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Computer Networks books:
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Top Reddit reviews mentioning Computer Networks books:
>I can't go to the bathroom without missing atleast 1 phone call from someone about something breaking.
Don't worry about that. Hell, I straight up ignore my phone sometimes even when I'm right beside it. Priorities and such.
>if I need to start looking elsewhere for more pay to offset the stress
Not a bad idea. Always be cognizant of what's out there.
As others have said, bring it up professionally with your boss. His response will help sway the "should I look elsewhere" decision.
Another good suggestion is to work on time management skills. Here's a highly recommended book around here.
And you have vacation days for a reason. Use them. If you try to but they never approve it, then that's a big red flag.
The Practice of System and Network Administration, Volume 1.
I started doing everything at a really small family business a few years ago with nothing except a history of dabbling in videogame development and a degree in computer science (this is less helpful than you'd think it'd be when it comes to IT and system administration). This book has saved my company's butt as far as IT systems infrastructure and efficient time management spent in that area goes.
This should give you a very strong running start toward not managing a horror story or running something that ends up with several thousand upvotes on /r/talesfromtechsupport/ in ten or fifteen years
One of the best books on Computer Networks that starts from a very introductory level is Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach (7th Edition) . I also found this YouTube playlist from thenewboston quite helpful. There's also a great book on Digital Communications by Proakis/Salehi but it's much more advanced, esp the math part of it. I am gonna look for more and come back to you and maybe someone else could contribute.
For a book I'd recommend: The Practice System Network Administration
Also look through the history of "[daily routine]"(https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/search?q=daily%20routine&restrict_sr=1) posts. That will give you a good idea of what to expect.
If you touch a piece of technology - learn about it. Read technet, or man pages. Make flashcards and study the material. Try to know it.
Also, try to learn broadly about all areas of technology - networking, windows, unix, etc.
Pick up programming. Bash, Powershell, Python. Learning is the one constant in this field. The sooner you bury your face in a book/video the better off you'll be. I wish I had studied as hard 10 years ago as I study now.
here 'tis, and it was well uner $100
https://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Second/dp/0321492668
Best around.
This book is recommended all the time here.
The Practice of System and Network Administration
The Practice of System and Network Administration, Volume 1. The 3rd edition has more devops stuff in it than the 2nd edition but still has the core information.
Allow me to recommend the good book.
Gives some helpful insight in terms of building a department, and how to justify things to the business leadership and owners.
If they aren't interesting in giving you a budget to operate the department, run.
It’s really hard to get anything done if everything goes through management.
IDK if it’ll be of use but if you’re stuck going it alone, I remember this is good: https://www.amazon.com/Time-Management-System-Administrators-Working/dp/0596007833
I liked the Practice of System and Network Administration by Tom Limoncelli et al. when I was starting out. Some of the specifics may be dated but the concepts are good.
https://smile.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Second/dp/0321492668
Edit: there's apparently a 3rd edition here
https://smile.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Enterprise/dp/0321919165
I used Computer Networking: A Top Down Approach [0]. The title pretty much sums it up, you start at the application layer and work your way down through each layer. I found this approach helpful since it started with something relatively familiar (app layer) and then digs down through the layers to find out how it's really working. For me, at least, this is preferable to starting on the bottom where you don't really have as much context for what's happening.
Well, you're actually more qualified than me then 😂😂
I did a CS degree at university in the UK in the mid 90s and it all sort of went in, but it was only when I started having to troubleshoot networks that it suddenly clicked, such as the relationship between the different layers, subnetting, routing etc. I've never had to get any vendor qualifications in my professional career but I reckon I'm at a similar level to an experienced CCNP with experience and knowledge in anything I've ever had to work on, but also without knowledge of stuff I haven't worked on. So my EIGRP is good, my OSPF isn't. If I had to pick it up, I would.
If you can get a break in a large company or public sector/government body take it as you'll get exposure to lots of stuff. I'd recommend being inquisitive about everything you come across. Be the guy that understands how your VMs and storage work together, how their networking works, how the web application firewalls, proxy servers, dot1x auth, firewalls, WiFi and DHCP work. The more you understand about everything, the better you'll be at troubleshooting issues and not the person that bumps the ticket elsewhere because all you know it's not your problem, but because you know what another team need to do to fix their problem.
This is worth getting a copy of if you can find one cheap: https://www.amazon.com/Computer-Networks-5th-Andrew-Tanenbaum/dp/0132126958/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=Andrew+S.+Tanenbaum&qid=1608333213&s=books&sr=1-2
> Leider gibts ja kein "How to SysAdmin" Buch
Actually, there is. Das Buch bringt dir bei, mehr in generalisierten Systemen zu denken, seien sie Windows, Linux, BSD oder was auch immer gerad auf deinen Maschinen läuft.
Das Problem das du gerade hast ist dass Graylog eine Art Appliance-Lösung ist, wo du nichts wirklich selber bauen musst. Das ist für ein Business super aber für jemanden der Unix blicken will nicht so super. Appliance meint, das ist eigentlich ein ganzer Softwarestapel aus verschiedensten Bauteilen, die du auch häufig in anderen Systemen zu anderen Zwecken eingesetzt siehst.
