Click Let Me Choose What to Back Up, and then click Next. The Items to Back Up dialog

Chapter 22 ✦ Using Network Management Tools To close a file, select the Show Files view. Select the open file and then choose Administer ➪ Close File. A warning dialog box appears. Choose Yes to close the file. Again, Net Watcher doesn’t warn the user. Working with shared folders You can share folders on any server computer to which you’re attached with Net Watcher. You can open any drive and share any folder; the remote administration password gives you the permission you need to perform these tasks. To share a folder, follow these steps: 1. Open Net Watcher and then open the computer you want to monitor. 2. Change to Shared Folders view. 3. Choose Administer ➪ Add Shared Folder. The Enter Path dialog box appears. 4. Enter the path or use the Browse button to locate the folder on the server computer. 5. Click OK. The Share dialog box appears. 6. Choose Shared As and then enter the share name and access type.

7. Click OK to close the Share dialog box.

Preventive Maintenance to Optimize Your Network The purpose of network “watchers” and system monitors is to locate problem areas on the net- work and try to alleviate traffic tie-ups and bottlenecks. Before you get to that point, however, you can lessen many problems by performing some preventive maintenance tasks. Just like keeping a printer clean or the files on your hard disk orderly, keeping your network in top shape can help performance and efficiency. Periodic checks of equipment and configurations will contribute to optimum network performance. Think about the following aspects of building and maintaining a network: ✦ Consider the quality of your networking hardware. If you use cheap network cards and second-rate cabling, your network performance suffers. ✦ If the cabling is out in the middle of the floor where people trample it and kids run toy cars over it constantly, you’re putting your network connections at risk. Check the cabling periodically for damage. ✦ Periodically check all connectors, routers, hubs, and so on to make sure that connections are secure. ✦ Install and configure all programs — such as browsers, e-mail, and other shared applica- tions — the same way so that maintenance and troubleshooting is easier. ✦ Use a UPS on each computer to prevent damage from power surges, brownouts, and power outages. ✦ Keep backups of your data, and from time to time, test the backups to make sure that they’re reliable. ✦ Clean network printers regularly. Part VI ✦ Managing the Network You also can stop sharing a folder by selecting the folder and then choosing Administer ➪ Stop Sharing Folder. You can view a shared folder’s properties by selecting the folder and then choosing Administer ➪ Shared Folder Properties. Monitoring the network with Windows XP Windows XP enables you to view your computer within the network connections but does not use a network monitor like Windows 98 or 2000 does. You can view the Local Area Connection status and you can use Network Diagnostics to view information about your com- puter and the network. You can also get network monitoring tools for an Internet connection. These tools usually monitor ports for sites collecting personal information, watch the cookies saved on your computer, and so on. Many of these tools are free or very inexpensive. Viewing the Local Area Connection status With the Status dialog box, you can view the speed of your connection, the length of the con- nection, your IP address, the subnet mask, the default gateway, and other information. You can use this information to connect to the computer from another, for example, by identifying the IP address, or to help configure another computer with the correct gateway or subnet mask. To view the Local Area Connection status, follow these steps: 1. Click Start and Control Panel. The Control Panel appears. 2. Double-click Network Connections. The Network Connections dialog box appears.

3. Right-click Local Area Connection and click Status on the pop-up menu. The Local Area

Connection dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 22-9. Figure 22-9: View the status of the network connection. 4. Optionally, click Properties to change network settings. 5. Click the Support tab to view more information about the connection, as shown in Figure 22-10.

6. Click Close. Note