This chapter explores the following two components of network management:
When new equipment arrives, you should allow it to adjust to room temperature before using it. This assures that there will not be undue thermal strain on the components, should they have been bouncing around in a frozen FedEx truck for three days.
It is critical that a server have adequate ventilation to keep from overheating, otherwise "chip creep" can occur wherein integrated circuits lose their seating and contact with the socket. It is equally important that ambient air, which is sucked into the machine, be filtered and be of as high a quality as possible. A consistent temperature in the room should be maintained, and particles such as smoke and dust should be filtered out as much as possible with appropriate filtration devices.
The four types of electrical problems are as follows:
You should always ground yourself and any equipment on which you will be working. Never directly touch any electrical leads and always use antistatic bags to store components. You also can control static by keeping ambient humidity low.
The following are four types of threats:
Some examples of security that can be implemented include the following:
Viruses, by nature, require some action to activate them, and so they attach themselves to executable files. Those files are usually denoted by their extension, which can be BAT, EXE, or COM. Overlays, OVL files, provide other opportunities, however, as do FAT tables and boot sectors.
Very rarely have there been occurrences of viruses shipping with retail software. Most of the time, viruses enter the workplace through pirated software, downloaded shareware, or other suspect software. In a perfect world, the best solution is to prevent anyone other than the system administrator from installing software on the network. In this sense, "network" refers to all things physically attached--not only the server, but all workstations, too.
Given that there is no perfect world, and that you often cannot prevent installation of software on an individual's workstation, you must contend with the possibility of a virus attack. To do so, you should perform the following:
You should maintain three types of records--those relating to the LAN system, the history surrounding it, and the resources available.
For the LAN system, there should be a detailed map identifying the location of users, and all tangible components: printers, routers, bridges, and so forth. You also should keep an inventory of the components and documentation on cabling and the workstations.
The history of the LAN should include user profiles, what the purpose of the LAN is, a log of past problems, and usage information. Not only can this come in handy when an administrator is trying to diagnose a problem, but also when said administrator meets a bus somewhere other than the bus stop. Should a change in administrators take place, there is no better way to keep a business on its feet than to have its network thoroughly documented.
The documentation regarding available resources should include information about the protocols and routing in use, as well as the LAN architecture. The most important resource of all, however, is people. You should have a chart of people and phone numbers readily available for when problems become too difficult for the administrator. VAR numbers, manager numbers, and any other emergency personnel numbers should be kept in an easy to find location.
Check It PRO is one program that can give quick facts about your hardware and operating system. It can also benchmark the components and show information about the interrupts.
There are a variety of programs with similar features. The following shows an example of output generated at a workstation with System Information--one of the tools available in Norton Utilities:
Computer Name: IBM AT
Operating System: DOS 6.20
Built-in BIOS dated: Friday, January 15, 1988
Main Processor: Intel 80386 Serial Ports: 2
Co-Processor: Intel 80387 Parallel Ports: 3
Video Display Adapter: Video Graphics Array (VGA)
Current Video Mode: Text, 80 x 25 Color
Available Disk Drives: 13, A: - C:, F: - I:, P:, S:, V:, X: - Z:
DOS reports 639 K-bytes of memory:
254 K-bytes used by DOS and resident programs
385 K-bytes available for application programs
A search for active memory finds:
640 K-bytes main memory (at hex 0000-A000)
128 K-bytes display memory (at hex A000-C000)
128 K-bytes extra memory (at hex C000-E000)
1,024 K-bytes expanded memory
ROM-BIOS Extensions are found at hex paragraphs: C000
Computing Index (CI), relative to IBM/XT: Testing... 73.0
Disk Index (DI), relative to IBM/XT: Not computed. No drive specified.
Performance Index (PI), relative to IBM/XT: Not computed.
Much of the same workstation information can be achieved with newer versions of
DOS and MSD utility. The following is an excerpt from a report run on the same
machine with this utility:
Microsoft Diagnostics version 2.01 1/24/95 7:44pm Page 1
========================================================================
------------------------ Summary Information --------------------------
Computer: Gateway/Phoenix, 486DX
Memory: 640K, 15104K Ext, 1024K EMS, 1024K XMS
Video: VGA, ATI , Ultra
Network: Novell, Shell 4.10.00
OS Version: MS-DOS Version 6.20, Windows 3.10
Mouse: Serial Mouse 7.05
Other Adapters: Game Adapter
Disk Drives: A: B: C: F: G: H: I: P:
LPT Ports: 3
COM Ports: 2
------------------------------ Computer ------------------------------
Computer Name: Gateway
BIOS Manufacturer: Phoenix
BIOS Version: 680486 ROM BIOS PLUS Version 0.10 G21-2
BIOS Category: Phoenix PC/AT Compatible BIOS
BIOS ID Bytes: FC 81 00
BIOS Date: 01/15/88
Processor: 486DX
Math Coprocessor: Internal
Keyboard: Enhanced
Bus Type: ISA/AT/Classic Bus
DMA Controller: Yes
Cascaded IRQ2: Yes
BIOS Data Segment: None
------------------------------ Network ------------------------------
Network Detected: Yes
Network Name: Novell
MS-DOS Network Functions: Not Supported
NetBIOS Present: No
Shell Version: 4.10.00
Shell OS: MS-DOS
Shell OS Version: V6.20
Hardware Type: IBM_PC
Station Number: 3
Physical Station Number: 0060:8C84:A8DD
IPX Installed: Yes
SPX Installed: Yes
ODI/LSL Installed: Yes
Regardless of which utility you use, you should run reports regularly and store
them in a place where they are easily accessible. When problems arise,
immediately run the utility again and look for any discrepancies that signal
problems.