Fang simpler an. Bau einen DHCP-Server, einen DNS-Server und mach dann dass die Clients den Nameserver mit ihrem neuen Lease updaten können.
Oder, um Systeme wie Graylog zu raffen, bau einen Syslog-Server der dir kontextabhängig Emails zu besonderesn Ereignissen schicken kann. Ich hab jetzt nur die Frontpage von Graylog gesehen, gehe aber jede Wette dass die an irgendeiner Stelle ein syslogng mitbringen.
The Practice of System and Network Administration is a great book on these topics. Amazon link
This is an excellent book on the topic, covering how to balance a sysadmin's unique need for periods of laser-focus to solve deep and complex problems in an environment fraught with interruptions!
If you want to beef up your infrastructure knowledge specifically around maintaining servers, this is the book my systems administration class used in college. Check to make sure it's been updated to cover infrastructure as a service if you feel inclined, but it has really good coverage on what RAID is, how and when to do backups, etc. It also provides suggestions on general IT infrastructure stuff you might not be aware of.
Should have been embedded in my text but if I failed at mobile this is the generation I had. It looks like there's a newer one as well. https://www.amazon.com/dp/0321492668/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_u2SNCb0DNJY9B
I strongly recommend the Comptia Network+ Exam Book. I've had it for a while now, and you will learn quite litterly everything there is to know about the backbone of networking and the internet. It's meant as a preparation for the CompTIA Network+ Certification, which certifies you are competent enough to work in a networking environment, and is very comprehensive (~ 600 pages). It was invaluable for my positions in cybersecurity.
This is a thicc pile o' paper, but it's all in here.
The Practice of System and Network Administration, 2nd Edition.
You can a read it cover to cover, or just dip in and get good advice on what you need now.
Time Management for System Administrators
Yes it is slightly old, as in 17 years, but as a process it describes it is very much still relevant and helpful. Just ignore any references to tech it mentions and concentrate on the process/methods.
Thanks for the tip. I've been reading through Practice of System and Network Administration. I'll add that one to my list and use this time to study up.
Universities are a good place to get your start. That's how I got into HPC. They underpay but have great benefits and are more likely to take on a new linux admin.
IMHO most beginner certs are completely worthless. One exception would be RHCSA/RHCE. The exams test practical sysadmin knowledge rather than memorization. It covers RHEL but a large majority of the knowledge readily applies to other distros or close enough. You'll definitely want the skills it teaches.
I found The Practice of System and Network Administration and the UNIX and Linux System Administration Handbook to be really good guides for a new sysadmin.
BTW not to discourage you, but I probably learned more in my first 6 months as a linux sysadmin than I did in the prior 15 years as a linux desktop user. It definitely helps though!
This book, "The Practice of System and Network Administration: 3rd Edition" is very good.
It's a very long read (1200 pages), but it written well and in simple to understand language. I read this after being in IT for 20 years. Very good stuff. Filled in some blanks I had. But others, I could elaborate more on then the book. But that's fine.
The book isn't here to make you a subject matter expert on all parts. Just give you a firm starting point. Think of it as a literal IT Administration bible.
It took me about 2 months on on and off casual reading to finish the book. Thankfully, some of the chapter topics I knew very well and just skimmed those.
If you want the hard truths, the way you've communicated your setup; none of us can actually tell if you've done it right. That is probably why you got the downvotes.
There are no details, and these things live and die on the backs of details. Also, the way its set up given what you've provided seems overkill for the number of customer endpoints you are serving. Similar functions could be done at significantly lower costs.
The purpose you state about the multiple DC's don't track with what you've provided, so I'm a bit skeptical. VPN is also problematic as it falls an older paradigm (perimeter security) which is no longer as relevant, it also has significant weaknesses if you don't choose the configuration options correctly. For example, Groups 1 and 2 are insecure, and by that I mean using them allows precomputation attacks that can break long-running tunnels in potentially minutes if not hours.
Licensing is not mentioned, backups are not mentioned, and supporting infrastructure are not mentioned other than that you use PRTG. Customer support isn't touched either.
From what I read into what you wrote, you can put some stuff together, but risk management, support, and cost effectiveness aren't touched at all. Anyone given enough time can put these things together, the value you provide is in doing it cost-effectively while managing expectations.
So I hope that doesn't come off as super critical, but I'd expect someone with 2-5 years experience to have those aspects integrated into the things they do. Security planning is also not mentioned.
I'd suggesting reading Google's whitepaper on BeyondCorp, checking out the SANs reading room, and getting yourself the sysadmin bible for reference.
There's the Practice of System and Network Administration Vol 1 and Vol 2
I have both sitting my library in my office.
Too much to list, get a copy of the Bible, volume 1.
First there is learning, then understanding, then acceptance.
This is how I manage mine. I was diagnosed at 40. I like Pomodoro apps like BFT (Bear Focus Timer) and analog to do lists.
Also, try picking up Time Management for System Administrators. https://www.amazon.com/Time-Management-System-Administrators-Working/dp/0596007833
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0321492668/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This book is something that any half-decent sysadmin should read. Even if you read it piecemeal, it's the single best piece of text I've ever read in IT.