Chapter 17: Supporting Internet Communications

Overview

The Internet has become a fundamental part of corporate and personal life. It provides individuals with access to virtually unlimited information and provides a communications infrastructure that can be used to make people more productive. The Internet provides a global network that supports e-mail, instant messaging, audio and video messaging, and other forms of information sharing.

Administrators need to be able to configure corporate computers to connect to proxy servers in order to provide users with access to the Internet. Administrators also need to be able to set up dial-up, cable, and DSL connections for themselves and to be able to assist their users in establishing these connections in order to facilitate VPN (virtual private network) connections to the corporate network. Similarly, administrators of small home and office networks need to be able to administer shared Internet access and to secure it using a firewall.

Windows XP Professional provides users with a collection of Internet applications. Computer administrators need to understand the network communications requirements for these applications. They must also be able to work with network administrators and engineers to determine how network devices, such as routers and firewalls, should be configured to support these applications while protecting the corporate network.