SALMAN KHAN APP
  BEING IN TOUCH




#BeingInTouch gives fans access to all things about Salman Khan, from all his social media pages (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) to never seen before pictures, to videos of the star directly speaking to his fans and sharing interesting bits of his life with them. The app allow fans to be in touch with Salman; be it the actor, the artist or the humanitarian, giving them a unique insight to different aspects of his personality.
A unique destination for all fans and followers of the star to see him at his candid best, the #BeingInTouch app will have all the information on Salman from his movies to personal fitness, family and friends. The app will also have yet unseen pictures of the star and videos of Salman, directly addressing his fans showing them a glimpse of his true self, while talking about his hobbies, his art, his pets, his life, his likes and his dislikes.
Currently available on the Google play store and soon to be available on the Apple App store, #BeingInTouch will not only give fans access to exclusive content directly from Salman Khan, but also allow registered users to access their own Facebook and Twitter accounts on the app. Besides being an extraordinary experience for Salman Fans the #BeingInTouch app will also give back to the enormous fan following that the Dabbang actor has hoarded in his lifetime. All registered users who download the app will be able to avail fabulous discounts from various Brands on the app.

click to download BeingInTouch

You Can Download Being in Touch Official App Here:

The app is currently available on the Google Play Store and is open to the Android users. It is expected to be rolling out for the iPhone users very soon. As part of giving back to the fans, there are some amazing benefits to all those people who install the app on their mobile phones. Not just accessing the app for knowing about their favorite actor, the registered users have the facility to open their Facebook and Twitter accounts on the app. All those registered users who download the app can also bag countlessly amazing offers from popular brands on this app.

INTRODUCTION TO NETWORK SERVERS 



Here you will learn the basic types of network servers such as proxy server, web server, database sever, file server and print server etc. A server is a dedicated computer that is designed to perform additional tasks for itself and for other client computers in a network. Network servers and specifically designed to perform extra tasks and process the simultaneous requests from the client computers.   

A server computer is normally equipped with the extra hardware such as external memory, hard disk and processor. A server can perform many tasks simultaneously and process different types of requests such as logon requests, files storage, print requests, internet access and many other requests. There are many types of the servers that perform different tasks such as handline file requests, logon requests, internet access, time management and synchronization, fax services and network storage services.

FILE SERVER:

A file server is a dedicated computer in a network that is used to store the files such as word processing documents, spreadsheets, financial data and other useful information. Typically a file server has a large memory and additional hard disks. Server itself and all the client computers stores data on the file server and access it again when required. Additionally, file server software such as Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2003 Server also acts as the logon server and process the logon requests of the client computers.

PRINT SERVER:

A print server is a network computer or a specifically designed device to which print devices or printers are attached. A network print server is used to serve the client’s printing requests from all over the network. A Windows 2000 or Windows 2003 computer can serve as a print server. The client computers connect with the print server by using Microsoft Network Printing Protocol.

PROXY SERVER:

A network proxy server is an intermediate computer between the client computers in a network and the internet. A proxy server forwards the client’s requests for the specific web pages to the web server. A proxy server when receive the response from the web server (in the form of web pages) it stores a copy of every web page in its cache. So that if next time another client request for the same web page it won’t go to web server for this page, instead it will return the web request from its own cache. A proxy server is software program and when installed on a computer, the computer acts as a proxy server. The most commonly used proxy server programs are WinGate, Win Proxy, and Microsoft ISA Server etc.

WEB SERVER:

A web server is a computer that is used to respond the client’s HTTP requests (usually web browsers) and return the response in the form of the web pages, images, voice files, graphics, video clips and others. A single web server is capable to host many websites. Web servers also host shared web based applications and a large number of clients access them simultaneously. Some applications on the web server require some authentication methods such as login name and password. Some dynamics content and applications host on the web server used some related interfaces such as JSP, ASP, PHP, CGI and .NET. HTTPS is used to establish a secure connection between the client and the web server and it is normally used during the credit cards transactions, online shopping where high security is required. A web server is also known as a virtual host when it hosts a large number of the websites on the same IP address.

DATABASE SERVER:

There are many database server programs such as Oracle, MySql, and Microsoft Sql 2000. A database server program is used to process the database services. In a client/server networking model, the server component of the database servers (Oracle, MYSQL, and SQL2000) is installed on the server computer and client component of the database program is installed on the client computers in a network. Network distributed applications use database at the backend, which is usually installed on the server computer. In network computing, a database computer should be configured separately and in the enterprise network a large number of the database computers are used, which synchronized with each other.

VIDEO SERVER:

A Video server is an online storage computer that is used to provide the video and voice access to the network clients. A video server is used in the broadcast industry, entertainment and in news. A video server also provides online course and lectures to the registered users from all over the world.

STORAGE SERVER:

A storage server is high quality and high speed storage device or a computer that is used to store the data of the network applications that are running on the other computers in a network.

TIME SERVER:

A time server is a multipurpose, dedicated network computer that is used to
compare the time from the atomic clocks and distribute the time among the other network computers. A file server can become a time server by using the NTP (Network time protocol). A NTP is used to synchronizing and distributing the time in a network.

ACCESS SERVER:

Access server or Remote Access server is a network device or a computer that
is used to access the network by a larger number of the network users. ISP mostly has RAS servers configured and access by a large number of the users.

FAX SERVER:

A fax server is software program and when it is installed on a file server, it acts as a Fax server. A fax server is usually a dedicated server attached with a dedicated fax device, fax modem and a telephone line. The fax software receives the fax and converts in the fax form. In the big networks, a fax server can be used as a dedicated computer. There are many only fax services providers like efax.com and upon subscribing to them you can send fax all over the world with a low cost fees.

