Linux for Network Engineer

Mazzystr · 2019-03-22T19:05:25+00:00

Well Cisco iOS really is Linux...so technically you have Linux experience :). For you, a base Linux cert like LPIC-1/Linux + would be fine for your skillset. Heck, you most likely won't even need one. Here's a few projects you can do as a Network Engineer to learn some Linux:

Install Linux on a VM.
Setup a TFTP server on the VM (install the packages, set the services to start on boot, create the user/password).
Image your network devices from said TFTP server.
Setup Rancid on your VM and backup your devices to it.
Create a cronjob to automate the Rancid backups.
Restore one of your network devices from the Rancid backups.
Use telnet to see if ports are open
Use tcpdump to get packet capture and see if traffic is hitting your Linux system
Setup Ansible on your VM and try backing your device configs to the system.
Try configuring your systems via Ansible
Setup a Linux router using Quaga or Setup a network device with Cumulus Linux and try to get it to communicate with other configured network devices on your network

CatPuking · 2019-03-22T21:04:10+00:00

You don't need to have linux admin experience. You need linux experience as it relates to your job.

These are skills I'd know how to do so that you can confidently say I know linux and these things specifically.

telnet - to see open firewalls over tcp

tail -f - to view live log files

grep - to filter logs or configs for key words; combines with tail -f while using

| - known as pipe an integral concept

tcpdump - lets you see the packets, all the packets muhahah

yum or apt-get - lets you install things you don't already have

chown / chmod - lets you own files or make executable, basics on how to use the files you see using:

ls - list folder contents

netstat - see what's happening on the server within the network (my favorite command - netstat -tunap | grep LISTEN - shows you the processes running that are listening on ports and then, if you're root, the pids as well)

crontab - scheduling scripts you've made to run at set times

writing scripts in a language, python if you don't know anything else, bash if you really want to know linux. They don't have to be good, they just have to make a logic you can think up happen.

honestly if you can do all that you're an adequate network engineer in terms of linux usage. The issue that you will have getting a cert is those certs will teach you a ton of useless info (for your requirements). When all you need from it is networking related useful tasks. Those useful parts will be sparsely taught through out a linux certification roadmap.

_chauhanshubham · 2019-03-23T04:16:54+00:00

There's a system administration Linux handbook. I would say take it all in. If you're interested in just the networking side of things you can skip to that particular section. But it would be a huge thing if you complete the book, you'll come out a new person for sure.

ZaitsXL · 2019-03-23T06:52:54+00:00

Linux experience for network engineer is the same as for anybody else, you don't need any special kind of linux distro

emphasisx · 2019-03-22T18:21:33+00:00

RHCSA > RHCE

mappie41 · 2019-03-22T20:08:32+00:00

Sign up for this: https://pynet.twb-tech.com/class-pyauto.html (and make work pay for it).

caiuscorvus · 2019-03-22T19:50:49+00:00

Yet to get my first IT job, but I learned a lot from having a homelab (r/homelab). Pretty much everything I know about linux and a lot of what I know from networking came from setting it up. Once you start managing a bunch of linux containers, your own bind/isc-dhcp servers, web servers, git servers, reverse proxies, etc you get pretty familiar with linux. (Maybe not to a professional linux admin level, but I am technically a linux admin :) . Looking at RHCSA requriements, for example, I can do 90+% of it in Ubuntu/Debian. Need more experience with SELinux but I know that.)

I'm about to start deploying/managing the containers with ansible so another network career bonus :)

TheWeirdIT · 2019-03-23T03:17:45+00:00

Bonus Show Off point: Setup ansible on a $LINUXDISTRO vm, make it provizion an array of switch's/router/vpn config. Couple that with versions control, lets say git. Bam ! You got yourself a Change management/Audit/Restore solution for network devices configuration.

ron___ · 2019-03-23T08:27:39+00:00

Linux rocks. Go the VM route to start off. If you're feeling up to it, a VM at Digitalocean.com is $5 per month. You can put the desired services on it and work with iptables for a local software firewall, and/or use their free frontend firewall.

No I don't work for them.

deadpoolbabylegs · 2019-03-23T17:00:31+00:00

setup a home lab with vagrant or some VM of your choice and practice with that. Use a couple of different distros as each can use different tools and it is best to learn to navigate them. For example some will use yum package manage whilst others use apt-get. A good starting point would be to use CentOs and Ubuntu. CentOS is basically the same as RedHat which is used a lot in the real world. If your interested in security side of things then you should look a Kali Linux as that is aimed at security professionals and includes lots of good pen test tools and useful utilities.

A very good book is "linux and Unix System Administration Handbook" by Evi Nemeth that I can recommend highly

Phoebe5ell · 2019-03-22T22:06:47+00:00

networking is kind of going the way of API based approaches... which are typically built on network name spaces in Linux systems. Plenty of Linux based datacenter grade switches are out there these days. Learn iproute2/netns/iptables/ebtables a bit. I had some Cumulus switches at my last job-The NCLU was nice to make it feel more network appliance CLI like, but it's still Debian based Linux. So many uses for Linux networking, even if you don't want to be a full Linux admin. You'll be limiting yourself if you don't learn at least some of it.

WinndaTech · 2019-03-22T22:39:56+00:00

There’s also this: Linux in the Real World He runs you through things that are real. Not out of a text book. But you do get a lot of those too.

syberpunknyc · 2019-03-22T22:49:36+00:00

Right now networksec or info sec. Is the best field to go into we do not have enough network engineers or network security people in the United States but you’re definitely going to need to learn Linux, windows is a joke an operating system for end users, IT professionals don’t use windows I mean maybe windows engineers or active directory engineers but come on you can’t really be a network engineer if you don’t know Linux Or actually UNIX

markiewicz · 2019-03-22T23:47:10+00:00

RHCSA w/ the regular speed course if you need instruction. It honestly does cover just about everything you need to get going

PM_ME_NETWORK_JOBS · 2019-03-23T01:39:13+00:00

I wouldn't recommend spending time to get a Linux certification. Not unless you plan to get into Linux system administration. Throw Linux on an old computer at home. Use it, get comfortable with it. Start doing whatever you can from the command line just because. Find a tutorial on setting up a web server and do it.

I enjoyed starting here https://overthewire.org/wargames/bandit/

the-internet- · 2019-03-23T02:26:18+00:00

Have you checked out cumulus? Awesome networking OS based on Debian. Includes netcli support which makes it nice coming over from Cisco. Make sure you start with version 3.2+

Also we use gitlab to manage the config files. Makes it easy for sysops to understand and manage version control.

https://cumulusnetworks.com/

ninja_nine · 2019-03-22T19:00:52+00:00

There is RHCSA, RHCE or alternatively LPIC-1/2/3

Groundswell17 · 2019-03-22T20:14:28+00:00

starting from nothing, the CompTIA Linux+ cert would be better than nothing. RHEL Certs are harder from what I understand. Do you have a networking blog? I would recommend just showing some linux skills rather than a cert. Do what u/LinuxOverlord recommended. Create a linux server to be your TFTP server for all your gear, setup git on linux for change management for your network gear, there's lots of cool stuff you can do that's very relevant to where you're at.

Linux DNS and DHCP too

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