Data center administrator vs lan administrator

The differences between data center administrators and lan administrators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a data center administrator and a lan administrator. Additionally, a lan administrator has an average salary of $60,942, which is higher than the $49,854 average annual salary of a data center administrator.

The top three skills for a data center administrator include customer service, linux and vmware. The most important skills for a lan administrator are windows server, network hardware, and desktop support.

Data center administrator vs lan administrator overview

	Data Center Administrator	LAN Administrator
Yearly salary	$49,854	$60,942
Hourly rate	$23.97	$29.30
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	172,212	92,931
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 49%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	2	2

What does a data center administrator do?

A data center administrator is in charge of overseeing the daily operations of an organization's data center. Their job focuses on maintaining and updating data storage systems, managing hardware and software, implementing data protection and recovery plans, performing installations and repairs, and providing technical support to staff as needed. They also conduct research and analyses to establish the ideal practices and center layouts, escalating complex issues to the assigned department, maintaining records, and conducting assessments and evaluations to ensure procedures adhere to company standards and project timelines.

What does a lan administrator do?

LAN administrators are responsible for maintaining the local area network of an organization. These administrators manage the server that connects an organization's network to computers and equipment that need them. They install, configure, and troubleshoot the local area network or LAN in a corporate office. It is part of their job to ensure that the internet is available for everyone who uses computers to perform their roles. They also evaluate and recommend the computers, hardware and software, and the equipment needed to create a hack-proof server.

Data center administrator vs lan administrator salary

Data center administrators and lan administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Data Center Administrator	LAN Administrator
Average salary	$49,854	$60,942
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $89,000	Between $42,000 And $86,000
Highest paying City	Palo Alto, CA	Sunnyvale, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	NETSCOUT	CashEdge
Best paying industry	Technology	Technology

Differences between data center administrator and lan administrator education

There are a few differences between a data center administrator and a lan administrator in terms of educational background:

	Data Center Administrator	LAN Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 49%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common major	Computer Science	Computer Science
Most common college	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Stanford University

Data center administrator vs lan administrator demographics

Here are the differences between data center administrators' and lan administrators' demographics:

	Data Center Administrator	LAN Administrator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 82.6% Female, 17.4%	Male, 84.2% Female, 15.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 13.0% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 8.9% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 9.3% White, 63.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between data center administrator and lan administrator duties and responsibilities

Data center administrator example responsibilities.

Manage Cisco UCS systems that host the organization's VMware environment running critical clinical applications.
Work with USAMITC to manage DNS and with DISA tiger team to manage mail.mil email system.
Manage integrated network connectivity, reporting, and troubleshooting including switch, router, and firewall connectivity to increase system stability.
Work with SQL database developer to create the VMware view database and importing require tables.
Move content to new SQL server.
Use of EMC centera base file archival management system.

Lan administrator example responsibilities.

Work with VMware servers with respect to managing user's home directories, share directories, and print queues.
Manage the storage infrastructure for virtualization, high availability systems and data consolidation.
Work within a DHCP and DNS environment, setting up DNS clients and configuring PC's for DHCP.
Configure TCP/IP manually and automatically using DHCP.
Configure and test client workstations to utilize VPN access using secure token identification.
Increase productivity and minimize downtime by supporting all company software, operating systems, workstations, charting/drawing, and network connectivity.

Data center administrator vs lan administrator skills

Common data center administrator skills

Customer Service, 7%
Linux, 6%
VMware, 5%
Vmware Esxi, 5%
Windows Server, 5%
HVAC, 4%

Common lan administrator skills

Windows Server, 10%
Network Hardware, 7%
Desktop Support, 6%
Troubleshoot, 6%
Lan, 4%
Switches, 4%

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Data Center Administrator vs LAN Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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