Task 2 - Goals of fault management

Fault management – Merit (U5-M) [Ryan White]

  Fault management in networks is the important process of detecting, isolating and resolving issues that could occur within the network. Fault management, when properly implemented, can ensure than the network is running to its best and minimise potential downtime. This also includes how faults should be reported i.e. via email or phone etc.

The aim of fault management is to reduce the amount of downtime a network receives and to keep it running at optimal conditions by preventing as many faults as possible, and quickly isolating and resolving any that occur.

  Fault management is necessary for a successful network because the growing dependency on networked systems means that minimum downtime on a network should be expected, especially in settings such as a company whose income relies on networked systems.

The consequences of failure of fault management can range from mild annoyance, to severe risks for businesses depending on what has failed and why. In a business setting a fault in a network could potentially lose you a great deal of money if you trade primarily online and could be the difference between a customer choosing your company or a competitor. As well as losing money, a faulty network could potentially compromise the integrity of the businesses data, which would not only make customers lose faith in the business, but would also put them in opposition with the law. On the other hand, a faulty network could just cause annoyance for the fact you can’t connect to the internet at home. However, this still means something is wrong with the network and should be fixed.

  In order to minimise consequences of failure you should have a variety of tools to prevent issues, and detect them if they appear. Diagnostic software and alarms can be used to actively isolate and correct issues before the network is badly affected, or warn a network administrator who can help. Having regularly scheduled backups is another way to minimise consequences of failure as a faulty network could potentially corrupt data or allow viruses to enter, so by having a backup you reduce this risk.

Task 3 - Routine performance management activities

Task 3 - Unit 5, D1 (Justify the inclusion of routine performance management activities within a network managers role) [George King]

Regular maintenance activities.

Backup and restore files.

  Organisations will routinely back up files with in its network to an off-site location. These systems will either take physical copies of the files or move them to an off-site location, or they would take a virtual ‘image’ of the networks files. These files well then be updated when the next back-up is completed, this will mean an organisation can have the very latest of its files restored in the event of a failure.

 

 A reason that organisations will take copies of its files and resources is that it will be used to restore a network in the event of a system failure. If the networks became corrupted, had been lost or stolen - copies of the files will be reinstated back into the network so that an organisation can carry on with its business. This being said, an attack on a network that does not have backed up files to an off-site location can be costly and even dangerous to an organisation. If the information is lost completely, (due to not having back-up systems)

User account creation and deletion.

  One of the routine maintenance activities undertaken by administrators is to create and delete user’s accounts; this will also include allocating permissions to individual accounts. Large organisations will often have to add and delete multiple accounts at the same time, this is done because they will need new accounts for employees and will delete older accounts.            

  This regular activity within networking systems has to be routinely done to ensure that all employees within the organisation have access to network resources and tools. If this is not routinely it can result in outdated accounts, employees not having access to network resources - or if there are accounts that are unused it may take up unnecessary resources.

Design and develop login scripts.

  Continuing on from user account creation, an additional useful tool that can be used by network administrators is login scripts. These are used to make the process of altering permissions and managing groups of accounts on a network more simple, along with these options to be centrally controlled by the administrator. Additionally, these scripts are programmed to run when a user logs onto their account, meaning the environment of the users network will be configured upon logging in.  Once the script has been written, it can be changed with ease to best suite the administrators needs, for example; changing specific permissions of groups of accounts contained within the logion script.

 

  With the primary role of login scripts to make the task of managing accounts easy and more controlled, having these scripts in place with do just that. The main advantage of using login scripts is that they can be used for numerous accounts, meaning an administrator only has to change the script in order to change multiple user accounts environment. An organisations network administrator that does not choose to use scripts would have to manually change each other accounts individually - along with not having the centralised control that login scripts offer.

Virus scans.

 Various software tools are used routinely by administrators to perform certain tasks, one of which is essential to an organisations safety is virus scanning software. This works by scanning through all of files stored with in a server, and then checking to see if files look suspicious. Often, software such as this will have the ability to perform ‘quick scans’ ,this will search a smaller but more specific part of the storage drives; for example, files that are downloaded from the internet. Alternatively, a ‘full’ system scan will search every file located on each drive of the server.

  For a network to stay secure and working correctly, it must routinely run virus scans – this is done to remove any viruses that will cause (or already have caused) harm and disruption to a network. Additionally, most virus scans have the ability to delete any malicious or suspicious content found, thus keeping a networks resources free of viruses. If administrators do not routinely scan for viruses, this can potential disrupt services and cause un-told damage to an organisations network.

File clean-up.

