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Computer Networks, Protocols & APIs books:
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Top Reddit reviews mentioning Computer Networks, Protocols & APIs 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.
Networking is networking. There's no difference who does it.
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Regardless, this is a timeless book: https://www.amazon.com/TCP-Illustrated-Protocols-Addison-Wesley-Professional/dp/0321336313
Keep moving forward! Check out the Stevens books. They're the Bibles for network programming. They're freely available if you go sailing.
https://www.amazon.com/TCP-Illustrated-Vol-Addison-Wesley-Professional/dp/0201633469
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
Lol what?
Dude, you don't need any fucking classes to start out in IT
You can buy textbooks and earn certs while spending minimum amounts of money
Do not sign up for some fucking ridiculous 23k course. That's insane.
This field is so beautiful because you can dive in without any student debt whatsoever, don't hamstring yourself by going into debt like that
If you want an entry level job, go buy the A+ cert book on amazon
Maybe do network+ too(that's the path i started out with so I'm biased I suppose).
You're talking like less than 50 bucks for the textbooks and then a couple hundred bucks for the tests(total), and with those 2 certs you can easily get an entry level help desk job and start working your way up.
It beats the fuck out of manual labor, that's for sure
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.
Some books are excellent permanent references.
TCP/IP Illustrated, Volume 1: The Protocols (2nd Edition)
End-to-End QoS Network Design: Quality of Service for Rich-Media & Cloud Networks (2nd Edition)
Other books, as you point out are useful, but perhaps only for shorter periods of time...
here 'tis, and it was well uner $100
https://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Second/dp/0321492668
Best around.
There sure are books!
My favorite authors are Mike Myers and Todd Lammle.
Here's a guide for the CompTIA A+ certification.
These books can be a bit pricey, but it's EVERYTHING you need to know for the certification. If you have this book and a computer to practice on, you have everything you need to pass. The book is nearly 1,500 pages long as well. If you struggle to afford the books, you can always search online for illegal copies of older versions and possibly even the latest version that I linked. I assume the copyright police aren't going to be breaking down your doors.
The A+ certification estimates 6-9 months of hands-on training to be able to pass, but it can definitely be done in a shorter amount of time. Don't get dissuaded if after a month you feel tired of studying. Even if you don't have the means to take the exam, the information you can learn will help you so much.
This book is recommended all the time here.
The Practice of System and Network Administration
Check out the following books:
TCP/IP Illustrated, Volume 1: The Protocols: The Protocols v. 1 (Addison-Wesley Professional Computing) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0321336313/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_HsfhDb3TC15DK
By Gary A. Donahue Network Warrior (2nd Edition) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00NBJPIV8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_ltfhDbJCDDXG7
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.
If you want to learn more about the backstory I highly recommend the book Where Wizards Stay Up Late. It's a fascinating read on the beginnings usenet and the internet.
>In the 1960's, when computers where regarded as mere giant calculators, J.C.R. Licklider at MIT saw them as the ultimate communications devices. With Defense Department funds, he and a band of visionary computer whizzes began work on a nationwide, interlocking network of computers. Taking readers behind the scenes, Where Wizards Stay Up Late captures the hard work, genius, and happy accidents of their daring, stunningly successful venture.
There is an all in one A+ book on amazon (https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-901-220-902/dp/125958951X) This book is a good read through for general concepts - read it quickly, don't go super hardcore study mode on this book, its quite long. This along with professor messer (free, google it)after quickly reading through was all I used to get my A+.
If you have some knowledge of computers and perhaps built your own you could be ready for a helpdesk role already. I know all I had was "customer service" and some basic technical knowledge before I got my first job. Just be sure to word your customer service skills as if you were on the phone doing customer service - since this may be a large portion of the job. Asides from that - google common helpdesk interview questions, their answers, and then google the specific terms like dhcp and dns to understand how they work.
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.
For me the biggest help was the All in One book by Mike Meyers people complain that he is long winded in the book. But I think the stories that he tells give insite and the full context needed to pass the 1002 exam. I'll add a link below.
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
What are you using to study right now?
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I have my second test today, but I've used Mike Meyer's book as well as his Udemy course. Then I used Jason Dion's practice exams. Those are all very popular resources to get started.
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Another popular (and free) resource is professor Messer on Youtube.
You may like, "When wizards stay up late" as well:
Description from Amazon:
Twenty five years ago, it didn't exist. Today, twenty million people worldwide are surfing the Net. Where Wizards Stay Up Late is the exciting story of the pioneers responsible for creating the most talked about, most influential, and most far-reaching communications breakthrough since the invention of the telephone.
In the 1960's, when computers where regarded as mere giant calculators, J.C.R. Licklider at MIT saw them as the ultimate communications devices. With Defense Department funds, he and a band of visionary computer whizzes began work on a nationwide, interlocking network of computers. Taking readers behind the scenes, Where Wizards Stay Up Late captures the hard work, genius, and happy accidents of their daring, stunningly successful venture.
Ports don't mean you have a trojan, it's just an arbitrary identifier to tie a process to an identifier for TCP connections.
Some of them are well known or reserved https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_TCP_and_UDP_port_numbers
If you'd like to understand more, this is a great resource: https://www.amazon.com/TCP-Illustrated-Protocols-Addison-Wesley-Professional/dp/0321336313/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=tcp+ip&qid=1603390959&sr=8-2
Since we're talking AWS, there is also the AWS Networking Speciality Certification as well. This will greatly increase your knowledge about AWS Networking. CCNA is hyper-specific to Cisco and really a requirement for most Network Engineers if you are working with Cisco. If you need to get started learning more about the fundamentals of networking I would go with the Net+ and then get the AWS Net Speciality Also there is the TCP/IP bible, imho TCP/IP Illustrated, Vol. 1: The Protocols
+1 for CCNA materials. At least the previous CCNA. I'm guessing the new CCNA materials still have all the basics. I did my CCNA 8 or so years into running a network and I learned a lot of the basics I missed or had forgotten.
I think the things to start with are the basics of TCP/IP, what happens when a switch forwards a layer 2 packet, what happens when a switch or router forwards a layer 3 packet & the basics of how spanning tree operates. Memorizing the whole OSI model is a waste of time but knowing what problems/technologies are layer 2 and what are layer 3 is important.
This is a good book to read: https://www.amazon.com/TCP-Illustrated-Protocols-Addison-Wesley-Professional/dp/0321336313/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=tcp%2Fip&qid=1595705789&s=books&sr=1-1
You don't need to read the exact book if you're not into that kind of learning but you can find the online equivalent.
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
Mike Meyers book is what I used. Here is the the link to Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-901-220-902/dp/125958951X
Basically the A+ bible right there. Mike Meyers cert books are pretty much the go to. For CCNA, they publish their own stuff.
There is alot of great information on this post. I was actually in the same boat as the description you gave. Wanted to get into programming but did not understand how to actually apply the knowledge after going through some lynda/youtube courses.
I have purchased a study guide for the Comp TIA A+ certification after christmas to broaden my understanding on hardware, networks, and security. Hopefully it helps, but if there are any other suggestions please let me know! https://www.amazon.com/dp/1260454037/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_HNm-FbDR5BR2K
Buy this book.
Yes, it's from 1994.
Yes, you should buy it used.
TCP/IP Illustrated, Vol. 1: The Protocols @ $15
If you have the money oozing out of your pockets, the updated version is here:
TCP/IP Illustrated, Volume 1: The Protocols 2nd Edition @ 2011 for $65 in hard cover.
IPv4 hasn't changed all that terribly much since 1994. The original print is still a valid source of knowledge.
But the updated edition is a nice improvement.