Chapter 15: Implementing and Managing Networks

1
Chapter 15 Implementing and Managing Networks
Network Guide to Networks Third Edition
2
Objectives

• Describe the elements and benefits of project
  management
• Manage a network implementation project
• Understand network management and the importance
  of base lining to assess a networks health

3
Objectives (continued)

• Plan and follow regular hardware and software
  maintenance routines
• Describe the steps involved in upgrading network
  software and hardware

4
Project Management

• Project Management
• Is the practice of managing resources, staff,
  budget, timelines, and other variables to achieve
  a specific goal within given bounds
• Project management attempts to answer at least
  the following questions in roughly the following
  order
• Is the proposed project feasible?
• What needs must the project address?

5
Project Management (continued)

• What are the projects goals? (What are the
  standards for success?)
• What tasks are required to meet the goals?
• How long should tasks take, and in what order
  should they be undertaken?
• What resources are required to accomplish the
  tasks, and how much will they cost?

6
Project Management (continued)

• Who will be involved and what skills must they
  possess?
• How will staff communicate with others about the
  project?
• After completion, did the project meet the stated
  need?
• A project can be divided into four phases

7
Project Management (continued)
8
Determining Project Feasibility

• Before committing money and time to a project,
  you must decide whether the proposed project is
  possible and whether its feasible
• Feasibility study outlines the costs and benefits
  of the project and attempts to predict whether it
  will result in a favorable outcome

9
Determining Project Feasibility (continued)

• Feasibility study might consist of rough
  estimates for the following
• Costs of equipment, connectivity, consulting
  services
• Required staff time for project participation,
  training, and evaluation

10
Determining Project Feasibility (continued)

• Duration of project
• Decrease in productivity due to disruption versus
  increase in future productivity due to better
  network and client performance
• A conclusion that addresses whether the costs
  (equipment, staff, decreased productivity)
  justify the benefits (increased ongoing
  productivity)

11
Determining Project Feasibility (continued)

• Often, organizations hire business consultants to
  help them develop a feasibility study
• Advantage to outsourcing this work is that
  consultants do not make the same assumptions that
  internal staff might make when weighing the costs
  and benefits of a proposed project

12
Assessing Needs

• Needs assessment is the process of clarifying the
  reasons and objectives underlying a proposed
  change
• Involves interviewing users and comparing
  perceptions to factual data
• May involve analyzing network baseline data

13
Assessing Needs (continued)

• A needs assessment may address the following
  questions
• Is the expressed need valid, or does it mask a
  different need?
• Can the need be resolved?

14
Assessing Needs (continued)

• Is the need important enough to allocate
  resources to its resolution? Will
• Meeting the need have a measurable effect on
  productivity?

15
Assessing Needs (continued)

• If fulfilled, will the need result in additional
  needs? Will fulfilling the need satisfy other
  needs?
• Do users affected by the need agree that change
  is a good answer? What kind of resolution will
  satisfy them?

16
Assessing Needs (continued)

• A networks needs and requirements should be
  investigated as they relate to
• Users
• Network performance

17
Assessing Needs (continued)

• Availability
• Scalability
• Integration
• Security

18
Setting Project Goals

• Project goals help keep a project on track
• Evaluating whether a project was successful
• A popular technique for setting project goals is
  to begin with a broad goal, then narrow it down
  into specific goals that contribute to the larger
  goal
• Project goals should be attainable

19
Setting Project Goals (continued)

• Feasibility study should help determine whether
  you can achieve the project goals within the
  given time, budgetary, and resource constraints

20
Setting Project Goals (continued)

• If project goals are not attainable from the
  outset, you risk losing backing from project
  participants, users, and the managers who agree
  with the projects goals and who will strive to
  help you achieve them

21
Setting Project Goals (continued)

• Managers and others who oversee resource
  allocation are called sponsors

22
Project Planning

• Project plan organizes the details of a managed
  project
• Small projects may take the form of a simple text
  or spreadsheet document

23
Project Planning (continued)

• Larger projects, however, you typically take
  advantage of project management software such as
  Microsoft Project or PrimaVera Project Planner
• Project management software facilitates project
  planning by providing a framework for inputting
  tasks, timelines, resource assignments
  (identifying which staff are responsible for each
  task), completion dates, and so on

24
Project Planning (continued)
25
Tasks and Timelines

• Project should be divided into specific tasks
• Break larger tasks into smaller subtasks
• Identify tasks, you can assign a duration, start
  date, and finish date to each task and subtask in
  the project plan

