Session T4C

INFRASTRUCTURE AND TOOLS FOR A COMPUTER NETWORK AND DATA

COMMUNICATION LABORATORY FOR A COMPUTER ENGINEERING
UNDERGRADUATE COURSE
Graça Bressan1 , Marcus V. S. O. Paula 2 , Tereza Cristina M. Carvalho3 , Wilson V. Ruggiero4

Abstract  This project aims at the design of a classroom • To give professors a feedback on the theoretic
environment and the development of laboratory experiments disciplines preceding the laboratory work.
for a discipline on Computer Network Laboratory for an
undergraduate course on Computer Engineering at Escola
Politécnica da Universidade de Sao Paulo. Special HISTORY
consideration was taken concerning the cabling and the
planning of the physical and logical configuration of the This project has taken place at LARC - Laboratory of
Computer Network and Architecture - and started in 1997.
classroom network, due to the need to run experiments using
network equipment like routers and ATM switches. An So far, nearly 200 students have been trained.
important part of the laboratories is to reinforce the Before that, the Computer Network Laboratory
consisted in the implementation of the TCP protocol using C
concepts acquired in the theoretical lectures and, for this
reason, the experiments were planned for every network language.
layer. Most of the experiments use software tools specifically This first attempt showed the necessity to have a set of
experiments considering all aspects of computer networks,
developed for the experiments, like runtime libraries and
simulators. Besides, the course material profits from tools from communication equipment and cabling to network
developed for web distance learning training, including application development.
An important role of laboratory experiments is to review
multimedia, on-line evaluation tests, chats and simulators.
The laboratory has been running for three years and a new and to apply the concepts acquired in the theoretical lectures
revision of the classrooms and of the experiments is being and, for this reason, experiments were planned for every
network layer. Part of the experiments consists in network
implemented.
equipment configuration and, in this case, students have
Index Terms  Computer engineering, computer networks contact with commercial products. The experiments have
laboratories, undergraduate course. been reviewed every year.
Another issue was to define and build the classroom
environment, for 20 students each, with microcomputers
OBJECTIVES connected to a network. Special consideration was given to
cabling and the planning of the physical and logical
The goal of this project is to implement the classroom configuration of the network, due to the need to run
environment and to develop laboratory experiments for a experiments using network equipment like routers and ATM
discipline on Computer Network Laboratory for an switches.
undergraduate course on Computer Engineering at Escola On December 2000, after 9 groups of students had been
Politécnica da Universidade de Sao Paulo, Brazil. trained, it was time for a complete review of all the
The goals of the discipline Computer Network experiences and the necessary rebuilding of the
Laboratory are: infrastructure, based on the feedback of these previous
• To reinforce the theoretic concepts of computer groups of students. Some old experiments were discarded
networks presented in two previous one-semester and new ones were developed, according to technology
disciplines on computer networks. evolution.
• To give students practical experience in aspects of Now the new version of the laboratory course is being
networks such as cabling, management, configuration, applied, consisting of 12 experiments covering subjects from
network application development, protocol the physical layer to the application layer.
understanding and development.
• To allow students to approach some commercial
products.

1
Graça Bressan, Universidade de São Paulo, Escola Politécnica, LARC, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, Brasil, gbressan@larc.usp.br
2
Marcus V. S. O.. Paula, Universidade de São Paulo, Escola Politécnica, LARC, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, Brasil, mpaula@larc.usp.br
3
Tereza Cristina M. Carvalho, Universidade de São Paulo, Escola Politécnica, LARC, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, Brasil, carvalho@larc.usp.br
4
Wilson V. Ruggiero, Universidade de São Paulo, Escola Politécnica, LARC, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, Brasil, carvalho@larc.usp.br
0-7803-6669-7/01/$10.00 © 2001 IEEE October 10 - 13, 2001 Reno, NV
31 st ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference
T4C-10
 Session T4C

