Network Administrator
- Network Administrator
- the role that is played when a
person administers one or more
networks
As illustrated in the preceding figure, Network Administrator is part of the following inheritance hierarchy:
The typical role-specific responsibilities of a Network Administrator:
- Ensure Network Characteristics.
Ensure that each network has the required
characteristics:
- Ensure the network hardware components are functioning properly.
- Ensure the correct (e.g., latest) versions of the network software components are installed.
- Ensure proper network routing.
- Ensure that the networks have the required:
- Operational availablity.
- Performance.
- Reliability.
- Security.
Ensure and maintain required levels of network security.
- Ensure that adequate hardware components are available when needed.
- Administer Networks.
Administer one or more related (LAN, WAN, intranet, or extranet) networks:
- Acquire, install, configure, upgrade, and maintain the associated network(s):
- Observe and assess network behavior including:
- Correctness (e.g., proper routing).
- Performance.
- Operational availability.
- Scalability.
- Security.
- Analyze network failures and fix associated defects.
- Perform network load balancing.
- Perform network disaster recovery.
- Perform network capacity and scalability planning and trend analysis.
- Recommend network upgrades and improvements.
- Administer Network Accounts.
Administer network user and group accounts including
identification, authentication, and authorization:
- Create, modify, lock, unlock, and delete user accounts and group accounts.
- Provide account Identifiers (e.g., User IDs).
- Assign and change passwords.
- Assign computers to users.
- Assign user and group access permissions to computers, directories, and files.
- Allow or disallow user dial-in privileges.
- Set and modify account expiration dates.
- Administer Network Policies.
Administer the various kinds of network policies including:
- Set and administer computer policies regarding common machine
settings such as common computer startup programs, common
shared folders, and sending common network maintenance notifications.
- Set and administer system policies by setting default hardware
configurations and restricting what changes a user can make to these configurations.
- Administer user policies such as default monitor
resolutions, backgrounds, and color schemes, limiting what
applications can be run, and preventing user access or modification of network drives.
- Document Network Administration.
Develop the required network administration documentation:
Network Administrator typically inherits the
general role responsibilities from the
Role method component.
To fulfill these responsibilities, network administrators typically should have the following
personal characteristics, expertise, training, and experience:
To fulfill these responsibilities, network administrators
typically should have the following personal
characteristics:
- A generalist who can perform many different tasks.
- Able to comfortably multitask (i.e., perform multiple
architecting tasks concurrently).
- Able to make important decisions given incomplete and
conflicting knowledge.
- Highly self-directed, being able to both manage and
(re)prioritize the multiple concurrent and competing
challenges, issues, ambiguities, and contradictions that
necessarily occur during the prduction of the database
architecture and design.
- Strong analytical problem solving skills.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, and
thus able to explain network administration to its diverse
audiences.
- A team-building leader with good interpersonal and
relationship building skills.
To fulfill these responsibilities, network administrators
typically should have the following expertise:
- Deep knowledge of the theory, practice, and tools of:
- LAN and WAN networks.
- Intranets, extranets, and the Internet.
- COTS networking products (e.g., Cisco, F5, and
Foundry).
- Network connectivity devices (e.g., routers, load
balancers, firewalls, hubs, switches, etc.).
- Network protocols (e.g., TCP/IP, WAP)
- Deep knowledge of the architectures of the:
- Able to debug and program at the network level.
- Deep knowledge of the various environments (e.g.,
development, integration, test, and production).
- Able to upgrade the network software and hardware
components.
- A bachelor's degree or better in software engineering,
electrical engineering, computer science, or the
equivalent.
- Certified network administrator.
To fulfill these responsibilities, network administrators
typically should have the following training:
- A bachelor’s degree or better in software
engineering, computer science, or the equivalent.
- Technical training in:
- Network theory, practice, and tools.
- Network administration.
- Network hardware components:
- Network cabling.
- Network connectivity devices.
- Network protocols.
- Reads books, technical journals, and conference
proceedings in network administration.
- Relevant verdor certifications (e.g., Microsoft certified
systems engineer qualification, Cisco certification, HP UNIX
certification).
To fulfill these responsibilities, systems administrators
typically should have the following prior experience:
- Installing, configuring, updating, and maintaining (e.g.,
diagnosing and repairing):
- Network cabling at the data center.
- Network file systems (e.g., NFS, RFS, or AFS).
- Network connectivity devices (e.g., routers, hubs,
firewalls, distributers).
- Directory Naming Service (DNS) / BIND.
- NIS/NIS+.
- With:
- Network file synchronization schemes (e.g., rdist and
track).
- TCP/IP networking protocols.
- Non-TCP/IP networking protocols (e.g., OSI, Chaosnet,
DECnet, Appletalk, Novell Netware, Banyan Vines).
- High-speed networking (for example, FDDI, ATM, or
SONET).
- TCP/IP networks that contain routers and multiple
media.
- X/X terminals.
- Dial-up networking (e.g., SLIP, PPP, or UUCP).
- Maintaining a site-wide modem pool/terminal servers.
- At a site that is connected to the Internet.
Network administrators typically perform the following
role-specific tasks in an iterative,
incremental, parallel, and time-boxed manner:
Network administrators typically inherit
common role tasks from the
role process component.
Network administrators typically perform these tasks as
members of the following teams:
As members of these teams, network administrators typically
produces all or part of the following work products:
- Include this role in the endeavor-specific process only
if the endeavor includes the
usage
phase.
- The same person often plays both the system administrator
and network administrator roles.
- This role typically inherits the
common team guidelines from the
roles process component.
