There are several large network hardware vendors out there, and it can often be confusing to decide which brand to buy. Do you want a Cisco router, a Juniper router, or a Nortel router? What brand network switch or sever should your company purchase? Each specific company provides a huge amount of detail/advertising on why you should pick their solution. I decided to congeal some of these product details and provide an overall list of features that your company should be looking for in their enterprise networking hardware.
No matter what type of business vertical you are in, or where you are running your company from, networking hardware is a critical aspect of your business. The five key features your network hardware and network infrastructure should provide are:
- Simplicity: A network product and OS that is extremely simple, logical, and easy to operate will make everyone’s life easier. Network hardware that is simple in installation and execution, but provides the infrastructure for complex company communication, is a must have.
- Security: Your enterprise data is your company’s most valuable resource. Whether it be client data, financial data, or intellectual property data, it is extremely important that your network provides the protection and access control for this data. Your brand of Network hardware can mean the difference between an occasional security breach and a perfect record of protection.
- Speed: It is vital that your enterprise network is running at the speed of your business. It should never hinder your company’s work flow, whether it be accessing data within your company’s network or at global access level. The network equipment that you utilize is the engine that runs your entire company’s network infrastructure.
- Scalability: It is very important that your network be scalable with your company’s growth and downsizing. A network that is not scalable can incur unnecessary cost for your company and unwanted hardship on enterprise efficiency. Scalability means a network infrastructure that offers open source flexibility- the ability for your company to not be locked-in to one specific solution, but instead posses the capability to utilize the best market technology available.
- Savings: Maintaining a network infrastructure can often be a very costly process, and can tip a company’s earnings in one direction or the other. Finding network hardware that is both cheap and reliable is quite the difficult task. Depending on where you look, buying a used cisco router or refurbished cisco switch can sometimes mean the difference in simplicity, security, speed AND scalability. However, it is equally as important that you don’t break the bank building up your company’s network infrastructure. The key is to find a reliable network hardware vendor- whether it be a used network hardware reseller or a direct seller, make sure that they are clear-cut and trustworthy.
Beyond this list, there are basic consumer guidelines that you should follow when purchasing network hardware. One of these components is a vendor’s warranty- make sure they clearly state that they offer a warranty on your network hardware purchase so that if your requirements change, you don’t end up paying the cost.
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#1 by Matt d on January 23rd, 2010
It could be that your driver for your network card may be outdated.
#2 by RYAN2007 on January 23rd, 2010
For hardware:
* Some LAN switches
* Router and modem for connecting to the internet
* The firewall can be in bundled with the router or they might have SOHO hardware firewall
* The wiring closet itself
* The servers & PCs hardware
For Software/Application:
* Domain Controller/File sharing (WIndows, Linux, Novell)
* E-mail server (Exchange, Lotus Notes, Postfix, etc)
* Printer server (HP, Epson, D-Link, etc)
* Database server (MS SQL, MySQL)
#3 by jsssika on January 23rd, 2010
Have you tried Network Diagnostics? In windows, it runs tests to gather types of information. LIke it lets you know whether your network-related programs and services are running, and information about the computer itself.
#4 by Dave on January 23rd, 2010
Well its a matter of space. If you use rack mounted servers you can have several in one vertical rack thus taking up less physical space. You also can integrate additional switches routers etc into the same rack again taking less space and making management easier as well as easier connections and easier cabling.
When you look at expense you will see the downside.
Really unless you have multiple servers in the same location the cost will probably outweigh the advantages.
#5 by Juancho-Man on January 24th, 2010
Of the things you listed, "applied networking and systems administration" and "information technology" (IT) are going to be closest to what you want, with the former being furthest from it, and the latter being closest.
"Hardware support" is definitely and IT function.
"Network support" is an "applied networking and systems administration" function if it doesn't involve such things as installation and configuration of LAN cards and other hands-on hardware-related stuff. If there's hands-on hardware work, then it's "hardware support," too.
"Information Systems" (IS) and "Information Technology" (IT) are the two broadest categories.
IS people can be IT people and vice versa; but in large companies where specialization is needed, IS people tend to be more software systems oriented, and IT people tend to be more hardware systems oriented. But even THAT generalization has its deficits.
From an academic standpoint, the terms "information systems" (IS) and "computer information systems" (CIS) usually mean about the same thing.
