses
Joan C. Gargano
Information Technology
Distributed Computing Analysis and Support
University of California
Davis, CA 95616
EMail: jcgargano@ucdavis.edu
David L. Wasley
Data Communication & Network Services
Information Systems and Technology
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720
EMail: dlw@berkeley.edu