Networking Guidlines (was Setting Up DNS)

Adam,

Agreed. It matters.

What frequently happens is that the network is first setup up with just
a few machines.  And things are done the Fast way.  Then the network
grows (they always do).   Now that "fast" stuff starts causing
problems.

But, if things where done "right" from the beginning, the network can
grow from the beginning.

My take on how to do things "right" from the git go:

1) Forget about using Ethernet Hubs.  Use auto sensing 10/100 switches
right from the beginning.  They cost a little bit more (but very
reasonable these days) but will stop many network congestion problems
from ever occurring.

2) Use approved Internal IP Address's from the beginning.  My
preference is the 10.x.x.x network, but 192.168.x.x is also good.

3) Network mask should be 255.255.255.0.  This may change over time,
but if you are using DHCP, it should be an easy change to make.

4) Use DHCP for ALL workstations.  Assuming your network is 10.1.1.x,
use 10.1.1.65 thru 10.1.1.254 for the DHCP range.

5) Use 10.1.1.1 for your Internet gateway.  Even if you don't have an
Internet connection to begin with, you will eventually so don't use
this address for anything else.

6) Use 10.1.1.2 thru 10.1.1.1.64 for your "Servers".  The first one
probably being 10.1.1.2 for your AS/400.

7) Create a spreadsheet to keep track of your IP address assignments.
This is VERY important.  While you only have a couple of things, it can
be done in your head...but as you grow, you wont be able to do this
anymore.  Besides, what if the proverbial truck hits?

Develop good habits from the beginning and keep track of your IP
addresses!

8) While you have no internal servers such as FTP, WWW,SMTP/POP etc,
then you wont have to worry about DNS.  But when you add your first
server on your private (internal) network, also add a DNS server.  This
way you will never use hard coded IP address's.

9) I recommend that you do NOT use IBM's smtp/pop server.  It will
cause you nothing but problems.  They have been working on it since
V3R1 and as of V5R1 still do not have it right.  It has gotten better,
but it is not right.  Use something else instead.  I recommend
Communigate Pro from Stalker at www.stalker.com .  It is very
reasonably priced ($500 for 50 users and 5 Lists and no support
contract) and is very full featured and extremely solid and runs on
most any modern OS.  Including OS/400.  And you can get a fully
functional free trial.

Some will argue with me on this point.  At a minimum, I strongly feel
Communigate should be listed as an alternative.

10) Setup your Internal DNS so that it forwards unknown requests to the
External DNS (to begin with, this will be at your ISP).

11) Create dns entryies based on FUNCTION.  Not machine.  So, if you
have www, ftp and mail all running on your as400, do NOT create a
single entry.  Instead, create a "mail" for mail, ftp for ftp, etc.
Have them all reference the same "A" record.  Perhaps use "as400" or
"production" for client access.

This way, when these functions are moved to other machines, you change
your DNS and that is all!  No need to reconfigure anything!  It is a
beautiful thing.

The above is a starting point for discussion.

But by following most of these things, you will avoid the mistakes that
many of us have made!

Regards,
Bob Crothers
Cornerstone Communications
http://www.cstoneindy.com





-----Original Message-----
From: midrange-l-admin@midrange.com
[mailto:midrange-l-admin@midrange.com]On Behalf Of Adam Lang
Sent: Wednesday, July 31, 2002 8:53 AM
To: midrange-l@midrange.com
Subject: Re: Setting UP DNS

It matters.

Will there be any name resolution for internal, private IPs?  If not,
then
jsut use your ISPs DNS server for queries.

If you want to name resolve internal, private IPs, setup DNS on your
AS/400.

Adam Lang
Systems Engineer
Rutgers Casualty Insurance Company
http://www.rutgersinsurance.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Smith, Nelson" <NSmith@lincare.com>
To: <midrange-l@midrange.com>
Sent: Wednesday, July 31, 2002 9:37 AM
Subject: RE: Setting UP DNS


> This is all extremely confusing for us Networking newbies.  Maybe we
could
> get a Networking 101 thread started that was AS400 centered.
>
> Say you started with 3 or 4 pc's running win2000 or xp-pro and a
small
> AS400, and you wanted to setup a small internal network that was
connected
> to the web via a cable or other high-speed method, and you wanted to
use
the
> 400 to it's best capabilities to host a website, an ftp site, handle
e-mail,
> interact with back-office applications, etc, where would you start?
Is
> there (could there be) a consensus on the "best" way to setup such a
> network?
>
> >From reading these posts, it seems like there are too many choices,
and
> every choice you make has major effects on all the other choices you
have
to
> make down the line.  Maybe, it's the order in which choices and
> configurations are made that cause the confusion.  Is there a
standard
> "cookbook" on what needs to be decided and setup and in what logical
order?
> Or, would this just start more "holy wars"?



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