A successful network will allows you to communicate more efficiently with your employees, manage your Web site and promotional activities from the road, and save time and effort so you can focus on
other aspects of your business.

1. Spend time deciding whether you really need a network.  While a network is a highly practical tool for most small businesses, it turns into financial nightmare for others.

2. Design your network carefully. The more time you spend looking at various needs before you spend any money, the less money you’ll waste on items you didn’t need in the first place.

3. Be prepared to work at your network.  No one is going to offer to perform the required work for free and consultants are extremely expensive. Relying on your own abilities is one way to reduce the total cost of the installation and
ensure you can maintain the network once installed.

4. Always look at your needs before you decide on software.  Use the software as a basis for other items like the operating system and hardware.

5. Don’t bite off more networking that you can chew.  A network you don’t complete is money wasted. Even a small network will save money and you can always expand it later if necessary.

6. You don’t need to have a vast knowledge of computers to repair system problems.  Consultants fix many problems with careful observation and patience, not with technical expertise.

7. Networks require consistent care.  Perform maintenance tasks as often as required to assure worry free operation.

8. Always look for the low-cost solutions to your networking problems.  For example, alternative networking technologies provide flexible networking support for home offices and other small networks.

9. Use the right networking technology for the job.  An infrared connection works great for line-of-sight applications, like transferring data from your laptop to your desktop machine, but won’t work for other applications.

10. Avoid getting a central server unless you need one.  Peer-to-peer networks operate efficiently and cost less to maintain than client/server networks do.However, once you do decide on a client/server configuration, ensure you spend enough to create a workable network.

11. Allocate bandwidth wisely.  Don’t allow users to waste bandwidth on collaboration or video applications unless the user needs these applications to perform useful work. Make sure all users will have the bandwidth required to get their work done and that you keep some bandwidth in reserve for future needs.

12. Purchase an uninterruptible power supply. Consider an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) as cheap insurance against lightning strikes and power outages. The data you save may be your own.

13. Look for the best deal when buying software. Sometimes last year’s product contain all of the features you need and at bargain bin prices.

14. The best password is easy to remember, yet hard to guess. Making passwords long and hard to remember only encourages users to write them down—something that crackers just love to see.

15. Computers don’t understand or care that you’re frustrated.  Getting angry with a will only wears you out and thwarts any effort at repair.