The term "management information systems" (MIS) is more of a sub-category of either IS or CIS in that it deals, specifically, with business management processes. MIS is a term used less and less in the real world. MIS Managers of yesterday are usually called IT Managers today. That all depends on the company, however.
The term "applied networking and systems administration" is very specifically related to the task of being a "network administrator" for a company. A network administrator usually doesn't do hands-on hardware repair/replacement/installation work (but sometimes does).
The term "information security and forensics" is a very specialized area, wholly unto itself. It deals with all manner of malware, hardware and software firewalls, packet sniffers, password strategies and management, login security, etc. In most environments, that's where it ends, leaving the "forensics" to yet a different kind of specialist.
Computer or information systems "forensics" deals, primarily, with looking at computer systems (desktop machines, workstations, LAN servers, web servers, etc.) and trying to figure out who did what and when. Police departments, for example, hire computer forensics experts (or put a few of their detectives through the training) so they can look at a suspect's computer and figure out what illegal things s/he might have been doing with it.
The problem with all of this is that everyone tosses around these terms so freely, and without any real understanding of what they were intended to mean, that it's all kind of pointless getting to worried about it. So much of it doesn't even MEAN anything anymore. Different companies have different IT- or IS-related job titles doing so many things which said titles don't really include, that it's all a big joke, now.
Sure, at really BIG companies, with CIOs and/or CTOs who actually GET it, and with well-organized IS and IT departments beneath them, the job categorizations and titles are actually quite well defined and limited. In such companies, a specialist can really specialize… and will typically not be insulted by being asked to do things not really in their job desciption.
Also — and this is important — no matter what you go to school for, it's the advanced (often vendor-specific) additional certifications that you get which will more accurately and/or specifically define you and your skills to potential employers.
If you want to be a hardware jockey (which is what you wrote that you're interested in doing… and if it isn't, then you used the wrong terminology to describe your interest), then get as generalized and broadly-based a computer degree as you can…
…and then get every certification you can handle, yet which doesn't take you too far away from your core interest.
If you want to be a hardware jockey (both on the desktop, and in the server room), then you'll need the first five (5) (and only the first five) certifications listed on this web page:
http://www.comptia.org/certifications/listed.aspx
And you should probably get them in the order listed there.
Then you'll need your Microsoft certification(s). It's a Microsoft world, like it or not. And as a hardware jockey, the two at which you should be looking most are the MCDST and/or the MCSE. Once you have a better idea in which more specific areas you might like to become expert and/or specialize, other Microsoft certifications may interest you as well. They're all listed here:
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/certification/view-by-name.aspx
Finally, you'll probably want to demonstrate that you're deadly serious by getting at least one CISCO certification… most likely at LEAST the CCNA… maybe even the CCNP. All Cisco certs are listed here:
http://cisco.com/web/learning/le3/learning_career_certifications_and_learning_paths_home.html
There are a GAZILLION other certifications out there… most of which you shouldn't even worry about… or even bother yourself to read about… except that if you do, here they are:
http://www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/ComputerCertifications.asp
So important are certifications these days that you almost don't need a college degre beneath them… except that these days, no one will hire you unless you at least have an associates (preferably a bachelors), even if it's in a non-IT-related area. The certs convey that you know what you're doing. The degree is just the foundation. In fact, if one doesn't have a degree, but has the certs, then how it usually works is that the IT Director sees the certs on the resume and gets all impressed and decides to hire you; but then the HR manager sees no degree and stops the hire. So you HAVE to have a degree. If you're certain that you want to go into IT, then get the degree in IT.
THEN GET CERTIFIED: CompTIA, then Microsoft, then Cisco.
Then you're golden.
#6 by Useless on January 26th, 2010
It depends on the size of your company, but most SEs are not responsible for manual repairs. Of course, a small company may need you to do this and other you may find your self making small fixes if you work for a larger company, but generally this is not part of the job.
#7 by Amy B on January 26th, 2010
this is a very broad question and you have helpfully missed all the details.
A basic primer:
- assuming you are connecting to a broadband network, get the broadband company to configure their router to auto-dial and enable DHCP Server on the router.
- connect your laptop to the router's computer port using a 10/100mbps patch cable
- configure your computer's 'Local Area Network' to obtain IP address automatically.
- restart the computer if required, you should get connected automatically.
HTH