Introduction to Network Cables

Communication is the process of transferring signals from one point to anotfher and there must be some medium to transfer those signals. In computer networking and especially in the local area networking, there are certain communication mediums. This section provides the basic overview of the network cables, lan communication system and other transmission mediums in LAN and WAN. Today many standardized communication cables and communication devices are in use the according to the needs of a computer network. LAN data communication systems there are different types of cables are used. 

The most common types of the LAN cables are the Ethernet UTP/STP cables. An Ethernet cable is a twisted pair cable that is consist of eight cables that are paired together to make four pairs.

A RJ-45 connector is joined with both ends of the cables and one end of the connector is connected with the LAN card of the computer and the other end of the cable is connected with the hub or switch. Cable testers are used to test the performance of each cable. The preferable cable in the Ethernet networking is the 100baseT, which provides the best communication speed. UTP/STP is a standardize cable in which data is transferred which provides the transmission speed of 10/100 mbps. 

The most commonly used cable in the star topology is the UTP/STP cable. UTP/STP cables are same in functionality only a slight difference is that an extra protective silver coated layer surrounds the cable. UPT/STP cables are further divided into straight over and cross over cables. The most common use of the UTP/STP cables is the serial transmission, Ethernet, ISDN, fixed and modular interfaces in the WAN networking. Straight over cables are used to connect the computer with the hub or switch and a cross over cable is used to connect the hub with a hub or with a switch.

In the cross over cables, first and third cables and crossed with the second and sixth cable. There is another type of the cable which is coaxial cable that is used in the bus topology. All the computers in the bus topology are connected with the same coaxial cable thus forms the shape of a linear bus. If any portion of the cable is damaged, then the whole cable becomes useless. Another common use of the coaxial cable is in the cable TV network. An outer protective covering provides insulation between the inner copper wire and the outer twisted metal field.

Coaxial cables are also used in the microwave frequencies but there not as popular as other cables. The most advanced form of the communication cables is the fiber optic cable. Fiber optic cable is a very expensive cable that is composed of a number of thin fibers that are covered with the insulating covering. Data is traveled at the speed of light in those fibers. Today FTTH (fiber to home installation) is becoming very popular and FTTH is giving the speed of 100 mbps to the home users. According to the current trend of the home networking and bandwidth requirements, fiber optic cable will replace all the other cables. Once the price of the fiber optic cables is reduced it will be more in demand for every home and office network. 

Fiber optic cables are designed for high speed data communication for the corporate offices and ISPs, backbones and in the telecommunication industry. Fiber optic cable acts as a backbone cable when it connects two ISPs with each other. In the internet communication, there is a major role of the fiber optic cable, which acts as a backbone. There is another type of cable which is called Roll over cable that is used connect the consoles of the Cisco Routers and switches and RJ-45 connectors are used to at the both ends of the roll over cables. Today many networks are shifting to the other types of the networks such as radio transmission, infrared; Bluetooth and these all are the type of the wireless networking. Wireless networking has its own infrastructure where access points, routers, switches, wireless network connections and wireless network cards are used. The only major difference in the wireless and wired networking is the usage of the cables, which plays the role as a transmission medium.

Introduction to Switched Network



Switched network is a type of network that provide switched communication system and in which users are connected with each other through the circuits, packets switching and the control devices. Example is public switch telephone network.

Public Switched Telephone Network: It is a collection of the interconnected voice oriented telephone networks. PSTN forms many of the many of the infrastructure of the internet. Most of the local ISPs are directly connected with the PSTN to provide the long distance calls facility to its subscribers.

Packet Switching: Packet Switching is a process in which data is divided into the packets before it routes to its destination and all packets are recompiled to its original shape when they reach at the destination. Most of the WAN technologies such as TCP/IP, Frame relay and the X.25 are based on the packet-switching data communication technology. Each packet contains the header in which source and destination information is contained and it transmitted through the network individually. There are two types of packet switched network one is datagram and other is virtual circuit.

Network Switching Tutorial

Switches are the network devices that add capacity and speed in the network. Most advanced switched contain the switching table and they control the network traffic through it e.g. data is not broadcasted same like hub. Switch contains the IP and MAC address of the destination computer and the data is only transferred to the destined computer. The other key benefits of the switches are they isolate the network, relieve congestion, reducing collisions, separate collision domains and divide the network into the segments. Monitoring the network through the switch is complicated but the packet’s processing time is very quick as compared to the hub. Switches are easy to install and there are no hardware or protocols issues because they operate on the same layer as hub.

Understanding the traffic patterns are very important before you deploy the switches in your LAN or WAN. Non congested networks can act negatively by adding the switches. You can determine the performance of your network by the collision rates and the utilization factors. The response time of the network increases under the heavy load and may result in the significant decrease in the performance. Using the network utilities the collision rate, utilization and response time can be measured and on the basis of these stats, the network administrator can decide to replace the hubs with the switches.

The common factors that affect the performance of a network are number of nodes, amount of traffic, size of the packet and the network diameter. The two major benefits of the switches are isolation of the non relevant traffic from the segments and the better response time. Congestion in the network can be decreased by adding the more switching ports and the increasing the speed of these ports so that the packets can be processed quickly. Fast Ethernet and the switched Ethernet can overcome the bottleneck problem in the network, which is occurred when server’s utilization is maximum because a large number of computers access the server simultaneously. Segmentation of the network through the switches is another important factor in increasing the performance.

Network switches use the full throughput of a network connection e.g. if you have a small network of 10Mbps connection, the 10Mbps speed will be shared between all the devices in the network whereas in switched network, each device will fully utilize 10Mbps individually. Most popular switches contain the configurations such as shared memory, ports, matrix and bus architecture.

Computer Network Security


Network Securities

Network Security is a topic of broad interest these days. With the development of huge networks and the need to share data and resources globally, Network Security is becoming more of an issue with every passing day. The need to secure corporate networks from unauthorized access is the need of time. Network Security generally means and consists of each and all measures taken by Network Administrator to protect their network.