26
Tasks and Timelines (continued)

• Designate milestones, task priority, and how the
  timeline might change depending on resource
  availability or dependencies
• A Gantt chart is a popular method for depicting
  when projects begin and end along a horizontal
  timeline

27
Tasks and Timelines (continued)
28
Communication

• Communication is necessary to ensure that all
  participants understand the projects goals
• It helps keep a projects budget and timeline on
  track, encourage teamwork, avoid duplicate
  efforts, and allows learning from previous
  mistakes

29
Communication (continued)

• Project manager is responsible for facilitating
  regular, effective communication among project
  participants
• Project managers must ensure consistent
  communication with all project stakeholders

30
Communication (continued)

• A stakeholder is any person who is affected by
  the project for example, in the Wyndham School
  District upgrade project, stakeholders include
• Teachers
• Administrators
• Technical staff
• Students, because students are also network users

31
Contingency Planning

• Unforeseen circumstances
• Contingency planning
• Pilot Network
• The following tips will help you create a more
  realistic and useful pilot network

32
Contingency Planning (continued)

• Include at least one of each type of device
  (whether a critical router or a client
  workstation) that might be affected by the change
• Use the same transmission methods and speeds as
  employed on your network

33
Contingency Planning (continued)

• Try to emulate the number of segments, protocols,
  and addressing schemes in your network.
• Implement the same server and client software and
  configurations on your pilot network as found in
  your current network (unless they are part of the
  change youre testing)

34
Contingency Planning (continued)

• Once you have established the pilot network
• Test it for at least two weeks to verify that its
  performance, security, availability, or other
  characteristics meet your criteria

35
Network Management

• Network management refers to the assessment,
  monitoring, and maintenance of all aspects of a
  network
• Baselining is the practice of measuring and
  recording a networks current state of operation

36
Baselining
37
Baseline assessment should address the following
questions

• Access method
• Protocols
• Devices
• Operating systems
• Applications

38
Performance and Fault Management

• Performance management (monitoring how well links
  and devices are keeping up with the demands
  placed on them)
• Fault management (the detection and signaling of
  device, link, or component faults)

39
Performance and Fault Management (continued)

• To accomplish both performance and fault
  management, organizations often use
  enterprise-wide network management software
• Polling
• Network management agent

40
Performance and Fault Management (continued)

• Management information base (MIB) by definition
  are where managed objects and their data are
  collected
• Agents communicate information about managed
  objects via any one of several Application layer
  protocols

41
Performance and Fault Management (continued)

• Once data is collected, the network management
  program can present an administrator with several
  ways to view and analyze the data

42
Network Management
43
Network Status
44
Network Management (continued)

• One of the most common network management tools
  used on WANs is the Multi Router Traffic Grapher
  (MRTG)
• MRTG is a command-line program that uses SNMP to
  poll devices, collects data in a log file, then
  generates HTML-based views of the data

45
Network Management (continued)

• MRTG is freely distributed software originally
  written by Tobias Oetiker
• MRTG can be used with UNIX- and Windows-based
  operating systems and can collect and graph data
  from any type of device that uses SNMP

46
Network Management Graphs
47
Asset Management

• A key component in network evaluation is
  identifying and tracking the hardware and
  software on your network, a process called asset
  management
• Asset management is to take an inventory of each
  node on the network

48
Asset Management (continued)

• Inventory should include the total number of
  components on the network, and also each devices
  configuration files, model number, serial number,
  location on the network, and technical support
  contact

49
Software Changes

• 1. Determine whether the change (whether it be a
  patch, revision, or upgrade) is necessary
• 2. Research the purpose of the change and its
  potential effects on other programs
• 3. Determine whether the change should apply to
  some or all users and whether it will be
  distributed centrally or machine-by-machine

50
Software Changes (continued)

• 4. If you decide to implement the change, notify
  system administrators, help desk personnel, and
  users. Schedule the change for completion during
  off hours (unless it is an emergency)
• 5. Back up the current system or software before
  making any modifications

51
Software Changes (continued)

• 6. Prevent users from accessing the system or
  part of the system being altered (for example,
  disable logons)
• 7. Keep the upgrade instructions handy and follow
  them during installation of the patch or revision
• 8. Make the change

52
Software Changes (continued)

• 9. Test the system fully after the change
• 10. If the change was successful, reenable access
  to the system and if it was unsuccessful, revert
  to the previous version of the software

53
Software Changes (continued)

• 11. Inform system administrators, help desk
  personnel, and users when the change is complete.
  If you had to reverse it, explain why
• 12. Record your change in the change management
  system.

