UNIT STRUCTURE

Managing network accounts

Managing network performance

Managing network data security

What you will learn

You will learn how to install, configure and maintain computer hardware, protocols,

operating systems, software and internet-working devices, with special emphasis on

developing troubleshooting skills.

Instructors with business and industry experience lead classes and cover key topics such

as network administration, client/server installation and support, Web server

management, database implementation and network security.

You will have the chance to work in groups with other class members to learn valuable

teamwork and communication skills that reflect the real-world soft-skill requirements.

Network administration and Support

Introduction A Network Administrator is an individual that is responsible for the maintenance of computer

hardware and software systems that make up a computer network including the maintenance and

monitoring of active data network or converged infrastructure and related network equipment.

Network Administrators are generally mid-level support staff within an organization and do not

typically get involved directly with users. Network Administrators focus upon network

components within a company's LAN/WAN infrastructure ensuring integrity. Depending on the

company and its size, the Network Administrator may also design and deploy networks.

Duties of a Network Administrator

The role of the Network administrator can vary significantly depending on an organizations size,

location and socio-economic considerations. Some organizations work on a user-to-technical

support ratio.] whilst others implement many other strategies.

Generally, in terms of reactive situations (i.e.: unexpected disruptions to service, or service

improvements), IT Support Incidents are raised through an Issue tracking system. Typically,

these issues work their way through a Help desk and then flow through to the relevant

technology area for resolution. In the case of a network related issue, an issue will be directed

towards a Network Administrator. If a Network Administrator is unable to resolve an issue, a

ticket will be escalated to a more senior Network Engineer for restoration of service or a more

appropriate skill group.

Network Administrators are often involved in proactive work. This type of work will often

include:

Network monitoring

Testing the network for weakness

Keeping an eye out for needed updates

Installing and implementing security programs

In many cases, E-mail and Internet filters

Managing network accounts

Accounting management involves tracking each individual user's utilization of network resources

for the purposes of allocation of resources and billing for their use of the network. This type of

information helps a network manager allocate the right kind of resources to users, as well as

plan for network growth. With the same information, the cost of transmitting messages across the

network can be computed and billed to the user if the traffic was revenue bearing. This type of

management involves monitoring the login and logoff records, and checking the network usage

to determine a user's use of the network. In addition, access privileges and usage quotas can be

established and checked against actual for accounting information. 

Accounting management is an applied field that deals with actual money moving in and out of a

system. In many ways, it is the applied form of economics, although the vast majority of

accounting management applies to a single business or system rather than an entire economy.

This form of management has two main functions: it oversees project planning from an economic

standpoint and it deals with the banking and the accounting aspects of the company.

The most likely place where accounting management is needed is within a large organization

such as a business or government. In these larger organizations, the accounts are usually

managed by an entire department that does nothing but work through monetary information.

Smaller structures typically have an accounting system, but do not require the all-encompassing

systems commonly found in accounting management. These smaller accounting systems typically

have a small staff or may even outsource their accounting to a local firm.

The first main duty of accounting management is overseeing the money used by the organization.

As a result, the accounting department is typically involved in nearly every aspect of the

organization’s dealings. The accountants assist with every phase of a project from planning to

implementation. The accounting system will often determine the monetary viability of a project

before it is even started, essentially deciding if the organization can afford the money it will need

to spend.

The work of this department is often more behind-the-scenes than others. The planning and

analysis phases of a new project are often done by accounting before they are given over to the

rest of the company. If the accountants determine that the project isn’t worth the expenditure, it

is often terminated before the rest of them company is even fully aware of it.

In approved projects, accounting management is used to keep the spending on track. This means

that the department is constantly overseeing the actions of other departments in order to keep

costs down. This, plus the initial approval phases, gives this department a great deal of power in

a standard organization. As a result, most large-scale accounting departments perform rigorous

internal audits to keep the department on track.

The second duty of an accounting management department is handling the money as it flows

through the organization. It handles corporate bank accounts, payroll, invoicing and receiving.

For the most part, if the process involves the movement of money, whether in or out of the

company, the accountants are usually part of it.

