Local Area Network (LAN)

The McClelland Hall Network

The McClelland Hall building is equipped with an advanced state-of-the-industry network. A fiber optic data communications network connects all floors of the building, providing a high-speed network backbone. On the east and west sides of each floor, the fiber optic cable attaches to network concentrators which distribute the network to desktops via unshielded twisted-pair cable (similar to your telephone cord). The network joins the campus fiber network, which in turn links it beyond the university. Sitting at your desktop in McClelland Hall, you can connect to or receive mail from a computer in Argentina (if you have appropriate authorization) or anywhere in the world.

If you have a PC or Macintosh on your desktop in McClelland Hall, you more than likely are directly connected to the data communications network though a network interface card (NIC) installed in your system. Your PC or Macintosh has its very own unique network address called an Internet address. Internet addresses are discussed in the E-Mail Addresses Quick Reference. The following diagram helps depict the physical network layout in McClelland Hall.

Let's expand on the McClelland Hall network a bit more.