Small business owners without a dedicated IT staff can spend exorbitant amounts of money on LAN maintenance consulting companies. There are a number of different solutions available to you in training your employees and saving your business valuable dollars. Which option you choose depends upon the starting technical knowledge of your employees.

Whether your employees are already technologically experienced, or they are starting from ground zero, there is a local area network (LAN) maintenance education and training program best suited to your needs:

1. Train one or more of your employees in local network maintenance with a CompTIA Network+ certification course.
2. Sign your employees up in a web-based training course covering the basics of computer local area network maintenance.
3. Provide your employees with reference materials in LAN network maintenance.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Educate your employees in local area network maintenance with a training boot camp

The CompTIA Network+ certification will prepare your employees for LAN network maintenance. This training is best utilized by employees that already have some degree of computer-savvy. Training and testing can be rigorous, so it's a good idea to prepare your employees with at least nine months of experience in network support or administration, or equivalent schooling. It's also recommended that they possess the CompTIA A+ certification.

I recommend: Find out all about the CompTIA Network+ Certification at The Computing Technology Industry Association website. Unitek Information Systems offers 5-day Network+ boot camps conveniently located across the US.

Enroll your employees in a web-based training course to learn basic LAN maintenance for businesses

CompTIA Network+ boot camps and certification training can be a relatively intense process, and aren't meant for those that don't have a certain degree of knowledge to begin with. There are numerous affordable and beginner-friendly web-based training courses that start the training in LAN maintenance and support from ground zero.

I recommend: Serebra Learning Corporation provides a LAN Fundamentals course that trains students in fundamentals of LAN management and network security. The course is geared towards professionals who require an understanding of networking and data communications. Wireless Nets offers a free six week online Wireless LAN Fundamentals Course. The course requires attendance in one two-hour class per week in their virtual classroom.

Keep local network maintenance reference materials on-hand for your employees

Ebooks and LAN maintenance training manuals can be an invaluable resource for your office. Even if you can afford only the most basic of training for your employees, you can still provide them with a means to supplement their existing knowledge.

I recommend: Fix Your Own LAN by Robert McLaughin is available on Barnes & Noble. This is an excellent guide to network management, maintenance and troubleshooting. What All Network Administrators Need to Know by Douglas Chick is available in ebook or paperback format from The Network Administrator.com. This book teaches you how to deal with everyday real world networking situations.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If you are a small business owner that has decided to get one or two of your employees trained in LAN maintenance, you should definitely consider supplementing this training with the purchase of a reputable network maintenance software. Networks operate best with 24x7 attention, and the right software package can help you achieve that.

If your network has grown so much that your in-house staff can't manage it, if you are plagued by timeouts and error messages or losing sleep over server crashes, it may be time to get some network maintenance software or hire a local area network maintenance consultant.

There's a wide array of products and services that address LAN maintenance for businesses. Here are some things you should do when it's time to start looking:

1. Define your LAN maintenance needs.

2. Look for alternatives to hiring a LAN maintenance consultant.

3. Consider large companies in your search for a provider.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Define your local network maintenance requirements

Make you are clear about what you want your LAN maintenance consulting company to do for you. Include a list of all your technology equipment, local area network maintenance that you currently perform, current problems that need to be addressed, required local network maintenance hours of coverage and required service levels. Write a request for proposal that clearly defines your requirements, and make sure that your service level requirements are clearly addressed in your service level agreement or contract.

I recommend: View and download sample documents to get help with writing Requests for Proposals, Service Level Agreements, and contracts.

Do the job in-house with trained staff and network maintenance software

If you employ some technically proficient people, consider sponsoring them in network support and management training. In the long run, it may cost you less than the price of a LAN maintenance consulting company, and an employee has more stake in keeping your network running. Already have IT staff? Consider using network maintenance software.

I recommend: Cisco is a leader in network certification and training, with resources that inlude e-learning, self study and local training providers. For network mainenance software, look at free tools like nmap, which works on most operating systems, and Nagios, for Linux and Unix based systems. More advanced solutions like Solar Winds offer server products for LAN management, monitoring and troubleshooting.

Don't rule out the big LAN maintenance consulting companies

As long as someone in your office knows how to read event logs and error messages, an off-site LAN maintenance and support management company might be the best solution. While companies with a national presence may not be able to give you the same personal service as the guy down the street, you can be sure of their knowledge and experience.

I recommend: IBM and Hitachi provide multivendor technical support. The Cisco Smart Care service includes proactive monitoring and remote repairs. If you do decide you'd rather go with a local company, use the services that the larger companies provide as your map. Look for services like remote access and behind-the-scenes network monitoring.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Use word of mouth recommendations to find candidates. Look through your local listings. Post your RFP on your website.
• •  You may want to hire a consultant to interview and evaluate the providers if you have no IT staff.
• •  Check references to make sure the LAN maintenance consulting companies in question have clients that are similar to you.
• •  A lot of long-term customers is a good sign. Too many shorter term customers may not be. Beware of companies that are more interested in getting more customers than servicing the ones they have. If you hear from your sales account represenative more than your tech, it may be time to look for a new provider.

