See this page as a slide show
CT320 Introduction
Based on slides by Chris Wilcox
which were based on slides from Dr. James Walden at Northern Kentucky
University
Order
- The class is CT320, Network and System Administration
- That implies that we will teach networking first, and system adminstration second.
- In fact, we’ll do sys admin first.
- It’s difficult to demonstrate networking stuff if you haven’t
installed an operating system.
Introduction
- SysAdmin Essential Duties
- SysAdmin Useful Skills
- Principles of System Administration
- References and Resources
- Curriculum for this Course
Simplistic View
- Add and remove users
- Add and remove hardware
- Perform backups
- Install new software systems
- Troubleshooting
- Performance tuning
- Auditing security
- Helping users
Essential Duties
- Hardware Management
- Procurement, Deployment, Troubleshooting, Upgrading
- Software Management
- Procurement, Installation, Troubleshooting, Upgrading
- Account Management
- Users, Passwords, Access, Quotas
- Data Integrity
- Backups, Security, Cleanup, Database Management
- Network Communications
- Web Servers, Email, Network Security
Essential Duties
- Troubleshooting
- Problem Reproduction, Debugging, Making Fixes
- System Monitoring
- Load Monitoring, Load Balancing, Provisioning
- Providing Documentation
- Documenting Processes, Training
- Strategic Planning
- Migration Planning, Provisioning, Purchasing
- Data Centers
- Site Management, Power, Cooling, Operations
Useful Skills
- System Expertise
- System Commands, System Tools, Utilities, Installation
- Market Awareness
- Hardware, Software, Peripherals, Networking
- Script Programming
- Shell scripts, Scripting Languages (Perl, Python)
- Heterogeneous Environments
- Windows, Linux, Macintosh Interactions
- Database Expertise
- Database Setup, Maintenance, Archiving
And a few more necessary skills!
- Management Skills
- Personnel Management, Vendor Negotiations, Budgeting
- Regulatory Compliance
- Safety, Standards, Legal Issues
- Green IT
- Energy Optimization, Server Virtualization, Demand Driven
- Programming Skills?
- Generally not Software Developers
Requires a certain personality!
Site Classification
- Small
- 2–10 computers, 1 OS, 2–20 users, often managed by a single
administrator
- Midsized
- 11–100 computers, 1–3 OSes, 21–100 users, often managed by
multiple administrators
- Large
- 100+ computers, multiples OSes, 100+ users , often managed
by hierarchy of administrators
SAGE
- One day, long ago, a USENIX group called
System Administrators Guild was born.
- In 2003, it was renamed to SAGE.
- In 2010, it was renamed to LISA (Large Installation System Administration).
- In 2016, it was retired.
- Still, they had some good stuff, so we’ll use it, below.
SAGE Code of Ethics
- Professionalism
- I will maintain professional conduct in the workplace, and will not
allow personal feelings or beliefs to cause me to treat people
unfairly or unprofessionally.
- Personal Integrity
- I will be honest in my professional dealings, and forthcoming about
my competence and the impact of my mistakes. I will seek assistance
from others when required.
- I will avoid conflicts of interest and biases whenever possible. When
my advice is sought, if I have a conflict of interest or bias, I will
declare it if appropriate, and recuse myself if necessary.
SAGE Code of Ethics
- Privacy
- I will access private information on computer systems only when it is
necessary in the course of my technical duties. I will maintain and
protect the confidentiality of any information to which I may have
access regardless of the method by which I came into knowledge of it.
- Laws and Policies
- I will educate myself and others on relevant laws, regulations
and policies regarding the performance of my duties.
SAGE Code of Ethics
- Communication
- I will communicate with management, users and colleagues about
computer matters of mutual interest. I will strive to listen to and
understand the needs of all parties.
- System Integrity
- I will strive to ensure the necessary integrity, reliability,
and availability of the systems for which I am responsible.
- I will design and maintain each system in a manner to
support the purpose of the system to the organization.
SAGE Code of Ethics
- Education
- I will continue to update and enhance my technical knowledge and
other work-related skills. I will share my knowledge and experience
with others.
- Responsibility to Computing Community
- I will cooperate with the larger computing community to maintain the
integrity of network and computing resources.
- Social Responsibility
- As an informed professional, I will encourage the writing and
adoption of relevant policies and laws consistent with these ethical
principles.
SAGE Code of Ethics
- Ethical Responsibility
- I will strive to build and maintain a safe, healthy, and productive
workplace.
- I will do my best to make decisions consistent with the safety,
privacy, and well-being of my community and the public, and to
disclose promptly factors that might pose unexamined risks or
dangers.
- I will accept and offer honest criticism of technical work as
appropriate and will credit properly the contributions of others.
- I will lead by example, maintaining a high ethical standard and
degree of professionalism in the performance of all my duties. I will
support colleagues and co-workers in following this code of ethics.
Principles
- Policy: provides a foundation for behavior
- Predictability: goal is to avoid the unexpected
- Scalability: supports migration and growth
- Uniformity: increases predictability, decreases costs
- Variety: decreases risk, increases costs
- Specialization: delegation to experts, more efficient
- Minimum Privilege: do not work as root!
