Designing an Innovative Computer Networking Course Using Junosphere

Abstract

Designing a professional Computer Networking course aligned with the up-to-date intended learning outcomes is one of the most important goals for educational institutes working in this field. The particular nature of knowledge, intellectual and professional skills of this dynamic course impose a group of challenges and sophisticated settlement requirements that should be met. The current teaching methodologies depend on advanced, well-equipped physical labs that may be only affordable for few institutes. Even though, those labs are not yet able to cover all the required skills as it should be. The theoretical-based approaches based on simulators, on the other hand, suffer from the lack of huge necessary practical skills and experience. This paper addresses all of such challenges and promises to deliver a professional networking course using the Junosphere solution, developed by Juniper Networks. The paper discusses the tool and goes through its features, purposes, and functionalities; as well as showing how network planning, modeling, designing, testing could be conducted in a risk free environment. It also presents a case study from the Queen Mary University of London in addition to a comprehensive comparison between the current approaches and the Junosphere to show how the former one is providing a cost-efficient, scalable and flexible educational solution.