NETWORK LABORATORY STRUCTURE AND One workbench is reserved for the professor for
CONCEPTS demonstrations to students.
Each workbench is equipped with a PC microcomputer,
This laboratory discipline is preceded, in the curriculum, by with ATM and Fast Ethernet cards, connected to a local
two one-semester theoretic disciplines: Computer Networks network using these cards.
and Data Communication. The workbench computers, configured with dual boot,
The laboratory discipline must thus review and practice have Linux Red Hat 6.2, used to run server applications, and
the concepts learnt in the previous semesters, Windows NT 4.0 for applications requiring user-friendly
complementing them and presenting the students a view of graphics.
practical applications and commercial equipment. Also, a Each workbench has 4 network outlets and 4 electrical
careful observation of the students ' behavior and their outlets for the stabilized electrical circuit supplying power to
performance while executing experiments may indicate gaps the microcomputer, network equipment and other equipment
in the structures of the theoretic disciplines. used in the experiments.
Observing the way authors like Stallings[6], Comer[5], The 4 network outlets of each workbench are identified
Raj Jain [8] and Tanenbaum[7] present network concepts, by numbers and colors and they are part of a structured
and analyzing network-training material prepared by cabling CAT 5e, shown in Figure 1, developed to connect
network companies like Cisco and 3COM, the authors the workbenches to the network equipment. The cabling
decided to structure the concepts as: Network Technology, connects the workbenches to a rack that holds the patch
Network Interconnection, Protocols and Application. panels and the network equipment used in the experiments.
The laboratory experiments are structured according to The function of each workbench outlet is defined by means
the following items: of interconnection in the patch panels.
• Network Technology
o Network equipment and concepts
o Structured cabling
o Ethernet, Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet
o ATM
• Network Interconnection
o Internet protocols
o Routers and Routing
• Protocols
o TCP FIGURE 1
W ORKBENCH OUTLETS WITH COLOR IDENTIFICATI ON AND P ATCH PANEL
• Applications
OUTLETS WITH COLOR IDENTIFICATION
o Client-Server applications (developed in 2 classes)
o Web applications
The room counts on air-conditioning to keep the
o DNS
temperature well suited for people and equipment.
o Network Security
Since the purpose of the course is to prepare future
o Servers management
engineers, some of the experiments are performed as
projects, similarly to what they will meet in future jobs. For
LABORATORY INFRASTRUCTURE this reason, the room has a library of manuals and
handbooks on equipment and cabling components, allowing
The laboratory infrastructure consists of the physical the students to have an updated vision of new equipment and
structure of the classroom, as well as the hardware and industry future directions.
software necessary to execute the experiments. Most of the experiments use software tools specifically
To present the theoretic introduction to the laboratory developed for the experiments, such as runtime libraries and
and other kinds of materials, the professor has a simulators. These software tools include a library of
microcomputer available in his/her workbench, connected to simulators of IP layer and software to work with sockets.
the same environment the students are using. The course also profits from tools developed at LARC for
For good development of laboratory experiences, the web distance leaning training [1][2], including multimedia
classroom must hold no more than 20 students and each material [3], on-line evaluation tests [4], chats and
experience is performed in groups of two students sharing a simulators.
computer or equipment. In this situation, the professor and
the instructor can follow the work of each group. EXPERIMENT ACTIVITIES
Therefore, the laboratory classroom has 11
To attain the desired goals of the experiments, and
workbenches, 10 of them for each group of two students.
considering that the experiments deal with details of very

