When it is time to create a plan, what should the product of this effort be? Depending on the scope of the project, the end result might be a simple short document with a step-by-step checklist for adding a few network devices to the network to segment traffic. As the scope grows larger, so do the receivables that should be prepared for upper management as part of the plan. Some of the things you might want to consider including are listed here:
Document EverythingDocumentation is everything. People have very short memories of things that appear to have only a limited lifetime, such as work projects. It is important that a good project contain several important documents, listed here, but not limited to these:
Test, Test, and Then Test Some MoreAfter you have developed a plan and the requisite documentation, don't assume that all of your assumptions and calculations are accurate. The only way to determine that the products or applications you will use in the upgraded network will function as expected is to perform extensive testing. Microsoft resource kits always point out that for larger networks you should create a testing laboratory and try to test different combinations of applications and operating-system configurations and determine whether the results match the expectations of your plan. For example, directory services are an important issue for large networks. Creating the directory structure may seem at first to be a simple task. You might simply create objects that match up to your company's organizational chart. Yet, what kind of interaction needs to occur between different departments? How can you structure the directory to make the job of granting access to other directory objects an easy task? Just as structured programming techniques make it easier to manage changes in applications as they are modified over time, creating a directory structure for a network should be done in a similar manner. Another reason why a well-designed directory structure is important is that it is through the directory that you can delegate management responsibilities to different administrators, without having to grant an administrator carte blanche access to directory objects that do not fall within their responsibility. It is a good idea to solicit representatives of your user community for testing scenarios. Remember that the users are the most important part of your network. You can spend all the money in the world to buy the latest technology, but it will give you little value in return unless the user can continue to work efficiently. Creating Policies and Procedures for Network UsagePolicies, mentioned earlier, are statements about how something should or should not be used. Policy documents are important for several reasons. First, you can't very well discipline an employee for abusing a network resource if you haven't created a usage policy that prohibits the particular abuse. If you don't want your network users to spend their lunch hours shopping for bargains on eBay.com, you should spell this out in an acceptable usage policy. Policies are important in the design phase of the network because they detail how some resources are to be used. Using the example from the preceding paragraph, if you select an Internet connection after calculating what you expect your bandwidth requirements to be, you might find your network underperforming as users begin to use the connection for nonbusiness needs. Another situation in which policies come into playto the point of being a necessityis when you use a firewall. In Chapter 45, you'll learn more about how important it is to first create a security policy and then implement that security policy using firewall technology. If you don't know what kind of network traffic you want to allow through the firewall, setting one up is going to be difficult. For example, most secure sites prohibit users from the Internet to use the standard telnet application to gain access to computers inside the local network from computers located elsewhere on the Internet. Yet you might have users who work from home.
You can still keep your no-incoming-telnet policy and provide your users with a remote access server that can authenticate dial-in users or by using VPN technology. By finding out what users need in advance, you can include the necessary technology up front in the network design and might not have to make exceptions to policies later. Procedures help prevent mistakes from happening in the first place. They are proactive measures that assist technical and nontechnical people when it comes to performing functions on the network. For example, in your network design you might have a team trained to set up several hundred desktop computers and attach them to the network. Although plugging the network card into the wall socket is simple, configuring the desktop machine can be a little more difficult. You'll need to either configure the desktop machine with valid addressing configuration information or set it up to use Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). Even though you might be doing this on a lot of computers, it's very easy to make a mistake when performing repetitive tasks. By using a checklist for each computer, you can improve your odds of getting it right the first time. Don't wait until you've created the network and then start looking for fires to put out. Instead, create procedure documents for commonly performed tasks. This includes tasks involved in the initial setup of the network, as well as procedures for performing daily tasks after the network is up and runningbackups, connecting network drives, and so on. Tip Remember that wireless clients on a secure network must be configured manually, even if you plan to use DHCP for IP addresses. Each client must be configured with the correct SSID and encryption standard for your SOHO or corporate wireless network, and you must also assign a unique computer name and a common network or domain name for computers in the same workgroup or domain. Make sure your checklist also includes wireless-specific information. Providing Training for Technical PersonnelTechnical users who will be responsible for helping manage the network should be trained in the procedures for which they will be responsible. Again, this means you should provide training for those who will help you set up the network as well as those who will manage it after it is functioning. Training classes can be conducted by in-house personnel already familiar with the technology, or by one of the many hundreds of consulting services that make their living doing just this sort of thing. When it comes to training, consider cross-training support personnel so that if one person is out for the day (or longer), you still have a technician who can assist with the problem. The alternative is to have more than one person trained for specific areas of responsibility, and thus pay more in overhead costs. Remember that the technical staff who support the network are the persons your users must depend on when a problem occurs. Perhaps the most expensive thing that can happen in most networks is downtime. RAID technology and backups can be used to protect data, but if you have hundreds (or even thousands) of idle workers getting paid to sit around while someone is reading a technical manual trying to determine the cause of a network problem, you might want to get your resume in order. Up-front training is not inexpensive, but downtime can be far more expensive than training the technical staff in the first place. You Can't Forget the Budget (or Can You?)When planning a network or an upgrade to a network, it is always tempting to use the latest, greatest gizmos. Sometimes, however, you can accomplish the same thing using a much less expensive gizmo. For example, if you have a small home office, you don't need a $2,000$3,000 router and a T1 line to connect to the Internet. A simple cable or DSL modem and the appropriate broadband service should suffice in most instances. Inexpensive cable/DSL routers can be used to allow several computers on a small network to use this single connection (although some providers discourage, or even disallow thischeck the details on your contract!). There is some debate as to whether the NAT and other firewall technology built into cable/DSL routers can serve as an adequate firewall. There are other protective steps that SOHO networks can employ, such as combining a router with NAT technology with a more complex software-based firewall and frequently updated virus-protection programs. Plan the budget liberally, but don't include items that really aren't necessary. When you present a list of items to upper management that shows them what the new network will do for the company, the benefits should always outweigh the costs you've come up with. Although this might not be such an issue in a growing company, it's better to manage your network project responsibly so that you will maintain a good rapport with management. When you find that something you have planned and implemented isn't working as you expected, and you need to make changes, management will probably be more responsive if you've been frugal with the initial expenses incurred in building the network. |