10 networking guides for sysadmin success

Of the many changes created by the pandemic, one of the more enduring is that remote work is still the norm. Networking makes this possible. Understanding and appreciating how networks work and are designed is a needed skill, especially in this digital world.

As a sysadmin, it's essential to have networking knowledge. The Enable Sysadmin community writes many articles that are a tremendous help in advancing your sysadmin skills. This article summarizes the 10 networking articles that were most popular with readers in 2021. In them, you have the opportunity to learn networking basics, including:

• How to automate network configuration and settings
• How to gather information about hosts in your network using scanning tools such as Nmap

With their many years of experience, the authors in the community went even further to explore other important networking topics, such as:

• Container networking
• Analyzing traffic as it traverses the network using tools such as tcpdump
• How to configure and set up DNS and DHCP services.

Top 10 networking articles of 2021

The following are the most-read articles about networking on Enable Sysadmin in 2021.

7 Linux networking commands that every sysadmin should know

Networking is an important sysadmin function. Check out this article I wrote about seven essential commands that are used frequently by sysadmins to enhance their job. You may find it valuable in your daily work.

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Learn the networking basics every sysadmin needs to know

Seth Kenlon explains the basics of networking in this terrific article. He explains how a device knows what network to connect to, how to find a shared printer or file share, and how to understand the biggest network of all, the internet.

Enumerating a new network with Nmap

Finding information about a host or a system shouldn't be complicated. Nmap is an open source network scanning tool you ought to have in your sysadmin toolbox. Nate Sias shows you how to gather an IP address, operating system version, filtered port, and more information using Nmap.

6 tcpdump network traffic filter options

Kedar Vijay Kulkarni helps you learn how to use tcpdump to find out what happens under the hood while traffic moves from one system to another. This first part of a three-part series looks at six basic tricks to gather information about the interfaces and starting captures.

6 options for tcpdump you need to know

In this second part of the series, Kedar adds six more options and parameters that help capture and view data from tcpdump. You can analyze traffic to help troubleshoot complex network issues with these options. And, when you finish, check out part 3 of the series, 6 advanced tcpdump formatting options, which barely missed the top 10 list.

A brief overview of the Container Network Interface (CNI) in Kubernetes

Kedar also helps you discover how you can write plugins to configure network interfaces in Linux containers. CNI also provides specifications for adding, deleting, connecting, and disconnecting containers to networks.

How to configure network settings with Ansible system roles

Does adding a network interface to multiple servers bore you? Shiwani Biradar's article shows you how Ansible roles can automate this task while you enjoy your coffee.

How to use the Linux BIND command to install and configure DNS

DNS allows you to use names instead of IP addresses to locate information on the internet. Ashish Bharadwaj Madabhushana helps you understand DNS and how you can set it up using the open source tool Bind.

Static and dynamic IP address configurations for DHCP

Why choose dynamic IP addressing over static? Damon Garn takes a deep dive here. His article gives a good understanding of how to make the best choice for a given situation.

Static and dynamic IP address configurations: DHCP deployment

Get your hands dirty by switching on the DHCP server. Damon takes you through the deployment process, and it's a fantastic read.

Wrapping up

I hope you find all these articles as useful as I did. And if you have a networking survival tip, consider sharing it by writing for Enable Sysadmin. Join our community and continue the tradition of knowledge sharing that makes the Linux ecosystem great.