If there is one inviolable law of computer networking that has been repeatedly mentioned in this book, it is the law of mutability. Nothing is more certain in this business than the fact that networking technology is continuously advancing, and it is crucial for a network administrator to keep current with the latest developments.
Of course, the problem is usually that there is no shortage of information to be had, and few network support personnel have time to read half of the material that comes their way. To be familiar with the resources at your disposal is important, however, so that when information is needed, whether for making a purchasing decision or resolving a technical support problem, it can be located quickly and easily.
Many parts of this book have tried to help the LAN administrator to make purchasing decisions by telling them what features to look for in a particular product or what class of product they should most profitably investigate. Locating that information is left up to them, however, and getting beyond the marketing hype for a product and find the really useful information can often be difficult.
Technical support has also become more of a "do-it-yourself" activity than it has ever been. Free technical support is largely a thing of the past. It is a great financial drain on a manufacturer and is subject to the repeated abuse of customers unwilling to read the fine manual. As a result, many companies have begun to make a great deal of technical support information available to the user, often free for the taking, to make him the first line of support. Before spending money on a technical support call, exploring the alternative support avenues that a product manufacturer may supply is a good idea.
This appendix lists some of the different informational resources available to the networking professional and outlines the various media used by technology companies to disseminate information to their users. Familiarity with these media can often free the network manager from the need to engage high-priced consultants or run up technical support fees as well as minimize his exposure to the high-pressure salespeople that can often be a source of incomplete or incorrect product information.
Of course, the most traditional medium for networking information is print. In its many forms, the print media provide pre-sales and technical information in enormous quantity. Placing a single phone call to a vendor or manufacturer of networking products can result in a flood of printed material, if desired. Much of this material can be highly subjective and misleading, however. Care in selecting the right documents and in assigning the right priorities in reading them is paramount here.
As you are aware, if you are reading this, the book publishing industry provides a wealth of information on computers. However, the number of titles devoted to networking is far smaller than those aimed at the home computer user. The most important factor to consider when considering books as information sources is the date of publication. Unfortunately, the bargain book bin is rarely a source of current information. A book published even a year ago may be concerned with software versions that have been superseded or hardware that is no longer in production. Many of the more successful titles are revised regularly, however, to keep them up to date. Call a publisher to find out when a revision is expected to avoid buying a book that is replaced soon afterwards.
Of course, the books that you are most likely to find out that you already own are frequently those that you are least likely to read. I'm speaking of the product manuals that accompany virtually all networking hardware and software products. Naturally, the quality (and quantity) of the documentation furnished with computing products can vary widely. I've encountered many manuals that are unintentionally hilarious because of inept language translation. On the other hand, a great many computer books are also sold that are little more than rehashed versions of product manuals. Familiarity with the materials that you already possess can save time and expense in the future. Another element that must be included as part of any product's documentation are the README files that are often included on the floppy disks or CD-ROMs of software products. These often provide the manufacturer's most recent information, which could not be included in the printed manuals.
Quite possibly the most consistently up-to-date and informative material available to the network administrator comes in the form of the many magazines and newspapers devoted to computing. My advice to anyone seeking an introduction to personal computing is always to begin reading the monthly magazinesóthat is, the glossy newsstand magazines aimed at the individual PC user, such as PC Magazine or PC World. Reading publications like these from cover to cover are an excellent way to begin a computing education. You are bound to pick up facts that may not be pertinent to you now but that could well become valuable later.
For the more experienced networking professional, however, these magazines quickly become elementary. Of greater use are the weekly tabloid newspapers that are aimed more at the corporate network administrator, such as InfoWorld, PCWeek, and LAN Times. These are limited circulation publications that are distributed free to qualified networking professionals, usually upon completion of periodic questionnaires regarding the reader's participation in his company's purchasing practices. All of the revenue from these publications is derived from their advertisers, on the assumption that they will be reaching a more focused audience than a commercial magazine would. Since most are weeklies, the information presented is more recent, and the emphasis is more on business computing, both in editorial and advertising content.
While the networking content in monthly magazines such as PC World and PC Magazine is usually rather slim, the problem with the trade weeklies is often the opposite. It's easy to find yourself with five or six of these papers on your desk each week, and not many LAN administrators have the luxury of doing this much reading during business hours. To keep abreast of the latest technological developments, though, it is a good idea to at least scan a few of these papers on a regular basis. Having the subscriptions delivered to your home instead of to the office can sometimes be a good way of making the time for reading. For successful network administrators, work is seldom limited to 9 to 5.