There are several things that can fall under this category. A good and secure Network will not only load the management balance but will also provide several abstraction layers to reach actual data.

These layers consist of both hardware and software. These layers include but are not limited to Secure Gateway, Hardware Firewall, Proxy, Antivirus and Authentication System. When effectively applied in series, these layers of security prevent any malware, virus, or hacker will not be able to compromise the system security.

An effective Network Security infrastructure will not only eliminate the possibility of any outside threat to the system but will also deal with the internal organizational threats. Internal threats normally arise due to permission breaches in the network.
The rights and permissions top users in the internal network should be properly configured and maintained by Network Administrator. Administrator access should be given to Network Administrators and their assistants only.

A hardware firewall is used to protect from malicious code attacks and hackers from external networks. Different vendors like Cisco, Netware, Entrasys, 3Com and others provide hardware firewalls in the network. There are many spy wares and Antivirus programs available in the market. Some of them are Symantec, MacAfee and AVG.  You can use any of then to secure your network from viruses and spy wares. The major issue that arises when implementing the security infrastructure is of Employee management. The website access to employees and users must be restricted to specific websites and services so that the network stays clean. 

A secure network has all the features of security as well as flexibility and management. When applying security scheme and principles, website and data access must be restricted so that users can only access the data and resources required by them. The more the security layers, the more secure the network would be. Proper Authentication System, Firewall with multiple point access, fast security updates, Antivirus and Anti-Ad ware will help keep the system smooth and running at all times.

System Administrator Tips


Here you will learn some basic network administration tips, how to secure your computer network, basic troubleshooting guide, it management tools, security measures and basic network troubleshooting tips. The administration of a computer network is a very responsible task of the network administrators. There are certain administration tips if followed, the management becomes easy. Being a network administration you should know the basic network technologies such as TCP/IP, Ethernet, cabling system, basic network hardware, software, directory services and some basic network troubleshooting techniques.

Always document your network resources and configurations such as network hardware and software inventory, computers, basic network configurations, logon scripts. Also take a complete backup of your server’s data and manage the resources of network server in such as way that simultaneous access to the server does not affect the performance of the server.

Keep your network software inventory up to date and assure that you have these utilities such as data recovery tools, backup utilities, troubleshooting tools, TCP/IP ports and performance monitoring tools and up-to-date antivirus software

Make your network administrator’s password complex and also train an assistant network administrator. Keep an up-to-dated network security tool such as GFI LanGuard, which can prevent your network from any kind of internet or external security attack. Put a strict restriction in the server room and only authorized persons should be allowed to enter in the server room. Regularly take back of your critical data on other hard disks and write backup data on the CDs. After installing and configuring your server, take an image of your whole hard disk, with a good utility such as Norton Ghost. Always get ready an updated disaster recovery and fault tolerance plans. Do not leave the serve room unattended there must be someone responsible person present every time in the server room. Besides these general tips I have also provided list of the information tips 

Following are the basic tips for administering a computer network.

1. If you are preparing a new system, make sure that you are using the best installation source such as an installation CD. After installing the operating system, also install up-to-date antivirus program such as Norton antivirus, Trend Micro, McAfee, Panda Antivirus or any other antivirus program of your choice.
2. After completing the installation process of all the networking computers, test your network for the performance, speed and security.
3. Keep your network design simple and segment your network in different sections so that it would be easy to isolate a faulty component of the network.
4. Regularly upgrade your network computers with the latest antivirus definitions, software patches and other security measures.
5. Purchase a planned hardware for your network and make a documentation of your hardware and software inventory.
6. Only install the required software applications on your server and networking computers. Any kind of unauthorized software or web based application can become source of viruses and other malicious codes from the internet.
7. Define network IP address, crate user accounts, create user material and keep the resources closer to the user.
8. Train your IT staff as well as all the users and warn them about any unauthorized activities.
9. Administer the access to the internet and put a tight security restriction on the unauthorized internet usage and block all the unwanted ports and web based application access.
10. Secure your gateway computer or proxy server as much as possible because gateway is directly exposed to the internet.
11. Mirror your hard disk.
12. Structure your network.
13. Being a network administrator, always research and test new network technologies and trends.

Also you must know the basic network technologies and troubleshooting tips. Do research and make a plan before setting up a network for your organization or clients. Always fill your resource kit with the data recovery software, backup utilities, up-to-dated antivirus programs, cable testers, cable cutter, cable connectors and other network security and troubleshooting tools. Also, keep yourself upgraded with the latest networking knowledge networking certifications such as MCSE, CCNA, CCNP, Network+, and Server+. Share your knowledge with your colleagues, IT managers and also reply the various networking troubleshooting and management related questions in the different forums on the internet. Hopefully this tutorial will provide you the basic understanding and insight of how to administer a computer network.

Home Network


Troubleshooting home network is a most important task of every home computer user and every person who manages the home network must learn the basic home network troubleshooting tips. Following are the some of the most important home networking errors and their solutions. Troubleshooting File and Printer Sharing

In a home computer network you can share files and resources such as printers, scanner, hard disks, CD-ROM and internet etc.

To see the shared folders of another computer in the network type the shared name of the network computer in this format \\sharedcomputername and press enter. A window will appear that will display the icons for the shared folders of another computer.

Following are the some of the basic methods that solve the file and printer sharing problem.

1. Name each network computer correctly.
2. Set workgroup or domain name correctly in each computer.
3. Install TCP/IP on each computer.
4. Configure IP addressing and subnet masking on each computer correctly.
5. Make sure that the shares are correctly configured on the network.
6. Temporarily disable firewalls.
7. Make sure that the Files and Printer Sharing for Microsoft is installed on each computer.

Repairing Network Connections

Troubleshooting network sometimes can be a difficult task if you don’t have the ideas about the solutions of the problems. To avoid any major problem and long downtime the network administrators should be well aware of all the major networking errors and their solutions. Microsoft Windows XP Professional has a repair tool and many of the basic problems can be solved by this tool.

