September 14

Hey! It’s Your Network

Thrive Tech Blog - Keys to Your Network Kingdom During the course of a given week, I will speak with anywhere between two and six companies regarding their Information Technology needs. A common issue I have is obtaining some simple information regarding their environments. Most companies seem to turn a blind eye to their networks, so long as everything is working properly. This is inherently a bad approach given that the network is usually the home to an organization’s most critical information and systems. It continues to surprise me how often businesses don’t even know the administrative passwords to their network.

Given that this is YOUR NETWORK, you should hold the keys to the kingdom.

Things you should know about your network

As an IT administrator, you should maintain a working understanding of the following network components:

Physical Environment

Know where all the components of the network are, including:

Server(s)
Network Switches (you’d be surprised how many of these you’ll find in strange places)
Backup System(s)
Firewall(s)
Internet Service Provider Connection
Battery Backup System(s)
Phone System

Security Information

• Server Administrator Password(s)
• Network Equipment Password(s)

Data Protection Information

•         How are you backing up your data? (Tape, Online, Local Disk, etc.)
•         How much data are you backing up?
•         Are backups being sent offsite in a secure manor? And by “secure”, I do not mean, “Does an employee bring your backup tapes home with them?”

This is usually enough to ensure that you have the ability to control the environment. If any of this information changes, your IT employees or provider should notify you shortly after the modification has been made. Providers that are not willing to share this information with their customer’s management personnel should not be trusted to provide complete support.
There are many circumstances where having this information can prove critical. Given that this is YOUR NETWORK, you should hold the keys to the kingdom.