Network administrator is a modern profession responsible for the maintenance of computer hardware and software that comprises a computer network. This normally includes the deployment, configuration, maintenance and monitoring of active network equipment. A related role is that of the network specialist, or network analyst, who concentrate on network design and security.

The Network Administrator is usually the highest level of technical/network staff in an organization and will rarely be involved with direct user support. The Network Administrator will concentrate on the overall health of the network, server deployment, security, ensuring network connectivity throughout a company's LAN/WAN infrastructure, and all other technical considerations at the network level of an organizations technical hierarchy. Network Administrators are considered Tier 3 support personnel that only work on break/fix issues that could not be resolved at the Tier1 (helpdesk) or Tier 2 (desktop/network technician) levels.

Depending on the company, the Network Administrator may also design and deploy networks. However, these tasks may be assigned to a Network Engineer should one be available to the company.

The actual role of the Network Administrator will vary from company to company, but will commonly include activities and tasks such as network address assignment, assignment of routing protocols and routing table configuration as well as configuration of authentication and authorization – directory services. It often includes maintenance of network facilities in individual machines, such as drivers and settings of personal computers as well as printers and such. It sometimes also includes maintenance of certain network servers: file servers, VPN gateways, intrusion detection systems, etc.

Network specialists and analysts concentrate on the network design and security, particularly troubleshooting and/or debugging network-related problems. Their work can also include the maintenance of the network's authorization infrastructure, as well as network backup systems.

The administrator is responsible for the security of the network and for assigning IP addresses to the devices connected to the networks. Assigning IP addresses gives the subnet administrator some control over the professional who connects to the subnet. It also helps to ensure that the administrator knows each system that is connected and who personally is responsible for the system.

References

• Service Management Functions - Network Administration 1
• TCP/IP Network Administration by Craig Hunt 2