Chapter 18
Welcome to Network Management
In This Chapter
Exploring the many jobs of the network administrator
Documenting the network
Dusting, vacuuming, and mopping
Managing network users
Choosing the right tools
Building your library
Getting certified
Help wanted. Network administrator to help small business get control of a network run amok. Must have sound organizational and management skills. Only moderate computer experience required. Part-time only.
Does this sound like an ad that your company should run? Every network needs a network administrator, whether the network has 2 computers or 2,000. Of course, managing a 2,000-computer network is a full-time job, whereas managing a 2-computer network isn’t. At least, it shouldn’t be.
This chapter introduces you to the boring job of network administration. Oops — you’re probably reading this chapter because you’ve been elected to be the network manager, so I’d better rephrase that:
This chapter introduces you to the wonderful, exciting world of network management! Oh, boy! This is going to be fun!
What a Network Administrator Does
A network administrator “administers” a network: installing, configuring, expanding, protecting, upgrading, tuning, and repairing the network.
A network administrator takes care of the network hardware (such as cables, hubs, switches, routers, servers, and clients) and the network software (such as network operating systems, e-mail servers, backup software, database servers, and application software). Most important, the administrator takes care of network users by answering their questions, listening to their troubles, and solving their problems.
On a big network, these responsibilities constitute a full-time job. Large networks tend to be volatile: Users come and go, equipment fails, software chokes, and life in general seems to be one crisis after another.
Smaller networks are much more stable. After you get your network up and running, you probably won’t have to spend much time managing its hardware and software. An occasional problem may pop up, but with only a few computers on the network, problems should be few and far between.
Regardless of the network’s size, the administrator attends to common chores:
Get involved in every decision to purchase new computers, printers, or other equipment.
Put on the pocket protector whenever a new computer is added to the network. The network administrator’s job includes considering changes in the cabling configuration, assigning a computer name to the new computer, integrating the new user into the security system, and granting user rights.
Whenever a software vendor releases a new version of its software, read about the new version and decide whether its new features warrant an upgrade. In most cases, the hardest part of upgrading to new software is determining the migration path — that is, upgrading your entire network to the new version while disrupting the network and its users as little as possible. This statement is especially true if the software in question happens to be your network operating system because any change to the network operating system can potentially impact the entire network.
Between upgrades, software vendors periodically release patches and service packs that fix minor problems. For more information, see Chapter 22.
Perform routine chores, such as backing up the servers, archiving old data, and freeing up server disk space. Much of the task of network administration involves making sure that things keep working by finding and correcting problems before users notice that something is wrong. In this sense, network administration can be a thankless job.
Gather, organize, and track the entire network’s software inventory. You never know when something will go haywire on the ancient Windows 95 computer that Joe in Marketing uses, and you have to reinstall that old copy of Lotus Approach. Do you have any idea where the installation disks are?
Choosing the Part-Time Administrator
The larger the network, the more technical support it needs. Most small networks — with just a dozen or so computers — can get by with a part-time network administrator. Ideally, this person should be a closet computer geek: someone who has a secret interest in computers but doesn’t like to admit it. Someone who will take books home with him or her and read them over the weekend. Someone who enjoys solving computer problems just for the sake of solving them.
The job of managing a network requires some computer skills, but it isn’t entirely a technical job. Much of the work that the network administrator does is routine housework. Basically, the network administrator dusts, vacuums, and mops the network periodically to keep it from becoming a mess.
Here are some additional ideas on picking a part-time network administrator:
The network administrator needs to be an organized person. Conduct a surprise office inspection and place the person with the neatest desk in charge of the network. (Don’t warn them in advance, or everyone may mess up their desks intentionally the night before the inspection.)
Allow enough time for network administration. For a small network (say, no more than 20 or so computers), an hour or two each week is enough. More time is needed upfront as the network administrator settles into the job and discovers the ins and outs of the network. After an initial settling-in period, though, network administration for a small office network doesn’t take more than an hour or two per week. (Of course, larger networks take more time to manage.)
Make sure that everyone knows who the network administrator is and that the network administrator has the authority to make decisions about the network, such as what access rights each user has, what files can and can’t be stored on the server, how often backups are done, and so on.
Pick someone who is assertive and willing to irritate people. A good network administrator should make sure that backups are working before a hard drive fails and make sure that antivirus protection is in place before a virus wipes out the entire network. This policing will irritate people, but it’s for their own good.
In most cases, the person who installs the network is also the network administrator. This is appropriate because no one understands the network better than the person who designs and installs it.
