Effective Network Monitoring and Management: A Hands-On Approach

16 Sept 2025, 09:00 → 17 Sept 2025, 15:00 Africa/Mogadishu

Online

Mohamed Bile (CTO, SomaliREN)

This two-day intensive training is designed for ICT professionals, system administrators, and network engineers who want to strengthen their skills in monitoring, managing, and securing IT infrastructure. Through a blend of theory and hands-on labs, participants will gain the practical knowledge needed to manage modern networks effectively using open-source tools

 Day 1: Linux Fundamentals

 On Day 1, you’ll gain a strong foundation in Linux by learning how to interact with the system, manage files, and understand the core concepts that every Linux user needs.

          By the end of today’s session, you will be able to:

• Understand the history of Unix/Linux and why Linux is so widely used.
• Navigate the Linux system using the command-line interface (CLI).
• Create, edit, copy, move, and delete files and directories.
• Use editors like nano and vi/vim to work with text files.
• Understand and manage file permissions, users, and groups.
• Monitor and control processes and services.
• Install and remove software using package managers.
• Perform basic networking tasks such as checking IP addresses and testing connectivity. 

Day 2: Practical Network Monitoring with Zabbix and NetBox

Building on the Linux fundamentals, Day 2 focuses on deploying and managing two powerful open-source tools:

• Zabbix: A leading monitoring solution for performance, availability, and security. Participants will learn how to install, configure, and manage Zabbix to monitor servers, switches, routers, and applications in real-time.
• NetBox: A modern network source of truth for managing IP address space, devices, racks, and interconnections. Attendees will work through practical exercises to document, track, and visualize their networks with NetBox.

Key Outcomes

By the end of the training, participants will:

Understand how Linux powers network monitoring platforms.

• Gain hands-on experience in installing, configuring, and troubleshooting Zabbix and NetBox.
• Learn how to create a structured, proactive network monitoring and management strategy.
• Build confidence in applying these tools directly to their organizational or academic environments.

 

This program emphasizes learning by doing, ensuring that participants walk away with not only theoretical knowledge but also practical skills that can be applied immediately in their professional contexts.
 

Tuesday, 16 September

09:00 → 09:05 Welcome & Introduction

• Brief overview of training goals and outcomes
• What participants will learn today

Speaker: Mohamed Bile (CTO, SomaliREN)

09:05 → 09:20 History & Basics of Linux

• Origins of Unix and Linux
• What is a kernel vs. an operating system
• Linux distributions (Ubuntu, CentOS, Fedora, etc.)
• Where Linux is used today

09:20 → 10:00 Navigating the Command Line

• Introduction to the CLI (terminal, shell, bash)
• Basic commands: pwd, ls, cd, man, help
• Understanding the Linux filesystem hierarchy

10:00 → 10:40 Managing Files & Directories

• Creating files: touch, nano, vi/vim
• Creating directories: mkdir
• Copying & moving: cp, mv
• Renaming files/directories
• Viewing files: cat, less, head, tail
• Deleting files/directories: rm, rmdir
• Hands-on practice: create a directory structure and manipulate files inside it

10:40 → 11:20 File Permissions & Ownership

• Understanding permissions: rwx, users, groups, others
• Viewing permissions: ls -l
• Changing permissions: chmod
• Changing ownership: chown, chgrp

11:20 → 11:40 Users & Groups

• Adding & removing users: useradd, userdel
• Managing groups: groupadd, usermod -aG
• Switching users: su, sudo

11:40 → 12:00 Processes & Services

• Viewing processes: ps, top, htop
• Stopping processes: kill, killall
• Starting and stopping services with systemctl

12:00 → 12:10 Package Management Basics

• Using package managers (apt or yum)
• Installing, updating, removing software
• Checking for installed packages

12:10 → 12:20 Basic Networking in Linux

• Checking IP & interfaces: ifconfig, ip addr
• Testing connectivity: ping, curl, wget
• Editing network configs (brief overview)

12:20 → 12:30 Wrap-up & Q/A

• Recap of key commands learned
• Best practices for practicing Linux basics

12:35 → 13:35 Prayer and Lunch break

13:35 → 15:00 Practice

Wednesday, 17 September

09:00 → 09:05 Introduction

• Brief overview of training goals and outcomes
• What participants will learn today

09:10 → 09:35 Basic Lab Setup

•Import VMs,
•Assign IPs,
•Enable SSH,
•Update all systems

09:30 → 09:50 Syslog Server Setup

•Edit rsyslog config,
•Enable TCP,
•Add template

09:50 → 10:15 Syslog Client Setup

•Configure client,
•Add syslog IP
•Test with logger
•Verify logs sample create user, or run command without admin

10:15 → 11:00 Zabbix Server Setup

•Visit Zabbix site to download
•Check Zabbix server name (lsb_release -a)
•Choose Zabbix OS Version and database with web server mode (Appache or Ngnix)
•Become root (sudo -i, or sudo -s)
•Install Zabbix repository
•Install Zabbix Server frontend, or agent
•Create Zabbix database
•Configure Zabbix database for Zabbix server
•Restart the Zabbix services
•Access Zabbix URL
•Provide Interface Intro key points (Dashboard, Monitoring, Data Collection)

11:00 → 11:25 Add Syslog to Zabbix (SNMP)

•Install SNMP
•Configure snmpd
•Restart snmp services
•Take rsyslog ip and add to zabbix
•Check SNMP activities enabled

11:25 → 11:55 Zabbix + Discord Integration

•Create Discord webhook
•Enable discord in Zabbix (media)
•Allow Zabbix to send discord alerts add web hook
•Set macros, test alerts
•Test receiving alerts into discord

11:55 → 12:15 NetBox Overview (IPAM)

•Explain what NetBox is.
•Purpose of IPAM.
•How it manages devices and IP addresses.

12:15 → 12:30 Wrap-up & Q&A

•Open discussion

12:30 → 13:35 Prayers and Tea Break

13:35 → 15:00 Practice