Double click the network connection icon in the lower right corner of the screen and then click repair. This tool will repair the basic connectivity problems.


Computer can’t get connected with the Internet

If any of the network computers can’t get connected with the internet, try to solve the problem with the basic steps.

1. Check the IP address of the computer. It should have the same class IP address as subnet mask as the other computer in your home network.
2. Network cable should be properly connected at both ends i.e. one end with the Hub/Switch and one end with the LAN card of the PC.
3. Scan the system for the viruses, spyware and other malicious code that may be halting the browsing on that computer.
4. Gateway computer and proxy server should not be blocking the computer for browsing.
5. Check the browser settings and it should be the same and the rest of the computers in the network.

Network Application don’t work

Sometimes certain network applications such as peer to peer file sharing, network games, databases and antivirus programs can’t get connected with the server even the network connectivity is okay. The specific knowledge about each application can be the best solution for resolving the issues.

Network is too slow

Sometimes network response time is very slow due to different reasons and this problem can be solved by the following methods.
1. First of all check that the computer should have the valid DNS address and you can also add the domain controller’s IP address as secondary DNS server.
2. Make sure that you have installed service pack 1, which has fixed a bug for slow network response.
3. If your system hangs about 2-3 times at startup, this is due to a background service named “Background Intelligent Transfer' service”. By disabling this service you can solve this problem. Go to Start > Run > MsConfig > Services > “Background Intelligent Transfer' service” disable it.
4. Disable/Enable the local network connection and if still slow network connection then restart the system.
5. Create a drive Map and use it for network browsing. Click on any folder then go to Tools > and click Map network drive > assign a drive letter and a folder name that you want to connect too.

Network Connection is insecure

The real threats to the home networks are viruses, spyware, Trojan horses, data piracy and the hacker’s attacks. Install and configure an up-to-dated antivirus program such as Norton Anti Virus, Trend Micro, McAfee or Panda Antivirus. Install and configure firewall software so that no unauthorized user can access your home network. Scan your emails and do not download any software from unauthorized source.


Troubleshooting Tools
Here is a list of some of the basic troubleshooting tools that comes with the Windows based operating systems.
1. Ping
2. IPconfig
3. Tracert
4. Hostname
5. Route
6. Net
7. ARP

Network Management Overview
 
During the lifecycle of a computer network, it faces complexities that need to be solved.  As an organization becomes increasingly dependant on the computer networking services, keeping these services running accurately are necessarily required for the smooth operations within an organization. Network management is a procedure in which a computer network is operated, configured, secured, troubleshoot, monitored and maintained by means of management/monitoring tools and techniques and network administrator is responsible for accomplishing the administrative tasks.  Managing a computer network involves a number of tools, applications, devices and techniques.

The level of management increases as our network expands and new technologies, devices and services are added in our network such as VOIP, ISDN, Packet switching, circuit switching, routers, clustering, centralized storage, firewall software/hardware and video streaming.  Automating the tasks such as logs generating, alerts, scheduled downloading/uploading, virus scanning, bandwidth monitoring and printing certainly provide ease in the administrative and network management tasks of the network administrators. 

There are certain software that can be used to manage the computer network such as Nsauditor Network Security Auditor, IPSentry Network Monitoring Suite, LanGuard, Alchemy Eye and Network Administrator's Toolkit.  In the LAN/WAN network management model there are six key areas that need to be discussed.

Fault  Management 

Fault management is carried out automatically or through network administrator’s manual work.  The purpose of faulty management is to keep logs, isolate the problems and troubleshoot them in a timely manner to keep the computer network running smoothly and effectively.

Security Management

Security management includes securing the network resources, applications and devices from the unauthorized access. Security management also includes implementing the security policies, configuring the firewall, intrusion detection, preventing virus attacks and securing the network from internal and external threats by securing management tools and techniques.

Performance Management

Performance management includes the various aspects of the network performance to maintain the good and acceptable performance in a computer network.Configuration ManagementConfiguration management monitors the configurations such as TCP/IP, operating system, SMTP, DNS, DHCP, FTP, Firewall and network devices such as LAN card, switch and router, in a computer network.  All the configurations can be stored in a centralized database for quick access and these configurations provide help while troubleshooting the problems.

Accounting Management

Accounting management involves the utilization of all the network resources. Controlling the network utilization helps in preventing the problems such as delay in network response and bottleneck. Measuring the network resources utilization is helpful in allocating usage quote of the network resources and in providing the optimized performance to all the users.

Application Management

Application management involves the fast deliver of the applications to the network users.  You can prioritize application traffic, control bottleneck and accelerate the performance of the applications.
The other functions that are the part of the computer network management includes planning, deploying, configurations, coordinating, troubleshooting, monitoring the network resources, traffic routing, load balancing, cryptography, authorization, bandwidth management and security management.

Network Configurations Overview



A computer network can be configured and installed in different ways depending upon the requirements.  If you are responsible for managing your computer network, securing and ensuring the uptime then you need a precise solution for your devices configurations. A network can also be configured, managed and administered through the third party software such as DeviceExpert that can be used to manage the switches, routers, firewall and computers in your network. Each device in a network such as computer, printer, scanner, switch and router is known as a node.

If you manage a big network then it is very important to store the configurations of each node so that you can view, store and use the same configurations any time. In Windows XP Professional, you can store and maintain multiple configurations for your home and office networks. Different vendors provide different network configurators and management software. These software allow the network administrators to save and view the network settings.

Some of the best network configurator programs are D-Link Network Configurator, PE Network Configurator, Rapid Network Configurator and DeviceExpert. In this article we will learn that how to configure the multiple services such as DHCP, DNS and devices as routers and LAN card in an Ethernet network. The following information is mandatory for configuring a computer network.

