How much networking knowledge and certification should be obtained as a sys admin?

As a sys admin I realize my most important certs are going to be on the Microsoft and Linux tracks. However, I'm just curious about how much knowledge of networking I will need and if I should bother to get any networking certs.

Currently I'm in the middle of jamming far too much MS knowledge into my head but I'm just curious for once I have completed my current certification path.

We have a couple of Cisco PIX515 firewalls at the moment and are in the process of implementing a pair of McAfee Sidewinder firewalls. This is a smaller company (~100 employees) so I realize that when I work at the big shops I won't get to have so much fun but I can always hope that I get to work at places like where I am currently

So what do you guys think? Is it worth the time investment to go after say my CCNA once I finish my MS certs or is that too far outside the realm of what a sys admin does at a typical company?

Find more posts tagged with

Free for TechExams community: Cybersecurity salary guide

Compare cert salaries and plan your next career move

Button

Comments

Hyper-Me

I would know what you need to know to make your systems function and internetwork properly.

For instance, setting up sitess/subnets in AD requires knowledge of subnets and CIDR notation.

Luckily generic knowledge of a technology (such as a firewall) is going to transfer over somewhat to other products in that same category. Obviously there are differences in the different products and such but a solid base knowledge will get you through.

unsupported

CCNA may be overkill. Maybe Network+ would give you enough knowledge, with a little more dive into TCP/IP.

dynamik

I'd say CCNA at a minimum. You may not do as much with WANs and routing protocols, but I would contend that it's imperative to understand CCNA-level switching concepts.

MentholMoose

I've found having CCNA level knowledge very useful despite not touching much Cisco stuff.

NightShade03

I'm in a similar role (working for a small company) and as a small IT department even though I deal with mostly Microsoft stuff when the network has issues I have to put on the networking cap and deal with it. Have a broad range of certifications makes you able to handle situations like that. Just remember, wearing many hats tends to make you a jack of all trades but master of none...