RFC 1709

K-12 Internetworking Guidelines

📅 published November 1994, from ietf

K-12 Internetworking Guidelines 🎀

Part 1 of 6 🦋

Group: Network Working Group 💅
Number: RFC 1709, also FYI 26 🌸
Category: Informational ✨
Authors: J. Gargano (University of California, Davis) and D. Wasley (University of California, Berkeley) 👑
Date: November 1994 🍓
Obsoletes or updates: the title block doesn't list anything this one obsoletes or updates 🧚

Status Of This Memo 💜

okay so this memo is giving information for the Internet community 💖 It does not specify an Internet standard of any kind, so it's not a spec you're required to build to 🙈 And distribution of this memo is unlimited, so share it with everyone bestie 🫶

I. Introduction ✨

Lots of folks working on K-12 education and tech planning totally get that data communications across the whole school system is a huge deal 🔥 State-sponsored docs like the California Department of Education's "Strategic Plan for Information Technology" push for planning voice, video, and data networks to support learning and educational administration, but they don't give specific technical direction 😭

The institutions that built the Internet and plugged in early were early adopters. They had technical staff dedicated to planning and rolling out leading-edge tech 💅 The K-12 community traditionally hasn't had that level of staffing for telecom planning, so this document is meant to bridge that gap 🌉 It offers a recommended technical direction, an intro to the role the Internet now plays in K-12 education, and technical guidelines for building a campus data communications infrastructure that provides internetworking services and connections to the Internet ✨

For a more general intro to the Internet and its applications and uses, the reader is referred to any of the references listed in the following RFCs 📚

   1392    "Internet Users' Glossary" (also FYI 18)
   1432    "Recent Internet Books"
   1462    "What is the Internet" (also FYI 20)
   1463    "Introducing the Internet - A Short Bibliograpy of
           Introductory Internetworking on Readings for the Network
           Novice" (also FYI 19)

II. Rationale for the Use of Internet Protocols 🌈

In 1993, the Bank Street College of Education surveyed 550 educators who are actively involved in using telecommunications 📊 The citation is right here:

(Honey, Margaret, Henriquez, Andres, "Telecommunications and K-12
Educators: Findings from a National Survey," Bank Street College of
Education, New York, NY, 1993.)

The survey looked at a wide variety of ways telecom tech gets used in K-12 education. Here's what it found about Internet usage 👀

"Slightly less than half of these educators have access to the Internet, which is supplied most frequently by a university computer or educational service."

"Internet services are used almost twice as often for professional activities as for student learning activities."

"Sending e-mail is the most common use of the Internet, followed by accessing news and bulletin boards and gaining access to remote computers."

The chart below shows the percentage of respondents that use each network application for professional and student activities 🍓

   Applications                    Professional             Student
                                   Activities              Activities

   Electronic mail                 91                      79

   News or bulletin board          63                      50

   Remote access to other          48                      32
   computers

   Database access                 36                      31

   File transfer                   34                      19

The value of the Internet and its explosive growth is a direct result of the computer communications technology used on the network 🚀 The same network design principles and computer communications protocols (TCP/IP) that run the Internet can be used within a school district to build campuswide networks 💖 This is standard practice in higher education and increasingly in K-12 schools too. Here are the benefits of TCP/IP, bestie 👑

Ubiquity: TCP/IP is available on most, if not all, of the computing platforms likely to be important for instructional or administrative purposes 💻 It's available for IBM compatible personal computers (PCs) running DOS or Windows and for all versions of the Apple Macintosh, and it's standard on all UNIX-based systems and workstations and most mainframe computers.
Applications: TCP/IP supports many applications, including but not limited to electronic mail, file transfer, interactive remote host access, database access, file sharing, and access to networked information resources 📨 Programming and development expertise is available from a wide variety of sources too.
Flexibility: TCP/IP is flexible, and new data transport requirements can be incorporated easily 🦋 It can handle educational and administrative applications equally well, so one set of network cabling and one communications system can be used in both the classroom and the office.
Simplicity: TCP/IP is simple enough to run on low-end computing platforms like the Apple MacIntosh and PCs, while still providing efficient support for large minicomputer and mainframe platforms 🧠 It has benefited from over twenty years of refinement, which has resulted in a large and technically sophisticated environment.
Capacity: TCP/IP supports local area network and wide area network services across the entire range of network data rates available today, from dial-up modem speeds to gigabit speed experimental networks 🏎️ Communications can occur reliably among machines across this entire range of speeds.
Coexistence: TCP/IP can coexist successfully with other networking architectures 🤝 Offices and classrooms that already have networks may be using something other than TCP/IP. Networks of Apple Macintosh computers will probably be using Appletalk, and networks of PCs may be using any of the common network operating systems, such as Novell Netware or LANManager. Mainframe computers may be using IBM's System Network Architecture (SNA). None of these proprietary protocols provides broad connectivity on a global scale, so network technology vendors now offer many ways to build networks where all of these protocols can co-exist 🌍
Multimedia: TCP/IP networks can support voice, graphics, and video as part of teleconferencing and multimedia applications 🎥
Compatibility: All of the major Universities, as well as thousands of commercial and governmental organizations, use TCP/IP for their primary communications services 🏫 Commercial networks such as Compuserve and America Online are also connected to the Internet. Many State Departments of Education have sponsored statewide initiatives to connect schools to the Internet, and many K-12 school districts have connected based on local needs 💜
NREN: The High Performance Computing Act of 1991 and the Information Infrastructure and Technology Act of 1992 provide the foundation for building the national telecommunications infrastructure in support of education and research 🌈 The National Research and Education Network (NREN) will be based upon Internet technology.