• Host Name of computers
• IP Addresses of the computers.
• Subnet Mask
• Default gateway address
• IP Address of the router
• Domain Name
• DNS Address
• DHCP Address

Configuring LAN Card

In Windows 7 Professional, you can configure your system’s LAN card by the following method.
Click Start > Control Panel > Double Click Network Connections > Right Click Local Area Connection.
In General click TCP/IP and click properties.


In the properties tab you can set the TCP/IP settings such as IP address, subnet mask, default gateway and DNS etc.
You can repeat the above methods with all the LAN cards of your network.

Configuring Printer

A network printer can be installed, configured, shared and managed through the control panel of Windows 7 Professional and other versions of the Windows.
Click Start > Control Panel > Double click Printer and Faxes
Right click your default printer and click properties.
Here you can share your printer, set the ports and printing priorities.

Configuring DHCP

DCHP stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol and is used for assigning the IP addresses to the client computers dynamically.  DHCP is installed in the Windows 2000 Server and Windows 2003 Server operating systems.  A DCHP is a dedicated server which assigns the IP address, subnet mask, gateway address, DNS, DHCP and router addresses to all the client computers.

After the DHCP is installed in the Windows 2003 Server, you need to configure it before you use it.
In the Administrative tools of Windows 2000/2003 Server click DHCP.

• On the left side of your DHCP panel, you will see your server name with server’s IP address. 
• Right click the name and click new scope.  A wizard will start click next and define your scope name and description.
• In the IP addresses range, define the IP addresses pool and subnet mask and click next.  In the “Add Exclusion page” define the IP addresses, which you don’t want to assign to any computer after this click next. 
• On the next windows set the lease duration for these IP addresses and click next. On the next windows check “Yes I want to configure these options now”.

After you have configured the scope, right click to activate it.  You can also set the router, DHCP, DNS, Wins server addresses.


Configuring DNS

DNS stands for Domain Name Server and is used for mapping the host name with the IP address. DNS is automatically installed while promoting the server as a domain controller.  DNS can also be configured to a separate machine.  After the DNS is installed, you need to configure it.

• In the Administrative tools of the Windows 2000/2003 click DNS.
• Right click on the root and select configure server and click next.
• If there are no root servers in the list select the current server, which shows the message “This is the first DNS server on the network” and click next.
• Add a forward look up zone and click next.  This zone will be used for mapping and storing the host name to the IP addresses.
• Select the zone type as standard primary and click next.
• Enter the name of the zone and click next.
• Select new file and click next.  Here you can import an already existing .dns file.
• Add a reverse look up zone and click next.  Reverse look up zone is used to find the host name from an IP address.
• Select the zone type and standard primary and click next.
• Enter first two (in case of 255.255.0.0) and first three (in case of 255.255.255.0) parts of your subnet mask.
• Select new file and click next.
• A summary will display click finish to complete the configuration.

The final stage is to configure the zones to be dynamic update enabled, it makes the host computers to add the records in the DNS server.


Configuring Router

A router is used to connect several logically and physically different networks with each other.  When a router is used for the first time it needs to be configured manually by the network administrators.

• Start your browser and type the IP address of your router.
• Router configuration page will be opened.
• Enter your user and default password of the router.
• You can configure firewall options, dynamic routing, static routing, DDNS, forwarding and filtering options.

Introduction to network switches 

An Ethernet is a widely accepted network standard through the world. An Ethernet network is generally composed of several interconnected nodes and these nodes are interconnected with the network through the Ethernet Switch. Network Switches provide various benefits to the computer network such as more capacity, speed, bandwidth, increased performance and the isolating of the non relevant network traffic. Switches are very valuable network devices and they increase the speed and overall performance of a computer network. 

It operates at the data link layer of the OSI model and it is used for the data communication and routing the packets in the network. A switch is like a hub and unlike hub it does not broadcast the data to all the computers in a network.  A switch is an intelligent device like a router and it maintains a switching table that is based on the IP and MAC addresses of the LAN/WAN computers.  Based on the source and destination IP addresses of the packets, a switch forwards the packets to its destination.  


Different types of switches are used to connect different networks such as Ethernet and Fast Ethernet.  To avoid the network congestion and to improve the performance it is recommended to add more switched ports in a network. A switch can connect a fast Ethernet to the existing Ethernet infrastructure to increase the speed and performance.

In the data communication networks, the combination of the Cisco Router and EtherSwitch modules increase the performance and bandwidth of the voice, video communications and the IP networks. The Cisco’s EtherSwitch module provides easy configurations, deployment and management in a single platform.

The key features of the EtherSwitch module includes Port auto sending, Qos, VLAN support and 802.1D spanning tree protocol. Adding the more switches in a non congested network can actually degrade the performance by delaying the network response time, packet switching delays, switch buffer delays and retransmission of the packets. 

By using the appropriate network monitoring and troubleshooting tools, the better network performance can be achieved by load balancing, bandwidth monitoring, resources allocation, packet filtering and protocol analyzing. The combination of the fast Ethernet and the switched network overcome the bottleneck problem in the slow networks.

The most common switching features include the following.
Port Mirroring

• Turn the ports on and off
• Priority settings for Ports
• Link speed
• Duplexing
• MAC address filtering
• Use of Spanning Tree Protocol
• VLAN
• Network Address Control 802.1X

Introduction to internet 


In this basic internet tutorial you will learn about web browsing, world wide web, http, online shopping ftp, routing and online communication system. Internet is a network of publicly available networks. The internet was first developed in 1969 and was known as ARPAnet, by the US department of defense. Initially only were computers were interconnected and the aim of the DOD was to make a nationwide network of computers to share the information in the times of War and emergency. The internet was available for the public for the first time in 1992 and many big internet companies came into existence after that time.


Internet is an electronic network of the computers across the globe, which is interconnected with each other. Millions of the computers are the part of the internet around the world such as telecommunication computers, military computers, airlines computers, universities computers and other commercial computers.

