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[next article]The hallway walls outside the ECN offices in Materials & Electrical Engineering Building have network maps showing the growth of the network over the years. In 1976 the ECN was a single machine; today it is over 1,600! The most recent map is near completion and will soon be ready for display.
After many months of research, drawing, and revisions, the new 1994 map is totally revamped. Since production of 1992's map, the ECN hardware staff has not only added new equipment, but redesigned many departmental network configurations to take advantage of faster and more efficient machines. With faster machines having been added to the network, most notably Sun SPARCstation 1000s, a new MIPS (Millions of Instructions per Second) color has been added to the key.
One important lesson I have learned since taking on this project is that the network never stops growing and it never gets a rest. Comparing the interim 1993's map with 1994's map, it is immediately apparent that the network has grown extremely fast in just one year. A department that used to need two servers and a few workstations now requires four to six servers and dozens of workstations to meet computing needs. With programs like Mosaic and Netscape making Internet browsing easier, more and more people are using the network and as expected the use of and demand for network access continues to rise.
To produce such a complex and dynamically changing drawing, I called on AutoCAD's ability to handle multiple layers and blocks to aid me in making quick and accurate changes to the drawing. The layer command was useful to help "unclutter" the drawing while I worked on specific parts. While the block command was useful when reproducing multiple copies of the same object such as servers and workstations.
Looking back my past two semesters, this map making experience has been a good one; although, there were times when I wondered if we would ever get every machine on the correct subnet. Today I have a better understanding of how the network works and why it has become so complex. Also I have learned to appreciate all the time ECN's hardware and software staff puts into troubleshooting and protecting the network so that it runs smoothly.
Check out the Facilities button on the ECN Homepage for information about the computing equipment.
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