Overview

This is an overview of the features of the Bronze and Gold NSP Support Levels. It starts out with a basic primer on the layout of the network in a building and explains some of the technical terms that are used within the various documents associated with NSP.

This overview also gives a rudimentary description of the differences between the Bronze and Gold Support Levels. For detailed in formation, please see the Service Level Agreements for each level.

Components of the Network

• Fiber cable — Connects the building to the outside network
• EITS edge network switch/router — This distributes the outside network to the departmental switches. EITS supports this device regardless of the NSP support level.
• MDF — The room in which the EITS network router/switch is located. This is the entry point of the network into the building.
• Departmental switch — The network is fed to this switch by the EITS edge network switch/router. Departmental switches link computers and other networked devices to the network via network drops into each room in the building.
• IDF — The room containing departmental switches fed from the MDF. There are usually multiple IDF rooms in a building. The departmental switches provide network connectivity for the computers and other networked devices in the building.
• Fiber — Connects the switches in the building
• Network drops — These run from the departmental switch(es) to the network outlets in each room. This is where computers and other networked devices plug into the network.

Diagrams of the network components