[question] I want to learn - where do I start? (lemmy.world)

submitted 5 months ago by azan@lemmy.world to c/networking@sh.itjust.works

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[I hope this belongs here - if not, lmk and I'll delete the post. I've been mainly lurking here so far]

In a month I'll be in charge of "IT-stuff" in a small office. People are generally happy if there is internet and VoIP is working. I'd like to take the opportunity to learn what I can, while I have the chance. And maybe/hopefully contribute to make it a bit better. For now I want to look into how I should configure wifi and access for office/guests (and devices that are used obv.) Thing is, I don't know where to start and what I actually can do. Do I just google "how to configure wifi in the office?" and go from there? (I'm a bit hesitant to do that since I'll not be able to tell if what I find is good) Is there any good reference material you would suggest? Any suggestions are appreciated.

I studied business informatics (but it's been a while) so I'm not completely clueless (but still clueless hehe).

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[-] Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 11 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

I would start with getting a good idea of how things actually work, like the TCP stack, DHCP, Wifi, etc. Learning these basics will help a lot in diagnosing issues, because you'll be able to isolate it to specific parts of the network to look at. Having a good grasp of the basic principles of networking has really helped me a lot in figuring out issues.

A lot of the other stuff - like "how do I configure wifi in the office" - is highly vendor-dependent. The process for, say, setting up a guest network is going to be different depending on what hardware you have. But if you have a good grasp of the basics of networking you'll be able to figure out what those settings actually do.

Sadly, I learned a lot of this stuff through trial and error and long frustrating attempts at getting wifi and routing and VPNs to actually work, so I don't have any materials to recommend.

Edit: Another tip is to be able to build models of the systems you're making so you can test changes. It's incredibly helpful to have an environment you can break and rebuild quickly to test things. This goes for basically everything sysadmin related.

[-] bravesilvernest@lemmy.ml 4 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Big focus on the model system if possible. My partner still reminds me about the time I said a minor update in my stack* would take "a few minutes" 😅

[-] Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago

I work with customers a lot, and it's always impressive when I say "Yeah, just do these two things and it'll fix your issue" and then it does. What they don't see is the hours and hours I spent breaking shit, resetting the test environment, and breaking it again.

It's like the apocryphal tale of the engineer who charged for knowing where to tap the hammer.

[-] azan@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago

Thanks for the suggestions! When you say model, do you mean the OSI model or just an actual network where I can tinker? Lettuce eat lettuce was kind enough to make a list of the basics - I'll use that as a guideline. Others have provided material as well; it seems I do not need to worry about filling time :)

[-] Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 3 points 5 months ago

Yep, an actual model of your network that you can tinker with

this post was submitted on 10 Jun 2024

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