The benefits of internetworking technology have been demonstrated through twenty years of use by thousands of organizations! 😭 This same experience also provides tested technical models for network design that can be adapted to K-12 campuswide networking in schools of all sizes and technical development 👑🫶

III. A Technical Model for School Networks ✨

Okay so a modern communications network serving all primary and secondary schools has been talked about in SO many forums 🌸 Lots of schools (and a few school districts) already built their own ad hoc network systems because they knew how important this resource is 💖 This section of the Internet School Networking (ISN) Working Group RFC gives county offices of education and school districts a standard network implementation model for planning 📋 so every setup stays compatible with each other AND with the national networking plans meant to enrich K-12 education 🎀

The dream of "an integrated voice, data, and video network extending to every classroom" is literally so exciting 🤩 but it's also SO far from where we are today that the time and money needed to get there will be more than most districts can scrape together in the near term 😭 We suggest that a great deal can be done right now, with relatively few dollars, to give modern communications systems in and between all schools around the nation 💅

Our present goal is to define a highly functional, homogeneous, and well supported network system that could interconnect all K-12 schools and district, county, and statewide offices, and that will enable teachers and administrators to start using new communications tools and network-based information resources ✨ It takes considerable time to adapt curricula and other programs to take full advantage of new technology, so through standard models for implementing current network technologies, schools can start this process now 🧚

Many states have already developed communications services for their schools. A notable example is Texas, which provides terminal access to central information resources from every classroom over a statewide network 🤠 Modem-accessible systems are available in many states too, and they help encourage teachers to become familiar with network resources and capabilities. Although modem access may be the only practical option today in some areas, it always will be limited in functionality and/or capacity 🥲 In anticipation of emerging and future bandwidth-intensive information resource applications, and the functionality they will require, we believe it is essential to provide direct network access to the National Research and Education Network (NREN) Internet (The Internet is a "network of networks" that interconnects institutions of higher education, research labs, government agencies, and a rapidly growing number of technology and information vendors.) from computers in every classroom 🦋

The Internet communication protocols, commonly known as "TCP/IP," are the "glue" that will allow all computers to communicate 🫶 As noted above, software that implements Internet protocols is available for all modern computers. These protocols support a very wide variety of applications, from electronic messaging to client/server data access. The use of Internet protocols will ensure that all networked computers have direct access to the vast range of existing information and education resources on the Internet, as well as to the emerging National Information Infrastructure 🌈

Approach 💅

The implementation we suggest would use current proven and cost effective technology, and it would be expandable and upgradable to newer technology with minimum additional investment. This approach requires careful, modular design to meet the following criteria:

Okay, first up 💅 any physical infrastructure development should be general and flexible enough to be reused as technology improves 🔥 For example, a school office might have a simple terminal today, which could be wired to a network adapter serving the school building. Later, a Macintosh, DOS, or Windows-based PC might replace the terminal, and the type of connection to the network would change accordingly. BUT the wiring between the office and the network "hub" site could stay the same if it's designed properly from the very beginning 🧚 This is an important consideration since wiring typically represents 20 to 40% of the cost of individual network hookups;
Existing computers and terminals in schools and district offices should be integrated as much as possible into the communication system 🌸 This installed base is a large investment, albeit in many cases a somewhat dated set of equipment. Wholesale replacement of that base would be a large additional burden on funding resources 😩

A consequence of the above is that the user interface and the services available will vary depending on the type of equipment used to access the network. For example, DOS PCs, Macintosh computers, or Unix workstations would be connected directly to Local Area Networks (LANs) and would be provided with communications software to support a broad set of functions, many of which will have graphical user interfaces and will make use of client/server technology 💻 Apple-II computers, "dumb" terminals, or other such devices could be connected to intelligent network hubs that would allow access to network server computers or information resources, but they almost certainly will not support the full range of functionality provided by a direct network connection. In the short term, this is a limitation that we must accept 🥺;

Network servers will be located where they can be managed and supported, and they will also provide access paths with adequate bandwidth 🖥️ A system of hierarchical servers should be created in larger school districts, with automatic transfer of common information from a central system to the secondary systems each night, or at appropriate intervals. Local servers will allow each school to provide on-line information particular to its programs and community 🏫 This model optimizes use of network bandwidth as well;
School interconnect topologies (links) must be both cost effective and manageable 🧠 Communication between schools, district offices, county offices of education, and the State Department of Education must be reliable and of sufficient capacity to support the primary applications, as well as allow development of new applications.