Managing Access and Accounts:

• Setting up user accounts is less complicated than assigning access rights

• Every OS has procedures and/or an interface for setting up accounts

• It is better to add privileges than to take them away from users

• Start with fairly restrictive account policies

User Accounts:

• A user account holds information about the specific user

• It can contain basic information such as name, password, and the level of permission the

user in granted

• It can also contain much more specific information such as the department the user

works in, a home phone number, and the days and hours the user is allowed to log on to

specific workstations

Managing Groups:

• Groups are created to make the sharing of resources more manageable

• A group contains users that share a common need for access to a particular resource

• Even though the connotations may differ with each operating system, all of these terms

still refer to the access that a user or group account is granted

Administrator Account :

• All operating systems have an administrative account

• The administrative account should be used only for the purpose of administering the

server

• Granting users this type of access is a disaster waiting to happen

• Most operating systems set up the administrative account during installation

Passwords:

• Allowing users to create simple passwords produces an unsecured environment

• If the passwords are too difficult to remember, users will probably write them down and

may even post them

• A weak password might be very short or only use alphanumeric characters or contain

information easily guessed by someone profiling the user

Strong Passwords:

• Strong passwords can be derived from events or things the user knows

• For example, the phrase "Going to the Bahamas on June 6, 2006 with Jean” can be

converted to gtB6606@J

• This creates a complex password that is easy for the user to remember

Password Policies:

• Password policies help protect the network from hackers and define the responsibilities

of users who have been given access to company resources

• All users should read and sign security policies as part of their employment process

• Many times it is necessary to restrict logon hours for maintenance purposes.

Performance Management 

Performance management involves measuring the performance of a network and its resources in

terms of utilization, throughput, error rates, and response times. With performance management

information, a network manager can reduce or prevent network overcrowding and

inaccessibility. This helps provide a more consistent level of service to users on the network,

without overtaxing the capacity of devices and links.

This form of management looks at the percentage of utilization of devices and error rates to help

in improving and balancing the throughput of traffic in all parts of a network. Typically, some

devices are more highly utilized than others. Performance monitoring give qualitative and time

relevant information on the health and performance of devices so that underutilized devices are

more fully utilized, and overtaxed devices are rebalanced. In a well-utilized network with healthy

components, the error rates for packets traversing the network are down and response times are

shortened. 

• As your network changes, its performance must be monitored and improved

• A measure of normal activity is known as a baseline

• Baselines must be updated on a regular basis, when the network has changed, or new

technology has been deployed

Monitoring Tools

• After baselines are established, the network needs to be monitored

• Many tools can be used to monitor the performance on the network:

– Event Viewer

– Performance Console

– Network Monitor

– Task Manager

The Event Viewer

• Allows auditing certain events

• The Event Viewer maintains three log files:

– One for system processes

– One for security information

– One for applications

The Task Manager

• Task Manager can be used to end processes or applications that get hung up without

having to reboot the machine

• It also gives you an instant view of CPU and memory usage

• It should be one of the first places to check when something seems awry

The Network Monitor

• Network Monitor is a protocol analyzer

• It can be used to capture network traffic and generate statistics for creating reports

• Network Monitor is not installed by default in Windows 2000

• It must be added as an optional Windows component

Network security management

Security management deals with ensuring overall security of the network, including protecting

sensitive information through the control of access points to that information. Sensitive

information is any data that an organization wants to secure, such as research documents,

payroll data, and sales and inventory figures. Protecting sensitive data from unauthorized access

is a common requirement. Security concerns can be assuaged with a well-designed and

implemented security management system. 

Security management controls access to the network devices and sensitive information through

the use of devices such as passwords. This management also controls the form of sensitive data

using methods such as encryption. There are many encryption techniques available for sensitive

digital data such as public and private key encryption that have been in use for some time. 

Each area of management in this five-part model is not exclusive of the others. It is typical for

performance management to work in conjunction with fault and configuration management. For

example, a monitored device interface that exhibits a slowly increasing error rate can be verified

by an alarm query, and could then be reconfigured and bypassed before the fault affects traffic.

Using these five management categories as guide lines, a more critical review can be made of

any product's ability to manage or be managed as a network device. 

security is that the security an organization needs largely determines exactly how professionals

manage the network. Each part of the security system also has to be organized well to ensure

efficiency of control, with managers identifying the threats present for the network. When

managers find breaches of policy or law that relate to the system, it is their responsibility to turn

individuals over to the proper authorities or take appropriate business action.

