Monday, 8:40, and nothing works
At Fernside School a teacher cannot log in. The library printer is slow. Someone says the Wi-Fi "feels weird".
The school network (all its joined-up computers) has a manager. This person checks accounts, speed and traffic. Today you learn what that job covers and which tools help.
By the end of this lesson
Note
I can name the main jobs of network management and choose a tool for each one.
Key words
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Network | devices joined so they can share data |
| Account | a person's sign-in and what they may use |
| User group | a set of accounts that share the same settings |
| Response time | how long a system takes to answer a request |
| Traffic | the data moving across a network |
| Protocol | a set of rules that devices follow to talk |
| Operating system | the main software that runs a device |
| Packet-capture tool | a tool that records and shows the data passing a point on a network |
| Performance | how fast and smoothly a network works |
| DNS | the system that turns a name into an address |
| Bandwidth | how much data a link can carry at once |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Starter: what you already know
Have a go
Starter: what you already know
4 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
A manager has five regular jobs
Managing a network means keeping it working, fair and safe. Five jobs come up every day.
The first is account management: making and changing accounts. The second is setting up user groups. The other three are watching performance, response time and traffic.
The five jobs side by side
| Job | What the manager does | A school example |
|---|---|---|
| Account management | Creates, changes and removes accounts | A new teacher needs an account on Monday |
| User groups | Gives the same settings to many accounts at once | All Year 10 students can use the shared drive |
| Performance | Checks the network is fast enough | Copying a file to the server is slow |
| Response times | Measures how quickly a system answers | The login page takes a long time to open |
| Traffic reporting | Reads reports on how much data moves and where | Video lessons use most of the bandwidth at 10am |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Check
Have a go
Check
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.