If your network generates equal amounts of data and embarrassment, don’t worry – you’re not alone. I’ve visited plenty of blue-chip company machine rooms, and if they’re not running at 70°C with every fan at maximum howl then they’re frequently a heaving, unsanitary mantrap of patch leads and power cables, primed to spring free from no stronger vibe than a passing tea-trolley. Almost every business can benefit from a network decluttering; not only will this reduce the number of physical points of failure, it can minimise administrative loopholes, vulnerabilities and weird unintended behaviours by bringing everything under a few properly managed and closely monitored roofs.
■ Subnets and segments
There’s one big reason why most networks need decluttering: the fact is that networks tend to be very old, relative to many of the pieces of technology attached to them. I know businesspeople who won’t allow any TV more than two years old into their office, where they sit working on a LAN originally designed and set up more than two decades ago.
Such longevity isn’t necessarily shameful. Indeed, you might argue that it reflects good design, and I’m inclined to agree. However, the credit doesn’t necessarily go to your network. The really impressive achievements are thanks to pioneers such as Vint Cerf, who designed the protocols, packet structures and so forth that make entire platforms impressively extensible, robust and tolerant of things not being configured precisely as they should.
The downside is that a lot of older networks, whether