The most common use of the internet is the World Wide Web (WWW) and the most important feature of the WWW is HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol). This protocol is used to view the html documents in the web browsers. TCP/IP (transmission control protocol/internet protocol) is the protocol that is used for communication in the internet. Every computer which is connected with the internet has a unique identifier which is known as IP address. An IP address is a 32 bits decimal numbers address such as 10.11.11.1, 112.1.1.30 etc. 

There are certain types of the features on the internet such as web browsing, emails, Telnet, FTP, Gopher and other features. Today every kind of information is available on the internet and is accessible in seconds. We can share html web pages, songs, videos, games, graphics, news and other types of applications. Internet has become a big business portal for almost every kind of business in the world. Almost every well known company in the world has it presence on the internet.

There are certain marketing methods on the internet that are used to promote a business such as search engines marketing methods, email marketing, banner exchanges, directory submission, articles writing and promoting and many other types. Today researches can share their knowledge and experiences with their fellow researchers around the world, which was not easy before the internet. Internet is also a source of distance learning education system, in which a student is enrolled in a specific course on the internet, no matter what the geographic location of the student is. Internet connection is easily available to everyone who has a computer, fax modem and a telephone line. Upon connecting with the local ISPs, we can connect with every available computer on the internet. 

There are certain other advantages of the internet such as video conferencing, telemarketing, telemedicine, call centers, VOIP and web conferencing. Advance education and new research was not available so fast to everyone before the internet. The communication on the internet is carried out by a device known as a router. A router is a communication device which has a built inn routing table and with this routing table the destinations of the data is determined. Routing on the internet is a method of communication that uses physical address, selection of the gateway and the numerical address of the computer or routers.

Technically, internet is consisting of a large number of the interconnected autonomous systems. The most commonly used protocols by the routers are RIP and OSPF. Both the packet switching and IP networks provide the way, which routing protocols use for the communication on the internet. There are certain dedicated computers on the internet that are available online 24 hours and provide certain types of services. Internet also facilitates us for online bookings in the airlines and trains. Many companies uses internet as a medium to connect with the other private networks of the same company. Many universities and colleges use internet to form their private intranet, in which only authorized persons can access the private resources of an organization or university.

Finally, internet is a largest learning and information sharing portal on this planet in which many people from all over the world get connected with each other at the same time and can communication in a number of ways.

HOW TO SETUP COMPUTER NETWORK

By and through this utility you can configure your whole network. You can select this utility in the Programs > Accessories > Communications > Network setup wizard.

• How many computers do you want to connect with each other?
• What type of operating systems you are running on your computer.
• Whether networked computers will be located in one room or hall or inside a building.
• What are your security requirements?
• What’s your main purpose of networking the computers?
• What type of internet connection will be used?

After knowing your requirements you can configure your network either through the setup wizard in the Windows XP or manually. You can setup the computers in the workgroup or domain.

In the Workgroup, there is no centralized management and least security while in the domain there is domain controller (centralized server) that controls the whole domain and provides services like user authentication, data sharing, resources sharing and internet connectivity to the client computers.

Network Setup Wizard in Windows 7 Professional

• First of all, you need to install and configure the LAN card in every computer.
• Open network connection folder > network tasks > click setup a small office or home network.
• Click Start > Programs > Accessories > Communications > Network setup wizard.
• During the wizard, you need to select your LAN card, domain/workgroup name and other settings.
• After you successfully run the setup wizard, you will ask to create a network setup disk.
• You have to run the setup wizard on all the computers to make them connected with each other.

Setup utility safes your time and administrative efforts to configure a home or small office network. To check the connectivity between the computers, you can use the following diagnosing and administrative utilities which are installed by default with the TCP/IP protocols in the Windows based operating systems.
PING:  Ping is a first troubleshooting command in the IP based networks. With this utility you can check the connectivity between two computers.

IPconfig:

IPconfig is used to check the configurations of a computer such as IP address, subnet mask, DNS, gateway and DHCP addresses etc.

Tracert: 


Tracert is a TCP/IP utility that is used to find and record the routes between your computer and the specified destination.

Hostname: To check the name of your computer.

ATM  NETWORK  TECHNOLOGY 




This tutorial provides the basic introduction to atm network technology, packet switching, cell base, telecommmunication technology, high speed bandwidth usage in this technology. ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) is a high speed network technology that has become the standardized solution for the telecommunication industry, teleconferencing, videoconferencing, telemedicine, HDTV, distance learning and where high speed data transfer is required.  
ATM technology integrates voice, data and video at the same time. ATM uses fixed size packets called cells of 55 bytes in length. ATM network is a high speed circuit switched network that is capable of transferring one million signals using ATM protocol. ATM is a connection oriented technology in which logical connections are established for the data communication. ATM is implemented in the WAN and telecommunication sectors. Small data cells are used for communication and ATM is designed for high speed and high traffic networks. ATM cells allow voice, data and video transfer at the same time. ATM operates on the data link layer of the OSI model and it uses UTP/STP, fiber optic or air as a communication medium.

ATM CELL BASE

It is a small unit of 55 bytes fixed length and it contains the users and signaling information in it. It has a header with very limited functionality to reduce the internal buffer and to provide the high speed transfer. ATM cell identify the cells that belongs to the same virtual channels and perform easy routing.

ATM SWITCHING

Various switching technologies have been developed in the past to provide the high speed data transfer and secure communication. ATM switching technology provides high speed data transfer due to the connection oriented technology. ATM switching technology uses the predefined routing table so guarantees the fast data communication.

ATM DEVICES

ATM basically uses two types of devices such as ATM switch and end systems. The function of the switch is to handle the transmission of the cells throughout the network. Switches accept the incoming cells from the ATM end station or another ATM switch. On the other hand, ATM end systems contain the ATM adaptors.

