Networking For Dummies, 12th Edition

Chapter 27

Ten Networking Commandments

“Blessed is the network manager who walks not in the council of the ignorant, nor stands in the way of the oblivious, nor sits in the seat of the greenhorn, but delights in the Law of the Network and meditates on this Law day and night.”

— NETWORKS 1:1

And so it came to pass that these Ten Networking Commandments were handed down from generation to generation, to be worn as frontlets between the computer geeks’ eyes (taped on the bridges of their broken glasses) and written upon their doorposts with Sharpie markers. Obey these commandments, and it shall go well with you, with your users, and with your users’ users.

I. Thou Shalt Back Up Thy Data Religiously

Prayer is a good thing, and I heartily recommend it. But when it comes to protecting the data on your network, nothing beats a well-thought-out schedule of backups followed religiously.

Make sure that you follow the 3-2-1 rule: Have at least three backup copies of your data, two of which are kept at a different location (off-premises), and one of which is not accessible from your network (offline).

For more information about crafting a bulletproof backup plan, refer to Chapter 22.

II. Thou Shalt Protect Thy Network from Infidels

In the classic movie Independence Day, aliens from another planet seek to destroy all life on Earth. Unfortunately, their IT Director failed to secure their networks, so Jeff Goldblum was able to hack in and save the world.

In the movie, Jeff Goldblum used ...