54
Patches

• A general rule, upgrading or patching software
  according to a vendors recommendations is a good
  idea and can often prevent network problems

55
Patches (continued)

• Patches is a correction, improvement, or
  enhancement to a particular piece of a software
  program
• Differs from a revision or software upgrade in
  that it changes only part of a software program,
  leaving most of the code untouched
• Are often distributed at no charge by software
  vendors in an attempt to fix a bug in their code
  or to add slightly more functionality

56
Client Upgrades

• Software upgrade is a major change to a software
  packages existing code
• An upgrade to the client program replaces the
  existing client program

57
Client Upgrades (continued)

• Upgrades are designed to add functionality and
  fix bugs in the previous version of the client
• A client upgrade may be transparent to users, or
  it may completely change the appearance of the
  network logon interface

58
Application Upgrades

• Application upgrades, apply to software shared by
  clients on the network
• Back up the current software before upgrading it

59
Application Upgrades (continued)

• Prevent users from accessing the software during
  the implementation
• Keep users and system administrators informed of
  all changes.

60
Network Operating System Upgrades

• Most Critical
• Involves significant, potentially drastic,
  changes to the way your servers and clients
  operate
• Have a project plan covering the upgrade procedure

61
Network Operating System Upgrades (continued)

• How will the upgrade affect user IDs, groups,
  rights, and policies?
• How will the upgrade affect file, printer, and
  directory access, applications or client
  interactions on the server?

62
Network Operating System Upgrades (continued)

• How will the upgrade affect configuration files,
  protocols, and services running on the server?
• How will the upgrade affect the servers
  interaction with other devices on the network?

63
Network Operating System Upgrades (continued)

• How accurately can you test the upgrade software
  in a simulated environment?
• How can you take advantage of the new operating
  system to make your system more efficient?

64
Network Operating System Upgrades (continued)

• What is your technical support arrangement with
  the operating systems manufacturer if you need
  help in the midst of the upgrade?
• Have you allotted enough time to perform the
  upgrade? (For example, would it be more
  appropriate to do it over a weekend rather than
  overnight?)

65
Network Operating System Upgrades (continued)

• Have you ensured that the users, help desk
  personnel, and system administrators
• Understand how the upgrade will affect their
  daily operations and support burdens?

66
Network Operating System Upgrades (continued)

• The following steps demonstrate how careful
  planning and a methodical process can help you
  accomplish an NOS upgrade
• Research
• Proposal
• Evaluation
• Training

67
Network Operating System Upgrades (continued)

• Pre-implementation
• Implementation
• Post-implementation

68
Reversing a Software Upgrade
69
Hardware and Physical Plant Changes

• Determine whether the change is necessary
• Research the upgrades potential effects on other
  devices, functions, and users
• Notify system administrators, help desk
  personnel, and users, and schedule it during
  off-hours (unless it is an emergency)

70
Hardware and Physical Plant Changes (continued)

• Back up and print the hardwares configuration
• Prevent users from accessing the system or the
  part of the system that you are changing

71
Hardware and Physical Plant Changes (continued)

• Keep the installation instructions and hardware
  documentation handy
• Implement the change and test the hardware fully
• If the change was successful, re-enable access to
  the device and If it was unsuccessful, isolate
  the device or reinsert the old device, if possible

72
Hardware and Physical Plant Changes (continued)

• Inform system administrators, help desk
  personnel, and users when the change is complete.
  If it was not successful, explain why
• Record your change in the change management
  system

73
Adding or Upgrading Equipment

• Networked workstation is the simplest device to
  add
• Networked printer is easy to add to your network
  and is slightly more complex than adding a
  networked workstation
• HUB (4-64 users)

74
Adding or Upgrading Equipment

• Servers are more complex and need a great deal of
  prior planning
• Switches and Routers are more complex

75
Adding or Upgrading Equipment (continued)

• Cabling upgrades may require significant planning
  and time to implement, depending on the size of
  your network
• Backbone upgrade is the most comprehensive and
  complex upgrade involving a network

76
Adding or Upgrading Equipment (continued)

• Reversing Hardware Changes
• Provide a way to reverse the hardware upgrade and
  reinstall the old hardware if necessary

77
Summary

• Describe the elements and benefits of project
  management
• Manage a network implementation project
• Base-lining to assess a networks health

78
Summary (continued)

• Hardware and software maintenance routines
• Steps involved in upgrading network software and
  hardware