Network World

Expert's answer

As long as you add the Windows 2008 server as a member of the Active Directory domain without making it a domain controller your Windows 2000 and Windows 2008 servers should happily co-exist and be able to read and write each other's file systems.

Windows 2008 server does not get along with Windows NT4 servers but should not have any trouble with Windows 2000. I would recommend making sure that Windows Server 2008 is compatible with your BAAN ERP software and that you test that compatibility before upgrading your production server.

Expert's answer

The Netgear WGPS606 print server should let you connect the printer to the wireless network without needing a computer attached to the printer. You do need a working wireless network for the print server to connect to. It should be as easy as plugging the printer into the print server with a USB cable and using the provided set up CD on the computer's you want to use the printer from.

The reference manual for the print server is available online from NetGear. The HP 6300 is not listed in the compatability list posted by NetGear but the HP 6310 is.

Typical pitfalls setting up a wireless print server involve getting the IP address for the printer assigned correctly and workstation firewalls causing problems for the set up software during printer identification.

Start by setting up your wireless router so that a computer attached to the NetGear print server can communicate with the rest of the network and then configure the printer on that computer. Once you have that working you should be ready to connect wirelessly from other PC's.

Expert's answer

Great things can be accomplished without a bachelor's degree but you will find it easier to get into an upper level engineering position if you finish that BSEE than if you do not. It sounds like you have the credentials to get employed in the field so keep your eyes out for employer funded opportunities to pursue your studies. If this area is really your passion it should make it that much easier to juggle the schedules and keep working at it over time.

Expert's answer

40 MHz upper and lower signifies the upper and lower adjacent 20MHz bands that are bonded to create the 40MHz channel. Upper Mode and Lower Mode refer to using the upper or lower band only for data transmission. One channel is the primary/control channel and performs the same functions as it would in a single channel mode by sending and receiving data. The second channel is also able to send and receive data.

This tutorial at Wireless Net Design may help aid understanding about how the management and control data operates in the different modes available in 802.11n.

Expert's answer

Getting your CCNA is a good step and one that should serve you well. But one of the best things that I can recommend is to get experience. That will serve you just as well as a collection of certifications when you are first starting. As you get more experience, you may find things that interest you that you may not know about at this point.

Keep in mind that more and more certifications come with some type of periodic certification requirement. This means that you will be continually studying for exams to keep your certification collection current. You need to keep a balance between work and family.

Another thing to consider when deciding what certifications to pursue is what certifications are in demand where you live. Reach out to recruiters and headhunters in the area for their perspective as to what certifications and experience that perspective employers are looking for. Keep in mind that this is something that is always going to change. When I first started Novell was king in terms of certification demand. I rose through the ranks and attained a majority of the Novell certifications available at the time. Things have changed a lot in the almost 20 years that I have been in the IT arena. You need to remain flexible in what you are looking for and what employers want. The more flexible you are will serve both you and your employer well.

Expert's answer

To troubleshoot your network neighborhood browsing problem, start by downloading the Browstat program provided by Microsoft in the Windows Resource Kit. You may also download browstat here. Once you've unpacked browstat, open a command window and type

browstat status

If the output tells you that browsing is active on the domain it should also tell you which computer is the browse master. If you have a browse master active, then you probably have configuration issues at the workstations. You will want to ensure that File and Print sharing is enabled in the network settings and that NetBios or NetBios over TCP is enabled as well. The Microsoft Knowledge Base Article Troubleshooting the Microsoft Computer Browser Service is a good reference for using the browstat utility and provides a lot of information about what to look at to get your Network Neighborhood working. Be aware that enabling Network Neigborhood browsing may expose you to various malware exploits.

This article discusses some of the issues involved with enabling the restrictanonymous value in the registry key [HKLM \System \CurrentControlSet \Control \Lsa], which is required for trouble free domain browsing. Seriously consider that your server and network are more secure now than they will be when you get the Network Neigborhood browsing working before you trade away the security benefit for end user convenience.

An excellent resource for finding more information about getting the Network Neigborhood working for your workstations is the Windows Server 2003 Solutuion Center. Three particular knowledge base articles that may be helpful are 843517, 135404, and 188305.

Expert's answer

This question is not as simple as it seems - although the smaller the network, the easier your work will be. What I'm going to describe is a plan to upgrade for today - and for the future when you'll want to move to gigabit speeds.

To get the most out of your upgrade, make sure that all the devices on your network (computers, printers, etc.) have at least 100-MB network cards installed. To avoid potential problems, make sure that the latest drivers or firmware are installed so that you avoid potential problems or security vulnerabilities that may be present in earlier versions.

