Back End Networks Back End Networks Computer networks have caused a major transformation in the way people do their work. Since 1984, MITnet, the campus computer network has helped students, faculty, and administrative staff to access and exchange information, from scholarly publications to electronic forums.
Some departments have their own network, often for reasons of privacy, security, or expense.
In some cases, having a private network may be the best solution for your department or building. Such a network could also be connected to MITnet, in which case, it would be referred to as a back-end network. A private network can become a back-end network as long as certain constraints are met. Gateways are difficult to configure properly, and in the case of a private network, a misconfigured gateway machine can not only adversly affect the private network, but it can also have serious repercussions on the entire campus network. For this reasons, back-end networks of this nature are not allowed on MITnet.