Whether you choose to perform your own maintenance or hire an outside consultant to perform LAN work for your company, local area network maintenance requires that you be aware of several key terms. Understanding how your LAN works and what the various network components are will help you communicate problems to a consultant or locate problem areas yourself. Local area networks provide efficient use of resources for your business, and keeping your LAN up to date is good way to maintain a productive work environment.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Local area network

A local area network, or LAN, is a network of two or more computers that are connected through their physical proximity to one another and allow computers to share information and peripheral hardware like printers. A local area network may be wired, or connected through cables, or wireless. Local area networks are easy to set up for an office since most computer operating systems have built-in LAN software.

I recommend: Wise Geek provides a comprehensive definition of a local area network and some associated terms, while PC Magazine has both a detailed explanation of LAN and a diagram to explain how local area networks are set up.

CompTIA Network+ certification

CompTIA Network+ certification is one way to identify individuals who have a certified level of knowledge about LAN components and their use and maintenance. This type of certification is not affiliated with a specific vendor but has been adopted by several network companies.

I recommend: Read about the specific knowledge and skills defined by CompTIA Network+ certification at The Computing Technology Industry Association.

Ethernet

Ethernet is the type of connection most often used for wired local area networks. Ethernet cables are similar to telephone cables in appearance and function. In order to use an ethernet cable, the computers being networked must have an ethernet hub, which looks like a large phone jack, and be wired to a central switch or hub that allows all of the computers and hardware connected through the LAN to communicate.

I recommend: Read a detailed explanation of ethernet from network specialist Marios Alexandrou.

Internet protocol

Internet protocol, or IP, is used to assign an address to each computer in a local area network. In order for computers in a network to communicate, there must be a way for the network to identify each computer as distinct. IP addresses identify computers as the source or destination for information shared on a local area network.

I recommend: Learn more about Internet protocol from Hitachi ID Systems.

Router

A router is a piece of network hardware that is used to read the packets of information being sent over the local area network and determine where to send the information. The router also may serve as a mediator between the local area network and other wider networks, such as the Internet.

I recommend: Key IT Solutions provides more information on the router and its uses as a local area network component.

Migration

LAN migration describes the process of moving your current local area network to a higher-performing system. Migration also may refer to the adoption of a local area network for the first time, or the switch from a wired to a wireless local area network. During migration, a number of maintenance tasks may need to be performed to troubleshoot the network switch.

I recommend: View a diagram of how LAN migration occurs during initial local area network installation at DPS Telecom.

Computer local area network maintenance is important to many businesses since local network maintenance can help companies operate more efficiently, securely and effectively. As a result, many business professionals and organizations are interested in LAN maintenance and support in order to optimize the operation and maintenance of local area network environments. LAN maintenance for businesses does not have to be complicated. By breaking the idea down to several key components, it is more easily understood. These concepts make up Local Area Network (LAN) maintenance for beginners.

LAN network maintenance is comprised of several options, but by understanding these aspects more thoroughly individuals are able to access a more complete understanding of local network maintenance. Businesses would therefore likely appreciate the options of:

1. Ensuring security for improved Local Area Network maintenance and preventative measures.

2. Monitoring productivity and networking abilities with network maintenance software for computers.

3. Considering an investment in LAN maintenance consulting companies to learn what they can offer you in terms of service and maintenance.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Research security options implementations in the work place for ideal Local Area Network maintenance

LAN maintenance and support is aided by security measures. Security measures help to keep the network safe, allowing an uninterrupted flow of information and data exchange. There are a number of options available when it comes to security measures for local area networks, including wireless LAN security and security programs.

I recommend: Wireless LAN security is explored in detail at LANArchitect.com. Here, visitors are treated to an extensive and knowledgeable guide to Wireless LAN security. Meanwhile, LAN security tools, including those which can be run from a website, are listed and explored at PracticallyNetworked.com.

Implement network maintenance software to improve the operations of LAN environments

Many software programs are designed to help with the maintenance and operations of LAN environments. Such programs can also gather and organize data to inform users as to the status of the environment and the network's activities.

I recommend: A variety of LAN maintenance programs are offered at SoftPerfect.com. Free LAN monitoring software as a preventative maintenance measure can be found at FreeDownloadsCenter.com.

Bring in the help of LAN maintenance consulting companies

Computer LAN maintenance consulting professionals can help with a number of concerns and issues that individuals and businesses may have when it comes to their local area networks. For the most part, a computer LAN maintenance consultant can address questions that professionals have about their LAN. A computer LAN maintenance consultancy can be worth the money and effort when on staff IT technicians are unable to address the issues at hand.

I recommend: A LAN maintenance consulting company may troubleshoot and maintain LAN environments. TheBoss.net offers these services, as does Net2Net.net.