Capacity is measured both by total data traffic volume and by response time when information is requested over the network. Reliability is measured by the percentage of time that the network is able to transport data. Reliability should be well over 99.7%. Capacity should be such that no more than 10% of the communications bandwidth is used during a typical work day. This is intended to leave adequate capacity for good response time to short-term communication demands ⭐

Many schools already have some form of communications infrastructure in place. In some cases this infrastructure can be adapted to newer technologies; in other cases, it may have to be replaced over time. These issues are explored further following presentation of the basic model that serves as a guideline for future communications system development 🦋

Implementation Model 🎀

There is no one "blueprint" for a network that will drop into every school 🙈 Each school will have particular physical constraints, functional needs, an existing technology base, funding constraints, and opportunities for collaboration with vendors and support groups in its area. What is presented here is a set of general guidelines that can be followed in planning a school network implementation 📝

The strategic decision to use Internet protocols in developing school networks provides the opportunity to avoid the major expense of building new statewide backbone infrastructures in the near term 💜 Interconnection of schools, districts, county offices of education, and the State Department of Education can be accomplished by acquiring Internet connection service from any of the existing Internet service providers in the state. ("Connecting to the Internet", Susan Estrada, O'Reilly & Associates, Inc. (ISBN 1-56592-061-9) lists Internet service providers in California and the nation.) It is critical that Internet connection service meet criteria for reliability and capacity, but connection to any Internet service provider will provide communication capability to all other Internet subscribers within the state, the nation, and the world 🌍

Internet technology is designed to allow very flexible intersite topologies, but a hierarchical topology is the simplest to engineer 🪜 Generally, this will mean hierarchical connection of school facilities to district offices, in many cases further aggregated at county offices, and finally a link to an Internet service provider. Coordination of circuit services and a single point of connection to an Internet service provider serves both to minimize overall costs and to increase opportunities to make use of newer technologies 💰

The basic school network implementation model is quite simple: create a local area network (LAN) within each school building or cluster of buildings, provide at least one network server for that LAN, interconnect that LAN with the local school district offices where a similar LAN should be installed and where centrally managed information resources should exist, and connect the district offices to the nearest Internet service provider, possibly through the county office of education 🌸

Primary technical support for network monitoring and problem resolution, and for managing network resource servers, should come from the district or county offices initially to avoid unnecessary duplication at the local level 🧑‍💻 As expertise is developed at the local level, more of the responsibility for daily operation and problem resolution can be assumed by individual schools 🌱

It is impossible to cover all conceivable scenarios for implementation of this model in specific schools. However, it is possible to state general principles that should be followed in designing school network implementations 🔮 The discussion below is organized into sections corresponding to the basic model summarized in the previous paragraph. It includes a description of the general principles that are important to each level of the implementation 🍓

Step 1: School Local Area Network Implementation 🏫✨

okay bestie, first things first: a "school" here means a building or a cluster of buildings that get managed as one unit, usually sitting on contiguous, district-owned property. One campus, one vibe 🌸

Setting up a LAN in this setting is a whole glow-up with a few pieces. You need a cabling system to spread the network through the building(s), premise wiring so computers and terminals can actually plug in, and one or more network server machines in a central spot. Other protocols like AppleTalk or Novell's IPX MAY be supported on the school's local area network (LAN) when a local function needs them, like printer sharing or local resource servers 🖨️. Then you need a network router plus a telecommunications circuit or radio link to connect the school back to the district offices 🔗.

The most common LAN technologies right now are ethernet and LocalTalk. IEEE 802.5 Token Ring is NOT RECOMMENDED for new installations 🙅‍♀️ because it's more expensive and doesn't work with as wide a range of computers. Both ethernet and LocalTalk are quite inexpensive and easy to install and maintain 💖. Ethernet adapts to most modern computers and comes built-in on high performance workstations like Sun, Hewlett-Packard, SGI, or Digital Equipment Corporation computers. LocalTalk is built-in on all Macintosh computers and can be adapted to DOS PC computers too.

Here's the tea 🍵: ethernet is roughly 20 to 40 times faster than LocalTalk. So ethernet is RECOMMENDED for all computer connections when possible, and for the school LAN "backbone" or network distribution system 🔥.

1.1. Network Adapters and Software 🔌

Individual computers will need network or communications adapters plus the right software. Table 1 gives basic recommendations for the computers you'll most commonly find in schools 📋. Basic communications software is available in the public domain for many personal computers at no cost, which is so generous 🥹. More sophisticated software is being built by a bunch of vendors for stuff like electronic mail, distance learning, and multimedia database access. For example, the California Technology Project is developing super easy-to-use software for Macintosh and DOS or Windows PC computers that gives access to a wide variety of information resources and services ✨.

Schools SHOULD look at all the available software and base their choices on required functionality and support costs as well as acquisition costs, not just the sticker price 💅. Where computers are going to be purchased, the choice of computer type SHOULD be driven by the availability of software for the particular application(s) to be supported. Almost all modern computers can be attached to the type of network described in this document 🙌.

