I am learning Linux and aiming towards System Administration.

Now, I'm told that an essential part to being a Linux Sys Admin is knowing networking as well. So is networking for Linux any different or we can study general networking?

And since networking in itself is huge. how much of it s needed to study for Linux Sys Admin?

Also, please tell me some free but trustworthy tutorials and study guides on the internet. Also, if some really good book that explains things in very simple and natural manner.

I need material that takes into account no background at all of networking and explains things in such a manner that is easy to understand, not takes readers' understanding for granted..

Thanks

Networking concepts and basics are the same, no matter what OS you're using. The only difference is the tools that you use to set up the adapters, routes, etc. These concepts can be very simple, to very, VERY complex, and the pieces you'll be responsible for will vary from company to company.
Have you tried putting in "networking tutorials" into Google???
http://compnetworking.about.com/od/w...ses/l/blip.htm
http://www.techiwarehouse.com/cms/en...ge_id=d9e99072
http://www.intelligentedu.com/links/...mentation.html

Those would be starting points only. You can easily find more.

Once when I learnd for my M$-certification I got the book "Computer Networking - A Top Down Approach" by Kurose/Ross. It's nice to read because the history of networking is also shown (which can help to understand the whole thing).

You should by all means try to understand as much as possible about networking. Learn to use tools like tcpdump and nmap, learning them will help you to get a deeper understanding, and they are very useful.

Markus

1. Behrouz-Forouzan: http://www.amazon.com/Data-Communica.../dp/0072923547
2. YoLinux: http://www.yolinux.com/TUTORIALS/Lin...etworking.html
3. tldp: http://tldp.org/HOWTO/NET3-4-HOWTO.html
4. http://linux.die.net/man/8/

If you can follow Cisco CCNA 1 and 2 course, do it.
Semester 1 and 2 explains network basics, subnets, OSI model, TCP-IP, basic routing and routing protocols ... etc

Semester 3 and 4 are less interesting since semester 3 is more focussing on border gateway routing protocols and semester 4 on switches but it's really about Cisco switches and much less global approach on switches.

You might also get some information on what's the value of a Cisco CCNA certificate in your country.
For example, here in Belgium a Cisco certificate will open several doors and higher your chances to find a job as a system/network admin.

You might think that 2 semesters is a year (is it?) but we have lots of places here where you can follow the first 2 semesters in 3-4 months (2-3 evenings each week).

Personally, I think that a Linux admin needs more network knowledge then a Windows admin (at least that is the feeling I got from the start) or maybe it's only that the Linux guys are more interested in network stuff.

I don't think so.

The network-knowledge is the same. The difference is that with Windows several tasks are easier to manage than with Linux. For example if you want to configure a computer for a static DNS-server. With Windows you open a window (well, three windows ) and insert the nameserver-IP. With Linux you'll have to know which DHCP-clientprogram your system is using and then configure this program not to overwrite your manual DNS-settings.

What I mean is, the basic knowledge is the same, you'll have to know when and why a computer needs a static nameserver or static IP-configuration instead of using DHCP. You'll also have to know about DHCP, subnets etc. But the configuration differs between Linux and Windows.

Another point is that the configuration differs (in some points) from distribution to distribution. With Windows it is always the same.

Markus

But it's weird how many Windows admins don't have a clue what a subnet is while most Linux admins know how to subnet.

At my previous job we where 5 people on the IT department and out of the 5 only 2 had some basic knowledge about Linux and those were the only ones knowing :
- what is the exact purpose of a subnet mask
- what is a broadcast IP and its purpose
- how to subnet
- what service uses which port
- read a routing table
- ...

Weird enough you will also see that most Windows admins will start a firewall configuration with 'allow all' while linux admins tend to start with a 'deny all'.

I am not saying that a Windows admin is dumb or stupid but their basic interests and/or knowledge seem to be different with more focus on the product itself (Windows).

Maybe it's a Belgian thing, but a company looking for a 'IT guy' will prefer someone with a CCNA compared to a MCSE even if the company main platform is Windows.

Well, getting a CCNA is more difficult than MCSE. For MCSE you'll need basic network-knowledge whereas CCNA is "networking only" and you'll need a deeper understanding.

I'm working as a System administrator mostly with Windows, and it is clear, that a Windows-admin who works with servers must have network-knowledge.

What I think is that Linuxusers and Linuxadmins are more interested in "how things work" and this is the reason why they often get a deeper understanding.

Markus

I guess for me MCSE will be more difficult then CCNA because I have trouble with the "according to {brandname}" answer.

I think Microsoft certificates are easier for the people that can learn by heart and a Cisco is easier for someone who understands it.

But you are certainly right that a Linux user and/or admin is probably someone who wants to know more details about a subject (I guess that's how they started with Linux : they wanted to learn and understand more)

mh, when I started with Linux, back in 1994 it had much of an adventure

In my opinion nowadays a sysadmin must have knowledge of both systems Linux and Windows and additionally a lot of networking. Desktopsystems run mostly Windows, servers can be everthing (except for M$-domaincontrollers). And since no network runs without servers one cannot manage networks without Linux-knowledge.

Don't overlook, that since the CCNA is Cisco-related and MCSE is M$ related both certifications require much "company-related" knowledge. Both M$ and Cisco have developed many standards for their own devices which then became something like a standard. Think of the M$-AD-domains or Ciscos own routing-protocol.

Markus

Yes I saw lots of questions of that type in the assessments but the difference is that Cisco will most of the time specify it by starting the question with something like "According to Cisco ..." and at that moment you mostly know where they are trying to go.