Patent ID: 7016949

Claim:
A computer system for providing network training to students operating nodes linked to a data communications network, comprising: a network training laboratory comprising computer networking devices communicatively linked to implement a functioning electronic communications network and operating in a first operation mode; and a training host communicatively linked to the communications network and to the network training laboratory for providing a communication connection between the computer networking devices and the student nodes and for generating and transmitting to the student nodes a student user interface comprising graphical representations of the computer networking devices in the network training laboratory, wherein the computer networking devices and the first operation mode are set by the training host prior to communication with the student nodes; wherein the training host is further adapted to provide a particular communication connection to a particular one of the computer networking devices in response to a student node selecting the graphical representation corresponding to the particular computer networking device, and to affect a change of the operating mode of the particular one of the computer network devices to a second operating mode.