Chapter 15: Network Integrity
Chapter Overview
One of the most important habits an instructor can teach a student in networking is
document, document, document. Many administrators think documentation is a waste of
time. They would talk a different talk if they had to recover a network that did not have
any documentation. Even though this chapter is mostly lecture, this one concept must be
communicated.
Teaching Suggestions
This chapter presents many opportunities for team labs and demonstrations. I like to get
teams of three or four students together to work out a disaster plan for the classroom
network. This should be detailed (document, document, document). Make sure they have
thought through the geographic location of their network (in the mountains, in the desert,
in an earthquake zone, etc.). Have the teams present their disaster recovery plan to the
class.
I also like to demonstrate the use of a UPS. There is something fun about pulling the plug
on a running server! Have the students pay close attention to what happens when the
power goes away. This is not a necessary demonstration, but it is interesting and the
students will like it.
If you have access to a tape drive for backups, you can use the Windows NT or Windows
2000 operating system utilities to create a backup plan and then execute it.
Hardware and Software Requirements
Technically, there are no requirements for this course. I mentioned above that using a
tape drive to demonstrate the procedures for backup will reinforce the chapter discussion.