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Network management and troubleshooting require not only a grasp of advanced concepts but also the development of analytical and problem-solving skills. To bridge this gap, this paper introduces a novel network administration system, DRACSC (Spanish acronym for device for automatic recovery and configuration of communication systems), designed for the automatic configuration and disaster recovery of communication equipment. This system transcends the limitations of current hardware and software solutions by combining their advantages, boasting portability, automated functions, and a cloud-based repository as its main features. The DRACSC system, undergoing a comprehensive large-scale evaluation involving diverse user groups across multiple institutions, was tested with 89 users, including students and teachers at educational centers and ICT (Information and Communication Technology) professionals. The benefits of the system were evaluated through a training program based on simulated real-world ICT environments, focusing on both quantitative results on the reduction in time to complete user tasks, as well as qualitative results on the interface and usability of the system. Statistical analysis, including Welch’s t-test on opinion surveys, indicated a significant increase in knowledge and understanding, demonstrating the system’s potential to enhance education and practice. Moreover, the evaluation shed light on the user experience, with positive impacts observed for learning and teaching implications. As a result, the study has verified that the system has the potential to significantly influence network management practices, enhancing both learning and professional application through improved efficiency and usability. Full article

Virtual private network (VPN) represents an HW/SW infrastructure that implements private and confidential communication channels that usually travel through the Internet. VPN is currently one of the most reliable technologies to achieve this goal, also because being a consolidated technology, it is possible to apply appropriate patches to remedy any security holes. In this paper we analyze the performances of open source firmware OpenWrt 21.x compared with a server-side operating system (Debian 11 x64) and Mikrotik 7.x, also virtualized, and different types of clients (Windows 10/11, iOS 15, Android 11, OpenWrt 21.x, Debian 11 x64 and Mikrotik 7.x), observing the performance of the network according to the current implementation of the various protocols and algorithms of VPN tunnel examined on what are the most recent HW and SW for deployment in outdoor locations with poor network connectivity. Specifically, operating systems provide different performance metric values for various combinations of configuration variables. The first pursued goal is to find the algorithms to guarantee a data transmission/encryption ratio as efficiently as possible. The second goal is to research the algorithms capable of guaranteeing the widest spectrum of compatibility with the current infrastructures that support VPN technology, to obtain a connection system secure for geographically scattered IoT networks spread over difficult-to-manage areas such as suburban or rural environments. The third goal is to be able to use open firmware on constrained routers that provide compatibility with different VPN protocols. Full article