The 7 Must-have Pillars for your Network

There’s no mystery behind these essential elements. We’ve all heard of them at one point of time or another. The first one we talk of is the DHCP service, which is used to automatically allocate IP addresses to all the machines on a network. Not only that, but a DHCP server can also automatically assign the Internet gateway, DNS server and domain name information, and much more to all the clients on the network. Name resolution service is the second essential for any network. You can’t browse the Net without contacting a name server. Smaller companies can use their ISP’s name server, while larger ones can set up their own. Name servers can also be used for resolving local machine names on a network. We cover how to do so in this story.

	Network Automation with DHCP Use DHCP to automatically configure all your network clients
	Name It Right Use a split DNS server to resolve both local and Internet domain names
	Local Mail Routing Set up SMTP and POP services on your LAN to save your Internet bandwidth utilization
	Proxy for Bandwidth Use a proxy server to monitor and conserve bandwidth
	Protect with Firewalls They monitor traffic between your LAN and the Internet and block intrusions
	Bugs and Spam Not Allowed Measures to prevent the spread of viruses and unwanted content
	Old but Not Outdated  File and print and backup services are still two must haves for any network

Almost everyone has e-mail, but is your mail setup configured to optimally utilize your Internet bandwidth? That’s where our third essential, local-mail routing, comes into play. Companies having their mail servers in the US, need some sort of a mail setup on their network that will keep all internal mail within the network. Local mail routing isn’t the only element to conserve Internet bandwidth. That’s where proxy servers come in as our fourth essential. You need to choose the right proxy server, and then know what’s the best way to set one up for your company’s needs. You may need to cascade two proxies, or create a reverse proxy. Firewalls have become another must these days, both for the network and individual desktops. They remain the fourth essential along with the proxy servers, as they also control your Internet access. I recently configured my personal firewall to warn me of any website trying to place a cookie on my machine, and of any machine trying to access any port on my machine. The results were no less than surprising. 

While on the subject, viruses and spam mail have become a menace, forming the fifth essential for any network. Everyday there’s news of a new virus breaking loose, causing major financial losses to companies. That’s why a proper implementation of a corporate anti-virus solution has become essential. The other nuisance on the Internet is spam. Most of you must clean your mailbox every day of all the junk mail that arrives by the dozen. That’s where a proper content security solution comes into the picture. 

Lastly, file and print services and storage, which don’t really need an explanation, as they’ve been around longer than most services. As these seven elements are a must for any network, it’s important to understand how they function so that you can fully utilize the potential of your network. 

Anil Chopra