While the print media are good for late-breaking news and fairly objective product information, technical support and reference material is more readily available today on mass storage media such as CD-ROM. The primary advantage of a CD-ROM is the huge amount of data packaged into a small space and the ability to search for the information required, usually by a variety of criteria.
Because they are inexpensive to produce, CD-ROMs can be updated frequently. Many of the major technical reference products must be purchased on a subscription basis, either quarterly or monthly. Usually the amount of new information on the disk with each successive revision is relatively small, sometimes 5% or less, but you are assured of having the latest data available.
The Novell Support Encyclopedia (or NSEPRO) is probably the most well-known networking support CD-ROM. Produced monthly, this product (which has recently expanded to a two-disc format), contains a huge amount of material, including the full text of the Novell Application Notes publication going back several years, complete product documentation, all of the currently available software patches and updates, demonstration versions of Novell software, and an enormous amount of technical support material going back many years.
NSEPRO is designed as a mass compendium of virtually all of the technical material produced by Novell. Some of it is well-edited for publication, while other parts seem rather unprocessed. A good deal of it also ranges back several years and is therefore of limited value to most users. The text retrieval engine is based on Folio Corporation's Bound VIEWS product, which provides excellent text searching and indexing capabilities using a well-designed GUI interface. The disc ships with readers for the Windows, DOS, and Macintosh platforms. For people supporting a large number of Novell product installations, NSEPRO is an invaluable resource.
In roughly the same type of format, Microsoft publishes a monthly CD-ROM set called TechNet, which contains a similar array of information to NSEPRO. Of particular value are the resource kits for all of the Windows products, as well as all available software updates, most of which are packaged in what Microsoft calls Service Packs. Unlike Novell, who tends towards large numbers of small patch releases, these Service Packs usually contain a large number of code changes and can be very large in size. Having them on CD-ROM eliminates the need to perform multi-megabyte downloads from online services whenever a Microsoft OS software is upgraded.
Many other manufacturers of networking and computing products also release technical CD-ROMs, including Intel, Banyan, Sun, Cheyenne, and others. Prices vary widely, from free handouts to expensive subscriptions, and so does the usefulness of the products. I've seen CD-ROMs that are little more than a company's technical support call tracking database dumped onto disk, unedited and unfiltered. Others tend to concern themselves more with selling products than supporting them.
The other general category of technical CD-ROM is that produced by a more impartial body, allowing the content of various manufacturers to be included. One of the best examples of this type is the Support-on-Site CD-ROM, produced by Ziff-Davis. Available quarterly in editions devoted to either networking or stand-alone PC products, Support-on-Site contains book excepts, magazine compendiums, as well as technical material of various types provided by manufacturers themselves. The front end and search engine are of proprietary design and are simple to use and quite powerful. In covering a much wider range of products, a certain amount of depth is obviously sacrificed, but Support-on-Site is an excellent general technical support resource for network support personnel of any level of expertise.
CD-ROMs are rapidly becoming the simplest and most inexpensive method for companies to publish both documentary and binary materials. A great deal of technical material is free for the asking with demo CD-ROMs having all but replaced the floppy-based demonstration programs of the past. The only drawback to the CD-ROM is that you can't re-use them as you could with floppies.
The popularity of online services of all types has exploded in recent years, with millions of home and business users accessing information of all types. Users like the 24-hour access and particularly the ability to download document files and software whenever they are needed. Online services is a catchall phrase for many different types of technologies, with varying capabilities.
Although a computer is not directly used to access its resources, the fax-on-demand system can be considered to be an online service like any other. Fax-on-demand takes the form of an interactive voice response system in which a user dials a phone number and responds to prerecorded inquiries regarding the information that she would like to obtain. Typically, a table of contents is available on the first call, and individual documents selected from this can be requested during later calls. The user is prompted to enter the phone number of his fax machine, and usually within a few minutes, the documents are automatically faxed to that number.
Obviously, the greatest advantage of this system is that a computer is not needed, nor is there any cost beyond a phone call and some fax paper. For these reasons, fax-on-demand systems exist for many types of products aside from computers and networking. Virtually every hardware and software manufacturing company has such a system, and the document libraries of the larger corporations can contain thousands of documents.
The oldest dialup computer service still in use today is the Bulletin Board Service (BBS). These are private networks of computers and modems that users can call into with a standard communications package. BBSs are usually of two types, company resources that specialize in software downloads or technical support for the company's products, or private affairs that often cater to the special interests of certain groups of computer users. Many commercial BBSs exist that, for a subscription fee, provide numerous types of technical and entertainment services.
