Network Plus 2005 In Depth

xContents

Remote Connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328

Dial-up Networking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328

Remote Access Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329

Remote Access Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331

Remote Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332

Terminal Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335

Web Portals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336

VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336

Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338

Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342

Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351

Chapter 8 Network Operating Systems and Windows

Server 2003-Based Networking . . . . . . . . . . 355

Introduction to Network Operating Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356

Selecting a Network Operating System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357

Network Operating Systems and Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358

Network Operating System Services and Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359

Client Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360

Identifying and Organizing Network Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365

Sharing Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368

Sharing Printers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370

Managing System Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372

Introduction to Windows Server 2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375

Windows Server 2003 Hardware Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377

A Closer Look at Windows Server 2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378

Windows Server 2003 Memory Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378

Windows Server 2003 File Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380

MMC (Microsoft Management Console) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382

Active Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384

Planning for Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392

Installing and Configuring a Windows Server 2003 Server . . . . . . . . . 395

The Installation Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395

Initial Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397

Establishing Users and Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399

Contents xi

Internetworking with Other Network Operating Systems . . . . . . . . . . 402

Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403

Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405

Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412

Chapter 9 Networking with UNIX-Type of Operating Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415

A Brief History of UNIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416

Varieties of UNIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417

Proprietary UNIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418

Open Source UNIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418

Three Flavors of UNIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419

UNIX Server Hardware Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420

Solaris Hardware Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421

Linux Hardware Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422

Mac OS X Server Hardware Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423

A Closer Look at UNIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423

UNIX Multiprocessing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424

The UNIX Memory Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424

The UNIX Kernel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424

UNIX System File and Directory Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425

UNIX System File Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426

A UNIX Command Sampler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426

Installing Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432

Planning a Linux Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432

Installing and Configuring Fedora Core . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433

Administering a UNIX-Type of Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434

Establishing Groups and Users on Linux and Solaris . . . . . . . . . . . 434

Establishing Groups and Users on Mac OS X Server . . . . . . . . . . . 435

Changing File Access Permissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438

Connecting to UNIX-Type of Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440

Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442

Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445

Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447

xii Contents

Chapter 10 NetWare-Based Networking . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451

Introduction to NetWare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452 NetWare Server Hardware Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455 A Closer Look at the NetWare 6.5 Operating System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456 NetWare Integrated Kernel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456 NetWare File System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458 eDirectory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460 Planning for Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464 Installing and Configuring a NetWare 6.5 Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466 The Installation Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466 Establishing Users and Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468 Client Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471 Traditional Client Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471 Native File Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472 Browser-Based Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474 Internetworking with Other Operating Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474 Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475 Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477 Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479

Designing TCP/IP-Based Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482

Subnetting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483

CIDR (Classless Inter-Domain Routing) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491

Internet Gateways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493

NAT (Network Address Translation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494

ICS (Internet Connection Sharing) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496

Intranets and Extranets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 497

TCP/IP Mail Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498

SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498

MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499

POP (Post Office Protocol) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499

IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500

Additional TCP/IP Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501

Netstat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 502

Nbtstat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503

Contents xiii

Nslookup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504

Dig . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505

Whois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506

Traceroute (Tracert) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507

Ipconfig . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508

Winipcfg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509

Ifconfig . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510

VoIP (Voice Over IP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511

Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515

Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 517

Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521

Chapter 12 Troubleshooting Network Problems . . . . . . . 523

xiv Contents

Chapter 13 Ensuring Integrity and Availability . . . . . . . . 565

What Are Integrity and Availability? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 566

Viruses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 568

Types of Viruses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569

Virus Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571

Virus Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 572

Virus Hoaxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575

Fault Tolerance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575

Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 576

Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 576

Topology and Connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 580

Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 584

Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 587

Data Backup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 594

Backup Media and Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 595

Backup Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 598

Disaster Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 600

Disaster Recovery Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 601

Disaster Recovery Contingencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 601

Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 602

Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 606

Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 611

Chapter 14 Network Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 615

Security Audits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 616

Security Risks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 617

Risks Associated with People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 618

