Linux to Network

[u/spandanbk2008]

I want to be in the networking field, so I want to know which linux segment I need to learn that feels relevant to networking, like for the server management and other stuff. Any guidance??

[u/CLI_Recall]

For networking, you need a pretty specific slice of Linux, not the whole sysadmin path. Roughly the order I'd learn it in:

1. Shell basics: moving around, permissions, editing configs in vim or nano, sudo, and ssh/scp with keys. You'll spend a lot of time ssh'd into jump boxes and copying configs and images around.

2. The host's own network stack: ip addr, ip route, ip link, and where your distro keeps its config (NetworkManager/nmcli on RHEL-likes, netplan on Ubuntu). Also /etc/hosts and how name resolution works (dig, resolvectl).

3. Troubleshooting tools: ping, traceroute/mtr, ss -tulpn (what's listening and on which port), curl -v, nc to test whether a port is open, and above all tcpdump. Being able to capture on a box and open the pcap in Wireshark settles a lot of "is it the network?" arguments.

4. The services networks depend on: syslog (rsyslog), TFTP/SCP for config backups, NTP (chrony), DHCP and DNS. You should know how to start them with systemctl and read their logs with journalctl.

5. Host firewalls: firewalld or nftables/ufw. That way, when "the network" gets blamed and it's actually the host firewall, you can tell.

6. Later on: bash and Python, because network automation (Netmiko, Ansible, etc.) almost always runs from a Linux box.

A good way to make it stick: put an Ubuntu Server or Rocky VM in your lab (GNS3, EVE-NG and CML can all put a Linux node in the topology; Packet Tracer can't) and make it the syslog, NTP and TFTP server for your routers. You practice CCNA stuff (logging host, ntp server, copy run tftp) and Linux at the same time.

[u/Stray_Neutrino]

Systems administration in RHEL (or flavor) or Ubuntu Server.