Network Plus 2005 In Depth
.pdfxContents
Remote Connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Dial-up Networking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Remote Access Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Remote Access Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Remote Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
Terminal Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Web Portals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
Chapter 8 Network Operating Systems and Windows
Server 2003-Based Networking . . . . . . . . . . 355
Introduction to Network Operating Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
Selecting a Network Operating System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
Network Operating Systems and Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
Network Operating System Services and Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
Client Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
Identifying and Organizing Network Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Sharing Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368
Sharing Printers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370
Managing System Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
Introduction to Windows Server 2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
Windows Server 2003 Hardware Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
A Closer Look at Windows Server 2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
Windows Server 2003 Memory Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
Windows Server 2003 File Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
MMC (Microsoft Management Console) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
Active Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
Planning for Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392
Installing and Configuring a Windows Server 2003 Server . . . . . . . . . 395
The Installation Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395
Initial Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397
Establishing Users and Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
Contents xi
Internetworking with Other Network Operating Systems . . . . . . . . . . 402
Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405
Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412
Chapter 9 Networking with UNIX-Type of Operating Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415
A Brief History of UNIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416
Varieties of UNIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
Proprietary UNIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418
Open Source UNIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418
Three Flavors of UNIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419
UNIX Server Hardware Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420
Solaris Hardware Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421
Linux Hardware Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422
Mac OS X Server Hardware Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423
A Closer Look at UNIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423
UNIX Multiprocessing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424
The UNIX Memory Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424
The UNIX Kernel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424
UNIX System File and Directory Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
UNIX System File Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426
A UNIX Command Sampler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426
Installing Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432
Planning a Linux Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432
Installing and Configuring Fedora Core . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433
Administering a UNIX-Type of Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434
Establishing Groups and Users on Linux and Solaris . . . . . . . . . . . 434
Establishing Groups and Users on Mac OS X Server . . . . . . . . . . . 435
Changing File Access Permissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438
Connecting to UNIX-Type of Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440
Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442
Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445
Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447
xii Contents
Chapter 10 NetWare-Based Networking . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451
Introduction to NetWare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452 NetWare Server Hardware Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455 A Closer Look at the NetWare 6.5 Operating System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456 NetWare Integrated Kernel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456 NetWare File System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458 eDirectory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460 Planning for Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464 Installing and Configuring a NetWare 6.5 Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466 The Installation Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466 Establishing Users and Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468 Client Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471 Traditional Client Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471 Native File Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472 Browser-Based Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474 Internetworking with Other Operating Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474 Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475 Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477 Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479
Chapter 11 In-Depth TCP/IP Networking . . . . . . . . . . . . |
481 |
Designing TCP/IP-Based Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482
Subnetting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483
CIDR (Classless Inter-Domain Routing) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491
Internet Gateways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493
NAT (Network Address Translation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494
ICS (Internet Connection Sharing) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496
Intranets and Extranets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 497
TCP/IP Mail Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498
SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498
MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499
POP (Post Office Protocol) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499
IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500
Additional TCP/IP Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501
Netstat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 502
Nbtstat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503
Contents xiii
Nslookup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504
Dig . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505
Whois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506
Traceroute (Tracert) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507
Ipconfig . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508
Winipcfg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509
Ifconfig . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510
VoIP (Voice Over IP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511
Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515
Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 517
Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521
Chapter 12 Troubleshooting Network Problems . . . . . . . 523
Troubleshooting Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
524 |
Identify the Symptoms and Potential Causes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
525 |
Identify the Affected Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
526 |
Establish What Has Changed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
530 |
Select the Most Probable Cause . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
531 |
Implement an Action Plan and Solution Including Potential Effects . . |
|
537 |
|
Test the Result . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
541 |
Identify the Results and Effects of the Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
542 |
Document the Solution and Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
542 |
Help to Prevent Future Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
545 |
Troubleshooting Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
546 |
Crossover Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
546 |
Tone Generator and Tone Locator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
546 |
Multimeter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
548 |
Cable Continuity Testers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
549 |
Cable Performance Testers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
