Common Network Administration Tasks

Networking is a truly diverse field. Network administrators will find themselves in a variety of situations during a working day, which is part of the job’s attraction. Much of an administrator’s time is spent managing the components of a network and its systems and configuring or verifying the network security measures. Some of the common activities a network administrator may perform fall into the following categories:

• General system maintenance—One of an administrator’s primary tasks is ensuring the overall health of a network, which requires constant attention to all network components. Some companies use network management software to monitor network activities or faults, but the data produced must be reviewed, interpreted, and possibly acted upon.

• System failures—Even the most diligently maintained network can experience occasional problems. For the most part, the problems are minor and isolated, but every so often a major problem comes along that tests not only the administrator’s troubleshooting skills, but his or her patience. Every minute a system is unavailable to users could cause a company to lose revenue.

• Software updates and fixes—The installation of operating system and application updates is essential to the operations and security of a network. Some software, such as anti-malware or antivirus, require frequent updates.

• Backups and archives—System backups are essentially a part of a disaster recovery plan. Should it be necessary to restore some or all of a network server’s image, an up-to-date backup from which the elements can be restored is an extremely valuable asset. Backup systems, especially those for medium to large networks, are generally automated, but the maintenance and checking of the system is very important. Periodically, an archival copy of important data files is made and stored securely off-premises.

• Hardware and media—While a lot of a network administrator’s duties involve software, another large share of his or her duties relates to hardware. This means that in addition to knowledge of network software, the administrator needs an equal knowledge of computer, cabling, wireless media, and internetworking devices.

Network Administration Training and Certification

Much like the chicken and the egg conundrum, virtually all network technician or administrator jobs list experience as a requirement. The theory behind requiring experience in networking is that networking cannot be learned from a book or in a classroom; networking must be learned through real-world, hands-on, on-the-job, under pressure experience. The problem with this is, as with any experience-required job, how do you get experience before you can get a job. You need a job to get experience, but without experience, you may not be able to find a job. With the importance of network operations and security to its operations, a company may be reluctant to risk its network infrastructure with anyone who does not have at least some experience.

One alternative to experience, as mentioned earlier, is a college or university degree in a computer networking-related vocational program. These programs are less focused on theory than academic programs in the same area and include much more hands-on work. Companies may have graduate internships or intake programs, where recruited graduates are trained for specific positions in the company. One thing is without a doubt: it is absolutely required that you are able to display specific knowledge of IT and networking for any opportunity.

IT career certifications verify that you have a standardized level of knowledge in a certain technology, vendor product, or software, which can be exactly what a hiring manager needs. In the broad scope of computer networking alone, there are a dozen or more certifications, some generic and some very vendor specific. Here is just a sampling of entry-level and associate certifications available:

• CEH: Certified Ethical Hacker

• Check Point Certified Admin (CCSA)

• Cisco Certified Technician (CCT)

• CompTIA Security+

• Juniper Networks Certified Internet Associate (JNCIA)

• Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Engineer (PCNSE)

These certifications are just a few of literally dozens of vendor-specific (Cisco, Palo Alto, etc.) and vendor-independent (CompTIA) certifications available. Each of these certifications are earned by passing an exam, for which there are ample online, classroom, and hybrid courses available, along with practice tests and simulators.

Reviewing Security Information

Regardless of the programming or scripting language a programming job requires, application security measures continue to evolve right along with malware and other modes of attack. It is extremely important that a programmer regularly reviews the latest available information on new modes of attack and newly discovered vulnerabilities. This information can be consolidated, such as the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposure (CVE) website (cve.org) and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) website (csis.org) that keep an updated list of vulnerabilities and attacks, respectively. Some programming language publishers also provide alerts for vulnerabilities and exposures for their specific language.