Network Administrators play a vital role in the IT industry – they are essentially the backbone of every organization. Their job is to keep the network systems and computers running securely and smoothly by setting up the network, monitoring, and fixing any issues that may appear.
If becoming a network administrator sounds like a good choice for you, there are multiple resources you could use to jumpstart your career. Read on to find out the best online courses to become a network administrator.
Udemy
One of the best platforms to learn everything from digital marketing to data analytics, network administration, and much more. There are courses for every level – from beginner to advanced. To get started, take up the “Network Essentials” – a course that will teach you the skills and knowledge to configure, manage, troubleshoot, and protect data networks. And with the “Complete Networking Fundamentals Course,” you will learn different networking aspects, such as how to create LANs, switches, routers, and hubs.
Linux Networking and Administration
This advanced course is offered by Linux Foundation. It is created for IT professionals and system administrators who want to become familiar with Linux networking services and configuration, as well as performance and security. You will learn how to design, build, maintain, and deploy a network under Linux and how to administer the network services.
Bits and Bytes of Computer Networking
This course offered by Google is available on Coursera and is perfect for beginners. It will teach you the basics of networking, DNS, TCP/IP communication, DHCP, and more. When you are already familiar with the fundamentals, you can continue with Networking in Google Cloud – another course by Google, exploring topics like network interconnection, design patterns, and technologies like Terraform.
Computer Networking
This course is provided by Georgia Tech and is available on Udacity for free. It will cover advanced topics such as content distribution, SDN, and Datacenter networking. The course consists of three parts with brainstorming exercises and interactive quizzes.
SkillShare
On SkillShare, you will find several courses that will help you advance in network administration. You can partake in IP addressing and subnetting, which is perfect for beginners, or choose others like Cisco CCNA 200-301 guide or Zabbix 5 applications and network monitoring. The courses include detailed lectures, complete instructions for lab setup and recommendations, and numerous practice questions.
Network and Security Foundations
Network and Security Foundations by WGUx is available on edX and will introduce you to computer networks’ different components. It includes topologies, network classifications, physical devices, and layered abstractions. The course will also guide you through all the basic security concepts, procedures, and policies, network vulnerabilities, and mitigation techniques. The best part is that the course is completely free – you only pay a small fee if you need a certificate.
Lynda
Lynda’s Network administration course will help you learn how to install and organize a network, configure switches and routers, master the concepts, and troubleshoot the router. The course includes 31 hours of video tutorials by experts that cover topics such as networking basics, network media for LAN and WAN, IP addressing, CLI tools and protocols, and troubleshooting, subnetting, and more.