Next, check is the wiring. If you have Cat 5 installed, you're good to go for 100 MB. While it is possible to run Gigabit Ethernet on Cat 5, it will be hit or miss in most cases. Your success will be depending on the quality of the cable used, how long the runs are and how good your terminations are. To go Gig Ethernet or 10-Gig Ethernet (for servers), you will want to be on at least Cat 6. While it is possible to run Gig Ethernet over copper, the support at a switch level is just starting to become available - and it only runs a very short distance. For 10 Gig, your best bet for the time being is to run this over fiber.

So far, so good, especially if you only have one switch. Where it starts to get complicated is if you have multiple switches, especially if they're on more than one floor, because now you'll have to think about the bandwidth available between switches. It would be awful to go to all the upgrade work and then have a couple of users tie up all the bandwidth between them and a server.

Newer network installs or upgrades are starting to use 10-Gigabit links between switches for that very reason. On these same switches you have mostly 100-Megabit connections with some 1-Gig connections for those servers or systems that really need that type of bandwidth. This is where you need to sit down and really do some planning so that you don't just get things ready to run today at 100-Megabit but leave yourself some growing room to make going to Gig speeds or higher a little easier as you make the move later on.

Expert's answer

Since it worked fine and then stopped my hunch is that the Windows firewall settings changed between the time that it worked and now.

Go into the Control Panel and open up the Windows Firewall applet and check the settings under the Exceptions tab. If you do not see your VOIP application listed as one of the applications allowed to connect to the network go back to the main firewall control dialog and use the Add Application button to make an entry for the VOIP program and try making a call.

Testing that the software works between two systems on the local network as well as between two Internet connected systems should help isolate the source of the disconnect.It may be that the particular port the VOIP software uses is blocked at the network level on one end or the other.

Expert's answer

At the official ITIL Web site, you can find overview information, links to order the ITIL publications and links to the ITIL knowledge center and information about how to earn credits towards ITIL qualification and ITIL certificates. Version 3 of the ITIL was published in May 2007 and is an evolution of the standards and practices embodied in ITIL Version 2.

There are five core volumes in the Official ITIL Lifecycle Publication Suite, which is available for purchase from a number of vendors, including this one.
You can find general information about Versions 2 and 3 of ITIL and links to additional resources on Wikipedia or by searching on ITIL in a search engine. ITIL is a framework of best practice guidance for information technology service management and like other best practice frameworks needs to be viewed through the lens of your own organization and requirements. As ITIL adoption continues to spread, becoming familiar with the concepts and vocabulary can enable more productive discourse with others grounded in the same terminology. ITIL claims to not be prescriptive about implementation details or to have all the answers, but rather provides guidance and structure for integrating and expanding best practices in the organization’s information technology service delivery and management. There are forums dedicated to ITIL discussions, here and here.

Another resource I would add is the ITIL FAQ. One of the most important statements in the FAQ is that "ITIL books emphasise that organisations that have succeeded in implementing ITIL have one important thing in common - a strong 'Executive Sponsor'." While this is true of most successful large IT projects it is especially true of documentation/standards implementation projects that change working practice and accountability mechanisms. If you are confident that the opportunity in front of you includes solid high level sponsorship then start digging in to the material keeping in mind that the rules are more like guidelines and begin engaging your team members to develop a shared understanding of the ITIL vocabulary and use it to identify the portions of the ITIL core processes that you will begin with. You can establish yourself as the ITIL lead along the way to becoming a true ITIL expert. I think you will find that much of the material codifies many things you and your team already know about best practices.

Expert's answer

That error message is a common one. It doesn't appear that dropping to a lower speed is the total cause of your problem - it may have just aggravated a problem that was already there.

Check the FAQs at oovoo.com. Even though you have uninstalled and reinstalled the Oovoo application, there may have been some other changes that could have occured. The first thing is to make sure you have the latest Windows updates applied. This may take one or more reboots to accomplish depending on how long it has been since you have applied the updates.

If you are running some type of software firewall on your computer, I would temporarily disable the firewall to see if that is causing the problem. The next step would be to specify the IP address of your workstation in the hardware firewall/router as a DMZ address that all traffic is allowed to passt hrough without being filtered by the firewall. I suggest this option only for testing purposes and not as a long-term solution. If this resolves the problem, you may need to look at the other firewall rules that are in place to see if one or more of them are conflicting with the application you are trying to run on the workstation. It would be a good idea to make sure that you have the latest firmware installed on the hardware firewall/router.

If you still have problems after this, then the speed of your connection might be the problem. I couldn't find anything specific as to exactly what speed the Oovoo software required to run correctly, so if nothing else resolves your problem, you may have just found the minimum speed needed (at least with the ISP that you are using).