System Administration

Basics
 What system admin do
What exactly does a System Administrator do?
no precise job description
often learned by experience
makes things run
work behind the scenes
often known as Operator, Network
Administrator, System Programmer, System
Manager, Service Engineer, Site Reliability
Engineer etc.
system administrator : one who, as a primary
 ???system
A group of interacting, interrelated, or
interdependent elements that together form a
complex whole.
In the context of this class, we generally
consider computer-human systems consisting of
the computer(s)
the network
the user(s)
the organizations goals and policies
 .and Administration?
Merriam Webster:
to administer, to manage or supervise the
execution, use, or conduct of
System Administration frequently also includes
other tasks such as
system design and architecture
reliability studies
resource management
system fault diagnosis
...
 How to become SysAdmin
System Administration is a profession with no
fixed career path.
few degree granting programs
heavy reliance on practical experience
specializations in many different areas possible
breadth of expertise as necessary as depth in
some areas
background knowledge and requirements vary
 What should you know????
Breadth of knowledge:
operating system concepts
TCP/IP networking
programming
...
Depth of knowledge:
certain OS flavor
specific service (DNS, E-Mail, Databases,
Content-Delivery, ...)
specific implementation/vendor (Oracle,
 Pillars of system administration
Scalability
Security
simplicity
Which OS??
UNIX Philosophy
Do one thing and do it well.
UNIX Basics
 Unix basics
The OS is divided into
kernel
shell
tools & applications
Basic UNIX features:
multitasking
multiuser
portability
networking capabilities
 Unix Basic
These features necessitate/result in:
multi-user concepts
user privileges
file permissions
process ownership and priorities
communication with users
disk quotas
superuser account
unrestricted access for superuser
requires strong authentication
security considerations
What is network/system
administration?
system administration is a branch of
engineering that concerns the operational
management of human-computer systems.
Its about hardware,software,user-
support,diagnosis,repair and prevention.
System administrators need to know a bit of
everything: the skills are technical,
administrative and socio-psychological.
The human role in systems
System administration is a balancing act- it
requires patience,understanding,knowledge and
experience.
Working with a limited resourses,be incentive
in crisis, know the way computers works.
Need to recognize answer are not always
written down for us to copy.
Must be ready for the unexpected, resigned to
the uncertain and need able to plan for the
future.
Cont
Installing an OS(window,Dos,GNU/Linux)
does not mean we know a lot about system
administration,-it is the beginning .
Today no computer examined in isolation
from the network.
Networking = cooperation + sharing with
many user.
Goals of system administration
System administration is
Putting together a network of
computer(workstations,pcs,supercomput er)
Getting them running
Keeping them running in spite of the activities
of users who tend to cause the system to fail.
System administrator works for the users
System administrator should not furnish for the
benefit of selfish but for the benefit of a whole
community.
 The goals of a System
Administrator
The person who is responsible for setting up and maintaining
the system is called as the system administrator.
Supervise system functionality. Every system must work and be
connected to the network.
Create backups on media, better if automatic backup.
Create and install desktop and servers.
Create users and assign to them customizable Graphical
User Interface.
Update systems for the maximum performance
Share system resources for the maximum network flow
share disks between heterogenous systems in the better
position
share printers to save superflous investment.
System administrator is responsible for
User administration (setup and maintaining account)
Maintaining system
Verify that peripherals are working properly
Quickly arrange repair for hardware in occasion of
hardware failure
Monitor system performance
Create file systems
Install software
Create a backup and recovery policy
Monitor network communication
Update system as soon as new version of OS and
application software comes out
Implement the policies for the use of the
computer system and network
Setup security policies for users. A sysadmin must
have a strong grasp of computer security (e.g.
firewalls and intrusion detection systems).
Most important skill to a system
administrator
Knowledge of common protocols like SMTP, SFTP, FTP,
HTTP, DNS,
Ability to communicate problems and solutions both
verbally and in writing to customers and management.
Ability to work independently and troubleshoot
problems with speed and efficiency.
Ability to work closely with others in a small team
environment.
 Goals of Network management
Fault management is the detection of problems and faults on the
network. Such faults should be properly logged, and if appropriate an
alarm should be raised. This area is responsible for proper problem
identification, determining the cause of the fault and ensuring the proper
resolution of the problem. Management software operating in this area
may attempt to correct faults on its own.
configuration management is to keep track of the network's
configuration, both hardware and software. This area includes keeping
track of what computers and networking infrastructure are on a network,
and how they are interconnected. In addition, configuration
management includes following what software versions each device is
running, as well as the software configuration of each device.
Security management : incorporates all aspects of authentication and
access control, from the definition of access policies to the enforcing of
those policies. Exception reports can be generated for events that fall out
of the scope of the defined policies, and these reports can be used to
alert administrators of the policy violation.
performance management : looks at the current and expected
performance of the network. Elements of network performance that may
be monitored include availability, response time, error rate, throughput
and utilization.
Accounting management : covers two broad areas;asset control and cost
management. Asset control refers to knowing what computers are on the
network, who they belong to, who is using them, and perhaps where they
are located. The second area, cost management, looks at what the costs
of providing network services are and how they are paid for.
 Philosophy
Practice to be cultivated include:
Independency or self sufficiency .
Systematic and tidy(methodological) practice.
An altruistic view of inevitable errors with a determination to gain
firmer control of the system.
Practice to be avoided include:
Belief that there exist right answer to every problem.
Getting fraught and upset when things do not work as expected.
Expecting that every problem has beginning, middle and an
end(some problems are chronic and cannot be solved without
impractical restructuring)
 Cont
Other to be encouraged
Looking for answer in manual and newsgroups
Using controlled trial and error to locate problems
Listening the problem carefully
Writing down experience in A Z : help to solve the same
problem in future.
Taking responsibility for our actions (be prepared for
accidents).
Remembering the tedious job like vacuum cleaning(may be
once a year).
After learning something new, always pose the question: like
how does this apply for me ?
Challenges of system
administration
System admin is not just about installing OS ,but
Designing logical and efficient network.
Deploying large number of machines.
Deciding what services are needed.
Planning and implementing adequate security.
Developing ways of fixing errors and problems.
Providing comfortable environment for users.
Keeping track and understanding how to use the enormous
amount of increasing in knowledge.
Information source for sysadms
Printed manuals
www
RFC
Newsgroups and discussions
Papers from SAGE/usenix LISA conference
and etc
Certification
Microsoft certification
MCSE Microsoft certified system engineer
MCSA - Microsoft certified system Administrator
Red hat certification(RHCE/RHCT/RHCA/RHSS)
Solaris certification
 OSI Management
Functional Areas
F C A P S
Fault Management
Configuration & Name Management
Account Management
Performance Management
Security Management