Equipment Type          Network Adapter            Communication
                                                     Software
________________________________________________________________________

Simple terminal       "Network Access Server"   Built-in to the
                      located centrally.        networkaccess server.

Apple II, Amiga,      Serial asynchronous       Serial communications
Tandy, Commodore,     port that will allow      software that emulates
older IBM PCs, etc.   connection to the         a simple terminal.
                      above.

Newer IBM PC          Ethernet adapter car      TCP/IP "TSR" software,
                      with "10-base-T" port.    for example "FTP
                      "Thin-net" port may be    Software" package.
                      used in lab clusters.     Additional software for
                                                special appl.

Older Apple           PhoneNet adapter  MacTCP  or equivalent
Macintosh computers   (external) and shared     plus "telnet" and "ftp".
                      LocalTalk to ethernet     For example, NCSA
                      router, for example the   Telnet.  Additional
                      Shiva FastPath.           software for special
                                                applications, e.g.,
                                                "electronic mail
                                                client."

Newer Apple           May use same as the       Same as the above.
Macintosh computers   above.  For higher
                      performance, use an
                      ethernet adapter card
                      with "10-base-T port.
                      "Thin-net" port may be
                      used in lab clusters.

Unix workstations     Ethernet adapter card,    Typically comes with
                      if not already built in.  the basic system.
                                                Additional software
                                                may be needed
                                                for special
                                                applications.

________________________________________________________________________

     Table 1:  Network Adapters and Software for Typical Computers

1.2. Premise wiring 🧵

A big chunk of the project is installing cable to connect individual computers, or clusters of them, to the LAN 🔧. The RECOMMENDED topology is a "star," where each computer is wired directly to a "hub site" inside the building, as shown in Figures 1 & 2. A cluster of computers, the kind you'd find in a teaching lab or library, MAY be interconnected within the room where it's installed, and the cluster then connects to the hub site with a single cable, as shown in Figures 3 & 4 🌟.

[Figure 1:  Individual ethernet connection to the network]

             [Figure 2:  LocalTalk connection to the network]

The RECOMMENDED premise wiring is "unshielded twisted pair" (UTP) that meets the Electronic Industries Association (EIA) category 5 standards for high speed data communication service. (See EIA/TIA-568 "Commercial Building Telecommunications Wiring Standard.") 2 pair cable MAY be adequate for most purposes, but industry standards recommend 4 pair. The price difference is minimal, so we recommend the latter 💜. One end of each cable terminates in a category 5 RJ-45 jack located near the computer. (A standard RJ45 jack can be used for ethernet or lower speeds if initial cost is a major factor, and those jacks can be swapped for category 5 versions later as needed.) The other end terminates on a standard "110 distribution block" at the hub site utility closet. (In older sites, M66 distribution blocks MAY already be installed. They can be used for now, but they won't support newer higher speed technologies.) 🏚️ A labeling scheme MUST be chosen and strictly adhered to, so cables can be identified at both ends later as needed 🏷️.

     [Figure 3:  A cluster of computers connected to the network]

      [Figure 4:  A Macintosh cluster connection to the network]

In most cases, the hub site utility closet is shared with telephone services. It is essential that a separate wall area be set aside inside the closet for data service interconnections 🚨. Typically there's a "field" of interconnect blocks for terminating all premise wires, another field for terminating trunk cables (used for low speed data terminals), and a third field for hub equipment ports. Interconnections between premise wiring blocks and hub or trunk blocks get installed as needed to provide the right service to each location that needs communication service 🧩.

Installing wiring in a building is typically handled by a qualified data wiring contractor. This is a critical part of the program and MUST be planned and installed professionally with both current and future requirements in mind 👑. (See "Virtual Schoolhouse - A Report to the Legislature on Distribution Infrastructures for Advanced Technologies in the Construction of New Schools, K through 12" (Department of General Services, State of California, February, 1993) for example conduit and utility closet plans 📚.) To get ready for future distribution of video signals, school network planners SHOULD consider installing RG-59 coaxial cable to those locations where video MAY be required, at the same time the UTP premise wiring is going in. The coaxial cable would terminate on a wall plate mounted "F" connector in the classroom, and would be left unterminated in the utility closet. Future technologies MAY support video signals over other media, so installing RG-59 cable SHOULD be limited to near term potential requirements 🎬.

It will be cost effective to install premise wiring to as many locations as might ever serve a computer 🙌. That includes administrative offices as well as classrooms, and laboratories as well as libraries. In high density spots like offices, consideration SHOULD be given to installing two UTP cables to each outlet location, so there's potential for several computers or workstations 💻. Terminating both cables on the same wall plate adds very little to the overall wiring project cost and adds a lot to the flexibility of the system ✨. Premise wiring that isn't going to be used initially will not be connected to any electronics in the hub site 🤫.

Hub sites SHOULD be utility closets or other protected, non-occupied areas. They can be created by building small closets or cabinets in low use areas 🗄️. A hub site MUST be located within 300 feet of any connection. Typically, large or multi-story buildings need multiple hub sites 🏢.

