Computer and Network Hardware - Assignment Example

Networking Networking Mail servers Mail server provides e-mail services. It is the mail transfer agent that receives incoming e-mail from same domain or remote senders and forwards outgoing e-mail for delivery. Examples include Microsoft exchange, qmail, Exim and sendmail. Mail server requires high storage hard drive capacity, high bandwidth and data security mechanism. Protocols: SMTP, POP3 and IMAP achieve its operation. Its NIC must be TCP/IP configured and support intranet or internet and email gateway.

Name resolvingName to address resolution is done by Domain Name System (DNS). It makes resolved addresses records available globally. Protocols like POP3, IMAP, LDAP and HTTP services use DNS to avoid IP conflicts on the networks.Hardware addressHardware (Physical) address is the unique hexadecimal serial number assigned to each Ethernet network device. The address is permanently set at the time of manufacture and cannot be changed. It is unique to help distinguish among devices. The hardware addresses are exactly 6 bytes in length, and are usually written in hexadecimal as 12:34:56:78:90:AB.

The first six digits identify manufacturer while the last six is the serial number of the card. Each manufacturer of Ethernet devices applies for a certain range of hardware addresses they can use. DHCPTo utilize DHCP services a DHCP server must be installed. Network nodes can then automatically retrieve settings from after an administrator has configured in the DHCP pool. DHCP Redundancy IssuesDHCP failover occurs when using DHCP redundancy. With two DHCP servers serving different scopes, for example .100-.150 on one and .200-.250 on the other, challenges pursue.

In the case one server fails, all clients that received a lease from that server, will have to get a new IP from the other server. That basically means all network connections on the client will be lost and causing a danger unlike no redundancy. DHCP availability issuesDHCP availability is crucial. The existing of network is dependent on the DHCP availability, since it is the basic point of assigning TCP/IP configuration. If it fails or breaks down the network communication is lost. That indicates that DHCP has to be available throughout.

Purpose of subnettingPurpose of subnetting is to reduce network congestion or traffic, optimize network performance, simplify management and facilitate spanning in large geographical distance.Subnetting addresses hardware performance issues. Using subnetting reduces CPU overload. The servers will have increased processing power and available. The network hardware like routers and other devices that handle data traffic are also optimized. The bandwidth is available to network devices for their effective performance.

Accessing internet through single connectionTo communicate, computers on LAN are interconnected using a switch. The switch is then connected to a router that links LAN to an external network, internet. To access internet through a single computer, you can either configure one PC as an ICS (Internet Connection Sharing) or Proxy server. All the other computers are then configured using Default gateway settings of TCP/IP to access the internet via the Proxy or ICS Computer. ReferencesMail server (MTA, Mail router) (2012).

Mail server definition, [online] Retrieved from http://searchsoa.techtarget.com/definition/mail-server [Accessed 25 Jun 2012].Networking and Integrations Hardware Address (2012). Mini FAQ, [online] Retrieved from http://network.uhmc.sunysb.edu/hdw_addr/brief.html [Accessed 25 Jun 2012].NRPC name-to-address resolution over TCP/IP (2012). IBM: Domino, [online] Retrieved from http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/ [Accessed 25 Jun 2012].