To best make use of storage spaces with in networked servers, administrators will routinely run software that will look for files that are un-used or no longer needed - It will then permanently delete this files.  An example piece software used by administrators on Windows operating systems is 'Disk Cleanup,' this uses a simple one-click option allowing for unnecessary files to be deleted permanently with ease.

  Files such as; temporary internet files and other dump files use storage space that could be used for other useful files need to be deleted in order to make for a more efficient network. Therefore, this clean-up of temporary files are routinely done to best maximise the storage capacity of the network, along with making file search more fast (as there are less files to search through.) One the other hand, due to storage space being an expensive necessity used in networks today, not removing unwanted files would be a waste of organisations resources.

Task 4 - Purpose of networking tools

Task 4 – Purpose of networking tools. (U5-U9 P) [Ryan White]

Directory services:

-          Account management

i)        What – Account management is the creation or deletion of user groups with rights and privileges in order to provide suitable functionality for their account and modify the data they can access and configurations they can make.

ii)      How – Account management is done by administrators who will predefine permissions and privileges for users in different levels. For example, network administrators may be able to access all network resources whereas base level users may only be able to access shared printers.

iii)    Why – The purpose of this is to make sure that the integrity of the network is secure by preventing base level users accessing important data and services which could potentially be a risk to the network as a whole.

-          Authentication management

i)        What – Authentication management is the process of securing networks and systems to make sure only authorised users can access the network.

ii)      How – Authentication can take place in multiple places. SSL (secure socket layer) is a type of authentication to secure web pages which works by issuing a security certificate to be checked by the browser, and then a private key is distributed to maintain a secure exchange. Another authentication management method involves secure WAN connections. The routers involved in the WAN connection can use the challenge handshake application protocol (CHAP), which involves the authenticator transmitting a ID and random value to a client who then joins them both with a pre-defined secret (which is known by both the user and server) and then transmits across the network in a one way hash (number generated from a string of digits) using MD5 which makes the message secure and practically impossible to break.

iii)    Why – You would use authentication management in order to make sure that no unauthorised individuals could gain access to your network, which could potentially pose risks such as compromising data, data loss or corruption.

-          Active directory

i)        What – An active directory is a hierarchical structure/database that contains information regarding network objects, which could include things like servers, shared printers, network user accounts etc.

ii)      How – An active directory works by having an administrator set permissions to allow or deny access to resources of applications through the directory’s tree structure.

iii)    Why – The purpose of an active directory is to keep networks and network objects organised in a hierarchical tree that can be easily changed to suit the administrators/organisation’s needs.

-          DNS

i)        What - A DNS (domain name server) is a server that’s used to change domain names into a corresponding IP address.

ii)      How - Domain name servers work by mapping domain names to a specific IP address and then saving it in their cache. When a user types in a domain name, the DNS will search its cache for the corresponding IP and then direct the user, if a request is sent to a DNS and it doesn’t have the required information, it will request the data from other servers in the network.

iii)    Why - The purpose of domain name servers is that they allow people to use the much more user friendly domain names rather than a raw IP address, which can be difficult to remember.

File services:

-          File transfer

i)        What – FTP (file transfer protocol) is a method of transferring files across the internet for dedicated servers and clients. There are many sites and programs you can use to upload/download files from an FTP server, an example being Filezilla.

ii)      How – FTP works by allowing an authenticated user to access the stored files on a server through TCP/IP protocols in order to download/upload files from the server. HTTP web pages work in the same way as FTP and also allow file transfer.

iii)    Why – The purpose of this technology is to allow multiple authenticated users to access files in a centralised location through FTP programs, many of which are free.

-          File sharing

i)        What – Peer-2-peer file sharing is growing in popularity and allows users to download files from many peer computers simultaneously through a P2P program. This method allows for much faster download rates. Other programs also offer file sharing methods, for example, cloud systems. These systems store files in a central location which authenticated users can all access.

ii)      How – This system of file sharing works by having the file-transfer download distribute itself across the network of computers who have the desired file, at this point the exchange begins and once it’s complete the connection will be broken. Due to the multiple download locations, the bottleneck on the bandwidth is much less, allowing for faster download speeds than the conventional client/server file sharing system.

iii)    Why – The purpose of P2P file sharing is to allow faster downloads for users across a larger network, this is particularly useful for larger files. However, due to the nature is this method, pirating files can be a large issue. Cloud file sharing offers a similar purpose, the quick and easy sharing of files across large networks for authenticated users.

