I got my start in computers back in the days when mainframe computers ruled the roost. Mainframe computers are big, complex machines that used to fill entire rooms and had to be cooled with chilled water. I worked with an IBM System 370 Model 168. It had a whopping 8MB of memory. (The computer on which I’m writing this book has 3,000 times as much memory.)
Mainframe computers required staffs of programmers and operators in white lab coats just to keep them going. The mainframes had to be carefully managed. A whole bureaucracy grew up around managing them.
Mainframe computers used to be the dominant computers in the workplace. Personal computers changed all that: They took the computing power out of the big computer room and put it on the user’s desktop, where it belongs. PCs severed the tie to the centralized control of the mainframe computer. With a PC, a user could look at the computer and say, “This is mine — all mine!” Mainframes still exist, but they’re not nearly as popular as they once were.
But networks have changed everything all over again. In a way, it’s a change back to the mainframe-computer way of thinking: central location, distributed resources. True, the network isn’t housed in a separate building. But you can no longer think of “your” PC as your own. You’re part of a network — and like the mainframe, the network has to be carefully managed.
Here are several ways in which a network robs you of your independence:
You can’t just indiscriminately delete files from the network. They may not be yours.
You’re forced to be concerned about network security. For example, a server computer has to know who you are before it allows you to access its files. So you have to know your user ID and password to access the network. This precaution prevents some 15-year-old kid from hacking his way into your office network by using its Internet connection and stealing all your computer games.
You may have to wait for shared resources. Just because Bart sends something to Homer’s printer doesn’t mean that it immediately starts to print. Lisa may have sent a two-hour print job before that. Bart will just have to wait.
You may have to wait for access to documents. You may try to retrieve an Excel spreadsheet file from a network drive, only to discover that someone else is using it. Like Bart, you just have to wait.
You don’t have unlimited storage space. If you copy a 100GB video file to a server’s drive, you may get calls later from angry co-workers complaining that no room is left on the server’s drive for their important files.
Your files can become infected from viruses given to you by someone over the network. You may then accidentally infect other network users.
You have to be careful about saving sensitive files on the server. If you write an angry note about your boss and save it on the server’s hard drive, your boss may find the memo and read it.
The server computer must be up and running at all times. For example, if you turn Homer’s computer into a server computer, Homer can’t turn his computer off when he’s out of the office. If he does, you can’t access the files stored on his computer.
If your computer is a server, you can’t just turn it off when you’re finished using it. Someone else may be accessing a file on your hard drive or printing on your printer.
The Network Administrator
Because so much can go wrong — even with a simple network — designating one person as network administrator is important. This way, someone is responsible for making sure that the network doesn’t fall apart or get out of control.
The network administrator doesn’t have to be a technical genius. In fact, some of the best network administrators are complete idiots when it comes to technical stuff. What’s important is that the administrator is organized. That person’s job is to make sure that plenty of space is available on the file server, that the file server is backed up regularly, and that new employees can access the network, among other tasks.
The network administrator’s job also includes solving basic problems that the users themselves can’t solve — and knowing when to call in an expert when something really bad happens. It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it. Here are a few tips that might help:
Part 4 of this book is devoted entirely to the hapless network administrator. So if you’re nominated, read the chapters in that part. If you’re lucky enough that someone else is nominated, celebrate by buying her a copy of this book.
In small companies, picking the network administrator by drawing straws is common. The person who draws the shortest straw loses and becomes administrator.
Of course, the network administrator can’t be a complete technical idiot. I was lying about that. (For those of you in Congress, the word is testifying.) I exaggerated to make the point that organizational skills are more important than technical skills. The network administrator needs to know how to do various maintenance tasks. Although this knowledge requires at least a little technical know-how, the organizational skills are more important.
What Have They Got That You Don’t Got?
With all this technical stuff to worry about, you may begin to wonder whether you’re smart enough to use your computer after it’s attached to the network. Let me assure you that you are. If you’re smart enough to buy this book because you know that you need a network, you’re more than smart enough to use the network after it’s put in. You’re also smart enough to install and manage a network yourself. It isn’t rocket science.
I know people who use networks all the time. They’re no smarter than you are, but they do have one thing that you don’t have: a certificate. And so, by the powers vested in me by the International Society for the Computer Impaired, I present you with the certificate in Figure 1-2, confirming that you’ve earned the coveted title Certified Network Dummy, better known as CND. This title is considered much more prestigious in certain circles than the more stodgy CNE or MCSE badges worn by real network experts.
Congratulations, and go in peace.
FIGURE 1-2: Your official CND certificate.
Chapter 2
Configuring Windows and Mac Clients
IN THIS CHAPTER
Among the most basic aspects of using a network is configuring your computer to connect to the network. In particular, you have to configure each client computer’s network interface so that it works properly, and you have to install the right protocols so that the clients can communicate with other computers on the network.
Fortunately, the task of configuring client computers for the network is child’s play in Windows. For starters, Windows automatically recognizes your network