Build Your Intranet--checklist

Build Your Intranet--Checklist

1. 
   Determine and develop infrastructure needs
   

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  Identify needs
  

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  Do you have TCP/IP?
  
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  Do you have people with the skills to administer and support TCP/IP?
  
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  Do you have the network infrastructure to support the level of traffic you expect?
  
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  Do you need additional bandwidth?
  
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  Should you outsource this so you can get bandwidth on demand?
  
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  Do you need a network management tool to document and analyze your WANs?
  

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  How will you serve remote locations and remote users?
  

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  Ways for remote locations and users to access your intranet
  

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  Dedicated leased line
  
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  Nondedicated dial-up or switched access
  

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  Dial-up analog modem
  
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  ISDN
  
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  Frame relay
  
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  ATM
  

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  Other technologies for remote access
  

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  ADSL
  
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  Cable modem
  
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  DBS
  

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  Virtual private networks (VPNs)
  

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  To link remote locations
  
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  To allow suppliers and customers to access your intranet
  

2. 
   Determine security needs and implement security
   

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  Security methods
  

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  Firewalls
  
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  Encryption
  

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  Have a clearly stated Internet security policy, which should include regular virus scanning and virus protection tools.
  

3. 
   Evaluate and select an ISP
   

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  Locate
  

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  The List
  
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  Ask for feedback on the Usenet group, alt.internet.services
  
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  Commerce Net’s ISP directory
  

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  Evaluate--eight criteria
  

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  Orientation: Does this provider focus on the needs of businesses?
  
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  Quality of service: Is the service reliable, available, and high performance?
  
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  Points of presence: Is the network point of presence close to your site?
  
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  Service product range: Does the ISP provide a wide range of services that will meet all of your needs?
  
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  Value-added capabilities: What value-added capabilities do they offer?
  
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  Support: Do they have a 24-hour-per-day, 7-day-per-week network operation center? Do they have personnel who focus only on the needs of business customers? Do they provide all the services you need?
  
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  Experience: How long have they been an ISP? Is this their main business? How many business customers do they have and are those customers happy?
  
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  Cost: Determine the range of prices and select a provider that isn’t at either extreme.
  

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  Talk to other customers of that ISP
  
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  Acquire an Internet domain
  

4. 
   Select and install hardware and software
   

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  Servers
  

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  Hardware--get the biggest server you can afford
  
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  Software--types of servers you may need:
  

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  Domain name server (DNS)
  
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  Web HTTP server
  
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  Proxy server
  
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  Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) server
  
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  Gopher server
  
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  File transfer protocol (FTP) server
  
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  Transaction server
  

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  Browsers
  

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  Should be available for all the platforms you have to support
  
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  Should include all the features you need, such as:
  

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  E-mail
  
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  Newsgroups
  
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  FTP
  
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  Telnet
  
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  Plug-ins and add-ons
  
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  Security
  
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  Virtual reality tools
  
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  Latest version of HTML
  
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  ActiveX controls, JavaScript, and VBScript
  

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  Search tools
  
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  Document authoring tools--WYSIWYG or not?
  
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  Document conversion tools
  
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  Document databases
  
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  Database query tools
  

5. 
   Plan for maintenance of your intranet
   

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  Consider your needs for monitoring and maintenance of your intranet
  
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  Provide tools and training for administrators