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31 st ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference
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diverse themes relating to different equipment and • the preparation of the experiment by the student;
technology, the participation of an instructor to give • the punctuality of the student to the class;
technical support to students was deemed necessary. Every • the participation of the student in the activities of the
experiment has a different instructor with specific group in the class;
knowledge and skills. The instructors are students of the • the evaluated results of the group.
master degree program at Escola Politécnica, and they have
full knowledge of the experiment material and of the EXPERIMENTS
equipment and tools to be used. They collaborate in the
preparation of the handouts for the experiences, in the The laboratory discipline consists of 12 experiments,
development of software tools and in the configuration of developed in one class each, unless more time is needed,
the environment necessary to run the experiments. according to the following themes:
Some days before the laboratory execution, students 1. Network equipment and concepts
must download the document describing the experiment 2. Structured cabling
from the home page of the discipline. 3. Ethernet, Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet
The laboratory document consists of the theoretic 4. Internet protocols
material of the experiment, the directions students must 5. TCP (a project developed in 3 classes)
follow to execute the laboratory activities, questions that 6. Routers and Routing
must be answered beforehand and the structure of the report 7. ATM
that must be prepared at the end of the experiment. The 8. Client-Server applications (developed in 2 classes)
laboratory home pages also include other kinds of on-line 9. Web applications
material. For instance, the theory presentation of the 10. DNS
experiment may be available as on-line presentation 11. Network Security
including video, simulation, animation and multiple-choice 12. Servers management
tests working as self evaluation.
Network equipment and concepts
Each experiment is organized in the following basic
activities: This experiment was planned to introduce students to the
1. Preparation: Students must read the theoretic content of practical world of networking.
the document describing the experiment before the class In that way, it is a group of demonstrations of different
starts. During the class, students must have a clear view kinds of network equipment, their functions, their
of the activities that will be developed. characteristics and their differences.
2. Initial Evaluation: At the beginning of the class, the Some concepts presented are: network topologies,
students are asked to fill a short evaluation form network management, broadcast domain, collision domain,
regarding important aspects of the experiment that will routing, difference between hubs, routers and switches,
be observed during the practice. They are to spend no switches and router tables and use of cross cable or direct
more than 10 min in this activity. cable.
3. Execution: During the class, students participate in
practical activities such as equipment configuration, Structured Cabling
programming, measurement and observation.
4. Report: During the experiment, students must prepare a This experiment was planned to introduce students to the
report presenting the main observations, measurements fundamentals of structured cabling.
and conclusions regarding the experiment. This report is In this experiment students crimp UTP cables, to learn
evaluated considering the critical sense of the students more about cable technologies, connector types and
and qualitative vision of the experiment. structured cabling and planning considerations.
To consolidate these concepts , students should design
The laboratory experiment is planned to be the structured cabling for a small building.
accomplished in one 3:30-hour class - or in sequences of two Ethernet, Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet
or three classes. The experiments are executed in groups of
two or three students coordinated by the professor and This experiment was planned to present the main concepts
supported by the instructor. involved in Ethernet technologies such as Ethernet, Fast
The result of the experiment includes the report and Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet.
may include programs or some other material developed With it students are led to know mo re about Ethernet,
during the experiment. Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet frame format, medium
In the evaluation of the results obtained by the group of access and protocols.They should also understand
students , the success of the experiment execution, the report codification differences and standards.
of the experiment and other results are considered.
The individual evaluation of a student considers:
0-7803-6669-7/01/$10.00 © 2001 IEEE October 10 - 13, 2001 Reno, NV
31 st ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference
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 Session T4C

