About Apache CNIT
Where TJC CNIT students
show what they build.
Apache CNIT is the student project showcase for the Computer Networking and Information Technology program at Tyler Junior College.
Our mission
Close the gap between the classroom and the server room
Textbooks explain how a network works. Building one teaches what happens when it doesn’t. Apache CNIT gives students in the CNIT program real projects to design, build, break and fix, and a place to show the results to employers, family and the community.
Instead of separate labs that end when the semester does, our courses build on each other. Hardware students prepare the machines, Network+ students connect and secure them, and Cloud Computing students deliver the services people use.
How it works
A semester-long relay
1
Foundation
Hardware students rack, inspect and document the servers.
2
Connectivity
Network+ students build the firewall, VLANs and security monitoring.
3
Services
Cloud students install directory, monitoring and business applications.
4
Showcase
All three classes demo the working data center together.
Department chair
Chris Shaw
Department Chair, Computer Information Technology, Tyler Junior College
Chris Shaw serves as the Department Chair of Computer Information Technology at TJC, leading programs across Computer Science and Computer & Networking Information Technology. Under his purview, these tracks prepare students for careers in cybersecurity, network architecture and software development.
Capstone coordinating professor
Dwight Wooten Sr., MSIS, MBA
IT Professor, Tyler Junior College · Career CIO and CTO
Dwight Wooten Sr. is a career Chief Information Officer and Chief Technology Officer with 44 years of IT experience in manufacturing, insurance, banking, retail, academic and financial organizations.
He champions innovative technology solutions that meet real organizational requirements, and is an expert in aligning cloud technologies, distributed systems and artificial intelligence with business goals to maximize profits and lower organizational risk through policy and technical strategy.
At Tyler Junior College he teaches PC Hardware, Network+ and Cloud Computing, and designed and coordinates the cross-course capstone that ties them together. He is also the founder and principal consultant of Wootec, an IT consulting firm serving East Texas small businesses and public-sector clients, and serves as fractional CIO for Fashion Glass & Mirror. He has taught computer science as an adjunct instructor at Southern New Hampshire University, ECPI University and Dallas College.
A public speaker, natural team leader and mentor, he builds high-performance teams that thrive in diverse cultures. He holds a Master of Science in Information Systems and an MBA.
Industry partner
Tommy Martin
Owner, Tyler Vault Datacenter
Tommy Martin owns Tyler Vault Datacenter, a colocation and disaster-recovery facility in Tyler, Texas, housed in a converted underground bank vault.
Tyler Vault is behind an initiative that grew out of a Tyler Chamber of Commerce technology meeting: giving students hands-on experience inside a working datacenter. The plan calls for dedicated, isolated server racks for Tyler Junior College, UT Tyler and Tyler ISD, where students can install and run real enterprise equipment without putting customer systems at risk. The Apache Mini-Data Center is inspired by that vision.