Tools used in Computer Network and Computer systemconfiguration

COMPUTER NETWORK CONFIGURATION

A network configuration is the overall design of some type of communications network. As part of this configuration, both software and hardware are arranged in a manner that allows for optimum efficiency with the process of transmitting voice, audio, and data between two or more points. A network configuration may be local and somewhat contained, or involve a collection of locations or nodes that are found across the country, or even across the world.

Ping

-to reply, it will respond with packets of its own. The ping command sends ICMP echo request packets to a destination. For example, you could run ping google.com or ping 173.194.33.174 to ping a domain name or IP address.These packets ask the remote destination to reply. If the remote destination is configured

Traceroute/tracert/tracpathThe traceroute, tracert, or tracepath command is similar to ping, but provides information about the path a packet takes. traceroute sends packets to a destination, asking each Internet router along the way to reply when it passes on the packet. This will show you the path packets take when you send them between your location and a destination.

Ip configThe ipconfig command is used on Windows, while the ifconfig command is used on Linux, Mac OS X, and other Unix-like operating systems. These commands allow you to configure your network interfaces and view information about them

Ns lookupThe nslookup command will look up the IP addresses associated with a domain name. For example, you can run nslookup howtogeek.com to see the IP address of How-To Geek’s server. Nslookup also allows you to perform a reverse lookup to find the domain name associated with an IP address. For example, nslookup 208.43.115.82 will show you that this IP address is associated with howtogeek.com.

whoisThe whois command looks up the registration record associated with a domain name. This can show you more information about who registered and owns a domain name, including their contact information

Netstat- Net stat stands for network statistics. This command displays incoming and outgoing network connections as well as other network information. It’s available on Windows, Mac, and Linux — each version has its own command-line options you can tweak to see different types of information.

fingerThe finger command is old and is no longer widely used. In theory, this command allows you to view information about users logged onto a remote computer. If the computer is running a finger service or daemon, you can use the finger command on your computer to see who’s logged in on that remote computer, their email address, and their full name. In practice, almost no computers are running a finger service you can connect to.

Post scan/ nmapThe nmap utility is a common tool used for port scans, but there are many utilities that can run this sort of scan. A port scan is the process of attempting to connect to every port on a computer — ports 1 through 65535 — and seeing if they’re open. An attacker might port-scan a system to find vulnerable services. Or, you might port scan your own computer to ensure that there are no vulnerable services listening to the network. 

Computer system configuration

In communications or computer systems, a configuration is an arrangement of functional units according to their nature, number, and chief characteristics. Often, configuration pertains to the choice of hardware, software, firmware, and documentation. The configuration affects system function and performance.

Windows memory diagnostic

Windows includes a Memory Diagnostic tool that can restart your computer and test your memory for defects, like the popular MemTest86 application. If you want to check your computer’s memory for errors, you don’t need a third-party tool — just open the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool.

Resource monitorThe Resource Monitor application offers a detailed look at your computer’s resource usage. You can view computer-wide CPU, disk, network, and memory graphics, or drill down and view per-process statistics for each type of resource.This means that you can see which processes are using your disk or network heavily, view which processes are communicating with which Internet addresses, and more. The Resource Monitor provides much more detailed resource statistics than the Task Manager does.

Performance monitorThe Performance Monitor application allows you to collect performance reports and view them. It can be used to log performance data over time, including determining how system changes affect performance, or to monitor the performance of a remote computer in real-time.

Computer Management and Administrative ToolsThe Performance Monitor is actually one of many Microsoft Management Console (MMC) tools. Many of these can be found in the Administrative Tools folder, but they can be opened in a single window by opening the Computer Management application. Among other things, this window contains the following tools:

Task Scheduler: A tool that allows you to view and customize the scheduled tasks on your computer, in addition to creating your own custom scheduled tasks.Event Viewer: A log viewer that allows you to view and filter system events — everything from software installation to application crashes and blue screens of death.Shared Folders: An interface that displays the folders shared over the network on your computer, useful for viewing what folders are being shared at a glance.Device Manager: The classic Windows Device Manager that allows you to view the devices connected to your computer, disable them, and configure their drivers.Disk Management: A built-in partition manager you can use without downloading any third-party tools.Services: An interface that allows you to view and control the background services running in Windows.

Advanced user account and tool

Windows contains a hidden User Accounts utility that provides some options not present in the standard interface. To open it, press WinKey+R to open the Run dialog, type either netplwiz orcontrol userpasswords2, and press Enter. This window also contains a shortcut to launch the Local Users and Groups tool, which offers more user management tasks, but can’t be used on Home or standard versions of Windows.

Disk CleanupWindows’ Disk Cleanup utility isn’t quite as hidden as some of the other utilities here, but not enough people know about it. It will scan your computer for files that can be deleted, from temporary files and memory dumps to old system restore points and leftover files from Windows upgrades. It does the same job a PC cleaning utility does, but it’s free and doesn’t try to extract any money from you. Advanced users may prefer CCleaner, but Disk Cleanup does a decent job.

Group Policy EditorThe Group Policy Editor is only available on Professional or Ultimate editions of Windows, not the standard or Home editions. It provides a wide variety of settings that are designed for use by system administrators to customize and lock down PCs on their networks, but the local group policy editor also contains some settings that average users might be interested in. For example, on Windows 8, the group policy editor can be used to disable the lock screen and skip directly to the log-in screen.

Registry EditorMany tweaks that can be made in the Group Policy Editor have equivalent tweaks that can be made in the registry editor. For example, on Windows 8, users with the standard edition of Windows 8 can’t disable the lock screen via the Group Policy Editor — but they can disable the lock screen with a registry hack.

Ms configThe System Configuration window is another classic tool that many people know about. Prior to Windows 8, which features a startup-program manager built into its Task Manager, this tool was the only included way of controlling startup programs on Windows. It also allows you to customize your boot loader, which is particularly useful if you have multiple versions of Windows installed.

System InformationThe System Information utility allows you to view information about the current computer — everything from the model number of its CD-ROM drive to its attached peripherals, configured environment variables, and startup programs. It doesn’t provide the slickest interface, nor does it provide all the information a third-party system information tool like Speccy does, but it will display a lot of system information without forcing you to install another program.

Windows firewallis a software component of Microsoft Windows that provides firewalling and packet filtering functions. It was first included inWindows XP and Windows Server 2003. Prior to the release of Windows XP Service Pack 2 in 2004, it was known as Internet Connection Firewall.

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