State models for internetworking technologies

New, diagrammatic state models of a switch and router were designed. The router state model can be used for all the main interior gateway protocols distance vector (RIP, IGRP), link state (OSPF) and balanced hybrid. (EIGRP). Preliminary work indicates that it also supports an exterior gateway protocol (EGP). The switch state model can be used for both basic and advanced switch operation (STP, VTP and VLANs). Both router and switch models employ modularity hence both these models provide a basic model whose functionality can be enhanced by the inclusion of additional state tables. Furthermore these models are diagrammatic, self-documenting and easy to use. They employ leveling and hence provide hierarchical top down decomposition thereby controlling technical detail. These models were used as the pedagogical foundation of network curriculum and the results evaluated. It was found that these models very significantly improved student learning.