January Posts

Over the past few weeks I’ve been working on my project: ApplyTexas Version X. This project was focused on creating a new interface for the ApplyTexas platform to be based off of. I spent numerous hours researching about user interface elements, and spent many hours drawing sketches and making various designs before settling on one and making an outline for all the pages based off of it. I learned about different user interface elements including Input Controls, Navigational Components, Information Components, Color and Texture, Typography, Know your user, Stay Consistent, Visual Hierarchy, as well as the importance of keeping an interface simple. One of the more interesting things I learned about was organizational structures. They were different types of ways organizing data for a website; I focused on Hierarchical Structures, Sequential Structures, and Matrix Structures. I ended up implementing a hybrid structure to minimize the complexity of the content while retaining a logical structure. I used a Hybrid Hierarchical-Sequential Structure as it allows the new interface to have many different parts of the application easily accessible while certain parts of the application are kept sequentially to ensure that the correct information is received in the correct order. The use of a hybrid structure will ensure the design has a balance between in the depth of the interface so there is minimal confusion when students are using the application. Overall throughout the process of pursuing this project I was able to learn more about user interfaces and hopefully make progress in improving a system thousands of students use every year.

This past week I’ve been learning about the concepts of Wide Area Networks. Wide Area Networks is a telecommunications network or computer network that extends over a large geographical distance; they are often composed of leased telecommunication lines and circuits. Most WAN’s connect enterprises to remote LAN’s and other telecommunication sites. WAN’s are often owned by a service provider such as a telephone company, cable company, or a satellite company. WAN’s are used to transport data, voice, and video. Currently a cheap alternative for WAN’s is the use of the internet. The 4 most common WAN topologies include Point to Point, Hub and Spoke, Full Mesh, and Dual Homed. Point to Point is used primarily with a leased line that involves Layer 2 transport services. Hub and spoke topologies are point to point topologies with multiple point to point circuits; this is also known as the single homed topology. The Full Meshed topology consists of many circuits. The dual homed network topology is considered to be the most expensive and difficult to implement due to the complexity of the configurations. WAN operates at the Physical and Data Link layer on the OSI model. Most WAN’s are Point to Point. Overall, WAN’s are an extremely useful type of networks especially for enterprises.

This past week I’ve been learning about different encapsulation types regarding Point-to-Point connections. I’ve looked into HDLC, PAP, and CHAP; each of these are different encapsulation types generally used on serial interfaces. PAP and CHAP are both types of PPP encapsulation. HDCL is the default P2P encapsulation used and each packet is begun and ended with a flag; however, in Cisco HDLC the packet has uses part of the data section to create a protocol section. PPP encapsulation also offers Link Quality management, this monitors the quality of the link; if the link has too many errors PPP automatically takes the link down until it is functioning again. The percentage threshold for the Link Quality control can be managed by using the “ppp quality” command and the global configuration level at a specified interface. The other 2 encapsulation types offer authentication options, but are still very similar. PAP and CHAP both use LCP, NCP, and contain HDCL-like frames. PAP uses plaintext to send passwords and usernames, while CHAP uses encryption to keep the data secure. PAP may be preferable when working with remote station that need plaintext files for authentication. When establishing these connections and implementing PPP encapsulations using the debug tool allows technicians to ensure that system and links are up and running and find errors with the different phases the link goes through. P2P encapsulations allow for data to travel efficiently from device to device.