Application services:

-          Proxy server

i)        What – A proxy server is something which acts as a middle man between your computer and the destination server. When a proxy server is in place all traffic from the client network will go through it.

ii)      How – This process works by having the proxy server intercept transmissions from client computers and then directs the request to the actual web server, the proxy then saves the website to its cache.

iii)    Why – A proxy server can drastically improve network performance for clients as it stores request results in it’s in built cache, this means that rather than having to reload the web page form an external server every single time, you can instantly get the results back from the proxy server. Another purpose of a proxy server is to increase network security, it does this by effectively creating a barrier between your clients and the external server, when combined with a firewall, and this creates an effective countermeasure against unauthorised users. Filtering results is another good use for proxy servers, as it will allow them to set up blocks to certain web sites.

-          Storage space

i)        What – Network storage can take many forms, including network drives or file servers. These storage devices are used to hold user data in a centralised point on the network.

ii)      How – Storage on a network works by having the storage medium, such as a network drive, connected to the network and then allowing users with adequate permissions to upload and download files from them.

iii)    Why – The purpose of network storage is to provide an easily accessible, central point for storing files and data for users of the network.

-          VoIP

i)        What - VoIP (Voice over internet protocol) is a technology used to transmit voice communications across the internet, which is essentially using a standard internet connection to transmit phone calls.

ii)      How - This technology works by converting analog audio signals into a digital medium which can be sent in packets across a network.

iii)    Why - The purpose of VoIP is to allow global communication like a phone, but at a significantly reduced price or for free with more than one person.

Telecommunication services:

-          IRC

i)        What - IRC (internet relay chat) is a popular chat system which allows many people (depending on server size) to join in real time conversations/conferences.

ii)      How - In order to use IRC you must first have an internet connection and then an ‘IRC client’ which is a program that’s used to transmit and receive messages from the IRC server you’re connected to. The messages sent in an IRC are transmitted to all people in the conversation by the server.

iii)    Why - The purpose of IRC is to allow global, real time conversations between many individuals. Due to many IRC clients being resource friendly (taking up little room and bandwidth), they are a popular choice for many people wishing to talk globally.

-          Remote access (mobiles, remote desktop, social networking)

i)        What – Remote access is when you are allowed access to another computer system remotely from another device, such as more recent mobile phones.

ii)      How – This works by using GUI applications on your device in order to interact with the other system, examples of these applications include Remote Desktop and VNC (virtual network computing), which use an internet connection to remotely access the other system.

iii)    Why – This technology has many purposes; for example, it allows people to use secondary devices (such as smart phones) to access a primary computer system, which could hold their work. Other devices include troubleshooting computer issues via remote access for people who can’t bring their computer to a repair centre.

Task 1 - Network manager functions

Task 1 - Unit 5, P4 (Explain the functions of network management.) [George King]

Configuration.

  Network Administrators must configure and update aspects of a network to ensure that It constantly performs as necessary, and to constantly improve its systems to achieve its potential. From the initial stages of configuring a network there is both the hardware and software implementations needed - there are four essential stages.  First is the hardware, of which network devices make the bulk of the hardware needed for a network. Switches, routers, clients and cabling all will need to me configured so that they work as is intended, and will communicate. Next is the first of the software stages; once the user accounts are configured users will then be able to access resources such as shared files and printers.

  At this stage of the configuration process the network is at a point where it can work successfully, however, it will now be customised to meet the needs of a business. Application software is what a network will be used in order to produce work, and make other programs work. Here is where most of the network specific programs shall be installed, one of the programs that all networks will need in order to stay secure is anti-viral software. Correct configuration of security applications will allow a network to; scan itself for malicious content, deal with any malicious content found and produce reports of network security.

Fault Management.

  Administrators will use various tools and techniques in organisations to prevent massive problems happen to their network and its IT infrastructure. The duties of fault management falls into two categories - firstly how to prevent the fault and secondly, how to recover as quickly as possible from a fault. Systems that monitor a networks performance are used to alert administrators when there're issues that need to address. Other similar systems are used to either stop faults from happening, or mainly to alert those who can best fix a problem the quickest.

  Furthermore, the second aspect of fault management is to recover a network after its fault. This needs to be done as quickly as possible as this will reduce the damage level - along with costing an organisation for all of the time that its network is down. For example, administrators may have to work outside of regular hours to best fix its problems quickly. A key aspect of most fault management systems used in business is their ability to remotely control.  This will be controlled from a central position in relation to the network, here administrators can monitor and alter numerous fault management systems from one local position.

                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Account Management.