The network administrator needs an understudy — someone who knows almost as much about the network, is eager to make a mark, and smiles when the worst network jobs are delegated.
The network administrator has some sort of official title, such as Network Boss, Network Czar, Vice President in Charge of Network Operations, or Dr. Network. A badge, a personalized pocket protector, or a set of Spock ears helps, too.
The Three “Ups” of Network Management
Much of the network manager’s job is routine stuff — the equivalent of vacuuming, dusting, and mopping, or changing your car’s oil and rotating the tires.
Three of the most important routine tasks that a network administrator must do vigilantly are what I call the “Three Ups of Network Management.” They are
Back up: The network manager must ensure that the network is properly backed up. If something goes wrong and the network isn’t backed up, guess who gets the blame? On the other hand, if disaster strikes yet you’re able to recover everything from yesterday’s backup with only a small amount of work lost, who gets the pat on the back, the fat bonus, and the vacation in the Bahamas? Chapter 20 describes the options for network backups. Read it soon.
Lock-up: Another major task for a network administrator is sheltering the network from the evils of the outside world. These evils come in many forms, including hackers trying to break into your network and virus programs arriving through e-mail. Chapter 21 describes this task in more detail.
Clean-up: Users think that the network server is like the attic: They want to throw files up there and leave them forever. No matter how much disk storage your network has, your users will fill it up sooner than you think, so the network manager gets the fun job of cleaning up the attic once in a while. The best advice I can offer is to continually complain about how messy it is up there and warn your users that spring cleaning is on the to-do list.
Managing Network Users
Managing network technology is the easiest part of network management. Computer technology can be confusing at first, but computers aren’t as confusing as people. The real challenge of managing a network is managing the network’s users.
The difference between managing technology and managing users is obvious: You can figure out computers, but who can ever really figure out people? The people who use the network are much less predictable than the network itself. Here are some tips for dealing with users:
Make user training a key part of the network manager’s job. Make sure that everyone who uses the network understands how it works and how to use it. If the network users don’t understand how the network works, they may unintentionally do all kinds of weird things to it.
Treat network users respectfully. If users don’t understand how to use the network, it’s not their fault. Explain it to them. Offer a class. Buy each one a copy of this book, and tell them to read it during the lunch hour. Hold their hands. Just don’t treat them like idiots.
Create a network cheat sheet. It should contain everything users need to know about using the network — on one page. Everyone needs a copy.
Be as responsive as possible. If you don’t quickly fix a network user’s problem, he may try to fix it. You don’t want that to happen.
The better you understand the psychology of network users, the more prepared you are for the strangeness they often serve up. Toward that end, I recommend that you read the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (also known as DSM-5) from cover to cover.
Acquiring Software Tools for Network Administrators
Network managers need certain tools to get their jobs done. Managers of big, complicated, expensive networks need big, complicated, expensive tools. Managers of small networks need small tools.
Some tools that a manager needs are hardware tools, such as screwdrivers, cable crimpers, and hammers. The tools I’m talking about, however, are software tools. I mention a couple of them earlier in this chapter: Visio (to help you draw network diagrams) and a network-discovery tool to help you map your network. Here are a few others:
Built-in TCP/IP commands: Many of the software tools that you need in order to manage a network come with the network itself. As the network manager, you should read through the manuals that come with your network software to see which management tools are available. For example, Windows includes a net diag command that you can use to make sure that all the computers on a network can communicate with each other. (You can run net diag from an MS-DOS prompt.) For TCP/IP networks, you can use the TCP/IP diagnostic commands that I summarize in Table 18-1.
Table 18-1 TCP/IP Diagnostic Commands
|
Command |
What It Displays |
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Address resolution information used by the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) |
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Your computer’s host name |
|
|
Current TCP/IP settings |
|
|
The status of NetBIOS over TCP/IP connections |
|
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Statistics for TCP/IP |
|
|
DNS information |
|
|
Verification that a specified computer can be reached |
|
|
The PC’s routing tables |
|
|
The route from your computer to a specified host |
System Information: This program, which comes with Windows, is a useful utility for network managers.
Hotfix Checker: This handy tool from Microsoft scans your computers to see which patches need to be applied. You can download the Hotfix Checker for free from the Microsoft website. Just go to www.microsoft.com and search for hotfix.
Baseline Security Analyzer: If you prefer GUI-based tools, check out this program, which you can download for free from the Microsoft website. To find it, go to www.microsoft.com and search for Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer.
