Ask Slashdot: Becoming a Network Administrator?

J. L. Tympanum writes "After many years as a star programmer, I have taken a position which involves maintaining and rebuilding the in-house network of a small company. There are maybe 100 machines, a mix of blade servers running Linux and desktop PCs running Windows of all flavors. Basically, I have to learn networking from scratch. I have been given an 'unlimited' budget to buy routers, switches, etc., to set up my own little test network as part of the learning process. So the question is: what's the right strategy here? What routers or switches or other equipment should I acquire? What books should I read? Should I take classes from Cisco, Global Knowledge, my local community college, or somewhere else?"

Comments

Here's what to do.

[Stargoat]

I'm buried so far down here, I'm sure no one will read this. But here is what you need to do.

1. Before you begin, attend a Cisco / Global Knowledge CCNA bootcamp. You may not leave able to program routers like a master, but you'll learn how networks work.

2. Visit every PC, Server, Router, Switch. Put eyes on everything. Create a master spreadsheet. Document model numbers, IP addresses. Create Visio documentation of the way your network is set up. Document everything. You need a good deal of cabinets to store it all.

3. Decide what is the most deficient part of the network, fix it with the simplest solution. If you're using hubs, buy switches. If the routers need to be rebooted constantly, buy new routers. Above all, keep it simple. If possible, stay away from V-Lans, encryption software, Linux, or anything else complicated. Do this every year.

4. Buy one third of the total number of PCs of the network plus ten percent. Buy only one model. Create a central image with Acronis and modify that image as necessary. Deploy these models. Repeat for the next three years.

5. Outsource security. That way, when it breaks you can blame someone. At the same time, make sure you can monitor security to prevent breakage.

6. If possible, outsource your main application. You don't want to support the product that everyone in the institution depends on. You need to keep the network up, not software.

7. At the end of year one, bring in a network assessment. Tell the assessor what he needs to find before he arrives. Use that the next year to justify your new purchases.

8. Make sure you stay friends with the president / CEO. When it is necessary to reorganize the server, etc, it will be necessary to have his good will.

9. Be prepared to work like a sunuvabitch for two years. Take your spouse / GF out when you can.

10. Don't let them make you program again. You're a network admin. You cannot support your old programming team.