Risks Associated with Transmission and Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . 619

Risks Associated with Protocols and Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 620

Risks Associated with Internet Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 621

An Effective Security Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 622

Security Policy Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 622

Security Policy Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 624

Response Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 625

Physical Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 625

Contents xv

Security in Network Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 627

Firewalls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 628

Proxy Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 631

Remote Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 632

Network Operating System Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 633

Logon Restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 634

Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 635

Encryption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 636

Key Encryption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 636

PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 641

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 641

SSH (Secure Shell) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 642

SCP (Secure CoPy) and SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) . . . 643

IPSec (Internet Protocol Security) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 644

Authentication Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 644

RADIUS and TACACS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 645

PAP (Password Authentication Protocol) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 646

CHAP and MS-CHAP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 646

EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 649

Kerberos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 649

Wireless Network Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 651

WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 651

IEEE 802.11i and WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) . . . . . . . . . . . . 653

Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 653

Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 656

Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 664

Chapter 15 Implementing and Managing Networks. . . . . 667

Project Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 668

Determining Project Feasibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 670

Assessing Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 671

Setting Project Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 672

Project Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 673

Testing and Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 677

xvi Contents

Network Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 678

Obtaining Baseline Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 678

Performance and Fault Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 680

Asset Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 683

Software Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 684

Patches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 685

Client Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 687

Shared Application Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 688

Network Operating System Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 689

Reversing a Software Upgrade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 691

Hardware and Physical Plant Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 692

Adding or Upgrading Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 693

Cabling Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 695

Backbone Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 696

Reversing Hardware Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 697

Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 697

Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 700

Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 702

Appendix A Network+ Examination Objectives . . . . . . . . 705

Appendix B Network+ Practice Exam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 715

Appendix C Visual Guide to Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 739

Appendix D Standard Networking Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . 743

Appendix E Answers to Chapter Review Questions. . . . . 751

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 757

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 829

Preface

Knowing how to install, configure, and troubleshoot a computer network is a highly marketable and exciting skill. This book first introduces the fundamental building blocks that form a modern network, such as protocols, topologies, hardware, and network operating systems. It then provides in-depth coverage of the most important concepts in contemporary networking, such as client/server architecture, TCP/IP, Ethernet, wireless transmission, and security. After reading the book, you will be prepared to select the best network design, hardware, and software for your environment. You will also have the skills to build a network from scratch and maintain, upgrade, and troubleshoot an existing network. Finally, you will be well-prepared to pass CompTIA’s (the Computing Technology

Industry Association’s) Network+ certification exam.

Because some technical topics can be difficult to grasp, this book explains concepts logically and in a clear, approachable style. In addition, concepts are reinforced by real-world examples of networking issues from a professional’s standpoint. The numerous tables and illustrations, along with the glossaries, appendices, and study questions make the book a valuable reference for any networking professional.

The Network+ CoursePrep Exam Guide, which you can download from http://www.courseptr.com/downloads, offers several hundred multiple choice questions to further prepare you for passing CompTIA’s Network+ certification exam.

Intended Audience

This book is intended to serve the needs of students and professionals who are interested in mastering fundamental, vendor-independent networking concepts. No previous networking experience is necessary to begin learning from this book, although knowledge of basic computer principles is helpful. Those seeking to pass CompTIA’s Network+ certification exam will find the text’s content, approach, and numerous study questions especially helpful. For more information on Network+ certification, visit CompTIA’s web site at www.comptia.org.

The book’s pedagogical features are designed to provide a truly interactive learning experience, preparing you for the challenges of the highly dynamic networking industry.

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Chapter Descriptions

Here is a summary of the topics covered in each chapter of this book:

Chapter 1, “An Introduction to Networking,” begins by answering the question “What is a network?” Next it presents the fundamental types of networks and describes the elements that constitute the most popular type, the client/server network. This chapter also introduces career options for those interested in mastering networking skills.

