To be a good network administrator, you need to read computer books. Lots of them. And you need to enjoy doing it. If you’re the type who takes computer books with you to the beach, you’ll make a great network administrator.
One of Scotty’s best lines in the original Star Trek series was when he refused to take shore leave so he could get caught up on his technical journals. “Don’t you ever relax?” asked Kirk. “I am relaxing!” Scotty replied.
You need books on a variety of topics. I’m not going to recommend specific titles, but I do recommend that you get a good, comprehensive book on each of the following topics:- Network security and hacking
- Wireless networking
- Network cabling and hardware
- Ethernet
- Windows Server 2008, 2012, and 2016
- Windows 7, 8, 8.1, and 10
- Linux
- TCP/IP
- DNS
- Sendmail or Microsoft Exchange Server, depending on which email server you use
- InformationWeek
- InfoWorld
- Network Computing
- Network World
- 2600 The Hacker Quarterly (a great magazine on computer hacking and security)
The Internet is one of the best sources of technical information for network administrators. You’ll want to stock your browser’s Favorites menu with plenty of websites that contain useful networking information. In addition, you may want to subscribe to one of the many online newsletters that deliver fresh information on a regular basis via email.