Protocol analyzer: A protocol analyzer (or packet sniffer) can monitor and log the individual packets that travel along your network. You can configure the protocol analyzer to filter specific types of packets, watch for specific types of problems, and provide statistical analysis of the captured packets.
Most network administrators agree that Sniffer, by NetScout Systems, Inc. (www.netscout.com) is the best protocol analyzer available. However, it's also one of the most expensive. If you prefer a free alternative, check out Wireshark, which you can download for free from www.wireshark.org.
Network Monitor: All current versions of Windows include a program called Network Monitor, which provides basic protocol analysis and can often help solve pesky network problems.
Building a Library
Scotty delivered one of his best lines in the original Star Trek series when he refused to take shore leave so that he could get caught up on his technical journals. “Don’t you ever relax?” asked Kirk. “I am relaxing!” Scotty replied.
To be a good network administrator, you need to read computer books — lots of them. And you need to enjoy doing it. If you’re the type who takes computer books with you to the beach, you’ll make a great network administrator.
Read books on a variety of topics. I don’t recommend specific titles, but I do recommend that you get a good, comprehensive book on each of these topics:
Network security and hacking
Wireless networking
Network cabling and hardware
Ethernet
Windows Server 2008 or 2012
Windows 7 or 8
Linux
TCP/IP
DNS
Sendmail or Microsoft Exchange Server, depending on which e-mail server you use
In addition to books, you may also want to subscribe to some magazines to keep up with what’s happening in the networking industry. Here are a few you should probably consider, along with their web addresses:
InformationWeek: www.informationweek.com
InfoWorld: www.infoworld.com
Network Computing: www.networkcomputing.com
Network World: www.networkworld.com
2600 The Hacker Quarterly (a great magazine on computer hacking and security): www.2600.com
The Internet is one of the best sources of technical information for network administrators. You’ll want to stock your browser’s Favorites menu with plenty of websites that contain useful networking information. In addition, you may want to subscribe to one of the many online newsletters that deliver fresh information on a regular basis via e-mail.
Pursuing Certification
Remember the scene near the end of The Wizard of Oz when the Wizard grants the Scarecrow a diploma, the Cowardly Lion a medal, and the Tin Man a testimonial?
Network certifications are kind of like that. I can picture the scene now:
The Wizard: “And as for you, my network-burdened friend, any geek with thick glasses can administer a network. Back where I come from, there are people who do nothing but configure Cisco routers all day long. And they don’t have any more brains than you do. But they do have one thing you don’t have: certification. And so, by the authority vested in me by the Universita Committeeatum E Pluribus Unum, I hereby confer upon you the coveted certification of CND.”
You: “CND?”
The Wizard: “Yes, that’s, uh, Certified Network Dummy.”
You: “The Seven Layers of the OSI Reference Model are equal to the Sum of the Layers on the Opposite Side. Oh, joy, rapture! I feel like a network administrator already!”
My point is that certification in and of itself doesn’t guarantee that you really know how to administer a network. That ability comes from real-world experience — not exam crams.
Nevertheless, certification is becoming increasingly important in today’s competitive job market. So you may want to pursue certification, not just to improve your skills, but also to improve your resume. Certification is an expensive proposition. Each test can cost several hundred dollars, and depending on your technical skills, you may need to buy books to study or enroll in training courses before you take the tests.
You can pursue two basic types of certification: vendor-specific certification and vendor-neutral certification. The major software vendors such as Microsoft and Cisco provide certification programs for their own equipment and software. CompTIA, a nonprofit industry trade association, provides the best-known vendor-neutral certification.
Helpful Bluffs and Excuses
As network administrator, you just won’t be able to solve a problem sometimes, at least not immediately. You can do two things in this situation. The first is to explain that the problem is particularly difficult and that you’ll have a solution as soon as possible. The second solution is to look the user in the eyes and, with a straight face, try one of these phony explanations:
Blame it on the version of whatever software you’re using. “Oh, they fixed that with version 39.”
Blame it on cheap, imported memory chips.
Blame it on Democrats. Or Republicans. Doesn’t matter.
Blame it on oil company executives.
Blame it on global warming.
Hope that the problem wasn’t caused by stray static electricity. Those types of problems are very difficult to track down. Tell your users that not properly discharging themselves before using their computers can cause all kinds of problems.
You need more memory.
You need a bigger hard drive.
You need a faster processor.
Blame it on Jar-Jar Binks.
You can’t do that in Windows 8.
You can only do that in Windows 8.
Could be a virus.
Or sunspots.
No beer and no TV make Homer something something something.