Protocol and Network Management

¶ … competitive, fast-paced business world, a network failure can be disastrous. The pressure placed on network administrators to fix issues immediately is daunting; these important players need all the tools they can get to troubleshoot, prevent, and repair problems. Network administrators must remain vigilant and work constantly to monitor for interface or host failures, detect route flapping or intrusions, perform LAN segment switches or bandwidth adjustments, and monitoring overall performance for Service Level Agreements (SLAs). The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has grouped these tasks into five main management categories: performance, fault, configuration, accounting, and security. Successful network administration across these categories requires sophisticated tools and technology, and as with other aspects of computer networking, network administration is based on protocols. The most popular network management protocol in place today is the Internet SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol), although this standard is far from simple. In fact, this protocol is just one aspect of the overall management operation. Also known as the Internet-Standard Management Framework, the overall operation is based on four main components: the Management Information Base (MIB) objects and modules, the SMI (Structure of Management Information) data definition language, the SNMP protocol, and security and administration capabilities. (Kurose and Ross) Staying on top of so many important operations is a daunting task even for seasoned administrators, and the demand for these talented professionals is growing. The question is: how do they do it? This essay will explore in more detail what takes place during the day of a network administrator, suggest ways to increase the number of students choosing network administration as a career, and consider what the future may hold for these professionals.

One effective way to communicate the reality of life for a network administrator is to give examples of typical day-to-day events. Apparently, the stress of the job is such that this important breed of computer scientists is eager to vent and share their experiences. Overall, from reading these accounts, it appears that a typical network administrator works anywhere from 8 to 16 hours a day, with responsibilities including the following:

Check the uptime monitors on all the servers

Check client emails

Troubleshoot any problems

Plan, coordinate, research, and ensure network security

Perform a DNS edit before performing any repairs

Sync data on database servers

Check sites

Reply to threads

Interact with users

Check for new submissions

Perform scheduled maintenance

Perform System upgrades

Respond to client requests

Analyze historical data and plan for the future

But this is assuming everything runs smoothly. If there are any significant problems, all the functions above are further complicated, and the administrator will have to keep working until every issue is resolved .

Based on the importance of computer networks across the world today, it is easy to see why these professionals are in high demand despite the global recession; based on the obvious stress of the job, it is easy to understand why recruitment efforts are on the rise. According to American Public Media and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job number percentage in this subfield will increase by nearly 30% over the next ten years in the United States alone. So how can teachers and business owners attract students to this profession?

Indeed, some of this work is already taking place. Companies famous for network administration tools such as Cisco are working to make life easier for administrators and managers, especially given the new age of mobile and cloud computing networks . At the college level, the U.S. Naval Academy has increased Computer Science and Information Technology enrollment by 50% over the past two years simply by offering cyber security competitions and training courses to peak interest among candidates . At the high school level, researchers are taking advantage of the popularity of online computer gaming among students by using certain games as a computer science recruiting tool . In addition, high schools have been working to attract students to the computer science field by offering programming contests and classes for the past several years.