551 |
Network Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
552 |
Protocol Analyzers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
554 |
Wireless Network Testers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
556 |
Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
558 |
Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
560 |
Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
563 |
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Chapter 13 Ensuring Integrity and Availability . . . . . . . . 565
What Are Integrity and Availability? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 566
Viruses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 568
Types of Viruses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569
Virus Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571
Virus Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 572
Virus Hoaxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575
Fault Tolerance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575
Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 576
Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 576
Topology and Connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 580
Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 584
Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 587
Data Backup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 594
Backup Media and Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 595
Backup Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 598
Disaster Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 600
Disaster Recovery Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 601
Disaster Recovery Contingencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 601
Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 602
Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 606
Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 611
Chapter 14 Network Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 615
Security Audits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 616
Security Risks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 617
Risks Associated with People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 618
Risks Associated with Transmission and Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . 619
Risks Associated with Protocols and Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 620
Risks Associated with Internet Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 621
An Effective Security Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 622
Security Policy Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 622
Security Policy Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 624
Response Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 625
Physical Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 625
Contents xv
Security in Network Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 627
Firewalls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 628
Proxy Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 631
Remote Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 632
Network Operating System Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 633
Logon Restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 634
Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 635
Encryption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 636
Key Encryption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 636
PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 641
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 641
SSH (Secure Shell) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 642
SCP (Secure CoPy) and SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) . . . 643
IPSec (Internet Protocol Security) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 644
Authentication Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 644
RADIUS and TACACS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 645
PAP (Password Authentication Protocol) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 646
CHAP and MS-CHAP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 646
EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 649
Kerberos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 649
Wireless Network Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 651
WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 651
IEEE 802.11i and WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) . . . . . . . . . . . . 653
Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 653
Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 656
Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 664
Chapter 15 Implementing and Managing Networks. . . . . 667
Project Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 668
Determining Project Feasibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 670
Assessing Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 671
Setting Project Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 672
Project Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 673
Testing and Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 677
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Network Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 678
Obtaining Baseline Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 678
Performance and Fault Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 680
Asset Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 683
Software Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 684
Patches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 685
Client Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 687
Shared Application Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 688
Network Operating System Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 689
Reversing a Software Upgrade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 691
Hardware and Physical Plant Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 692
Adding or Upgrading Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 693
Cabling Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 695
Backbone Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 696
Reversing Hardware Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 697
Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 697
Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 700
Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 702
Appendix A Network+ Examination Objectives . . . . . . . . 705
Appendix B Network+ Practice Exam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 715
Appendix C Visual Guide to Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 739
Appendix D Standard Networking Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . 743
Appendix E Answers to Chapter Review Questions. . . . . 751
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 757
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 829
Preface
Knowing how to install, configure, and troubleshoot a computer network is a highly marketable and exciting skill. This book first introduces the fundamental building blocks that form a modern network, such as protocols, topologies, hardware, and network operating systems. It then provides in-depth coverage of the most important concepts in contemporary networking, such as client/server architecture, TCP/IP, Ethernet, wireless transmission, and security. After reading the book, you will be prepared to select the best network design, hardware, and software for your environment. You will also have the skills to build a network from scratch and maintain, upgrade, and troubleshoot an existing network. Finally, you will be well-prepared to pass CompTIA’s (the Computing Technology
Industry Association’s) Network+ certification exam.
Because some technical topics can be difficult to grasp, this book explains concepts logically and in a clear, approachable style. In addition, concepts are reinforced by real-world examples of networking issues from a professional’s standpoint. The numerous tables and illustrations, along with the glossaries, appendices, and study questions make the book a valuable reference for any networking professional.
The Network+ CoursePrep Exam Guide, which you can download from http://www.courseptr.com/downloads, offers several hundred multiple choice questions to further prepare you for passing CompTIA’s Network+ certification exam.
Intended Audience
This book is intended to serve the needs of students and professionals who are interested in mastering fundamental, vendor-independent networking concepts. No previous networking experience is necessary to begin learning from this book, although knowledge of basic computer principles is helpful. Those seeking to pass CompTIA’s Network+ certification exam will find the text’s content, approach, and numerous study questions especially helpful. For more information on Network+ certification, visit CompTIA’s web site at www.comptia.org.
The book’s pedagogical features are designed to provide a truly interactive learning experience, preparing you for the challenges of the highly dynamic networking industry.
