CHAPTER 8 STUDY GUIDE
Network Management includes Network Documentation, Network Security, Network Maintenance, Server Administration, and Server Maintenance. This is not an all-inclusive list.
1. The first and most critical component for a good network is documentation. It is the most talked about and least performed task in a network. It includes:
· diagrams that indicate the path of the physical wiring layout
· the type of cable;
· the length of each cable;
· the type of termination/connection for the cable;
· physical location of each wall plate or patch panel and;
· a labeling scheme for easy identification of each wire.
2. In your documentation, you will include the following:
· A physical and logical layout of the MDF and all of the IDFs in the network. It includes:
Þ the physical layout of rack mounts, Aux. equipment, and servers in the facility
Þ patch panel labels to identify cable terminations
Þ identification and configuration details of all equipment located in the distribution facility
· Server and workstation configuration details are to be filled out about each host attached to the network. It includes:
Þ make and model of computer
Þ serial number
Þ floppy drives
Þ hard drives
Þ DVD/CD-ROM drive
Þ sound and network cards
Þ RAM amount
Þ IRQ information
Þ DMA information
Þ base memory address configuration
Þ physical location
Þ user
Þ network identification (IP address, MAC address, Subnet, Topology)
Þ purchase date
Þ warranty information
· A listing of standard and special software used on each machine in the network. The standard configuration installation detail of each software package. This list includes operating system and application software.
· It is also valuable to keep a list of all repairs that have been done to all equipment included in the network. This will help an administrator predict possible future problems with existing hardware and software.
· “Soft” and “hard” (physical) security needs to be documented. It includes:
Þ user rights
Þ password definition
Þ firewall support
Þ identifying how the MDF and IDF's are locked
Þ identifying who has access to these rooms and why
Þ how the hosts are protected (security cables - alarms)
Þ who has physical access to the system
· User policies are documents that can be the most important and beneficial to the network administrator. They contain how the users can interact with the network. These policies include:
Þ what is and what is not permissible on the network
Þ what the consequences of violation
Þ what minimum user ID and password length should be
Þ the rules for the content of passwords
Þ maximum password age
Þ unique passwords (not allowing the same password repeated)
Þ restricted logon times
As a network administrator, you want to create the most secure and functional network possible for your company, but make sure network policies don't conflict with company policies or limit the users access to necessary resources.
3. Network security involves two major components. The first is keeping your network safe from unauthorized access and the second is the ability to recover data from catastrophic events.
4. There are multiple methods to prevent data from being lost. List the three popular data protection methods below.
· tape backup
· fault tolerant disk configurations
· use of uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs)
5. List the five types of back up operations
· Full backup. All files on the disk are stored to tape and the archive bit for all files is set to off.
· Incremental backup. Backs up all the files that have been created or modified since the last full backup. It only works in conjunction with a full backup and any file created or modified has its archive bit turned back on so it will be saved to tape during the next incremental backup.
· Differential backup. Backs up all the files that have been created or modified since the last full backup. This sounds the same as an incremental backup, but the difference is that even though the file is saved to tape, the archive bit is not reset.
· Copy backup. Backs up user selected files to tape. This backup also does not reset the archive bit to off.
· Daily backup. Backs up only the files that are modified on the day of the backup. This backup also does not reset the archive bit to off.
6. At the workstation, the backup is the responsibility of the user. Users need to know that any information that they keep locally will not be backed up and that they are responsible for this.
7. Many workstation backups are copy backups. This is usually done to a zip or floppy disk drive.
8. RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) is an example of fault tolerant storage devices.
9. Disk mirroring and disk duplexing writes data to two identical partitions on separate hard disks thus creating an automatic backup. This is known as RAID 1 protection.
10. There are other RAID levels but they are beyond what is needed for the level of understanding we need. In fact, not all network operating systems support the RAID levels mentions above. The three RAID levels that are supported by most operating systems are RAID 0, RAID 1, and RAID 5.
11. RAID 5 requires a minimum of 5 disks (in a WinNT system, four because the system and boot partitions cannot be on the RAID set) and the partition size must be the same on each disk. One last important point about RAID 5 and Windows NT, to have full redundancy, this must be done. You need at least five disks, the first two will be set up as RAID 1(disk mirroring) for the system and boot partitions, and the last three data disk will be set up with RAID 5. This will provide full redundancy, with the speed advantage that RAID 5 will provide.
12. Another part of good network management is dealing with the environmental factors such as static, dust, dirt, and heat. Controlling these factors will create a more stable and reliable network.
13. Power conditioning includes protecting your equipment from irregularities in your building's electrical wiring. The easiest way to protect your network and computer equipment is to put it on separate circuits in your building. This will solve some but not all power-related problems. Other devices are listed below.
· Isolating transformer: Controls voltage spikes and high frequency noise.
· Regulators: Maintains a constant output voltage despite changes in the power line's voltage over a long period of time. It handles such problems as brownouts and voltage surges.
· Line Conditioner: This is a regulator with an isolating transformer built in.
· Uninterruptible power supply: Basically this is a battery charger that charges a battery that in turn powers the computer. This device will allow the computer to run even if there is a power failure.
14. Following is a list and description of the different types of infectious software.
· A worm is a program that propagates itself across computers, usually by creating copies of itself in each computer's memory. It might duplicate itself in one computer so often that it causes the computer to crash. Sometimes written in separate "segments", it is introduced unknowingly into a host or network system either for "fun" or with intent to damage or destroy information. The term comes from a science-fiction novel and has generally been superseded by the term virus.
· A virus is a program that "infects" computer files (usually other executable programs) by inserting in those files copies of itself. This is usually done in such a manner that the copies will be executed when the file is loaded into memory, allowing them to infect still other files, and so on. They often have damaging side effects, sometimes intentionally, sometimes not. The latest variation is to send these viruses over the Internet as Email attachments.
· A Trojan horse is a destructive program disguised as a game, a utility, or an application. When run, a it does something devious to the computer system while appearing to do something useful.
15. Along with network security and redundancy, another important consideration in network management is network performance. It is a measurement of a network's quickness and reliability.
16. To establish a baseline, a network monitor package or tool, such as the Fluke LANMeter or Windows NT network monitor program can be used. These tools will record several types of network performance data, including network utilization percentage, collision counts, frame errors and broadcast traffic. By establishing a this measurement when the network system is at optimum normal performance levels, the network administrator will have a comparison value to use to determine the health of the network.
17. There are two types of networks that network administrators need to be aware of. The two types are peer-to-peer and client-server networks. The peer-to-peer network is also known as a workgroup network. It is designed for small numbers of workstations; Microsoft recommends no more that ten users. It is cheaper to create and operate and it allows users to control their own resources. It does not require a dedicated server. The client-server network controls the resources and management of the local area network. This type of network provide a centralized point of user, security, and resource management. Also dedicated servers can be used to more effectively provide specific resources to clients. They also provide access to all allowed resources with one network ID and password.
18. List some client-server operating systems below.
· Unix
· Novell NetWare
· Windows NT
· Windows 2000, Linux
19. To control access and restrictions to network services and control the local user workstation, an administrator can use:
· Network rights
· passwords
· login accounts
· groups
· user profiles
· user policies
20. Scientific Method for Troubleshooting:
· Identify network/user problem.
· Gather data about network/user problem.
· Analyze data to come up with a possible solution to the problem.
· Implement solution to network to attempt correction to the system.
· If the problem isn't resolved, undo previous changes and modify data.
· Go to step 3
