Networking All-in-One For Dummies
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Managing a small computer network is well within your reach! But it's vital that you keep track of key information that's unique to your network. This cheat sheet is designed to give you quick access to your network information, explanation of some basic network concepts, such as pin connections and IP address ranges, and a list of useful websites for networking information.

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Identifying and Recording Key Network Information

Print out and use these tables to keep track of the key information that allows you to access your network, contact your network administrator, access network storage, use network printers, and keep track of important network servers.

Account Information
My user ID ____________________________________
My password DON’T WRITE IT HERE!
Domain name ____________________________________
My e-mail address ____________________________________
My Network Administrator
Name ____________________________________
Phone number ____________________________________
E-mail name ____________________________________
Favorite snack food ____________________________________
My Network Drives
Drive Letter Description
_____ _____________________________________________________________
_____ _____________________________________________________________
_____ _____________________________________________________________
_____ _____________________________________________________________
_____ _____________________________________________________________
My Network Printers
Printer Name IP Address Description
_________ ________ _____________________________________________
_________ ________ _____________________________________________
_________ ________ _____________________________________________
_________ ________ _____________________________________________
_________ ________ _____________________________________________
_________ ________ _____________________________________________
My Network Servers
Server Name IP Address Description
____________ ________ __________________________________________
____________ ________ __________________________________________
____________ ________ __________________________________________
____________ ________ __________________________________________

Identifying and Recording Key Internet Connection Information

Print out and use these spaces to keep track of key information about your Internet connection, including your Internet service provider, your TCP/IP configuration, and information about your router.

Provider
Company name ____________________________________
Technical-support contact ____________________________________
Technical-support phone number ____________________________________
Website ____________________________________
E-mail address ____________________________________
TCP/IP Information
IP range ________________ to ________________
Subnet mask ____________________________________
Default gateway ____________________________________
Nameservers __________ — __________ — __________
Router Information
Make and model ____________________________________
Internal IP address (LAN) ____________________________________
External IP address (WAN) ____________________________________
Administrator username ____________________________________
Password DON’T WRITE IT HERE!

Knowing the RJ-45 Pin Connections

If you’re wiring up your own RJ-45 connectors for a TCP/IP network, you need this information about the connections to make sure you connect the pins correctly:

  • Pin 1: White/orange

  • Pin 2: Orange

  • Pin 3: White/green

  • Pin 6: Green

Identifying Private IP Address Ranges

Private IP address blocks are the IP addresses administrators most often use for private networks. Most networks use IP addresses in one of these ranges:

  • 10.0.0.0 to 10.255.255.255

  • 172.16.0.0 to 172.31.255.255

  • 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255

Useful Websites for Networking Information

As a network administrator, the Internet can your best friend, offering all sorts of great information to help manage your network. Here are some websites for you to visit often.

To register domains:

To check your TCP/IP configuration:

To see whether your e-mail server has been blocklisted:

Don’t forget to check out the standards organizations from time to time and look for the latest networking news and updates. Here are the standards organizations you’ll want to check:

About This Article

This article is from the book:

About the book author:

Doug Lowe is the bestselling author of more than 40 For Dummies books. He's covered everything from Microsoft Office to creating web pages to technologies such as Java and ASP.NET, and has written several editions of both PowerPoint For Dummies and Networking For Dummies.

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