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SHORT NOTES ON NETWORK OPTIMIZATION AND UPGRADE
For many reasons, as a network administrator, you would be required to optimize and
or upgrade an existing network. This task can be very cumbersome if the right steps
aren’t followed. Moreover, the process of optimizing a network often calls for an
upgrade, particularly when the planned optimization is wholesome.
Talking about taking the right steps to a network optimization and or upgrade task, it
is best if the “what” question is answered first of:
What is the need for the network optimization and or upgrade?
Common precipitants of network optimization vary; it includes
• Need for speed - By speed, we mean prioritizing traffic, avoiding channel
bottlenecks and excessive broadcasts on improperly-designed LAN,
doing away with unnecessary network protocol bindings etc.
• Need for security - By security, we mean adequate logging,
implementing user, service and application filtering, implementing DMZs,
regular auditing etc.
• Need for availability – By availability, we mean implementing redundancy
in available network channels, ensuring no undue traffic hijacks by network
node(s), testing disaster recovery solutions beforehand, implementing
redundancy in storage, power supply etc.
• Need for easy management – By easy management, we mean adopting
a centralized management system, easy remote access, adequate
directory services etc.
Summarily, the need to achieve better performance, as defined, is the main goal of an
optimization and or upgrade project, and this would as well be moderated by
organizational factors like available finances, IT policies etc.
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Having clearly the objective of optimizing and or upgrading a network, we proceed
cautiously to realizing our set aims by adapting the procedures listed below.
Learning | Assessment | Support
Learning
More often than not, detailed and current baseline information about a network
isn’t available hence the urgent need to draft up one. This involves but not limited to
the outlined steps below:
• Get a list of all nodes and devices, and label them appropriately.
• Detail the necessary hardware and software features of devices.
• Include description of the available media.
• Be aware of the IP address distribution in use.
• Draw up a physical map of node/device interconnections.
• Seek for any existing security policy documents or its kind.
• Draw up a logical map of node/device interconnections.
• Verify if your draft corresponds with the perceived behaviour of the network
before you made it up.
This step is very crucial for the overall success of our task, because realistically, we
must be aware of what is currently obtainable in the network before setting out to
optimize and or upgrade.
Assessment
This process involves comparing details of the need for the project to drafted
documentations (inventory, mapping etc) of the network derived in the learning
phase described above.
The assessment phase gives a network admin a quick overview of the task ahead in
terms of how to adapt the current network as it is to meet the project objective. Often
times, this phase is extended to include planning, acquisitions etc

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Support
This phase, as expected, would involve the actual implementation of the project. A
relevant design of the would-be network should be made, followed by adopting
an easy-to-support technology in the realization of the design.
Also, this phase involves post-evaluation of the network to ascertain that the aims
of the project were achieved.
Though not a very exhaustive note, the guide offered above can serve as a takeoff
point for network administrators who have gotten an optimization and or upgrade
project to accomplish.