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Chapter Descriptions
Here is a summary of the topics covered in each chapter of this book:
Chapter 1, “An Introduction to Networking,” begins by answering the question “What is a network?” Next it presents the fundamental types of networks and describes the elements that constitute the most popular type, the client/server network. This chapter also introduces career options for those interested in mastering networking skills.
Chapter 2, “Networking Standards and the OSI Model,” describes the organizations that set standards in the networking industry, including those that oversee wiring codes, network access methods, and Internet addressing. It also discusses, in depth, the OSI Model, which is the industry standard for conceptualizing communication between computers on a network.
Chapter 3, “Transmission Basics and Networking Media,” describes signaling techniques used on modern networks, including those used over copper cable, fiber-optic cable, and wireless connections. It also covers the characteristics—including cost, materials, and connector types—for physical and atmospheric media that can be used to carry signals.
Chapter 4, “Network Protocols,” explores network protocols in detail, with a particular emphasis on the TCP/IP protocol suite. Functions and interactions between each core protocol and subprotocol are described in the context of the OSI Model. This chapter also explains computer addressing and naming conventions for each major protocol suite.
Chapter 5, “Networking Hardware,” examines the hardware associated with a network, including NICs (network interface cards), hubs, routers, bridges, gateways, and switches. In Chapter 5, you will find several photos portraying typical networking equipment.
Chapters 6, “Topologies and Access Methods,” discusses the variety of physical and logical topologies used in local area networks. This chapter includes detailed discussions of the popular Ethernet and wireless access methods.
Chapter 7, “WANs, Internet Access, and Remote Connectivity,” expands on your knowledge of networks by examining WAN (wide area network) topologies and transmission methods, such as T-carriers, ISDN, DSL, and broadband cable. Here you will also learn about options for accessing networks from remote locations, including dial-up networking and VPNs (virtual private networks).
Chapter 8, “Network Operating Systems and Windows Server 2003-Based Networking,” covers the purpose and design of network operating system software. It then provides an overview of the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 network operating system, including Active Directory, the Windows Server 2003 method of organizing network elements. In this chapter you will also learn how to integrate Windows servers with clients and servers running different operating systems.
Preface xix
Chapter 9, “Networking with UNIX-type of Operating Systems,” discusses the unique features of UNIX, Linux, and Mac OS X Server network operating systems (collectively termed “UNIX-type of systems”). It enumerates basic commands that can be used on UNIX-type of systems and explains how these operating systems can share resources and communicate over networks.
Chapter 10, “NetWare-Based Networking,” describes the unique features of the Novell NetWare network operating system, including eDirectory (or NDS), which is NetWare’s method of organizing network elements. You will also learn how to integrate NetWare servers with clients and servers running different operating systems.
Chapter 11, “In-Depth TCP/IP Networking,” explores advanced concepts relating to TCP/IP-based networking, such as subnetting and NAT (Network Address Translation). It also details commands useful for evaluating devices and connections that run the TCP/IP protocol suite.
Chapter 12, “Troubleshooting Network Problems,” approaches the tasks of troubleshooting and maintaining networks in a logical, practical manner. Once you have learned how networks operate and how to create them, you will need to know how to fix and maintain them.
Chapter 13, “Ensuring Integrity and Availability,” explains how to keep network resources available and connections reliable despite threats such as power outages or hardware and software failures. In this chapter you will find information about backup power supplies, redundant disk arrays, and data backup procedures.
Chapter 14, “Network Security,” discusses critical network security techniques, including the use of firewalls, encryption, and enterprise-wide security policies. Network security is a major concern when designing and maintaining modern networks, which typically use open protocols and connect to public networks such as the Internet.
Chapter 15, “Implementing and Managing Networks,” concludes the book by describing how to approach large network projects including software or hardware updates or an entire network implementation. This chapter builds on all the knowledge you’ve gained about network fundamentals, design, maintenance, and troubleshooting.
Appendix A, “Network+ Examination Objectives,” provides a complete list of the 2005 Network+ certification exam objectives, including the percentage of the exam’s content they represent and which chapters in the book cover material associated with each objective.
Appendix B, “Network+ Practice Exam,” offers a practice exam containing questions similar in content and presentation to those you will find on CompTIA’s Network+ examination.