Frequent Question: Should Network Engineers Learn Linux?

With most network operating systems based on Linux and the number of Linux-based projects like OpenStack growing, Linux skills are a requirement for networking pros. … First off, it’s becoming more and more apparent that most network operating systems are based on some variation of Linux.

Is Linux used in networking?

Linux has long been the basis of commercial networking devices, but now it’s a mainstay of enterprise infrastructure. Linux is a tried-and-true, open-source operating system released in 1991 for computers, but its use has expanded to underpin systems for cars, phones, web servers and, more recently, networking gear.

Should network engineers learn programming?

For example, network engineers don’t need to become proficient in learning programming languages such as C++ or Java to build applications. More to the point, one could argue network engineers need to learn coding skills to interact with infrastructure related APIs using scripting languages like Python and Ansible.