Virtual Internet and TElecommunications Laboratory of Switzerland (VITELS)

Abstract

VITELS, a first series Swiss Virtual Campus (SVC) project has been funded within the SVC consolidation program. The goal of VITELS has been to develop an e-learning course in English language that provides theory and practical hands-on exercises in the area of telecommunications and computer networks with real network hardware for computer science students. VITELS consists of eight modules, six designed and maintained by University of Bern, one by University of Neuchatel, and one by University of Fribourg. The course is fully operational and has been productively used in different regular courses on the Bachelor level at the Universities of Bern (in the "Computer Networks" lecture), Fribourg, and Neuchatel.

Updates in the theory parts of the modules have been integrated. Recently, the main focus was on the hands-on experiments. Three of these experiments, namely "IP Security", "Sockets & RPC", and "Security and Privacy in the Internet", have been improved or reimplemented to ensure a better usability and reliability. For maintenance of the VITELS modules the comments and suggestions from students have been taken into account. Security certificates for the lab exercise and portal servers has been changed to ensure better compatibility with common Web browsers.

Project Details