Network Handbook

What is the network?

Networks are unique in every institution. ACPS has a network infrastructure that combines WANs, LANS, Wired networks, Wireless Ethernet networks that use one or all of the following cable types: Fiber Optic, Cat5 or wireless.

Wide Area Networks refer to Alachua County District networks as an entity. All of our schools and centers are part of a WAN. The WAN is connected through a gateway to a greater network, the Internet.

Local Area Networks refer to the network within your school/center. They are confined to that site and only reach out the the WAN through your gateway. The gateway enables your network traffic to send and receive information to the WAN and ultimately to the Internet. Keep you LAN and WAN in mind when troubleshooting network issues later in the handbook.

Wired

Wired networks comprise the majority of our system. Your site has multiple network closets that should only be accessed by authorized district-level network personnel. These closets contain both fiber and CAT5 wiring along with switches that help route the traffic of your network throughout your site.

You will see end-points of the wireless networks as drops or ports in each classroom. These ports are either Ethernet or a hybrid token ring type. If a room has only one port and it requires several computers or devices be connected, a small switch may be used to extend the connectivity. Please check with your network personnel before installing switches in any room.

Wired networks require security. At present, the security of our wired networks are our responsibility. It is important that users do not bring in laptops from home and join them to the network. Please stress to all users at your site that only ACPS laptops or computers may be used in our LAN and WAN environments. The procedure has kept virus, trojan and spyware attacks at a very low rate. Please do your part to keep unprotected computers off the network.

Wireless

Download ACPS new wireless network guide
Download MAC Address Doc

If your center has a wireless network, it will be in addition to your already wired one. In the event that your wireless network is not functioning, always check the wired network to see how extensive the problem is.

A wireless network has to connect to the wired network at your site, usually in several locations. Wireless networks are simply broadcasting a network signal to devices to enable network connectivity. These devices are usually PDAs, laptops or some other portable device.

Wireless networks require security. Unlike our wired environment, wireless devices can be required to enter a pass code before they may use the network service. Of course, if you have been entrusted with a pass code of any kind, please do not share it with anyone for any reason.

Please read the wireless network guide for more information.

What kind of network is at my center?

Since all of your configurations are a little different, it is a good idea to know a little about the one you are working with. Take some time with your network specialist and do a walk-through. They will explain how your network is configured and can alert you to any potential problems that can occurr.

Do I have my network map for my center?

In addition to doing your walk through, most centers have created a map of the facility which has the network closets marked. Also, take note that the drops in each room are numbered. You will need this information when troubleshooting problems with your network specialist.