ATM CONNECTIONS

ATM supports two types of connections point to point and point to multi point connections. In the point to point connections, two end systems are connected bi directionally or uni directionally. The point to multi point system connects one source to the number of destinations in uni directional. The source sends the information and switch replicates it to the destinations. Unidirectional network connects two switches. A typical ATM network consists of a set of the switches interconnected by point to point links. Switch support two types of interfaces user network and network node interface. Asynchronous transfer mode technology is designed for the reliability, performance, utilization and QOS and it creates fixed channels and routes when data travels between two points. There are four types of the choice when purchasing a connection.
Constant Bit Rate: It specifies fixed size rate and data is transferred in a steady form. Variable bit rate.
Variable Bit Rate: It provides specified throughput and it is best for videoconferencing.
Available bit rate. It provides guaranteed minimum capacity but high rate is also possible when the network is free.
Unspecified bit rate. It does not provide any fixed throughput level and it is best for the file transfer where delay can occurred.

ATM ADVANTAGES

It provides fixed bandwidth and simple routing is possible due to the connection oriented technology. High bandwidth utilization can be possible so it is the best solution for the telecommunication sector, videoconferencing and QOS. There are some of the disadvantages of this technology such as high cost, cell loss due to the high congestion in the network.

What Is a Network?


Introduction to the Computer Network Architecture
Here you will learn about computer network architecture, physical design, logical topology, protocols introduction, communication planning and basic communication technologies. To properly build, maintain and secure a network you should first know that what a compute network is and how data travels through the wired or wireless network. A person with a good networking skills will be able to tell that a network consist of a computer, cables, PRI lines, Routers, switches, NIC cards, PBXs, TIs, fiber optic and Ethernet cables. 


A person who have the strong background in the data network must know that a network consists of a server, workstations, routers, hubs, WAN, LAN, fiber optic and Ethernet cables and devices. Both the telecommunication and data communication persons agree that the cabling is an essential part of any computer network.

The simplest definition of the data network is to connect two more computer computers with each other to share data and resources. The network exists in different sizes and shapes, from home networks to WAN networks. Despite the different roles and various sizes of a network you can have some common similarities in all the networks such as protocols, architecture and topology/design.

Computer Network Architectures

Basically computer network architectures are dividing into three basic types such as LAN (local area network), MAN (Metropolitan area network) and WAN (wide area network. A LAN can consist of two or more computers in the same room or building. Fiber optic or Ethernet cables are used to connect the computers in a LAN. Home networks, personal networks and office networks fall in LAN. A typical MAN consists of two or more computers at two different geographical locations in the same city.
A MAN can be wired (fiber optic cable) or wireless and a number of communication devices are used in a MAN. A WAN consists of two or more computers in two different geographical areas (different cities or countries) and there are different methods to connect the computers in a WAN such as leased lines (ISDN lines, radio waves, microwaves, dial-up connections and connectivity through satellite. The internet is a largest WAN in the world. With the invention of the wireless networking, mobile and optical technology the usage of the wires has been decreased. There are a number of the terms that describe the architecture of a network.

Computer Network Topologies

The topology or physical design is closely related to the architecture of a network. Topology defines that how the network is physically connected. There are three main types of the topologies.
• Star Topology: In the star topology the all the networking components are connected to the central point, which is a hub or a switch. The star topology is mostly in use in LAN.
• Bus Topology: In the Bush topology the networking components are connected to the same cable. This is also called linear bus or backbone.
• Ring Topology: In the ring topology the all the components are connected with each other in the form of a ring. A token continuously passes through the loop.

Network Architecture Terminology

 • CAN (campus area network): CAN is a type of a network that connects the buildings/offices of a university, educational or office complex.
• Intranet: Intranet is a private network that belongs to an office, college or an organization and that is only accessible to the authorized users.
• Internet: The internet is a network of networks and connecting millions of computes with each other by different designs.
• MAN (metropolitan area network): MAN is a type of a network that is designed for a city. A MAN is larger than LAN but smaller than WAN.
• SAN (storage area network): SAN is a type of a network that is used to connect the storage related devices like RAID, file servers and tape systems.
• VLAN (virtual local area network): VLAN is a type of a network that allows computers on separate physical networks to communicate as if they were connected to the same network.
• Client-Server: Client- Server is a type of networking in which dedicated systems that provides services are called serves and the system that get these services are called work stations. The main services include file, printer, scanner, CD, Hard disk, processor, internet connection and other services.
• Peer-to-peer: This is a type of a networking where each computer shares the same functionalities. No centralized server is required in the Peer to peer networking.
 
Computer Network Protocols and the OSI Model

Protocol is one of the most important components of a computer network. Protocol means a set of rules, agreed upon ways or a communication language which all computer and devices understand. A protocol defines error checking, how data will be send and receive, and transmitting data between the systems. There are a large number of protocols and following is a list of the most commonly used protocol in the computer communications.
• AppleTalk: AppleTalk is a communication protocol that was developed by the Apple System to connect Macintosh computers to the printers.
• Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM): ATM is a type of protocol in which data travels in the form of fixed size packets. These fixed size packets provide high speed, data security, and video and voice communication over the same network.
• DECnet: DECnet is a protocol that was developed by the Digital Equipment Systems to connect the PDP and VAX systems.
• Ethernet: Ethernet is a LAN protocol that was developed by the Intel, Xerox and Digital Equipment System. Ethernet is a most widely used LAN communication standard.
• Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI): FDDI is a protocol that is used to transmit the data over the fiber optic cables.
• Internet Protocols (IP): IP is a protocol transmitting data between the packet switched IP networks originally developed by the DOD (department of defense). TCP/IP (Transmission control protocol/Internet protocol) is a suite of protocol and FTP, HTTP, E-mail, Telnet are all IP protocols.
• Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX): IPX is a networking protocol that is used by the Novell Netware operating systems.
• NetWare: Netware is a LAN protocol that is developed by the Novell Corporation.
• Signaling System 7 (SS7): SS7 is a telecommunication protocol that was developed by the International Telecommunication Union.
• Systems Network Architecture (SNA): SNA is a set of protocols that was developed by the IBM mainframe systems.
• Token Ring: Token Ring is a LAN protocol that was developed by the IBM where systems have the tokens before they transmit the data. Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP): TCP/IP is a suite of the protocols used to connect the computers on the internet. TCP/IP is a most commonly used protocol.
• X.25: X.25 is a protocol that was developed by CCITT for the packet switched network.
Protocols are combined with the OSI layers model. OSI model is an ISO standard for the communication system. There are seven layers in the OSI model and each layer performs the different functionalities. The seven layers are Application, Presentation, Session, Transport, Network, Data link and physical layers. Each layer know how to communication with the upper and lower layer. You can remember the name of all the layers by the following sentence.
“All people seems to need data processing”