The amount of security necessary in a network varies from person to person and business to

business. For instance, a home network may contain some personal information such as

passwords, but it does not contain the same amount of confidential information as a network in a

major government agency. The more sensitive the information on the network is, or the larger

the amount of data, the more closely managers have to manage the network, putting more heavy-

duty security measures in place.

Understanding

that the need for network management and security varies, network managers must formalize

their network management and security policies. For example, they might write a specific policy

that explains the specific software or user authentication procedure the company will use, or

what a person has to do for permission to connect a portable device such as a flash drive. Within

the policy, they must be specific about the penalties or consequences of policy breach, such as

suspension, loss of pay, dismissal or alert of police.

Just as police officers have to identify threats such as violence, people in network security and

management have to identify the threats to the network in order to develop a management policy

and keep the network at the right level of access. Examples of threats to network management

and security include hacking, viruses and denial-of-service attacks. Once the network manager

knows the risks, he can configure the network in such a way that the network is more secure

against those particular issues. Identifying risks involves investigating both the hardware and

software a person or company uses.

Network management and security personnel are not law enforcement agents. When they have

evidence of an electronic or Internet crime, however, they are obligated to report the problem.

This is a matter of both company and social stability. This obligation leads network managers to

serve as liaisons between their company or client and law enforcement agents as needed,

providing evidence of legal breaches and testifying about the network in question. If an employee

is dismissed or disciplined for breach of company policy rather than law, the network manager

might have to help defend the company's decision in the instance the dismissed or disciplined

employee files a lawsuit.

Network Security Components:

• The security components of a network fall into the following three areas:

– physical

– data

– system

Physical Security

• identifies threats to the hardware and buildings that store system data

• Threats include unauthorized access as well as natural disasters

• As new physical security systems are deployed users must be trained on how to use them

Protecting Data and Systems

• Backing up data is critical

• Off-site copies of data allow recovery in case an entire facility is destroyed

• If backup function is outsourced, be sure the company is reputable and the employees are bonded

Protecting Data and Systems

• Backing up data is critical

• Off-site copies of data allow recovery in case an entire facility is destroyed

• If backup function is outsourced, be sure the company is reputable and the employees are bonded

Questions:

1.  Twisted pair cabling uses an RJ-11 connector.

a)  True         b)  False

2.  Which cable type offers the most security?

a)  Coaxial

b)  Shielded twisted pair

c)  Fiber optic

d)  Twisted pair

3.  Which statement is not true about a repeater?

a)  It regenerates network signals so they can travel farther.

b)  They are primarily used in linear cable systems.

c)  Every node on the network must have the same address.

d)  All segments must have the same access address.

4.  Ethernet,Token ring, and Arcnet are_____?

a)  Topologies

b)  Buses

c)  Protocols

5.  While installing NT server as a member server in Corp domain you get the message "Could not locate Primary Domain Controller for CORP domain". What do you do?

a)  Install the member Server in a workgroup and join the domain later.

b)  Install the memeber server as a PDC.

c)  Install the server as a BDC in a workgroup and join the domain later.

d)  Stop installation

6. Three network model types are centralized, distributed and

a)  constructed

b)   administrative

c)  managed

d)   collaborative

7. Which address is valid for Class C?

a)  33.114.17.24

b)   199.45.283.24

c)  202.67.13.87

d)  155.23.94.2

8. The IP address consists of ________ octets.

a)  2      b)  4     c) 8       d) 16

9. How many hosts can a Class B network have if the default subnet mask is used?

a) 65,435      b) 16,384       c) 16,483       d) 65,534

10. What Class of Address has a 0 as the Most Significant Bit in the first octet?

a)  Class A       b) Class B        c) Class C            d) Class D

11. What is the default subnet mask for a Class C address?

a)  255.0.0.0

b)  255.255.0.0

c)   255.255.255.0

d)   255.255.255.255

12. EtherNet can support up to ................... nodes on a network.

a)  256

b)  1024

c)  2000

d)  100

13. Which levels of RAID does Windows NT support?

a)  1 to 5

b)  0 to 5

c)  1, 5

d)  0, 1, 5

14. (True/False) RAID level 5 uses a dedicated drive that holds parity information for fault tolerance.