1.3. Network Distribution System 🌐

All hub sites within a school MUST be interconnected to complete the school LAN 🫶. How this network distribution system gets designed depends a lot on the physical layout of the school buildings. We assume ethernet will be used, since higher speed technology is still quite expensive 💸.

                 [Figure 5:  A complete small school LAN]

If all hub sites are within 300 cable feet of a central location, then 10-base-T wiring can be used to connect each hub site from a central hub, as shown in Figure 5 🧡. If longer distances are required, either thin-net or standard thick ethernet can be used. Fiber optic cable can be used if distance requires it and funding permits 🦋. (If fiber optic cable is installed, consideration SHOULD be given to including both multimode fiber for current and future data requirements, and single mode fiber for video and future very high speed data systems.) The specific design of the "backbone" network distribution system will depend on the layout of the buildings it serves 🗺️.

With proper design, as many as 250 computers can be connected to a single ethernet segment 😮. But most often the practical maximum will be much lower because of how much data each computer sends onto the network. For planning purposes, you can assume 100-125 computers per segment 🧮. Beyond that size, the network MUST be subdivided using "subnetworks." Designing one of those isn't difficult, but it's beyond the scope of this document 🙈.

The network distribution system cabling SHOULD include unshielded multi-pair trunk cabling as well as ethernet trunk cabling. The multi-pair trunk cable is needed to connect terminals, or older computers emulating terminals, to a central "network access server" (NAS). A typical NAS can serve from 8 to 128 such connections 💜. It's most cost effective to provide one per LAN, if needed. The NAS connects directly to the ethernet LAN 🎀.

1.4 Local Network Server

okay bestie, every school is highly recommended to set up a "network server" 💾✨ It's where the commonly used info, software, email, and other high-speed stuff lives, so your computer doesn't have to go hunting across the internet for it. The outside connection is way slower than the school LAN, so it's just more efficient to grab things locally 🏃‍♀️💨 Shared software that the schools' computers all use has to be stored locally, because pulling it across that slow external link would be sooo tedious 🙄 The network server plugs straight into the ethernet network 🔌

Location matters a LOT 📍 The server needs protecting from abuse and environmental damage 🛡️ Traditionally the school library is the main hub for info gathering and storage, and lots of libraries already have clusters of computers or terminals set up, so it's giving perfect spot 📚🦋 If there's no suitable utility space, the Network Router (see below) could live in the library too 🏠

The network server is a small but powerful computer with a big disk, typically 1-4 gigabytes 💪💽 It runs software that can handle lots of users at the same time 🙌 It could also allow dial-in access from teachers' or students' homes using standard, inexpensive modems 🏡📞 Access control with user authentication is essential if you're offering dial-in, so don't skip that 🔐🚨 If you're looking at more than a few modems, a NAS might be more cost effective 💅 And if dial-in is going to more than a few school sites in a district, a single central modem pool maintained at the district offices is the most cost effective move 👑

1.5 External Connection

one communication circuit connects the school LAN to the local school district offices 🔗 There's a Network Router in the school, sitting between the LAN and that circuit 🧚 On the LAN side it's a typical ethernet cable, and on the external side it depends on what kind of communication circuit you use, which we'll get into in step 2 below 🫶

Step 2: Interconnection of Schools with District Offices

all schools in a district should be connected individually to the network router at the district offices 🌟 This "star topology" is way easier to manage, and each school's connection can be upsized as needs change 📈💖

there are several standard communication circuit services you can use for this 🦋 The cheapest option, for situations where only limited use is needed, is dial-up using high speed modems 📟 But this kind of connection is not recommended for serious usage because its capacity is super limited 😭 Also, since most schools get phone service under business tariffs, usage gets measured and the cost depends on how long the connection stays up ⏰💸 That goes for other "switched services" too, like "switched-56" and ISDN 🙃 Dedicated (permanently installed) circuits are strongly recommended, since they let you access the school network at all hours without anyone babysitting it 🌙✨ This matters a ton if info files are getting downloaded overnight to local network servers, or if teachers and students want to reach the school's resources from home 🏡💜

Table 2 shows the most common options for dedicated circuits 📊 The costs are given in relative terms because they vary wildly by location and change as tariffs get modified 🙈 For the exact numbers, you'll need to contact your local communications service providers 📞 And your total cost has to include the equipment needed at each location too, so don't forget that 🧾

Type of Circuit         Data Rate                       Relative cost
________________________________________________________________________

Voice grade leased      20 kilobits per sec             modest*
telephone line           (Kb/s)

ADN-56                  56 Kb/s                         high

ISDN, where              64 or 128 Kb/s                 modest**
available

Low power radio         64 to 256 Kb/s                  high startup
                                                        cost

Frame Relay             56 Kb/s to 1.5 Mb/s             modest to high

DS1                     1.5 megabits per sec            very high
________________________________________________________________________

* Measured service charges must be taken into account.
** At this time, most ISDN tarriffs include message unit charges
   which can make theuse of ISDN prohibitively expensive for
   full-time connectivity.

