Tips

Tips

• Designing storage area network for multiple fabrics

  When reviewing a customer's storage area network (SAN) topology, determine if, when and how you'd want to scale beyond a single SAN fabric.  Continue Reading

• The drawbacks of two-factor authentication

  Despite the hype surrounding two-factor authentication, it's not the end-all, be-all of access management solutions. This tip helps value-added resellers (VARs) and systems integrators put the technology in perspective for their customers.  Continue Reading

• Troubleshooting domain controllers on a Windows network

  This tip addresses common causes for login issues and domain management trouble, and offers advice to systems integrators and network consultants for optimizing domain controllers.  Continue Reading

• Remote management: Four common problems and solutions

  This checklist addresses four remote management problems commonly seen by network consultants and systems integrators, and offers suggestions on how to troubleshoot them.  Continue Reading

• A streamlined network management process in six steps

  Good network management planning saves time and resources. This tip guides network consultants and systems integrators through a streamlined network management process.  Continue Reading

• Collect network traffic stats on bandwidth usage with freeware

  This tip offers advice for systems integrators and network consultants on gathering bandwidth usage statistics with freeware Multi-Router Traffic Grapher.  Continue Reading

• Introduction to freeware packet sniffer SmartSniff

  A packet sniffer is a valuable tool in the network consultant's troubleshooting arsenal. This tip covers the basics of freeware packet sniffer program SmartSniff.  Continue Reading

• Five steps to capacity planning

  Capacity planning is no easy task. This series of tips is designed to help value-added resellers (VARs) and networking consultants architect networks that support their customers' organizational and business growth.  Continue Reading

• Data backup technologies

  Whether you're helping customers choose disk, tape or both, or looking to provide remote backup services, this tip describes key backup trends and technologies to get you started.  Continue Reading

• WSUS vs. SMS: Choosing a Windows patch management tool

  Value-added resellers (VARs) and security consultants who formerly used Microsoft's Software Update Services to manage their customers' patches have several options for replacing SUS.  Continue Reading

• Hosting multiple Lotus Domino servers at one IP address

  Learn how to host several Lotus Domino servers at a single IP address without using a virtual private network (VPN).  Continue Reading

• How to build a firewall architecture

  Designing and implementing a customer's network firewall solution can be a daunting task. Choices made early in the design process can have far-reaching security implications for years to come. In this series of tips, we take a detailed look at the ...  Continue Reading

• Wireless access points: Placement checklist

  If you're trying to manually locate the best places to put wireless access points, the trick is to keep the three key relationships in mind.  Continue Reading

• Snort, Nessus and Tripwire: Benefits beyond cost

  Snort, Nessus and Tripwire are must-have open source security tools for value-added resellers and consultants.  Continue Reading

• Extrusion detection illustrated

  This chapter will help you learn how to use extrusion detection to enhance your customer's awareness and security posture.  Continue Reading

• Tactics for attacking network security monitoring

  This chapter from Richard Bejtlich's "The Tao of Network Security Monitoring: Beyond Intrusion Detection," outlines a collection of tactics intruders use to avoid being caught or at least caught in a timely manner.  Continue Reading

• Designing a network topology

  Learn how to prepare secure, redundant, hierarchical network topologies.  Continue Reading

• WLAN services: Seven factors to consider when deploying and managing a WLAN

  To best meet your customer's expectations when deploying and managing a wireless LAN, you should consider what are the customer's true needs, the physical parameters of the network, security and more, as outlined in this tip.  Continue Reading