Right this moment, I wish to speak about an modern and thrilling software for educating and studying the topic of pc networking. I’ve been educating and studying the expansive topic of pc networking for greater than 25 years on the neighborhood faculty stage. I additionally write networking and working system textbooks for Cengage. I’ve all the time wished there was a software accessible that provides correct networking simulations whereas not being overly difficult for introductory college students; that was targeted before everything on educating and studying the sometimes-difficult subject of networking. LabHUB Community Emulator from DTI Publishing is simply such a software.
I lately retired from full-time educating, and I really feel cheated that I’ll miss out utilizing this software within the classroom with my college students. The excellent news for me is that I’m nonetheless writing networking textbooks, and this software might be my go-to for growing digital networking labs as a complement to bodily networking gear labs.
What’s LabHUB Community Emulator?
Community Emulator is a web-based networking simulation software that anybody with an internet browser and web connection can entry — no software program set up required. For college students, it’s straightforward to make use of. It visually exhibits the motion of community information by the community and permits college students to configure community gadgets and topologies. It additionally offers instant suggestions as college students work by lab workouts. For instructors, it’s totally customizable. Whereas a library of pre-created, self-grading labs might be accessible with sure textbooks from Cengage, instructors can create their very own labs to give attention to the subjects they really feel are most essential for college kids to know.
As well as, instructors can create self-check questions that present instant suggestions with detailed explanations to validate studying outcomes as college students work by lab steps. As I discussed, this software is targeted on educating and studying, so if a pupil will get caught on a activity, there’s a “Present Me” possibility that gives an evidence or performs a brief video concerning the activity at hand.
The imaginative and prescient behind Community Emulator
Each characteristic of Community Emulator was developed with educating and studying in thoughts, and that has been the main target of the founding father of DTI Publishing, Pierre Askmo, with all of DTI’s merchandise. There are a number of competing merchandise on this area, and I requested Pierre why he determined to tackle the competitors and develop Community Emulator.
“We noticed a necessity within the area between academic platforms with a good quantity of studying elements however had been static, and extremely interactive skilled community simulators geared in the direction of engineers, which had hardly any studying options. The LabHUB Community Emulator merges the 2 to supply a extremely interactive and academic community emulation platform.”
I pressed him additional by asking what makes Community Emulator distinctive amongst the competitors.
“It’s the power so as to add academic options to a community emulation software. Our software was developed with college students and instructors in thoughts. It allows instructors to insert questions, hints, and remedial texts whereas getting full grading of the scholar’s actions. The LabHUB Community Emulator is an emulator developed for training.”
From what I’ve seen to date, that’s spot on.
Community Emulator has a clear, easy interface, as you may see from the determine. Shifting from left to proper within the determine, the lab written directions are on the left, and also you see a menu of gadgets and different choices subsequent, adopted by the workspace. On the high are some controls together with the Present Me possibility I discussed earlier than. The workspace may be pre-populated with gadgets as within the determine, and gadgets may be partially configured if desired relying on the educational goals of the lab. The workspace can be left fully empty so college students can add and configure the mandatory gadgets to finish the goals of the lab.
Suggestions in motion: guiding college students to grasp networking ideas
One of many nice issues about Community Emulator is the suggestions college students get as they watch packets journey from system to system. The subsequent determine exhibits a ping reply packet because it travels by the community from Laptop B to Laptop A. On the high proper of the workspace, you see the present standing of the packet, the supply and vacation spot gadgets, and the kind of packet. On the very high of the workspace is the Community Log which is a working narrative of what’s occurring because the packet makes its manner by the community.
College students can click on the arrow on the high proper of the display screen and see the narrative historical past to raised perceive what occurred to get so far within the packet’s journey. The Ship management on the high of the workspace sends the packet so college students can watch it traverse the community robotically. The Transfer to subsequent system management merely forwards the packet to the subsequent system, permitting college students to click on on the packet to see the packet particulars at any system.
The subsequent two figures present packet contents and a partial view of the expanded Community Log. You should use the scroll bar to see the total log. When a packet reaches its vacation spot, you’ll see a inexperienced checkmark and the standing line experiences “Profitable.”
So, what occurs if one thing goes incorrect? For instance, what if a pupil tries to ship a ping packet, however the gadgets are usually not correctly configured for a profitable transmission? Once more, suggestions is the important thing. Within the subsequent determine, a ping was tried between Laptop A and Laptop C. However, since a router is in between the computer systems, extra configuration is required. The standing bar on the high experiences that the packet can’t be despatched and in the event you hover your mouse over the exclamation level, you see a message: “No default gateway configured.” The sort of suggestions is great for college kids who’re studying the fundamentals of networking.
How instructors can construct a personalised studying expertise with Community Emulator
For instructors, Community Emulator permits them to create their very own labs. Directions may be written in Edit Lab Mode and audio directions may be included. That is additionally the place instructors can embody a Present Me which might embody a textual content narrative, a video, and audio.
In Studio Mode, instructors can design the topology with an preliminary state that college students will see once they begin the lab, and an accurate state which is the state of the topology when the scholar completes the lab step.
Studio Mode can be the place you may create self-check questions and configure grading standards. After every step, instructors can create a self-check query to strengthen the educational goal for the lab step. College students will get immediate right/incorrect suggestions and an evidence for the proper reply. Within the Grading Settings, instructors can select which configuration duties are graded for every step. The subsequent two figures present the grading settings and a self-check query.
There isn’t room on this weblog submit to point out all of the options of LabHUB Community Emulator, however what I’ve seen to date has me excited to include Community Emulator labs into my Information to Networking Necessities e book. It has the right combination of correct networking simulation capabilities and educating and studying options for many introductory networking programs and certifications. And improvement is ongoing, so new options and capabilities are being added primarily based on teacher and pupil suggestions.
Talking of improvement, I had a dialog with the chief architect of Community Emulator and requested him what was probably the most difficult facet of growing the software. He mentioned, “I’d say probably the most difficult facet was offering a SaaS platform the place authors may create a large number of various labs visually that college students may entry from anyplace on the earth.” I guess that was a problem! And it’s one of many issues that makes Community Emulator so distinctive; whether or not you’re a pupil or teacher, when you’ve got an internet browser, you should utilize it.
Written by Greg Tomsho, creator of “Information to Networking Necessities” 9e and “Microsoft Examination AZ-801: Information to Configuring Home windows Server Hybrid Superior Companies” 1e.
Coming quickly: the LabHUB Community Emulator might be accessible in MindTap for our subsequent version CompTIA Cloud+ and CompTIA A+ titles. Within the meantime, go to our Computing & Info Expertise web page to search out extra participating course supplies from Cengage.