          Table 2: External Connection Communications Options

Frame Relay services are popping off in lots of areas 🔥 It's a shared, packet based data transport service 📦 A school site signs up for Frame Relay as part of a bigger service group that includes the district office and might include the Internet service provider 👯‍♀️ Everyone in that group shares the communications capacity 🫂 The big perk is that only one end of the circuit needs to be ordered (each member orders a connection to the common service), and the capacity offered to each member can be upgraded independently 💅✨ Also, in many areas Frame Relay doesn't cost more based on distance to the service provider, which makes it way less expensive for rural schools 🌾💖 Overall system costs get minimized too, since the central router at the district office needs fewer connections 🧠

If you go with Frame Relay, the whole service group has to be carefully engineered 🛠️ Because every school shares the connection to the district office (and possibly to the Internet service provider), that connection must be high capacity 💪 For the initial design, the aggregate capacity of all school links should not exceed the capacity into the district office (or the Internet service provider) by more than a factor of 3, or you'll get noticeable congestion and variability in response times across the system 😬 There are a bunch of other factors too, like the virtual connection topology and how best to connect to an Internet service provider 🌀 So it is recommended that an experienced network engineer develops the operational plan for Frame Relay if it's chosen as the school interconnection service 🫶👑

Future options for interconnecting schools and district offices include:

Community Access Television (CATV) cable systems offering either shared or dedicated bi-directional data communication services 📺
metropolitan area fiber optic communications service providers 🌈
Switched Multi-megabit Digital Service (SMDS) providing data transport service at speeds up to 34 megabits per second 🚀
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) connection services supporting voice, data, and video communications at speeds into the gigabit per second range ⚡

(Many more options will become available as new technologies come to market 🧚 the tea is always changing ☕)

The costs for the last three options are unknown right now, but they may generally be higher than the ones in Table 2 🤷‍♀️ The cost for the CATV option may be negotiable as part of the local CATV contract with the community 🤝

As demands for network speed develop because of heavy use of multimedia or other bandwidth intensive applications, higher speed communications circuits can replace the initial circuits with minimal change in the equipment or LAN 🦋💫 That gives you great flexibility to tailor service to your funding levels and application needs 💖

Step 3: School District Office LAN and Support Systems

The school district offices should be the focal point for interconnecting all the schools in the district 🎀 From the district offices, network operations can be monitored and problem resolution can be managed 🕵️‍♀️ One or more network servers can provide essential network support, plus central archiving of common information and software 💾🫶

A critical role of the district office is managing the Internet "Domain Name System" (DNS) for the district's schools (See STD 13, RFCs 1034, 1035 for the full explanation of DNS, and also, RFC 1480.) 🌐 DNS is required of all Internet networks 😤 It defines the basic network level identity of each computer, workstation, server, and active network component 🪪 This function is described more fully below under Network Management and Operational Monitoring 👀

The district offices should be wired in a manner similar to a typical school, as shown above 🏫 That lets teachers, superintendents, and principals communicate and share information easily 💌 On top of that, an NAS connected to a central pool of modems could provide dial-in access to the district network 📞✨

Step 4: Interconnection of the School District with the Internet

Connecting the entire school district to the Internet happens through the district office interconnect site, as shown in Figure 6 🗺️ This hierarchical model can be extended one more level to interconnect the school district offices through the county office of education facilities 🏛️ A lot of administrative information resources could live at the county level, and there might be cost savings if the entire county connects to an Internet service provider through a single point 💸 The bandwidth for that single connection, though, will be much greater than what each school district needs, since all the traffic gets aggregated 📶

This hierarchical topology is also a logical model for network support and information resource management 🧩 The school district or county offices can continuously monitor the network and provide high level technical expertise for problem resolution, so individual schools don't have to carry that burden alone 🫂 Interactions with communications circuit providers and Internet service providers work better when they go through a central "trouble desk" 🎧 It's highly desirable that network users have a single, well known point of contact for problems or questions too 💜

Internet service should be acquired from the most cost effective, reliable Internet service provider 💅 Circuit services can be similar to the ones in Table 2 above 📋 The higher speed services should be considered if traffic demands increase and funding permits 🚀 Circuit costs usually are lowest when connecting to the provider with the nearest "point of presence" (POP), but newer technologies such as Frame Relay and SMDS (At this time, SMDS services are not widely available.) make circuit costs less dependent on distance 🌍 The Internet connection will require a high quality router that can be configured to interact correctly with the service provider's routers 🧠 In most cases, this can be the same router used to support the local school connections 🔁✨

   [Figure 6:  Interconnection of schools to the Internet through local
                         School District Offices]

Integration of Existing School Networks ✨

Okay bestie, so a LOT of schools already have LAN systems set up for certain classroom activities or admin stuff 🏫. Sometimes the tech they used isn't what we'd pick for brand new installs 🙈. If those older LANs can carry Internet protocols, they can get folded into a new LAN system and swapped out later once the funding comes through 💰.

