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The 6 Best Linux Distros for Network Engineers

Learn how mastering just a few basic skills can advance your job and career. The range and scope of technologies that leverage Linux is large and growing rapidly. The deeper you dive into any technology the more likely you are to see Linux. Having a solid understanding of Linux as it relates to both basic operations and networking is a skill worth having.

linux network engineer

First off, it’s becoming more and more apparent that most network operating systems are based on some variation of Linux. Different vendors offer varying degrees of access to the underlying Linux operating system with the trend being to give the user more and more access into system internals. This course is designed specifically to introduce both new and experienced professional network engineers to the Linux operating system and environment. This course will fully prepare attendees to continue on to the Shell Scripting Fundamentals for Network Engineers course.

Practical Linux for Network Engineers: Part 1

The Wireshark analysis tool is a free and open-source program primarily used to capture and analyze packets of data moving through a network. Wireshark was created back in 1998 by Gerald Combs, but don’t let the age of Wireshark fool you, because it’s just as useful today as when it was created. Wireshark enables network engineers to put network interface controllers (NICs) into promiscuous mode to observe most traffic, even Unicast traffic which is not sent to a controller’s MAC address.

  • The fprobe tool is generally used to sit at a specific point on a network and record data about traffic moving through that point.
  • Wireshark was created back in 1998 by Gerald Combs, but don’t let the age of Wireshark fool you, because it’s just as useful today as when it was created.
  • Created in 1998 by Martin Roesch, development has since been taken over by Cisco.
  • At Einride, we believe that a diverse and inclusive workplace makes us a more capable, innovative, and competitive company.

Created in 1998 by Martin Roesch, development has since been taken over by Cisco. Snort is a complete Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) that uses rules to helps users define malicious network activity. Snort then uses those rules to find packets that match those definitions and generates alerts when it does. https://investmentsanalysis.info/cyber-security-specialist-job-description-template/ Snort, which is currently up to version three, can even be used to stop malicious packets, adding an automation component which is extremely advanced for a free tool. While network technologies are rapidly advancing, the fundamental talents administrators need to succeed remain relatively unchanged.

About O’Reilly

Absolutely amazing program I highly recommend it for all people aiming to improve their quality of life, they are incredibly flexible, hands on, and provide phenomenal service! She currently attends Eastern New Mexico University as a computer science major. She focuses on writing about Linux and other subjects in technology because she believes in making technology accessible for all. You should test out software like Nmap and familiarize yourself with networking on your new Linux distro so that lack of familiarity doesn’t become an obstacle later on. Much like Fedora, CentOS Stream is a distribution that stays in line with the development of RHEL. It serves as the upstream edition of RHEL, meaning that the content in the latest edition of CentOS Stream is likely to appear in RHEL’s next release.

linux network engineer

All versions of Wireshark and the source code are fully open source and can be downloaded for free. There’s been a lot of talk recently about what network engineers should learn to stay relevant. While the field is rapidly changing, I’m going to suggest that one of the most important areas we as network engineers can focus on is Linux.

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RHEL itself is commonly chosen as the operating system for enterprise-level systems. Dive in for free with a 10-day trial of the O’Reilly learning platform—then explore all the other resources our members count on to build skills and solve problems every day. So as you can see, there are a variety of reasons to learn more about Linux as a whole. But as with any new skill, the hardest part of learning is finding where to start. If you’re new to Linux as a whole, focus on getting comfortable with the command line. Learn how to get around, inspect system parameters, and make configuration changes.

Many of the qualities of RHEL that make it attractive as an enterprise solution are just as appealing for independent users. As one of the most popular enterprise distributions, RHEL is a great option because it is robust and reinforced. Each version of RHEL has a 10-year lifecycle, meaning What is the job role of a Azure Cloud Engineer that you’ll be able to use your chosen version of RHEL (and enjoy little to no compatibility issues) for years. If you are not ready to apply for this position, submit your resume here to join our talent community. Thank you for your interest in Linux Foundation training and certification.

Wicked is a powerful network configuration framework, for example, while Samba is perfect for enabling file-sharing between Linux and Windows systems. You won’t have any trouble installing the right tool for a job with openSUSE’s Zypper package manager. Fedora is an open-source distribution that serves as a community equivalent to Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).

Current trends are pushing the skillset of the network engineer and the server administrator closer together. On the physical network side, the ability to access the native Linux shell enables us to install tools and application once reserved for Linux servers. On the Linux server side, the days of simple host networking are quickly evaporating as more of the network logic moves down into the Linux host. Using the CLI for a given vendor meant learning that vendor’s unique syntax. This meant that being able to configure a Cisco switch didn’t imply I could configure a Juniper switch.

Modern courses and learning activities in state-of-the-art technologies prepare you for your new career. Train to work with server and database administrators to identify network capacity requirements and recommend hardware and services to support network usage. While some Linux distributions are better suited to network engineers, almost any Linux distribution can be used with the right software and configurations.

Once you’re in the game, and your a good guy, you can excel and really expand from there. Learn SSH, the shell environment, iptables, the kernel itself, and learn some package management. Also good to learn how to do some bash, pearl or python, and of course TCL. John Breeden II is an award-winning journalist and reviewer with over 20 years of experience covering technology.

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