The Geek 100 Pt. 2: Sysadmin and Network Skills

See the whole series: The Geek 100

This is a list of 100 basic things and skills every geek should have. I've broken this series up into five parts. Let's face it: a list of 100 things would be tedious to wade through. Over the rest of the week, look for twenty more skills to show up daily. The skills assume you have done it in the past and can remember how to do it right now (or, like a good Geek, you've jotted it down in one of your notebooks). Having it in your personal notebook is okay. Scrambling to the Internet means you don't have the skill. Yet...

This one is for all your Information Technology geeks, although it's a bit UNIX biased.

Systems Administration. All geeks should be able to:

1. Compile a kernel
2. Set up a file/print server that works across most operating systems
3. Set up RAID on a server
   
4. Set up an AMP server
5. Set up an Internet mail server that won't get RBL'd
   
6. Set up an RDBMS
7. Use a Logical Volume Manager
8. Use find with xargs
9. Use sed and awk effectively
10. Use sysctl
    

Networking. No, not Social Networking. All geeks should be able to:

1. Explain the difference between PAT, NAT and a DMZ
2. Flash new firmware to routers and switches
3. Make an ethernet crossover cable
4. Run cable through walls without tearing them up
5. Set up port security on a network switch
6. Terminate a fiber optic cable by hand
7. Terminate a punch-down patch panel
8. Terminate category 5 cable with RJ-45 plugs
9. Trace cables
10. Use a network sniffer or protocol analyzer

See the whole series: The Geek 100