Internetworking is the art of connecting computer networks and devices to allow communication and data sharing between them. While internetworking has many benefits, the process is not without its challenges, and it’s important to follow some basic dos and don’ts to avoid the common pitfalls that arise when interconnecting computer networks.
Dos:
1. Plan and Design Network Topology: Before you start connecting devices, plan your network topology to determine the best approach to interconnecting your network devices to your wide-area network (WAN). Proper planning will ensure that you achieve better network performance, scalability, and reliability.
2. Choose Reliable Hardware/Software: Choose network equipment and software from reputable sources. Ensure they are compatible and recommended with the rest of the network equipment or software platforms in use, to make sure there are no compatibility issues or infrastructure failures.
3. Monitor and Secure Your Network: Always monitor network activities to identify and prevent potential network misuse, performance issues, or security breaches. Establish network security procedures, including changing default passwords, implementing encryption protocols, firewall and anti-virus software, and user authentication.
4. Conduct Regular Maintenance: Regular maintenance of the network is essential to keeping the network operating optimally. Regularly cleaning up network traffic, removing unwanted programs, performing backups, and updating software and firmware will improve network performance and maintain high network availability.
5. Train Network Users: Educate all network users in the proper use of network resources and secure protocols. Enforce policies and procedures that protect network data, protect against network hacking, and ensure the reliability and performance of the network.
Don’ts:
1. Ignore Standards: Standards can help ensure interoperability, compatibility, and reliability in a network. Ignoring standards can lead to incompatibility, interoperability issues, and security risks.
2. Overlook Network Documentation: Keep network documentation updated as network changes are made. Overlooking this can result in confusion, downtime, and errors that can be costly and difficult to resolve.
3. Neglect Network Performance Monitoring: Neglecting network performance monitoring can lead to network downtime, slow response times, and decreased service quality.
4. Use Incompatible Hardware/Software: Attempting to interconnect incompatible hardware and software is a recipe for disaster. It can cause widespread disruptions and downtime, nullifying the entire investment.
5. Allow End Users to Configure or Edit Network Devices: Allow only trained and authorized users to configure or edit network devices. Allowing end-users to make unauthorized changes or configuration can result in network failures, downtimes, or security risks.
In conclusion, internetworking offers numerous benefits for businesses, including improved communication, better resource sharing, and a potential to achieve substantial cost savings. However, to ensure that your network presents no risk, you need to follow these dos and don’ts of internetworking. By doing so, you can minimize the risks and achieve maximum benefits from interconnecting the different computer networks for smooth communication and data sharing.