Summary

IP addresses are truly the key to making an IP network useful and usable. The inverse of this statement is that IP addresses are also the means by which networked systems are probed and attacked and the network's operational stability is compromised. Defending against such potential threats to your network's stability begins with an awareness of the pitfalls. This was the modest goal of this chapter. Suffice it to say that maintaining a network's stability starts with a base of good, reliable hardware. On top of that base must be layered great methods and procedures and a solid plan for managing the address space. Chapter 13, "Planning and Managing an Address Space," takes a long, hard look at some of the strategies you can employ when managing an address space.