Linux for Network Engineers

With so many Linux distributions available, network engineers need to weigh factors like security, long term support, and the availability of up-to-date software. There’s been a lot of talk recently about what network engineers should learn to stay relevant. While the field is rapidly changing, I’m going to suggest that one of the most important areas we as network engineers can focus on is Linux. First off, it’s becoming more and more apparent that most network operating systems are based on some variation of Linux.

How to Install Linux

As a distribution designed specifically for penetration testing, Kali Linux comes pre-installed with a large number of tools that are very useful for network engineers. Not all the software that comes pre-installed with Kali Linux will be useful to network engineers, but luckily, new Kali installations are fully customizable. You should plan ahead of time which packages you intend to use to avoid installing useless packages and keep clutter on your Kali system to a minimum.

Enterprise use cases for Linux networking

As result, the router was discarding these oversized packets and sending back ICMP packets with the “Can’t Fragment Error” code. This is something I discovered while listening to the wire with tcpdump. Tcpdump is a great utility to troubleshoot network and application issues. For example, at remote sites connected with IPsec tunnels back to the main site, I was often able to figure out why some applications would make it through the tunnel and some wouldn’t.

In 1981, MS-DOS was introduced as an operating system for the IBM PC, and in 1984, Mac OS was introduced for the Apple Macintosh, which led to a rapid expansion of demand for personal computers. RHEL has many of the same benefits that make it attractive as an enterprise solution, but equally attractive to independent users. Open your linux shell and try everything explained above and boost your skills daily,we learn better with more hands-on experience. Displays the distribution name, and version, in a shorter format compared to the previous command with additional information. Banana Pi has shared hardware details about an embedded platform built around the Renesas RZ/V2N Vision AI MPU. Designed for applications such as smart cameras, industrial vision, and embedded AI systems, the BPI-AI2N combines a compact SoM with a versatile carrier board.

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• One of the standout features of Ubuntu for network engineers is its compatibility with a wide range of networking hardware and protocols.
• When I was a computer science student I spent a lot of time playing around with Linux, gaining valuable linux experience through hands-on experimentation.
• Network StackThe network stack is a hierarchical structure of software for network communication and is responsible for handling protocols such as TCP/IP and UDP.
• It’s great to see that now, 20+ years later, open networking companies have adopted those same projects to finally deliver enterprise-grade routing and switching.

For example, at remote sites that are connected with IPSec tunnels back to the main site, many times I was able to figure out why some traffic would make it through the tunnel and some wouldn’t. The cause was that some traffic that used the entire IP payload without accounting for the IPSec header had the DF bit set. As results, the router would return an ICMP packet with code “Can’t Fragment Error”, something that I found out with tcpdump. By sending ICMP echo requests to a range of IP addresses, you can determine which devices are online and responsive—an invaluable step for network security audits, troubleshooting, and inventory management. Despite modifications, having access to the native Linux shell affords us some significant wins. Tools and applications that were once reserved for the server world become available.

Also, the SSH daemon was not installed and running by default so we had to add it before we could SSH into the OS. Security—During the installation process, a root password and a standard non-privileged user account was created, and that user was not added to the sudoers list. Linux fans often have their favorite window manager and desktop environment, and they can be quite passionate and opinionated about what they prefer. However, GNOME is available on most Linux distributions and comes enabled by default. Not all of the software packaged with Kali Linux is useful for network engineers, but luckily, new Kali installations are completely customizable. You should plan out what packages you intend to use in advance so that you can avoid installing useless packages and keep your Kali system minimally cluttered.

RHEL 9 delivers better security, management

Linux OSes can use different default filesystem types, with ext4 and xfs being common among popular Linux distros. Get ready with one of these options and in the next post we’ll talk how to access your Linux box remotely and without a password (but securely) with ssh. Transform your network into a business accelerator with IBM’s high-performance networking solutions. Cloud networking solutions from IBM provide high-performing connectivity to power your apps and business. Quality of Service refers to techniques used to prioritize network traffic, ensuring important packets—like voice or video—are not delayed or dropped during congestion. The root cause was linux for network engineers that the addition of the IPsec header, required by the VPN tunnel, would cause the overall packet to be larger than the maximum transmission unit (MTU) allowed to pass through the tunnel.

• Network monitoring ensures the ongoing health and performance of your IT infrastructure.
• While I think this is a fair generalization, it’s also fair to say that most vendors don’t run a completely vanilla version of Linux or the Linux kernel.
• Diamond Technologies, Inc. has launched a new line of Embedded Computing Modules based on NXP’s i.MX 8M series processors.
• All Linux versions have similar commands to add and remove users, move files around, and interact with external devices with device drivers.
• With openSUSE’s Zypper package manager, you won’t have any problems installing the right tools for the job.

This article takes a look at five top Linux distros, how to acquire and install them, and an assessment of what they might best be suited for. In the future, CentOS Stream is likely to become the best option for anyone seeking an RHEL-adjacent distribution. While CentOS Stream may not offer the same stability as Fedora, its enticing inclusion of cutting-edge software makes it worth considering. Much like Fedora, CentOS Stream is a distribution that stays in line with the development of RHEL. It serves as the upstream edition of RHEL, meaning that the content in the latest edition of CentOS Stream is likely to appear in RHEL’s next release.

Debian is one of the oldest and most respected Linux distributions, known for its stability, security, and extensive software repositories. It is a solid choice for network engineers who value reliability and performance in their networking infrastructure. Debian offers a wide range of networking tools and utilities, including firewalls, VPNs, and network monitoring tools, making it a comprehensive platform for managing network environments of all sizes. CentOS is a free, open-source operating system based on the source code of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).

Fedora also provides users with an incredible library of open source tools, built-in support for containerized applications, and always access to the latest features and software. Ubuntu uses AppArmor for Mandatory Access Control (MAC) host OS security. The operating system comes with a host-based firewall (UFW) installed with iptables and ip6tables enabled by default, but without iptables or ip6tables rules installed.

Ubuntu

Virtualization is the process of creating a software-based representation of something physical, such as a server, desktop, network, or storage device. Debian is the Linux version that spawned other distributions including Ubuntu and Raspberry Pi OS and is overseen by the Debian Project, which maintains the ideal of free and open software. CentOS uses Network Manager for network interface configuration, but Netplan can be enabled and is installable with Snap. While CentOS doesn’t come with formal software support, third-party vendor OpenLogic does provide commercial support. If more support is needed, another option is moving to RHEL, which does have commercial support. Also, because CentOS closely resembles RHEL, much of the RHEL 8 training materials would also be applicable to help configure and maintain CentOS systems.

Networking

In 2003, I attended a CCNA boot camp; the other students and I practiced routing protocols (RIP and OSPF) by building an overlay point-to-point network between our houses. We used OpenVPN for the tunneling and then RIP and OSPF inside the tunnels. A systems analyst works with physical computer networks, allowing them to be highly employable by many different organizations. A systems engineer evaluates an organization’s IT systems and processes to identify inefficiencies and recommend solutions to improve performance. Together, we power an unparalleled network of 220+ online properties covering 10,000+ granular topics, serving an audience of 50+ million professionals with original, objective content from trusted sources.

Scott Hogg is an Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) consultant and teacher. Scott is a CCIE #5133 (Emeritus) and CISSP #4610 with over 30 years of network and security experience. Scott is Chair Emeritus of the Rocky Mountain IPv6 Task Force (RMv6TF), a member of the Infoblox IPv6 Center of Excellence (COE), and co-author of the Cisco Press book on IPv6 Security.

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This post was written by SPORTSERVE ADMIN