Internet protocols Web Applications

This experiment was planned to consolidate the main This experiment was planned to introduce students to the
concepts involved in IP protocol such as net and subnets, Web programming paradigm.
mask, routing, addressing and other IP concepts, as well as They are introduced to some concepts such as Web
to present ARP, RARP, ICMP and IGMP purpose and system architecture, Web Server, CGI, ASP, PHP,
protocols. The experiment consists in the use of tools for IP JavaScript, HTML, database relational servers, SQL and
monitoring. ODBC drivers.
To make these concepts clear, students implement a
TCP sample of a Web application using Microsoft ASP pages and
TCP protocol experiment is the most difficult experience ODBC interface to access a SQL Database. The application
and a very important one. In this experiment students should keeps control of a car stock on the web, permitting inclusion,
understand some very important TCP concepts, like TCP exclusion and updates of car attributes. For the experiment,
ports, TCP flow control, sliding window, state machine and they have to configure a Web Server, to create an SQL data
sequence control. base and to configure an ODBC driver.
To make this clear, they implement a simple version of DNS
the protocol TCP over an IP simulated layer. This IP
simulated layer is supplied by a library of functions This experiment was planned to present the DNS purpose,
developed to support this experiment. application and importance to students .
With it they learn concepts such as : DNS functions,
Routers and Routing DNS name translation, DNS protocols, DNS zones, DNS
This experiment was planned to introduce students to the reverse translations and DNS security.
fundamentals of routing and routing protocols as OSPF and To make these concepts clear, students are led to
RIP. Students are led to understand them through router configure a DNS server in Linux platform and test its
configuration using static tables and dynamic tables with functionality in the network.
OSPF and RIP protocols. Students are organized in groups Network Security
and each group configures a router. The students groups are
oriented to work together in such way that communication This experiment was planed to present the main security
among all machines is established only when all the groups concepts to students .
succeed in the configuration. They learn concepts such as symmetric and asymmetric
cryptography, firewalls, proxy, NAT (network translate
ATM address) , intrusion detection and types of attacks.
This experiment was planned to introduce students to the To make these concepts clear, students are led to
ATM network technology. Some concepts presented are: configure a Firewall, play cryptography simulations on the
LES, LEC and ATM addressing, Classical IP and LAN web and configure proxy and NAT services.
Emulation. Servers Management
Students are led to configure an ATM switch and ATM
NIC, presenting measures of the network performance. This experiment was planned to introduce the students to the
main concepts involved in configuring a server and the main
Client-Server Applications services of a network.
This experiment was planned to introduce the students to The students are led to configure a Linux server with
Client-Server concepts. They are presented to some concepts DNS, Web and Ftp services. After that, they perform some
such as client applications, server applications, server tests to verify the integrity of the configuration.
sockets, client sockets, HTTP protocol and SMTP protocol. UNSUCCESSFUL CASES
This experiment consists in the implementation of a
Web Server using Java language using socket interface. This During the three years the laboratory discipline was running,
experiment is carried out in 6 hours, divided in two days. some experiments that did not work well were discarded.
Using a commercial browser, students send requests to the One of them was an experience designed for the student
implemented Web Server. Its is a great moment of joy for to work at link level using an Ethernet emulator. This
students when the browser receives a document with text, emulator consisted of a very simple hardware connecting
pictures and many multimedia objects sent by the Web two serial ports of a microcomputer, so that both ports could
Server they have just implemented. send and receive at the same time, generating a collision.
Besides , each port could rear what it had sent. Transmission
errors were simulated by a function that inserted noise in the

0-7803-6669-7/01/$10.00 © 2001 IEEE October 10 - 13, 2001 Reno, NV

31 st ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference
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 Session T4C

transmitted data. This laboratory was planned for two 3:30-

hour work days. The student had to design the software to
transmit a file using a stop-and-wait protocol, detecting FUTURE STEPS – EVOLUTION
collision and transmission errors by a CRC 32 and re-
transmitting the missing data. The experience did not work We see the evolution of the laboratory in four directions: the
continuous adaptation of old experiments; the creation of
as planned because students were losing much time
designing codes to deal with transmission of data through new experiments; the improvement of the infra structure of
serial port, before implementing the protocol, which was the the lab and the evolution in the experiments format .
most important part of the experience. Only part of the
students succeeded in reaching the end. It was possible to The continuous adaptation of old experiments
improve the experience to reduce implementation time but,
as there were other experiences with more important and Every experiment should always be improved. There is
useful concepts, this experience was replaced by another always something to be done to make it easier, richer and
one. more understandable.