For example, IEEE 802.5 Token Ring is super common for hooking up DOS PC-type computers and IBM minicomputer servers 🖥️. Token Ring networks can carry Internet protocols, and there's software for DOS computers that handles basic Internet functions 💖. Lots of Internet routers also support optional Token Ring adapters 🧚. This is the recommended way to plug existing Token Ring LANs into a wider school LAN system so those PC users can reach Internet information resources 🌈.

Another one is a Novell network that uses ethernet as its LAN, and ngl this one is giving multitasking 💅. An ethernet LAN, if it's built well, can carry Internet protocols AND Novell protocols at the same time 🔥. Each PC or Macintosh can get software that lets it use both Novell and Internet services whenever it needs to 💜. Like, someone on a PC that depends on the Novell server for disk file space can totally grab a big file from a remote Internet server and drop it onto the PC's pseudo-disk 📁. That coexistence is the whole point 🫶. Each user can also run client software like Eudora (electronic mail), Gopher (information services), and Mosaic (World Wide Web information services), which all need direct Internet access 🦋. To bring the Novell ethernet LAN into the wider school LAN system, a simple ethernet repeater can be used in a manner similar to Figure 3 above ✨.

Sometimes people suggest using the server as a "network application gateway" instead of supporting both protocols, especially when a network server already exists. Honestly? This approach is strongly discouraged 🙅‍♀️. It's essential that each computer and workstation support Internet protocol data communication directly, so that modern client/server applications can work even when the server or servers are located anywhere on the Internet 🌍. The "gateway" approach severely restricts the workstations' potential to access multimedia and other important information resources 😭.

Some technologies, like "arcnet," may not be capable of supporting Internet protocols, but they may offer "terminal emulation" shared access to something like a "modem pool" 🕹️. The modem adapter might be rewired to connect to ports on a network access server instead. This would give the arcnet users simple access to information resources 🎀.

In any case, older LAN technologies should not be expanded and should be phased out as funding permits 🌸. It is critical that there be a relatively homogeneous installed base of technology, so that new applications of information resources can be provided to the entire school community 👑.

Network Management and Operational Monitoring 🔧

All networks need some level of network management to keep service reliable ✨. Keeping an eye on the health of the network can help catch problems before they become a problem for users 🙈. It can also help predict trends in traffic patterns and volume 📈.

Internet network management is mostly about figuring out the proper routing parameters for optimal and reliable network operation, assigning network Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, and maintaining a network-accessible database of node names that correspond to each address (See RFC 1480 for a discussion of Internet naming conventions for school networks.) 🗂️. It also includes monitoring the daily operation of the network 👀. These functions are typically handled by the staff of a Network Operations Center (NOC) 💻.

Domain Name System 🌐

The Internet Domain Name System (DNS) is the mechanism for documenting and distributing information about the name and address of each computer attached to the network (network nodes) 🧠. The DNS service is provided by software that runs on the main network server 🖥️. It uses a database that is created and maintained by the NOC staff 🫶.

An Internet address is the numerical identifier for a node, and it must be unique among all nodes associated with the network 🔢. Furthermore, if the network is going to be part of the global Internet, all addresses must be legitimate within the worldwide Internet system 🌏.

Each numerical address can have one or more "node names" attached to it 🏷️. Computers have no trouble using numerical addresses, but it's way easier for humans to remember and use node names instead 🥹. Electronic mail addresses, in particular, use node names 💌. DNS node names are hierarchical, and by using that hierarchy well, "subdomains" can be assigned to each school site or district office 🏫. This way, naming can be flexible AND meaningful in the context of the whole organization 💅.

A plan for assigning IP network addresses and node names should be developed early in the planning for the network installation 📝. At first, the database serving the DNS should live on the "district server," so there's one site where all assignments are officially registered 📍. As the network grows and expertise develops, secondary DNS service can run on the servers at larger school sites 🌱.

The main DNS server for the district should be located as close to the Internet connection (topologically) as possible 🛡️. That closeness helps make sure network problems within the district network have minimal impact on access to the server 🙌. This design is shown in Figure 1, where the district server sits on an ethernet connected directly to the main distribution router 🎀.

Along with assigning node names and addresses, there should be a database of specific information about the computers connected to the network 🗃️. When you're trying to fix problems or answer user questions, it's super important to know where the computers and other nodes are, what type of computer and software they're running, and what kind of network connection is installed 🔍. With the right software, this database can be used to pull out the DNS database discussed above 💖.

Network Monitoring 📡

Internet network monitoring has three main purposes, and I'm obsessed with all of them 😍:

Constant observation of the "health" of the network, network components, and external network connectivity. Standard Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) support is built into most active components today. Even network servers and workstations can be monitored this way. Operations staff can be given network monitoring stations that display alerts immediately when they detect a wide variety of problems or anomalies 🚨.
Collection of statistics on the performance of the network and patterns of traffic, so that needed enhancements or re-engineering can be identified 📊. Using the same SNMP capabilities mentioned above, data on packet forwarding and total traffic volume can be collected and used to generate periodic reports on network utilization 🗓️.
More rapid problem resolution 🏃‍♀️. When problems do happen, SNMP tools can help pinpoint the source of the problem(s). These problems include transient routing anomalies, DNS query failures, or even attempts at breaking into network-accessible host computers 🕵️‍♀️.