Planning a Logical Network Design

When you plan a logical network design you can either start from scratch or upgrade an existing network. You should have the sufficient information about the networking components, hardware, protocols and topologies. You should analyze the traffic pattern, security needs, future expansion, and server capability, internet access to the clients, FTP and other things. You should also make a plan for the disaster recovery, data recovery and instant troubleshooting techniques.

Basic Security Tips

This basic Network Security Guide provides useful security tips and methods to secure your network such as installing a updated antivirus program, email scanning programs, network monitoring tools, internet access policy and other security prevention methods. Network security is a very important aspect of a computer network. Minor security vulnerability can result in a heavy loss of the critical data of your server and other client computers. Keeping the computer as well as network secure, is the big responsibility of the network administrator and the security specialists. There are lot of security measures and prevention methods which I will discuss in this section. Typically a computer network can be attacked by a number of ways such as virus attacks, unauthorized access, cryptography attacks and a number of other security threats.

A network security threat can be prevented if you have an updated antivirus program, regularly scan all the network devices, emails, open ports, server and client computers. It’s the responsibility of the network administrators to check and deploy the missing security patches in all the network computers. They should also remove the unnecessary network shares, users accounts, wireless access points and restrict the access too the network users. There should be proper training of the network users, network administrators and IT managers about the vulnerable things that cause a network to be attacked. A network administration of an organization should be highly skilled person and have much experience in network/system administration as well as dealing with the security issues.

Security Threats

There are a number of security threats that can be the cause of a network security attack. Main security threats are denial of service, distributed denial of service, viruses, Trojan horses, spywares, malwares, unauthorized access to the network resources and data, accidental deletion of the files and the uncontrolled internet access.

Virus Attack

A computer virus is a small program or an executable code that when executed and replicated, perform different unwanted and harmful functions for a computer and a network. Viruses can destroy your hard disks and processors, consume memory at a very large scale and destroy the overall performance of a computer or network. A Trojan is a malicious code that performs harmful actions but it cannot be replicated. Trojan can destroy systems’ critical data. A computer worm is a program that replicates to all network and destroy useful data. The viruses, malware, adware and Trojan horses can be prevented if you have an updated antivirus program with the latest pattern files.

Security policy
Being a network administrator, you should implement a security policy in your network and educate your network users and other employees about the security threats.

Email scanning

Email is a big source of a virus and malicious code. You should have installed an email scanning and monitoring program. You should also have a tight security policy at your proxy server and should block the unnecessary ports and web applications.

Unauthorized Access

Access to the network resources and data should be allowed only to the authorized persons. Every shared folder and resources in your network should have been accessed only by the authorized persons and should also be scanned and monitored regularly.


Accidental deletion of the files

What will you do if you accidentally delete your organization’s critical data? This is a question, which every network administrator and security specialists thinks of and wants answer. Few days before I read on internet news site that a computer technician accidentally deleted a financial company’s $ 10 billions records. To avoid the big troubles like this for you and for your company, you should have excellent data recovery software in your software inventory. Many data recovery tools are good enough to recover every piece of data if the hard disk is not physically badly damaged.

Network Monitoring Tools

You must have a good network monitoring tools to detect various suspicious things and monitor the various activities in your network such as network traffic, open ports, useless shared folders. GFI LanGuard Network security scanner is a good scanning and monitoring tool and it checks for all the possible methods, which a hacker can use to attack your network.

Internet Access Control

Internet can be a big source of viruses and the major security attacks, if you are unable to implement a tight security policy in your network, if you have a old definition anti virus program and if your haven’t put any check on your network user’s activity. Your gateway or proxy server, which is directly exposed to the internet should have very tight security, updated antivirus program and network monitoring tools.

Information Theft and cryptography attacks

Another threat to a network is to loss of the important information and this loss can be prevented, if you good encryption methods such as 128 bit security or 256 bit security encryption methods. In this way, your data when transferred through FTP programs, can be encrypted and can’t be read or use.

Unauthorized application installations

Another virus and security attack prevention method is to install only the authorized software applications to your network server and your all client computers. Nobody should be allowed to install any kind of program which can cause security threats such as songs or video programs, codec, gaming software or other web based applications.

Security Conclusion:

I tried to point out the major security threat prevention methods also provided the solutions to avoid them. There are a number of ways, which guarantee for the safety and security of your network.
I have summarized the all these method as below.
1. Perform regular network security testing.
2. Don’t provide more or unwanted access to any network user.
3. Must have an updated antivirus program.
4. Operating system should be regularly updated. If you have windows based operating system you can update it from the Microsoft website.
5. Keep inventory of your network resources such as devices and software applications.
6. Regularly scan TCP/IP services
7. Turn off your computer when you are away and don’t leave your computer unattended.
8. Put a strong network and system administrator password.
9. Implement a strong security policy.
10. Use a switched network, so that you can identify the problem very quickly.