NT1310 – Friday
1/9/2015
Unit 1 Exercise 1 – Local Exchange
To understand how to interface with the local exchange you must first understand the different networks that comprise it. The first network is the access network. The access network is the network that connects the individual user or business with the telecommunications system. It’s a critical portion of the network because it is the part of the network that reaches the end users and “connects them”. This is made up of a series of fiber-optic and copper cabling and passive and active equipment that connects you to the local exchange.
The local exchange acts as the convergence point for the information sent to the consumers and the point at which services from the global telecommunications are distributed to the consumers. The central office at the local exchange contains the switching equipment to direct your telephone, data, video, etc. to where it needs to go.
The metro network, sometimes called a MAN, is where the information is collected from the local exchange of the service provider as well as other service providers and then sent on to the regional and long-haul networks. The regional network, sometimes called a WAN is basically just a larger version of the MAN or metro network. This is usually the last point before the information is sent to the core network.
The purpose of a Network is to share data. To make this possible, you have to be able to connect to other computers. Companies that succeeded at doing this have a great profit with exponential growth possibilities and revenue. For example, Cisco is a company who has made billions by allowing different groups of networks to share data across what we call the internet. Games take advantage of this technology to connect to other computers. Networking companies have succeeded so well in allowing people to connect across their internal networks and the internet that pretty much any application is able to send data to another