Again, most manufacturers of computer products have a BBS. The primary limitation of most of them is that the screen display is limited to ASCII only. There are usually no elaborate graphical displays involved. The primary advantage is low cost. Company BBSs almost never carry a charge, and their services can be had for the price of a phone call (although this may often be a long-distance toll call).
The oldest of the subscription-based dialup services, Compuserve is a venerable institution that boasts some 15 million members worldwide. It's resources are vast, and information on almost any subject can be had, usually from experts in the field. For computers and networking, the most valuable areas are the forums. These are individual messaging and download areas maintained by individual companies or user groups.
Many companies have technical support employees dedicated to answering user questions online, but on CompuServe, even those that don't can be very helpful. Due to the huge user base and high traffic, technical questions are nearly always answered by someone, usually with a surprisingly high quality response. Often the reason for this is that the true computing professionals are more likely to use CompuServe than any other service. Sometimes you can even find yourself asking questions about a product of the person who designed it.
CompuServe also has an enormous library of files available for downloading, as well as other services that will let you do everything from booking airline flight reservations to stock trading. Traditionally, the downside to CompuServe has been its relatively high cost, but increased competition in the world of online services has seen the hourly rate for CompuServe use drop from approximately $20 per hour five years ago to $2.95 per hour today. There are also subscription packages that provide unlimited access to some services for a flat monthly fee.
CompuServe is also notable for being the host of NetWire, the original online resource for Novell products. NetWire is accessible through a separate subscription arrangement or is included as part of a standard CompuServe subscription package. As on most CompuServe areas, NetWire offers all of the latest Novell patch files, as well as product and technical support information. It is also the best source of inexpensive NetWare support available. The sysops of the various Novell forums are not Novell employees, but they are generally a highly knowledgeable group of experienced users, and the help they provide can be invaluable.
Quite a few other subscription-based online services are available, with more being created all of the time. Many of these are geared primarily to the home or entertainment audience and offer little in the way of real technical information. Others cater to more specialized audiences, like investors and business-people, and are likewise less valuable to the average networker. Many of the newer services, like the Microsoft Network, are only just getting off of the ground. Time is often a major factor in building a good online service. You don't assemble a great library in a matter of months. Before the technical content of any of the newer services can rival that of the old guard, years of collecting and time to attract an audience need to occur.
Clearly, the most rapidly growing online resource in the world today is the computing phenomenon known as the Internet. The amount of information available here is staggering and is still growing at an astonishing rate.
The Internet consists primarily of different types of files stored on computers all over the world, all opened to public access. By dialing into the network of an Internet Service Provider (for a monthly fee) or accessing the network through a LAN connection, access is granted to this entire network, all at one time. The original problem with the Internet is that, unless you knew where to go, there was no way to get there. There was no browsing capability.
All that changed about two years ago with the advent of the World Wide Web. Using a piece of client software called a browser, Internet users are provided with a GUI interface to the files stored on sites everywhere. Not only does every major computing company now have a Web site, but virtually every trade publication will have one, as well as many non-profit, governmental, and educational organizations. An incredible wealth of reference material on networking is available, much of it furnished by impartial parties that are not concerned with steering the user towards any particular product.
Newsgroups are another feature of the Internet that are a tremendous source of technical information. These are essentially messaging conferences divided by subjectóover 10,000 of them on every topic under the sun, from artificial intelligence to brewing your own beer. There are hundreds of computing and networking related groups on which people leave messages asking questions and making comments and other people respond to the earlier messages. Again, a great deal of information is available here, but it is often not of as high a quality as that of CompuServe and other more moderated forums. Most newsgroups are not moderated or censored in any way, and behavior can be a little rambunctious at times.
FTP is the primary file transfer protocol used over the Internet. While the Web and new servers deliver documents usually designed to be viewed online, FTP is for file transfers only. Due to the high download speeds available using dedicated network Internet connections, many professionals utilize FTP to download files whenever possible. Depending on the available bandwidth, a file that could take an hour to download over the highest speed modem can be transferred in seconds using FTP.
A listserver is a computer set up to do messaging over the Internet on a specific topic, but it uses standard Internet e-mail instead of a dedicated newsreader. A user sends a mail message to an automated server, stating that she wants to subscribe to a particular list. The server then begins to send her all of the mail addressed to that list. Responses to other users' e-mails are likewise posted to the list, creating the effect of an e-mail party line that can often manage to flood your inbox with mail.
Although the traditional print media are still a viable resource, the online world has become the most up-to-date and voluminous source of reference material available today. A small amount of time spent in learning the techniques through which material on specific topics can be located will save you time and expense and will be an environmentally positive act as well.