A typical information system contains applications, operating systems, network equipment configurations, security measures, data storage, organization facilities and backup procedures. These all need to be properly configured in order to operate as stipulated. The devices that need configurations include the operating system, network facilities and other peripherals. There are specific procedures that need to be followed when configuring these devices in order to ensure that they operate as required. The following section covers the configurations of various peripherals for the information systems. Windows server software, Windows Client software XP, and Windows 7, Cisco Network switches and routers and NetApp data storage hardware can be configured in similar ways as long as the systems’ requirements have been met.
When configuring the system in order to set up Windows client software, there are some specific requirements that need to be met. Windows 7 for instance, needs higher system requirements than windows XP. Windows XP needs at least 5GB of storage space, 256MB of RAM at a processor speed above 700MHZ. it can be installed in Pentium II computers and other later versions of the Pentium series. On the other hand, Windows 7 works best in systems which have at least 1GB RAM, 40GB storage space and a processor speed above 1GHz. If systems with lower specifications are used, then there is a likelihood of the user experiencing several problems. Installation of windows 7 and windows XP is easy as most of the instructions come with the software. The first procedure is to insert the compact disc containing the operating system and allow the computer to boot from the CD. You may be forced to format the hard disc during the installation process. Once this is done, files will be copied on the specified partition of the hard disc. This may take several minutes to complete. Allow the installation process to proceed successfully without interruption. During the installation process, several errors may be encountered which may be caused by having some scratches on the CD or being caused by having a lower system specification. This can be controlled through using scratch-less CD and ensuring that you use a system with at least the bare minimum requirements.
When configuring the network devices, the user has to ensure that the required connectivity has been established. After the configuration of every module, it should be tested and the user has to ensure that the desired connectivity is achieved. This can play a very important role in ensuring the success of the configuration and implementation of the devices and their respective peripherals.
Se the administrator password o log into the system and then create a regular account. Ensure that before you run any application, you need to install it first. Choose the Accessibility option if you wasn’t the screen to be white. You can also use the IE option if you want the size of the fonts to be larger. Turn off the option for Vista/2008 UAC. You can then go ahead start the process of configuration. You can then enable the windows file configuration using the CD. Ensure you enable the legacy plug and play support for the system. Verify the drivers and then validate driver signing. You can then update the drivers, install the distributed files and then configure the storage. Many stress testing and load balancing simulation applications are available. Locate and research other tools for stress testing your network.
There are several applications that can be used for stress testing which are in most cases very expensive. Therefore before embarking on any particular choice, it is necessary that the use/implementation justifies the expenditure or the costs involved. Full and sufficient information also needs to be gathered to ensure that a representative test environment is created. It is very necessary that the users also understand that there are no substitute for using the traditional pen-test tools. However, if this is not taken into consideration, the user is likely to get some false sense of vulnerability or false sense of security if this is not well understood by the user. There are several tools that can be used for stress testing the network. Some of the tools include:
I. iperf
iperf is a powerful tool for stress testing the network as it is super tiny and has a cross platform. It is also a very easy tool to use for the testing process.
II. NTTTCP
This is also a very powerful tool for the stress testing of a network as it is multithreaded, asynchronous and can be used for sending and receiving data between two or more endpoints of a network. This tool can also be used for reporting the network performance for the duration of the transfer. It measures the performance of the network in terms of the bytes which are transferred per second and the CPU cycles per byte of the network during operation. This tool also allows the user to narrow down their focus for testing and investigating the network during the process. Is therefore one of the most important tools that can be used for stress testing the network.
The stress testing tool to be used however depends on the protocol that a person may want to test. Ping can be a very good tool for ICMP however; it is essentially used for establishing whether there are some sorts of connectivity in the network. MTR is also a very good tool for measuring and troubleshooting irregular connectivity issues.
References
David J. Eck (2000). The Most Complex Machine: A Survey of Computers and Computing. A K Peters, Ltd.. p. 54.
