What s in a Name?


What's in a Name?

Just about everything on a computer network has a name: The computers themselves have names, the people that use the computers have names, the hard drives and printers that can be shared on the network have names, and the network itself has a name. Knowing all the names used on your network isn't essential, but you do need to know some of them.

Here are some additional details about network names:

  • Every person who can use the network has a username (sometimes called a user ID). You need to know your username to log on to the network. You also need to know the usernames of your buddies, especially if you want to steal their files or send them nasty notes.

    Tip 

    You can find more information about usernames and logging on in the section "Logging On to the Network," later in this chapter.

  • Warning 

    Letting folks on the network use their first names as their usernames is tempting but not a good idea. Even in a small office, you eventually run into a conflict. (And, what about Mrs. McCave-made famous by Dr. Seuss-who had 23 children and named them all Dave?)

    Tip 

    Create a consistent way of creating usernames. For example, you may use your first name plus the first two letters of your last name. Then Wally's username is wallycl, and Beaver's is beavercl. Or, you may use the first letter of your first name followed by your complete last name. Then Wally's username is wcleaver, and Beaver's is bcleaver. (In most networks, capitalization doesn't matter in usernames. Thus, bcleaver is the same as BCleaver.)

  • Every computer on the network must have a unique computer name.

    Tip 

    You don't have to know the names of all the computers on the network, but it helps if you know your own computer's name and the names of any server computers you need to access.

    The computer's name is sometimes the same as the username of the person who uses the computer, but that's usually a bad idea because in many companies, people come and go more often than computers. Sometimes the names indicate the physical location of the computer, such as office-12 or back-room. Server computers often have names that reflect the group that uses the server most, like acctng-server or cad-server.

    Some network nerds like to assign techie-sounding names, like BL3K5 - 87a. And some like to use names from science fiction movies-HAL, Colossus, M5, and Data come to mind. Cute names like Herbie aren't allowed. (However, Tigger and Pooh are entirely acceptable-recommended, in fact. Tiggers like networks.)

    REMEMBER 

    Usually, the sensible approach to computer naming is to use names that have numbers, such as computer001 or computer002.

  • Network resources, such as shared disk folders and printers, have names. For example, a network server may have two printers, named laser and inkjet (to indicate the type of printer), and two shared disk folders, named AccountingData and MarketingData.

  • Server-based networks have a username for the network administrator.

    Tip 

    If you log on with a username that has administrator's rights, you can do anything you want: add new users, define new network resources, change Wally's password-anything. The administrator's username is usually something clever, such as Administrator.

  • The network itself has a name.

    REMEMBER 

    The Windows world has two basic types of networks:

    • Domain networks are the norm for large corporate environments that have dedicated servers with IT staff to maintain them.

    • Workgroup networks are more common in homes or in small offices that don't have dedicated servers or IT staff.

    A domain network is known by-you guessed it-a domain name. And a workgroup network is identified by-drum roll, please-a workgroup name. Regardless of which type of network you use, you need to know this name to gain access to the network.




Networking For Dummies
Networking For Dummies
ISBN: 0470534052
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 254
Authors: Doug Lowe

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