Network Administration

1. Network Administration

2. What is a Systems Administrator? • Person responsible for: • Setting up servers • Configuring the environment for web and other servers • Managing database integration (depending on size of the company) • Setting up email • Implementing security (also depending on company size) • Data Backup • Software updates • Hardware and software design and troubleshooting

3. What is a Network Administrator? • Person responsible for: • Network changes (MACs) • Layers 1-6 of OSI Model (usually not responsible for applications) • Network monitoring • IDS (depends on company size) • Firewall (depends on company size) • Router, switch configurations • Network architecture, design and troubleshooting

4. Network or System Administrators? • The work we’ve discussed in this class is the role of the Network Administrator. The Systems Administrator is more focused on servers, server hardware, and software.

5. Other Roles & Needed Skillsets • System Administration • One or more of several network operating system (NOS) platforms, including Unix, Windows, Novell • Often SA’s have certificates (often MCSE) or Unix certifications • Experience! The more you see, the more rapidly you can troubleshoot. • A degree is helpful, especially if you want to move into management • Good communication skills – work with end users

6. Other Roles & Needed Skillsets • Network Administration • Cisco Certification (CCNE Cisco Certified Network Engineer) • Security Certs • Network Architecture & Design Experience • More analytical skill, less work with end users

7. Other Roles & Needed Skillsets • Security Administration • Ensure that the organization's systems are secure and very difficult to hack. • As laws change protecting consumers, companies must communicate security breaches. Becoming a very big deal! • May keep watch over employees for inappropriate network usage. • Dealing with viruses that threaten core equipment. • In-depth firewall knowledge is required, as well as a solid understanding of system hacking. • In case a security breach could not be averted, it is the security administrator’s responsibility to close the systems, determine damages, trace the culprit and ensure that it doesn’t happen again.

8. Salaries – Careers to be Considered.. • Zip code 92688 (South OC) • Senior Network Administrator – Average salary of $70,000 to $88,000 • Network Security Manager – Average Salary of $62,000 to $103,000 • IT Manager – Average Salary of $88,000 to $116,000 • Network Planning Manager – Average Salary of $97,000 to $112,000 • Senior Systems Administrator – Average Salary of $73,000 to $94,000

9. Future Hot IT Fields • Biotechnical (TechRepublic, 2004) • Security (TechRepublic, 2004) • Internet Marketing (CareerPlanner, 2004) • Internet Security

10. Security Markets Source: About.com

11. IT BenefitsSource: Information Week

12. Network Management • The other side of network “management”! • In telecom, network management is the execution of the set of functions required for controlling, planning, allocating, deploying, coordinating, and monitoring the resources of a telecommunications network, including performing functions such as initial network planning, allocation, predetermined traffic routing to support load balancing, cryptographic key distribution, fault management, security management, performance management and accounting management.

13. SNMP • Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is part of the internet protocol suite as defined by the IETF. The protocol can be used to monitor any network attached devices for any conditions that warrant it. • The first RFC’s for SNMP were published in 1988: • RFC 1065 - Structure and Identification of Management Information for TCP/IP-based internets • RFC 1066 - Management Information Base for Network Management of TCP/IP-based internets • RFC 1067 - A Simple Network Management Protocol

14. Side Note: RFC’s • Request for Comments (RFC) document is one of a series of numbered Internet informational documents and standards widely followed by commercial software and freeware in the Internet and UNIX communities. The RFC series of documents on networking began in 1969 as part of the original ARPA Wide Area Networking (ARPANET) project. • It is the official publication channel for the Internet Engineering Steering Group, Internet Architecture Board, and the Internet community. • RFCs cover many topics in addition to Internet Standards, such as introductions to new research ideas and status memos about the Internet. RFC are published by the RFC Editor who is under the general direction of the IAB.

15. SNMP Continued.. • Separation of the protocol from the structure of management information has made it easy to use SNMP to monitor hundreds of different types of subsystems within a network, across all layers of the OSI model, into applications, databases and email. • The SNMP framework is based on 3 components. Each IP addressable system in a network, such as a node or router,, hosts a master agent for that system. • A master agent typically limits its activity to parsing and formatting of the protocol. • If system has multiple manageable subsystems present, the master agent passes on the requests it receives to one or more subagents. These subagents model what's interesting to manage about a subsystem and interface to that subsystem for monitoring and management operations.

16. Companies Offering SNMP Applications • CiscoWorks • What’sUp! Gold • Hewlett Packard HP OpenView • Unicenter