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5 No-Brainer Tricks To Avoid Network Nightmares

Posted on February 4th, 2009 by Eric English 5 Comments »

Eric EnglishA network nightmare can happen to anyone at any time, but there are ways to minimize the impact or avoid the nightmare all together.

The best way to avoid such catastrophes is to be as proactive as possible when designing and maintaining your network. Being prepared for the worst can save you when the worst does eventually happen.

So what are some of the ways to avoid network nightmares? Let’s explore.



1. Document

Don’t you hate walking into a new job where the last IT guy quit and didn’t have anything written down? You’re possibly inheriting a rat’s nest or a hodge-podge of random equipment! Now you have to figure it all out from the ground up.

What if you are the only IT admin in your company and all of a sudden have a heart attack? You need to ensure that another admin can come in and fill your shoes while you are out.

So what types of things should you document?

  • Network Layout – Create Visio diagrams of your network and equipment. This is a very easy way to help any IT admin that’s new to a job find his or her way around your network.


  • Passwords – Document all important usernames and passwords that other admins would need. This includes user names and passwords for software programs as well as domain user names and passwords.


  • Equipment and Warranty Information – Keep good records of your warranty information so you can easily get warranty work done if needed. Make sure to write down serial numbers or service tag numbers from your equipment for easier warranty assistance.


  • Software and Proprietary Software – Document any information about any proprietary software your organization might use. If the worst happens and you are not around anymore, help the next guy by writing this information down.


    Proprietary software can be especially difficult to troubleshoot without the help of the manufacturer information. Also document any product keys that you might need for Windows, Office, or any other type of software that uses a product key.

2. Organize

I’ve seen some messy server rooms over the years, and that’s the one room you don’t want to keep unorganized.

Keeping things organized helps with troubleshooting network issues, working quicker and more efficiently, and can help with using your space more efficiently. If you have cables running all over the place and equipment mounted in odd locations or hanging by the ethernet cable, it’s time to get organized.

  • Label your Cables and Equipment – Go out and invest in a 40 or 50 dollar label maker and get to labeling! Label your cables, routers, servers, and any other equipment you think might need it.


    This can help if you are taking a sick day at home and you need to tell one of your co-workers how to power cycle the router. If it’s labeled correctly, it should be pretty easy to walk them through it.


  • Keep Paperwork Filed Away – You normally wouldn’t think of doing any sort of filing in an IT job, but with all the paperwork and documentation that comes with new equipment, you’d end up having a huge pile of paperwork laying around if you don’t find a good way to organize it.


    Put recovery CDs and warranty paperwork in 9×12 envelopes and write down the type of equipment and any serial numbers you might need on the front of the envelope. Then you can file it away in a file cabinet to help remove clutter and organize your paperwork.


    This will also help with finding your computer documentation and recovery disks much faster when you need them.

3. Standardize

One way to get confused or make your life miserable at work is to use any random piece of equipment that you can find. Sure it only costs 20 bucks but there’s probably a reason why it’s so cheap!

Try to get equipment from the same manufacturer to help with warranty tracking and troubleshooting. Plus you might run into compatibility issues using different equipment manufacturers.

Can you imagine trying to keep all of the warranty information straight if every single computer in your organization is made by a different manufacturer? What a nightmare!


4. Do Your Upgrades The Right Way

Have you ever heard the phrase “If you’re going to do something, do it the right first time’”? How about a major upgrade to the network?

Don’t hodgepodge something together at the last minute just because the boss wants you to get it done. Make sure you plan it out and do it right the first time. No one wants to redo their work, so why put yourself through that?

If you have a major upgrade coming up, think about the other opportunities you might have to upgrade another piece of equipment and save yourself some time in the future.

If you’re getting rack mounted servers but currently don’t have a rack, purchase a rack at the same time and save yourself from having to mount them later down the road. I know it sounds silly but I’ve actually seen people purchase rack mounted servers without having a rack and they end up lying on the floor until they purchase the rack.

Another example would be to rewire some of the equipment in your server room during your major upgrade to accommodate the new equipment.


5. Maintain Your Network

Maintenance is a crucial part of keeping your network going strong. Here are a few tips on how to do things right:

  • Check for firmware updates for your routers and schedule a defrag of your computers or servers.


  • Check for driver updates for your network devices and keep your Windows Updates current.


  • Keep up to date with antivirus licensing and definitions and proactively scan your network for threats.


  • Test your battery backup devices to make sure the batteries don’t need to be replaced.


  • Test restoring a backup from your backup tape to ensure your backups are running like they should.

All of the little things count when you have a large network to take care of. Finding issues before they become catastrophic can be a life saver. If you let all of the little things go for too long, you might not be able to recover.

I like to have confidence that I can recover the network if needed, but if the small issues go unmonitored, confidence will drop drastically and recovery can be very painstaking.


How Would You Prevent a Network Nightmare?

There are plenty of network nightmares out there to watch out for, but being proactive in your approach can and will save you in the long run.

Bad things are eventually going to happen so being prepared and having confidence in your work can give you piece of mind and relieve the stresses of working in the IT field.

What other ways would you suggest to avoid a network nightmare?



 

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