Network Administrator Tip #1 -- Administrator
Password Sanctity
The administrator or equivalently named user account on
your server is all-powerful - and because of that, quite
dangerous, should the username and password fall into the wrong hands.
As a result, use the administrator username and password credentials to
logon to the server and to logon to other systems only when absolutely
necessary.
Borrowing from best practices of larger companies,
network administrators should always have a separate user account
with stripped-down permissions for routine tasks on their own PCs.
Just as important, make sure the administrator or
equivalent username and password credentials don't "leak" out.
If you suspect a breach, change the administrator username and password immediately.
Under normal circumstances, these credentials should be changed a few
times a year as a basic security precaution.
Network Administrator Tip #2 -- Antivirus Software
Since new viruses are discovered on an almost daily
basis, antivirus software becomes largely ineffective if not constantly
updated. Many antivirus software programs are supposed to be able
to update themselves automatically. However these automatic
updates don't always work properly.
Learn to check how current the antivirus software
version is (usually Help, About) and how to force a manual update
to the antivirus software. And keep antivirus software current on all
key assets: your company's server(s), desktop PCs, and notebook
computers.
Network Administrator Tip #3 -- Locking the Server
Console
Even if the server is kept in a locked room, usually not
the case in small businesses, the server console or keyboard should
always be "locked". So that you don't forget to key in Ctrl +
Alt + Del and Lock Computer when you walk away from the server, be sure
to set a password protected screen saver with a relatively short waiting
period -- generally less than five minutes.
Just steer clear of the 3D OpenGL screen savers, as they
tend to monopolize CPU utilization and slow down your entire server.
Network Administrator Tip #4 -- Log File Watching
By staying on top of data backup, power protection,
virus protection, and security issues, you can usually keep your network
"healthy" and nip many problems in the bud. However in order
to do so, you need a basic understanding of how each of these programs
writes to various log files.
Be sure you know how to locate each data protection
software log file and what to look for -- to determine
"successes" and "failures", as well as how to
identify normal and abnormal events.
Network Administrator Tip #5 -- Password Changes
Sooner or later, someone in your company will
"forget" his or her password -- or an employee will leave the
company or get terminated. Either way, be sure you understand your
company's password restrictions and how to manually force a password
change.
Network Administrator Tip #6 -- Printer Job
Administration
One day someone will inadvertently send a huge
job to the wrong network printer. Sometimes this mistake won't cause
many problems. But, if that problematic print job goes to an
expensive-to-operate printer, such as a check printer or color laser
printer, you need to know how to rapidly locate and delete the
job from the network printer queue.
Better yet, consider setting up network permissions to
restrict which users can print to various printers.
Network Administrator Tip #7 -- Rebooting the Server
Know how to properly reboot your company's server(s).
This includes
-
Checking that all network users have closed open
files (For Microsoft Windows 2000: Control Panel, Administrative
Tools, Computer Management, System Tools, Shared Folders, Open
Files)
-
Manually stopping key services if
needed to speed up the reboot (also in Administrative Tools,
Services, right click to stop various services)
-
Shutting down and power cycling the server to
restart
Network Administrator Tip #8 -- Tape Backup
Management
The computer consultant who installed your server
probably configured an automated tape backup schedule, so that all you
really need to do is change tapes once a day --- in theory.
However, tape backup drives are one of the few
components in a server with moving parts. Good tape backup drives are
generally very reliable, but they do "flake out" from
time to time.
In addition to monitoring the tape backup log and
rebooting the server to un-jam a stuck tape from the tape backup drive,
make sure you know how to restore a file. Besides bringing back
"missing" or "damaged" files, file restoration is a
great way to see if the tape drive solution is working as well as you think
it is.
Also, be sure you know how to launch a manual, off
schedule backup job.