Network management and monitoring is a technically demanding task that requires special equipment and software 🧰. That's why it should be a centralized function in the initial design of school network systems, as discussed above 🫶.

IV. Network Support 💅

Summary 🎀

The model for school network implementation described above is based on broad experience with this technology in higher education and administrative environments 🎓. Lots of schools have already installed networks very similar to this model 🙌. We believe it's a practical first step toward bringing a powerful resource to bear for enriching all of the nations school programs 🌈.

None of the suggestions above preclude or postpone future development of an integrated voice, data, and video network for the nations schools 🦋. Using existing Internet carriers doesn't stop a separate "backbone" for the K-12 community from being developed later, if that "backbone" turns out to be cost effective or required for enhanced functionality 🛤️. Instead, the infrastructure recommended above can be the foundation at the local level, getting ready for future high capacity networks 🏗️.

Installing a campuswide network or Internet connectivity will also require a commitment to ongoing network support and its related resource requirements 💖. There are two major areas of network support: network operations and user services 🧑‍💻. These support functions are usually performed through a Network Operations Center (NOC) and a Network Information Center (NIC), but both functions can be handled by the same individual or group of individuals 🫶.

Network Operations Center (NOC) 🛰️

okay so the Network Operations Center (NOC) is basically the command center 💅 It oversees the performance of the physical network and some of its software support systems. The staff can install networks, configure network devices, and provide configurations for computers attached to an organization-wide network 🖥️

Real-time monitoring can be done with the Simple Network Management Protocol, and many vendors make monitoring systems that graphically display network performance, log events and usage, and produce trouble tickets 📊 Using this kind of monitoring lets NOC staff quickly detect problems and greatly reduces the personnel required to perform this function. Iconic efficiency 🙌

Routine monitoring can help anticipate problems before they develop, and it can lead to reconfigurations and upgrades as indicated ✨ If problems do arise, NOC personnel may go on-site to troubleshoot and repair them. If the problem is not local, NOC personnel will work with school district, County or regional network technical staff to resolve it 🤝

NOC personnel also assign addresses to network computers and devices and maintain the Domain Nameservice (DNS) for their organization. The Domain Nameservice is a machine registry service that runs on a network server and lets people reach machines by easy-to-remember names instead of a network number 🧚 DNS is required for any organization connected to the Internet and is critical to setting up an electronic mail system. Not me realizing how load-bearing DNS is 💀

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. These people interact with NOC staff and assist with the maintenance of the network. In a school district, administrative support staff, teachers, librarians or school-based technical staff can each take responsibility for a LAN or a group of LANs 🍓

If a problem arises, it can be reported to the LAN administrator. The LAN administrator can determine whether the problem is local or remote and whether NOC staff need to be notified. If so, the LAN administrator acts as the single point of contact for the NOC:

The LAN administrator is the single point of contact for the NOC, which keeps the communications channel clean for information and makes problem resolution run efficiently 🫶

This method of delegating responsibility provides a high level of service for each LAN and makes optimal use of NOC staff time, which gives you 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 runs a help-desk service to answer questions about using the network, point people to useful resources, and offer training in new tools or applications. It may also offer an on-line directory of network users and their electronic mail addresses, bulletin board services with information and notices about the network, and on-line training materials 💜

These NIC services could be provided at the school district or County level. Most of the information would not be site specific, so it 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 support services can be performed by NIC personnel too, like maintaining the electronic mail system or Postmaster duties, coordinating an on-line bulletin board or campuswide information system (CWIS), and managing 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 receiving messages about 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, who forward 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 🌸 They let people 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, and lists of available resources, like videos in a library or reference materials 🎀

           [Figure 7:  Distributed Network Information Servers]

Information doesn't need to 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 they can also contain information generated locally that may pertain only to the local school 🗺️ Users don't need to know where the information is stored, because the information access software presents the choices on an integrated menu. Seamless 😮‍💨✨

A CWIS or bulletin board must have an administrator or sponsor to oversee its design and maintenance. That keeps it easy to navigate, helps you find information, gives it a professional presentation, and ensures the information stays timely and relevant 👑 This function can be performed by NIC staff, or by trained librarians or administrative staff as appropriate.

Management of On-line Conferences 💬

On-line conferences give groups of people a way to share information, discuss ideas and pose questions 🗣️ Conferences are usually set up to serve the needs of a group of people who share a common interest. For example, an on-line conference might be set up for teachers to discuss a new science teaching framework, or a teacher might create a conference for discussing the Civil War as part of an American History class 🇺🇸 Some conferences are ongoing 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 has to 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, since 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 lets people throughout the organization perform these functions remotely 🌐

The assignment of responsibility for any of these duties is flexible, and it 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. Icon behavior 👑

VII. Security Considerations ⚠️

Security issues are not discussed in this memo. 😱 Keep that in mind, bestie!

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

📦 where this page comes from

ietf: rfc1709 1994-11
💖 girlified by claude-haiku-5-5 on 2026-10-15: a language model's rewrite of the original, under its terms