• engineering journal -- preliminary documentation of user needs, preliminary sketches of cable runs, pin outs, color codes, special safety precautions, reflections on key points in the installation are some of what might be kept in an engineering journal
• logical topology -- how does data flow? What is the location of key networking devices?
• physical topology -- how is the network actually wired? A series of diagrams, from floor-plan views of cable runs and patch cords to PCs to detailed diagrams of patch panels would all be considered part of the physical topology documentation
• cut sheets -- in the selection of wiring closet location, catchment areas must be drawn to see where repeaters and hubs might be needed
• problem-solving matrices -- a matrix should ideally be created everytime there is a choice with several options to be made. Placement of wiring closets, the use of Cat 5 versus fiber versus coax for a given network segment, and paths to IDFs and MDFs for specific cable runs are all common decisions when doing a structured cabling installation
• labeled outlets -- actual outlets should be labeled in a consistent manner
• labeled cable runs -- cable runs should be labeled in a consistent manner
• summary of outlets and cable runs -- a database or spreadsheet of outlets and cable runs should be created
• summary of devices, MAC addresses, and IP addresses -- once devices are attached, IP and MAC addresses should be recorded for the various networking devices

We strongly recommend a rubric for documentation be created. This way every student group knows exactly what is expected of them. You cannot overemphasize the importance of documentation to the students. It is an integral part of their professional training. Virtually every institution and every network has a horror story to tell as the result of improper or nonexistent documentation.

What follows are a set of activities, which could be done at once or spread out over several weeks, to address some of the drawing and model-making techniques which might help students visualize various networking issues.

Architectural Drawings for the Networking Technician Objectives:

Students will be able to:

1. Draw the floor plan of an existing room to scale
2. Visualize a room or a set of rooms expressed in an architectural floor plan
3. Estimate the length of a cable run using only a floor plan (optional)

Rationale:

Many networking students usually have little drawing experience and no experience with standard architectural drawing projections. This is a disadvantage to a practicing Technician, as they must be able to accurately interpret floor plans and cross sections of the building that contains the network. This is so that they can make informed decisions about network topologies, the amount of materials needed for a particular job, and the equipment required for installation. Furthermore, they must be able to accurately annotate such drawings for future reference.

Abstract:

During this activity, students will measure for and build a three-dimensional model of their networking classroom using simple materials. They will then draw a scaled floorplan, and will use their model as a guide. The model and drawing can then be used to stimulate discussion about means of representing in two dimensions the complex three-dimensional path that a networking cable must follow. If time permits, there is the opportunity to link together many students' models to help them see the horizontal and vertical wire routing problems that must be solved in setting up a network in a large building with dozens of computers, multiple servers, and a variety of networking equipment.

Procedure:

1. Give students, in small groups, access to a full-scale architectural floor plans of a whole-building network installation to provide them a context for their lesson
2. Have them locate the drawings legend and identify as many of the symbols and lines on the drawing as they can
3. Have student groups measure the outline shape of the room using a variety of methods (tape measure, ruler, heel-to-toe, counting floor tiles, string, etc.). Students should then draw on a sheet of cardboard (at least 10" by 12") using the scale of 1 inch = 3 feet. Provide them with rulers and stress the accuracy of their drawing.
4. Have students cut out their cardboard along the outlines they have drawn.
5. Provide the students with 3"x5" index cards, transparent tape, and scissors so that they may construct the walls around the edge of the outline (use the card's 3" dimension to represent the height of the walls). Be sure that they cut out doors and windows and construct large features of their room like columns, tables, equipment racks, etc.
6. Check that their models are well attached to the cardboard bases and that all cuts are clean and accurate.
7. Provide the students with a sheet of overhead transparency and a transparency marker. Have them cover the top of their models completely with the transparent sheet and have them tape it to the walls (from underneath) temporarily in two places.
8. Using the transparency pens and looking down from above, students should draw the traces where the tops of the walls touch the sheet. Next they should draw other features that they see, such as tables and racks. Also have them note the locations and extent of door openings and windows (show them examples of this from the professional drawings).
9. Have students remove the floor plans that they have thus produced, and compare them with the professional drawings. Point out similarities and differences, including scale, level of detail, and wall thickness. Also have students compare their drawings with each other, and discuss issues of accuracy of measurement and care and precision of drawing.

Optional Activities.

10. Arrange the students "rooms" on a tabletop as they would be in a real building. Allow space for corridors, and stack some vertically to help illustrate vertical wiring problems. You may wish to fasten them to the tabletop with tape.
11. Pose networking problems for students to solve by suggesting the locations of PCs, wiring closets, networking equipment, jacks and the like. Their solutions could be expressed by drawing cable routes directly on the models with a felt tip pen, or for more realism, by having them tape lengths of string, scaled to the maximum possible run for the particular medium (UTP, coax, fiber) along their proposed cable routes. For showing runs across ceilings, have the students attach transparent sheets to the top of their room; these sheets should be hinged with tape along one side for easy access to the interior.

Orienting Students to Orthographic Projections (top, front, and side views at a minimum)

1. Show students examples of orthographic drawings of familiar objects. Some good objects are a car, a person standing, a person sitting, a basketball, or a house.
2. Have students make an orthographic drawing (with at least a top, a side, and a front view) of a simple object they have with them, such as a book, pen, key, ring, or trinket.
3. Point out the limitations that external views have in representing the entirety of an object. Show examples of section views and cut-away views.
4. Have students make some cross-sectional views using objects they are familiar with or that you have on hand to be disassembled. Good examples are a house, an egg, an orange, a person (MRI and CAT scans are good examples of cross-sections), a marking pen, a computer, or a sneaker.
5. Show students the x, y, and z axes
6. Show students how to draw three dimensional cubes
7. Show students how to draw three dimensional rectangular boxes
8. Show students how to draw multi-tiered three dimensional rectangular objects
9. Show students how to remove cubic and rectangular volumes from already drawn rectangular objects
10. Show students how use of shading can enhance these basic drawing techniques.