Walk the Talk: Using Knowledge from the Network Academy to Build a Research Network

Smaller technical training institutes face particular challenges when setting up an applied networking laboratory. Such facilities scale very well, but small institutes do not get the advantage of scale. Typical components of a lab ecosystem include policy documentation and implementation, directory servers, printers, technician training, and management software. Each component requires significant resources to set up, but marginal costs are not as significant as the number of students (and, hence, institute income) rises. Academynetspace (http://www.academynetspace.com) confirms that Whitireia Community Polytechnic (Whitireia) Cisco Network Academy is small in New Zealand terms, and tiny compared to academies in most other parts of the world. Small class sizes have limited the funding available to develop Academy resources. On the positive side, a small number of students also means individuals are well known to staff, and each other. Therefore they do not require the same level of supervision and management necessary in larger institutions. This paper discusses how the skills and equipment necessary to run a Cisco Network Academy can be used to build an effective Faculty-wide network for teaching and research use, at minimal cost. The Whitireia Learning Network has developed over the past ten years, from modest beginnings, to become a resource relied on by all applications development and networking students.