a)  True

b)  False

15. You have installed Windows NT Server 4.0 and now want to set up fault tolerance on your hard disk.

Which of the following  fault-tolerance methods can the system files be part of?

a)  mirror set

b)  stripe set without parity

c)  stripe set with parity

d)  volume set

16. You are installing a multiboot system containing Windows 95, Windows NT Server and Windows NT

Workstation. You want to  be able to share files and data among the three operating systems. What file

system should you choose?

a)  NTFS

b)  FAT

c)  HPFS

d)  FAT32

17. What is the minimum requirement for Disk Duplexing ?

a)  1 hard disk controller and 2 physical disks

b)  1 hard disk controller and 3 physical disks

c)  hard disks controllers and 2 physical disks

d)  hard disks controller and 4 physical disks

18. You are given a diagram of a subnetted class B network. In the middle there is a router at 160.110.4.1,

there is a workstation at 160.110.7.100

that can't communicate with an NT server at 160.110.4.17. The subnet mask on everything is 255.255.252.0.

There are also some printers, and other workstations placed in there to throw you off track.

a)  Change the subnet mask to 255.255.240.0

b)  Change the subnet mask to 255.255.248.0

c)  Place the problem workstation on the same subnet as the NT server

d)  Some lame answer about changing the IP of one of the bogus workstations.

e)  Change the default gateway of the problem workstation to 160.110.4.1.

19. You have 5 class C blocks given to you by Internic. You need to implement these on you network. You

have 3 segments with 300 clients each.  Minimize number of subnets on each segment. What do you do?

a) Leave the default subnet mask in place

b) Implement a subnet mask borrowing 3 bits.

c) Implement a subnet mask borrowing 4 bits.

d) Something else

20. To view all computer roles in the domain you would run _____ on the PDC

a)  server manager

b)  computer manager

c)  domain manager

d)  shift manager

21. A BDC is promoted by ________

a)  reinstalling Windows NT

b)  naming the BDC as the PDC

c)  using server manager

d)  2 & 3

22. For connectivity to UNIX systems connected to your WindowsNT network, you would use:

a)  TCP/IP

b)  NetBEUI

c)  NetBIOS

d)  UNC

23. Disk striping without parity requires _____ physical hard drives

a)  2      b)  3        c)  4         d)  > 4

24. When a hard drive that is part of the mirror set dies, the easiest and quickest way to get backup up and

running is to:

a)  replace the drive with an exact match

b)  Reboot

c)  Remove the drive and reboot

d)  break the mirror set, replace the drive, reset the mirror set

25. You are given a diagram of a subnetted class B network. In the middle there is a router at 160.110.4.1,

there is a workstation at 160.110.7.100 that can't communicate with an NT server at 160.110.4.17. The subnet

mask on everything is  255.255.252.0. There are also some printers, and other workstations placed in there

to throw you off track. The answers (choose two)?

a)  Change the subnet mask to 255.255.240.0

b) Change the subnet mask to 255.255.248.0

c) Place the problem workstation on the same subnet as the NT server

d) Some lame answer about changing the IP of one of the bogus workstations.

e) Change the default gateway of the problem workstation to 160.110.4.1

26. What is the protocol used in windows 95 for peer-to-peer networking?

a. TCP/IP    b) NetBIOS     c) NetBEUI    d) IPX.SPX

27. You have an Ethernet network and a Tokin Ring network. When you send a file from Token Ring to

Ethernet it takes 2 minutes. When you send the same file from Ethernet to Token Ring it takes 30

seconds.What is the cause?

a)  The Ethernet packet size is larger than the Token Ring packet size

b)  The Token Ring packet size is larger than the Ethernet packet size.

c)  The Token Ring network is slower

28. How many ohms is used for termination of a 10Base5 network?

a. 45 ohms    b) 50 ohms     c) 100 ohms

29. Which type of cabling is able to handle speeds up to 100Mbps.

a)  CAT 3

b)  Category 5

c)  Category 100

30. An IP address is:

a)  a 16-bit number written as a 4-decimal number with each 8 bits representing a byte.

b)  a 32-bit octal number separated into 4 bytes.

c)  a 32-bit number normally written as a 4-decimal number with each number representing 8 bits of the address.