Workshop

Intranet = Internal
The word intranet and its successor extranet (a network connecting you and a business partner) are
marketing terms that have always confused me. True, intra means within, and extra means without, but
so what? In our data center, we’ve usually got an idea of which applications run externally—we call
them “public access.” In my (admittedly twisted) mind, you might as well call your neighbor’s lawn an
interlawn, your own lawn an intralawn, and the border between your lawns an extralawn. Give me a
break!
Seriously, the term intranet does have its uses—but so does the phrase “my network.” All it means is that
you’re using Internet-like applications within the boundaries of your own network—you’re using
technologies that grew up on the Web. An intranet can be as useful as a Web-enabled telephone directory
of all employees, complete with search capabilities, or it can be as useless as a static Web page
welcoming you to the Frobozz Magic Intranet. Whatever your intranet does, it’s likely that you want it to
keep on truckin’.
Many of the tools used for diagnosing your Internet connection are applicable to intranet troubleshooting,
so read the Internet section carefully. (The techniques covered in Hour 18, “Lots of Different People in
Your Neighborhood: In-Depth Application Troubleshooting,” are also very applicable to troubleshooting
intranets.)
With that said, later on in this hour, we’ll cover troubleshooting that’s particular to your local network:
your internal and external Web services, your email, and the problems that dialup networking users
might face.
Cyber Chaos
With all the fancy terms surrounding the Internet, it can be easy to lose sight of the fact that it’s just one
big TCP/IP network. Let’s look at some specific TCP/IP troubleshooting techniques that can pinpoint
Internet problems in your shop.
To start with, we’ll need to identify what kind of Internet connection your shop has. Once you know
what type of Internet connection you have, you’ll be better able to identify which of the following
techniques are right for you.
Unless you work for a huge multinational company with fault-tolerant Internet connections all over the
place, you probably have just one firewall and one domain name (company.com).
Actually, if you happen to work for a huge conglomerate with thousands of dedicated IT (Information
Technology) staff members, you’ll probably have to read this book in a plain brown wrapper, and you
might not have an official chance to practice what you’ve learned outside of your local area network. The