Note: Many topics at this site are reduced versions of the text in "The Encyclopedia of Networking and Telecommunications." Search results will not be as extensive as a search of the book's CD-ROM.

A campus network is an autonomous network under the management of a single entity that exists on a university campus or within a local geographic area such as a business park, a government center, a research center, or a medical center. While the network may be managed by a single entity, it may be used by different organizations. Often, a campus network provides and access path into a larger network, such as a metropolitan area network or the Internet.

A "campus network" is not necessarily a "backbone network." While a campus network may be designed with a backbone topology, the issues related to campus networks involve the type of media to be used between buildings, outside cable specifications, rights-of-way, avoidance of natural barriers, underground or aerial cabling requirements, line of site for interbuilding wireless transmissions, and security issues (for example, cables in the open can be tapped or cut). There are also access issues for the users and/or customers that connect to the network such as whether they are charged for usage.

A typical campus network and the various methods used to connect it are illustrated in "The Encyclopedia of Networking and Telecommunications."

Individual networks within buildings typically connect to the campus network via routers. Hierarchical topologies using high-performance switches may also be used. These are illustrated in the book. The Cisco Web site listed on the related entries page hosts a number of papers on campus network design.

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