This slide lists the key sub-systems in a good networking and IS setup for an academic complex. It includes low-level physical networking components as well the network services that run on them.

Physical layer: LAN, WAN, Wi-fi: The physical layer of networking for a campus network will encompass a very fast LAN for high volume traffic with 1000+ students, a WAN connecting multiple departments and the outside world, and a perimeter wi-fi network for visitors, laptop users, etc.

File servers for secure data storage: Students and faculty have a lot of data in files. Students are expected to develop software, write reports and dissertations, submit assignments, etc., all of which are stored as files on disk. Faculty have question papers for tests on their computers. This storage is insecure and unreliable if kept on hard disks of individual PCs. They need file servers.

Internet and email access control: Internet access needs to be controlled, to ensure that Internet bandwidth is not wasted due to all sorts of inappropriate content. Students have the time to waste in inappropriate browsing activities, thus choking up links. And email controls are equally needed to prevent worms from infected PCs from sending out spurious emails.

Network monitoring: A campus network potentially has many departments and many servers, but a lean IT management staff. The only way services can be managed is by the use of automatic network monitoring tools.

Usenet news: One of the biggest contributors that computers and networking can make to the student experience is by the building of local online communities, where students discuss the issues and ideas that concern them. Usenet news provides just this sort of opportunity, plus a lot more. This will be discussed in greater detail in later slides.

User based access to the systems: Access control should be based on username and password, not on IP address of desktop computers. A student should be able to walk to any desktop in the campus, enter his username and password, and get access to the same set of services. This is important for manageability of the campus IS backbone.

Security checks, firewalls: Security requirements are quite stringent in an academic situation. A student's academic records are held sacred for the rest of his life. These records, plus data about financial transactions, need to be protected. Internal and external threats both need to be addressed.

AAA: Authentication, Authorisation, and Accounting: The idea of AAA needs to be given importance in an academic environment, because it is the three "A"s which become an IS management challenge with a large semi-floating population. Authentication is the action of identifying a human user. Authorisation is the action of controlling or specifying what that authenticated user can or cannot do. And accounting is the action of tracking the actions the user finally performs and the resources (e.g. CPU processing power, disk space, Internet bandwidth) she consumes.