Chapter 2, “Networking Standards and the OSI Model,” describes the organizations that set standards in the networking industry, including those that oversee wiring codes, network access methods, and Internet addressing. It also discusses, in depth, the OSI Model, which is the industry standard for conceptualizing communication between computers on a network.

Chapter 3, “Transmission Basics and Networking Media,” describes signaling techniques used on modern networks, including those used over copper cable, fiber-optic cable, and wireless connections. It also covers the characteristics—including cost, materials, and connector types—for physical and atmospheric media that can be used to carry signals.

Chapter 4, “Network Protocols,” explores network protocols in detail, with a particular emphasis on the TCP/IP protocol suite. Functions and interactions between each core protocol and subprotocol are described in the context of the OSI Model. This chapter also explains computer addressing and naming conventions for each major protocol suite.

Chapter 5, “Networking Hardware,” examines the hardware associated with a network, including NICs (network interface cards), hubs, routers, bridges, gateways, and switches. In Chapter 5, you will find several photos portraying typical networking equipment.

Chapters 6, “Topologies and Access Methods,” discusses the variety of physical and logical topologies used in local area networks. This chapter includes detailed discussions of the popular Ethernet and wireless access methods.

Chapter 7, “WANs, Internet Access, and Remote Connectivity,” expands on your knowledge of networks by examining WAN (wide area network) topologies and transmission methods, such as T-carriers, ISDN, DSL, and broadband cable. Here you will also learn about options for accessing networks from remote locations, including dial-up networking and VPNs (virtual private networks).

Chapter 8, “Network Operating Systems and Windows Server 2003-Based Networking,” covers the purpose and design of network operating system software. It then provides an overview of the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 network operating system, including Active Directory, the Windows Server 2003 method of organizing network elements. In this chapter you will also learn how to integrate Windows servers with clients and servers running different operating systems.

Preface xix

Chapter 9, “Networking with UNIX-type of Operating Systems,” discusses the unique features of UNIX, Linux, and Mac OS X Server network operating systems (collectively termed “UNIX-type of systems”). It enumerates basic commands that can be used on UNIX-type of systems and explains how these operating systems can share resources and communicate over networks.

Chapter 10, “NetWare-Based Networking,” describes the unique features of the Novell NetWare network operating system, including eDirectory (or NDS), which is NetWare’s method of organizing network elements. You will also learn how to integrate NetWare servers with clients and servers running different operating systems.

Chapter 11, “In-Depth TCP/IP Networking,” explores advanced concepts relating to TCP/IP-based networking, such as subnetting and NAT (Network Address Translation). It also details commands useful for evaluating devices and connections that run the TCP/IP protocol suite.

Chapter 12, “Troubleshooting Network Problems,” approaches the tasks of troubleshooting and maintaining networks in a logical, practical manner. Once you have learned how networks operate and how to create them, you will need to know how to fix and maintain them.

Chapter 13, “Ensuring Integrity and Availability,” explains how to keep network resources available and connections reliable despite threats such as power outages or hardware and software failures. In this chapter you will find information about backup power supplies, redundant disk arrays, and data backup procedures.

Chapter 14, “Network Security,” discusses critical network security techniques, including the use of firewalls, encryption, and enterprise-wide security policies. Network security is a major concern when designing and maintaining modern networks, which typically use open protocols and connect to public networks such as the Internet.

Chapter 15, “Implementing and Managing Networks,” concludes the book by describing how to approach large network projects including software or hardware updates or an entire network implementation. This chapter builds on all the knowledge you’ve gained about network fundamentals, design, maintenance, and troubleshooting.

Appendix A, “Network+ Examination Objectives,” provides a complete list of the 2005 Network+ certification exam objectives, including the percentage of the exam’s content they represent and which chapters in the book cover material associated with each objective.

Appendix B, “Network+ Practice Exam,” offers a practice exam containing questions similar in content and presentation to those you will find on CompTIA’s Network+ examination.