Network + Certification, How to get it? Trainsigna;

[UnseenMenace]

I have to disagree here. I prefer to work on interesting projects in a nice environment with less pay and no possibility for certification then on something boring or in a bad environment.

Think 10 years down the line.

edit:

I would also like to add, that I can't believe somebody is contemplating between Microsoft and Cisco certs and what jobs they will get you. The carrier paths are very different, the jobs you would work are very different. It's not quite like contemplating between a redhat or microsoft certification.

I totally agree I am a system admin for a leading hosting provider which does managed, cloud, clustering, co-lo services and I moved from working on Windows to a Linux system admin.
The reason for this was not money, my carrear could be far more advanced if I had stayed on windows however clicking the mouse for the rest of my life did not interest me anymore in the slightest.
Im now a Linux sys admin and its a role which interests me grealtly and allows me to learn everyday.

I think networking is very interesting. There is however a risk of landing in a place that has a very narrow scope. Big enterprises tend to "departmentize" things quite efficiently, and if you are unlucky you'll end up in a team that just opens and closes switch ports all day long. However if you are lucky you will end up planning network architectures which is IMO more interesting then maintaining Windows servers (especially after the novelty runs out).

As you correctly state networking is really really cool if you get into the right area however the reality for most networking guys on a day to day basis is opening firewall ports, creating DNS zone files and configuring load balancers.
Not all networking guys work on backbone engineering and design datacentre networks.

PS : - The novelty of maintaining window enviroments runs out fast imho, Ive never met someone who admins Window boxes who is passionate about doing the task, Linux guys and Cisco guys love what they do.

 

[SuperDave1685]

Thanks for the input Unseen Maybe you or dropadrop could shed a little light on the availibilty of Linux-natured jobs vs. Windows jobs? I agree, Linux is more interesting and is almost infinitely configurable, where as windows is a lot of point and clicking. I know absolutely NOTHING about Linux, but it does appeal to me. I'd hate to be the guy that begins to get bored with his job, you know?

What are the differences in Microsoft, Cisco, and Linux career paths? Different hardware? Different responsibilities, etc?

 

[dropadrop]

I have to admit I don't know what the Windows path would be - but beyond that I could say a bit more.

Operating systems are just one piece in the big puzzle. To get an interesting career I'd start concentrating on basics and services and understanding the big picture rather then think too far about little details. However sometimes you have to understand the details to be able to understand the big picture.

I mentioned already that I don't think certs teach you as much as practical hands on experience, and I could elaborate on that. Of course there are different kinds of certs, some actually require practical knowledge, others require studying things you will forget pretty quickly. Whatever you do study, try to find a way to practise it on your own and implement something based on the subject. I can guarantee I will notice who has experience (or understands the important things) and who does not within 10 minutes of a job interview.

The big picture could include some of the following:
- Operating systems
- Virtualization
- Networking
- Storage
- Backups
- Monitoring
- Core network services (DHCP, DNS, Directory Services [Open LDAP/AD], email)

Virtualization is cool because with it you can actually start setting up a test environment on your own computer. Set up vmware server (works on windows too if that's your thing) and start building it up piece by piece. When building it up try to think of how things affect each other. When making changes try to do them in a controlled way - for example taking backups of configuration files before making (only a few) changes. Use vmware snapshots so you don't have to start up all over when you break something.

When you get your head around the servers try to get your hands on something like a netapp simulator (available as a virtual machine) and try to get the servers to use disk from it.

Try to set up backups from the servers. Try creating a new server based on the backups.

Try to set up monitoring - both for detecting when something is down (plenty of easy solutions these day's like groundworks or zenoss) and for performance monitoring (cacti is simple).

Try setting up a basic LAMP set up. Don't take the easy way out, rather create a separate database server and webserver. Try using the same database server for one of your other machines too (say the performance monitoring above). Try to figure out how you will be taking backups of the database server that are not corrupt.

If the previous felt too easy, try to configure a simple load balancer in front of the webserver. Try to use a cache like squid for a bit more challange.

Don't keep the servers up to date. Set up something like nessus and scan them periodically. Only update them when Nessus warns you there is something that needs updating (assuming they are not open to the internet).

But don't do everything at a time. Plan how you will do it and split it into small logical tasks. Only think about the task you are doing at a time. Say for example you are just starting, think about how you will install vmware. Practise planning what you will be doing by splitting things down as much as possible. Don't worry if it feels hard in the beginning, you will get better at it when you learn more. Planning and managing what you are doing is one of the most important things you should learn.

Document each step you do - what machine has what ip-address, what configuration changes you made, what is being monitored, what databases you created with what rights etc.

If you get far enough it will be far better in your cv then any single cert (take your laptop with you to the interview so you can display what you have done).

 

[MechX2]

Sounds like really good advice dropadrop.

 

[SuperDave1685]

wow thats some great advice dropadrop. Thanks. I have NO clue on how to do any of that though, but thats why I'm going to school and trying to learn as much as I can. I understand most of the basics. the OSI model, DNS, DHCP, etc though, so I think i got a good start.

 

[dropadrop]

If you end up being a sysadmin you will often be encountered with things you have no idea how to do - if you don't I guarantee you will get bored pretty quickly. The key is to understand a wide amount of technologies so you can quickly pick things up. Always try to understand why you are doing what you are doing, and how things work.

I presented quite a long list and it's in no way comprehensive, but if you start doing something like that on your own the key is how to manage it (same if you have a lot to do at work). I would do it like this:

Take each subtask (in this example virtualization, operating systems, storage etc) and make a separate postit note out of it. You could already think priority (does something have to go before the other) complexity (how difficult does it feel) and even duration for the task (though it's a good idea to split things down further before going into duration).

Let's pretend you have sorted them out and decided to start with virtualization as it will be your platform for most further tasks. Put all the other postit notes away and start thinking about what needs to be done. Create a new postit note for the subtasks. If you can't estimate how long the task will take then you did not split it down far enough (don't worry if estimates don't hold, but keep track to see if you where right or not, it will help with further plannings). Only keep in hand the postit for one subtask at a time, forget all the rest.

This method can help you get away from the big cloud resulting from having bucketloads of tasks you don't know how to do...

Virtualization:
- Decide what technology / product you will use (I would recommend VMWare ESXi if you have supported hardware available, VMWare Server if not).
- Read documentation for the product
- Download and install the product
- Create a virtual with a bridged network setting (it will be on the same network as your other computers), remember to install vmware tools.
- Look in the folder containing the files related to the virtual - understand what each file is. Take a snapshot of the virtual when it's shut down - understand what the new files are. Take a snapshot of the virtual when it's running - Did you get new type files compared to the previous one? What's the difference?
- Clone the virtual into a new machine
- Copy the disk of machine 2 as a second disk in machine 1, can you get it to show up by directly modifying config files (even without copying)?
- Add a new network card on both virtuals, assign ip addresses from a private network between them. Could you have done this without adding the network card? How? What benefit could there be from the two options?

etc...

When you are finished with virtualization you do a similar method for the further tasks.