[nflug] network admin/ engineer advise

Ryan Slomiany ryamigo at yahoo.com
Fri Aug 31 07:57:34 EDT 2007


for sure. thanks for the advice, everyone.

you've helped me a lot and, i'm certain, will continue
to

-ry
--- Cyber Source <peter at thecybersource.com> wrote:

> Those were some nice posts guys. Nice to see such
> helpful, professional 
> advice handed out.
> 
> Brad Bartram wrote:
> > I'll put in my $.02 - take it as you will.
> >
> > The first thing I would recommend is to get an
> idea of what exactly 
> > you want to do.  Try to direct you efforts toward
> the goal you set.  
> > It's real easy to say IT / Networking, but the
> field is a mile wide 
> > and a mile deep.  It helps to figure out what
> really scratches your itch.
> >
> > With regards to the cisco stuff.  The book is
> great, but the best 
> > teacher is to dig in on real hardware.  For a
> minimal investment ($100 
> > - $200) you can buy a ton of cisco hardware from
> previous generations 
> > on ebay and other places.  Get some form of router
> - 1700 series would 
> > be good - you might even find an old 1600 series
> real cheap.  Pick up 
> > an old catalyst switch with enterprise IOS.  From
> there, you can play 
> > on the commandline until your eyes bleed.  Once
> you get down the basic 
> > IOS, the more advanced stuff is just mating theory
> with syntax.
> >
> > Assuming you already know windows, familiarize
> yourself with some unix 
> > fundamentals.  For that, Ubuntu is more than fine
> - just don't get too 
> > hung up on the Ubuntu specific ways of doing
> things.  If you learn the 
> > basics of the way things are done in unixland,
> most modern os's are 
> > fundamentally the same.  Of course they all have
> nuances, but if you 
> > know the basics, the specifics can be picked up
> without a huge 
> > learning curve.
> >
> > Learn all of the major systems you can.  Learn web
> servers, mail 
> > servers, file servers.  If not the specific
> servers, know how they 
> > work and interact with each other.  Learn best
> practice security and 
> > the concepts of defense in depth.  Learn packet
> filtering as well as 
> > how to read a packet capture.
> >
> > In short - learn to build a network, enhance a
> network, protect a 
> > network, and fix a network when things break.  If
> you can do that, 
> > you'll find yourself in a great position.
> >
> > The best way to go about that?  That's the $64,000
> question.  My 
> > opinion is that experience is the best teacher. 
> Sometimes, you have 
> > to go the conventional route by taking courses. 
> Mostly, you have to 
> > love doing what you do and find ways to make
> yourself better at it.  
> > If I were you, I would start slow.  Leverage the
> knowledge you already 
> > have and see if you can get a position doing tech
> support or help desk 
> > type of stuff.  It'll introduce you to a lot of
> various problems and 
> > situations.  Try to work your way into being a
> sysadmin on some 
> > servers.  From there deal with the infrastructure
> of the network.  
> > Once you get to the point where you understand the
> system, multiple 
> > systems, and then the infrastructure - you can
> choose where you want 
> > to go from there.
> >
> > It's a long road, but the journey's worth it.
> >
> > Brad
> >
> > On 8/30/07, *Ryan Slomiany* <ryamigo at yahoo.com 
> > <mailto:ryamigo at yahoo.com>> wrote:
> >
> >     and the subject's suppose to be advice not
> advise lol
> >
> >     ><
> >
> >     --- Ryan Slomiany <ryamigo at yahoo.com
> <mailto:ryamigo at yahoo.com>>
> >     wrote:
> >
> >     > hi
> >     >
> >     > I'm still in school but i feel the need to
> start
> >     > side
> >     > projects to further my knowledge in the
> networking/
> >     > IT
> >     > fields.
> >     >
> >     > just a few questions:
> >     >
> >     > i have a book for the CCNA cert, and am
> currently
> >     > reading this. what else could I do to
> broaden my
> >     > cisco
> >     > knowledge?   which router series is most
> common? And
> >     > are there cheap routers/switches and whatnot
> out
> >     > there
> >     > for me to buy and play around with?
> >     >
> >     > what would be a better OS to get acquainted
> with?
> >     > FreeBSD or my current installation of Ubuntu
> Server?
> >     >
> >     > what other steps would be beneficial?
> installing an
> >     > SMTP server? playing with sercurity and
> firewalls?
> >     >
> >     > what would be the best way to go about this?
> >     >
> >     > i appreciate any help and i'll be attending
> >     > september's meeting as well :)
> >     >
> >     > -ryan
> >     >
> >     >
> >     >
> >     >
> >     >
> >    
>
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