RESULTS Creation of new experiments

At the end of the semester, the feedback provided by the In the network area , new technologies are always presented.
students, assures that the intended goals of the discipline One of our goals is to maintain our students updated with
were reached. In general, the students have a good opinion new technologies. Therefore new exp eriments should
as the discipline contributed to reinforce the theoretic continuously be created with new themes and new formats.
knowledge and prepared them to work in practical fields Some of the new themes suggested are: Last Mile
demanded by future jobs. Technologies, Wireless networks, charge balancing,
The TCP project is the most complex experiment of the multimedia networks, simulations.
networks laboratory. After some groups had been trained, Evolution of the infra structure of the laboratory
students were observed to spend about 40 hours in home
activities and only 15% percent could complete 100% of the To keep the experiments on time with new technologies and
work. About 70% completed about 80% of the program and new educational practices, the laboratory infra-structure
15% completed less than 50%. Although not 100% of the should continuously be updated. This means to continuously
students complete 100% of the work, more than 95% can renovate network equipment, computers, software and tools.
assuredly understand concepts that were not clear with
theoretical classes alone. These results confirm previous The evolution on the format the experiments are
expectations that a deep understanding of network protocols presented
should be approached in a practical way.
Web format is a learning framework that will help in many
Another important consideration is that all the
experiments mentioned here had to be changed one or more aspects , e.g. the student can do tests on web; all the
material for experiments became easily available to use and
times to achieve a good format. It can thus be observed that
access.
it is not easy to create a practical experiment since the way
students will react is unpredictable until the test. CONCLUSION
Regarding students’ behavior, it was observed that they
sometimes have a biased view that it is important to acquire, After three years running this laboratory discipline, when
in undergraduate disciplines, all the knowledge necessary to more than 150 students were trained, it can be concluded
work in a future job, mainly information about specific that:
products commercially available. The importance of some • Networking knowledge should be introduced with both
products is acknowledged; however, it is not the purpose of theoretical and practical approach.
this discipline to present products but the technology behind • Practical experiments should always have an
them. engineering approach with activities that rise curiosity
Based on the fact that technology, mainly in computer and that challenge students so as to provide motivation.
networks, changes extremely quickly, the authors believe • It is very hard to achieve a perfect format for an
that it is not wise to consider only the demands of the market experiment. It should always be improved and updated.
but to give attention to theoretic and basic knowledge and
• It is essential to have good infra-structure.
open standard rules. On the other hand, it is not wise to
• The experiments material should always be clear about
consider only classical network knowledge during the class.
the goals and expectations of the practical activities.
It is always necessary to motivate students with new
• A practical course should always motivate students with
technologies. The objective thus is to reach a balance
new technology experiments. One way to achieve this
between basic concepts and practical knowledge.

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goal is to give them a view of where and when those

concepts are useful in real life.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
During the time the laboratory experiments were developed
and executed, many people provided important contribution:
engineers Oscar D. Vilcachagua, Denis Gabos (Phd.), Cíntia
B. Margi (Msc.), Stephan Kovach (Msc), Fernando Redigolo
(Msc.), Marcelo Blanes, Fernanda R. Spinardi, Luís H. B.
Ceze, Karin Strauss, Leonardo A. Martucci, Leonardo R.
Bachega, George M. M. A. Smetana , Pedro A. L. Mindlin,
Allison Veras (engineering student).

REFERENCES
[1] Margi, C., B., Vilcachagua, O., D., Stiubiener, I., Silveira, R., M.,
Bressan, G., Ruggiero, W.,V. “An On-line Web Course Environment
and Its Application”, Proceedings of IEEE-Frontiers in education:
Building on a Century of Progress in Engineering Education, Kansas,
2000.
[2] Bressan, G., Silveira, R., M., Ruggiero, W., V., “A Framework for
Distance Learning Employing Video on Web Environment”,
Proceedings of International Conference on Technology and
Distance: Building Bridges through Technology and Distance
Education, Fort Lauderdale, Nova Southeastern University, 1999.
[3] Silveira, R. M. Margi, C. Gonzalez, L. A. G. Favero, E. Vilcachagua,
O. D. Bressan, G. Ruggiero, W. V. “A Multimedia on Demand
System for Distance Education”, Proceedings of International
Conference on Technology and Distance: Building Bridges through
Technology and Distance Education, Fort Lauderdale, Nova
Southeastern University, 1999.
[4] Vilcachagua, O., D., Favero, E., Bressan, G., “Sistema Modular de
Avaliação da Aprendizagem Via WEB”, Anais do VI Congresso
Internacional de Educação à Distância , ABED. São Paulo, 1999.
[5] Comer, D.,"Internetworking with TCP/IP: Principles Protocols and
Architecture", Vol I, 4rd Ed., Prentice-Hall Inc, 2000.
[6] Stallings, W., "Data and Computer Communications", 5th ed.,
MacMillan Publishing Company, 1996.
[7] Tanenbaun, A., "Computer Networks", 3rd ed., Prentice-Hall, 1996.
[8] Jain, R., Laboratories for Data Communications and Computer
Networking, Department of Computer and Information Science,
Telecommunications Research Lab, http://www.cis.ohio-
state.edu/~jain/cise.

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