In lab environments, where multiple computers are used, a method called imaging can be used to handle the challenge of installing and configuring multiple machines. Imaging is a method that uses a client server relationship that allows the client to download and install the necessary software, virus updates, and security patches by selecting an image file that resides on a server. Several software components and services are necessary to successfully image a client. First, a DHCP server provides a connection between the client and the image server by assigning a dynamic IP address to each computer. In addition to a unique IP address, each client is required to have a unique hostname. This hostname is incorporated into the image for each client using a Security Identifier Generator also known as a SID Generator. Finally, the operating system software, application software, and data files are downloaded to the clients by using imaging software such as Altiris and Norton's Ghost. The ability to create and deploy multiple images in a reasonable time span eliminates the headaches and lost time network administrators would otherwise experience doing repetitive software changes to many machines. This technique also provides for better lab utilization, reducing lab downtime for software maintenance. Other advantages of imaging include facilitating using the lab for multiple classes, research projects, and individual testing, since an entire lab's computers can be imaged within thirty minutes. Some applications require the use of multiple operating systems such as both Windows and Linux. By creating an image that dual boots operating systems computer equipment is fully utilized. This paper shows the advantages of using imaging software to create and deploy images to large quantities of computers in a lab environment. A network is created with required machines, including a DHCP server, SID generator, an imaging server, and clients. Several images are created with different configurations, including dual booting operating systems. These images are used for class-oriented lab configurations and for various configurations required for research projects that use the same machines.
BYU teaches an elective course in broadband communications, with an emphasis on wireless physical layer characteristics. A Lab exercise in this course requires the students to set up and test a 802.11 wireless link between floors of the Technology building. This presents an interesting challenge since the flooring includes steel girders, rebar, corrugated steel panels, and concrete and other absorptive and dispersive materials. The students find that such materials are a significant barrier to wireless connectivity. With experimentation, they then find that with sufficient directional antenna gains at the transmitter and the receiver that the attenuation caused by the floor may be overcome and a pointto-point link established.This exercise was of direct benefit to SIGITE at the SIGITE 2004 conference. At the conference, the venue requested excessive prices to provide wireless internet access to the attendees. The students of the course described herein accepted the challenge of providing free access for the conference by configuring switches, a DHCP server, and a link between floors of the venue using highgain antennas. Thus, the attendees were able to connect to the Internet via a WAP that was ultimately connected to the (free) hotel-provided in-room internet port. This solution is also presented in this paper
One major element in IT education is teaching many students how to develop and maintain Web applications, which presents a sizable challenge for universities that standard business environments do not encounter. Each student must have a separate place for storing HTML, JavaScript, Perl, PHP, MySQL, and JSP web systems on the server. As a result, multiple programs must be able to run with separate user spaces. This paper discusses how to design and build a single server to solve this unique problem.The proposed solution uses the Linux operating system to host the server environment, with Apache 1.3 as the base web server and Tomcat as the JSP solution. The paper describes the details of installing the web server and allocating space for each user to store their web pages. In particular, this paper demonstrates the methods and challenges associated with multi-user MySQL and Tomcat installations. The server is designed to let the students design and build web systems without the equipment and administrative overhead of maintaining separate servers for each student. It also gives the students a secure place to develop web applications as part of their IT education. The paper also discusses the administration of the server including adding users to the system.
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