  The purpose of account management is to use tools to allocate permissions and manage all of the users accounts on a network. Administrators will have the job of also adding new users to the network, and then giving them their privileges - users are often grouped depending on what rights they have allocated to their accounts, this makes it easy to change multiple accounts. Another purpose of account management is to increase security of the network; this is done by restricting access to certain users who do not need to have access to that content. Users will only be given access to resources, information, programs and other areas of a network if they require it for work purposes only. 

Performance variables - Network Throughput, User response times, line utilisation.

  To be successful in managing a network, administrators must use tools and techniques to monitor key areas of the network. Performance variables are numerical terms used to measure the performance of areas within a network, often being used in reports to relay information back to the network administrators. By monitoring these areas with this technique, an organisation can change a network to ensure that it is being used efficiently and to the best of its ability.

  One of the first variables that can be monitored with in a network is the speed of how quick data can be sent to two network device (e.g. from a client to a server.)This technique is known as network throughput, a simple method to see the speed of data transmission is by sending a file between two devices, and seeing how long it takes. However, there are more accurate ways of doing this, by using tools such as IPERF. This GUI software is used to measure TCP/UDP bandwidth on Windows and Linux systems. With features that allow administrators to produce reports based on performance and can provide graphical representation.

  Another performance variable that can be monitored is the user response time of accounts and systems. As users primary role is to be able to provide services or resources to a user, this communication within the network must be monitored. Tools such as Nimsofts Monitoring Solution (NMS) provide information on the speed of users’ response times and allow for two types of monitoring - active and passive. Active monitoring uses software to remotely report back on their performance. Whereas passive monitoring will inspect packet times between intervals of requests and responses.

  With in networking, the majority of transmissions between two devices is done with the use of caballing - much like its connecting hardware, cables also need to be upgraded to best improve communication within the network. Line Utilisation shows a visual format how much data is being sent through the networking cables, thus showing if cables are overloaded or underused. Therefore, this technique is useful as it provides administrators evidence on how effective the cables are. Thus allowing decisions to make on how to alter or upgrade networking cables to best allow the network to work correctly.

  Activities - Planning, designing, installing

  When a network is first set up there are three tasks which network administrators will in order to complete tasks.

  First is the planning stages of the project, here is where decisions will be made on what is wanted from the network, and what will be needed in order to complete the project. More specifically, the number of hardware devices (e.g. switches and clients) will be need to decided, along with how they will communicate (e.g. wired or wireless.) Planning stages will also identify what additional equipment and peripherals will be needed, all of which will needed to account for in the budget of the network, and how they will be managed.

  Second is the design stage of a new network. This is where detailed diagrams and instructions will be made on how they want the network to look and assembled. Everything from; floor layouts, component lists, installation guides and cabling maps will all add clarity to the project. Efficient designs will make for a smoother and easy installation later on; this is because everyone will know what needs to be done, and how it will be done. Any aspect that has been over looked by a designer will have costly affects on the projects success - both effecting the time and budget.

  Once the above stages are complete, the network can now be installed. All of the hardware component will now be connected, wired together and given power via the power mains. If all of the initial plans and designs have been successful in accounting for all aspects of the installation, then it should be completed with limited hassle.

Network Operations - Data logging, checking performance and traffic, reporting.

  Only when a network is operational after the installation process can administrators begin to carry out networking options. Regardless of what a networks primary role is, all will be able to; log data, check performance and report back to its administrators.

  In order to collect information and make records of transmissions with in a network, administrators will use a technique called data logging. Data is usually logged at a particular point during the communication between two devices (e.g. between router and a server.) If a fault happened to network, logged data would be analysed to try and determine what the cause for that fault was - and even to try and prevent such incidents happening again.  However, most data logs are only temporary. Data logs can take up massive amounts of resources such as storage drives, and are only revised if f is need.

  For a business to keep its IT infrastructure working and to see if all its systems within a network are properly communicating - an organisation will use techniques to check performance and traffic. An example piece of software used to check performance is 'Microsoft's Network Monitor,' combined with 'paessler traffic grapher' to keep a track on incoming and outgoing traffic.

 Administrators will routinely check performance and the traffic of a network to;

-          Determine what the usual level of performance is for the network.

-          Based on previous reports, check when performance decreases and why.

-          Be able to spot trends in network performance and make decision to best optimise efficiency.

 

  With an organisations network being so crucial to its success, managers and administrators often like to have formal reports about the networks performance. Some of the  software applications previously mentioned, along with others are used in the industry not only to analyse the network, but to produce routine reports based on those findings. As with all of the systems, the report is used as a physical copy to provide evidence when the organisations wish to make decisions about the network. Even an Operating System such as 'Windows Server' can be used to obtain up-to-date information and then produce its own reports.