Chapter 1 - System Administrator & Management Practices

Page 1:

  • Book information:

    • Title: The Practice of System and Network Administration

    • Authors: Thomas A. Limoncelli, Christina J. Hogan, Strata R. Chalup

    • Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional

    • Year: 2016

    • ISBN: 9780133415100

Page 2:

  • Chapter 1 objectives:

    • Role of System Administrator (SA) in an organization

    • Ethical responsibilities of SAs and privileged users

    • Considerations for building the SA team

    • Communication and negotiation skills required

    • Course code: ITT 420

Page 3:

  • Chapter 1 outline:

    • Roles of a System Administrator

    • Ethics

    • Organizational Structures

    • Perception and Visibility

    • Time Management

    • Communication and Negotiation

    • Motivation

    • Course code: ITT 420

Page 4:

  • The many roles of a sys admin:

    • Small companies require people to fill multiple roles

    • Larger companies require specialization

    • Mega-corporations have highly specialized roles

    • Roles of a sys admin:

      • Positive Role

      • Negative Role

      • Team Role

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  • Positive Role of a sys admin:

    • Installer: Trained on specific situations, can call for help

    • Repair Person: Brings the company back to life during technological problems

    • Maintainer: Brings stability to the environment

    • Problem Preventer: Does planning and preventive maintenance to avoid problems

    • Hero: Solves critical issues

    • Infrastructure Builder: Builds and maintains corporate network infrastructure

    • Policy Writer: Creates IT policies

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  • Negative Role of a sys admin:

    • Bleeding Edger: Unleashes new technology before it's ready

    • Technology Staller: Resists using new technology

    • SA Who Cried Wolf: Worries about unlikely risks

    • Cowboy: Rushes into fixing systems without planning

    • Slave, Scapegoat, or Janitor: Expected to do tasks without question

Page 7:

  • Team Role of a sys admin:

    • End-to-end Expert: Solves complex problems across different areas

    • Outsider: Brings fresh viewpoints

    • Level-focused Person: Understands all levels, including management

    • Martyr: Feels overworked

    • Doers of Repetitive Tasks: Takes on repetitive tasks for training

    • Course code: ITT 420

Page 8:

  • Ethics as a sys admin:

    • Principles of conduct that govern a group of people

    • Different from morals

    • Ethics policies for network use:

      • Policies for all users

      • Policies for privileged users (SAs, database administrators)

    • Legislation mandating ethical policies and controls (e.g., Sarbanes-Oxley Act)

    • Course code: ITT 420

Page 9:

  • Informed Consent:

    • Principle from medical ethics applied to SA tasks

    • People should understand the rules they operate under

    • Consent to changes, especially in extraordinary situations

    • Course code: ITT 420

Page 10:

  • EUICS Code of Ethasissem Administrators' Code of Ethics:

    • Commitment to ethical and professional conduct

    • Professionalism, Education, Personal Integrity, Responsibility to Computing Community, Social Responsibility, Privacy, Ethical Responsibility, Laws and Policies, Communication, System Integrity

    • Course code: ITT 420

Page 11:

  • Customer Usage Guidelines:

    • Organizations need guidelines for acceptable computer use

    • Agreements like Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) or User Code of Conduct (UCC)

    • Monitoring may occur as part of network management

    • AUP/UCC should define and forbid threatening or harassing communications

    • Course code: ITT 420

Page 12:

  • Privileged-Access Code of Conduct:

    • Some users need privileged access for their jobs

    • Responsibility to use access properly

    • Use privileges solely for necessary work-related tasks

    • Acknowledge mistakes and minimize damage

    • Penalties for policy violations

    • Course code: ITT 420

Page 13:

  • Copyright Adherence:

    • Policies stating adherence to copyright laws

    • Clear policies using plain language

    • Bar employees from installing unauthorized software

    • Course code: ITT 420

Page 14:

  • Working with Law Enforcement:

    • Policy on working with law enforcement agencies

    • Comply with legal responsibilities while protecting privacy

    • Verify identity of law enforcement personnel

    • Course code: ITT 420

Page 15: Setting Expectations on Privacy and Monitoring

  • Establishing a policy on privacy and monitoring is a fundamental ethical issue.

  • Employees should be required to sign a statement acknowledging that they have read the privacy and monitoring guidelines.

  • Uninformed employees about privacy policies can be dangerous for business reasons.

  • In the financial community, email is regularly monitored for SEC violations.

Page 16: Being Told to Do Something Illegal/Unethical

  • Maintain a record of events when being told to do something illegal or unethical.

  • Verify the request and check if it's illegal or against company policy.

  • Seek advice from an ombudsperson or someone confidentially.

  • Politely assert yourself and reject the request if it goes against policy.

Page 17: Observing Illegal Activity

  • It is an SA's responsibility to report illegal behavior observed within the organization.

  • Reporting such activity is called being a whistleblower.

Page 18: Organizational Structures

  • The structure of an SA team is crucial for its success or failure.

  • The ideal SA team provides the right level of service at the lowest possible cost.

Page 19: Sizing

  • Determining the correct size for an SA team is challenging.

  • A team that is too small will result in unreliable infrastructure and poor customer service.

  • A team that is too large will incur unnecessary costs and hinder communication among SAs.

  • Gather real data and define SLAs with customers to appropriately size the SA team.

Page 20: Funding Models

  • The SA function is often understaffed because it is seen as a cost center rather than a profit center.

  • Decentralized and centralized funding models exist.

  • Decentralized model provides customized service to individual departments.

  • Centralized model controls costs and eliminates redundancy.

Page 21: Management Chain's Influence

  • The management chain can influence how the system administration organization is run.

  • Reporting through the CTO or engineering organization generally results in better funding.

  • Reporting through the COO or CFO means less funding for the system administration function.

Page 22: Infrastructure Teams

  • An infrastructure team is responsible for centralized services such as authentication, printing, email, etc.

  • Poorly designed or managed network architecture increases SA workload and customer dissatisfaction.

  • The infrastructure team should be cohesive, even if spread over multiple locations.

Page 23: Customer Support

  • Customer support works best in a distributed model.

  • Customers prefer to have a relationship with their local SA.

  • Customers become familiar with their SA's way of working and communication style.

Page 24: Outsourcing

  • Companies may outsource system administration if it's not a key part of their business.

  • Outsourcing can be expensive for companies relying on highly available computer systems.

  • Security is a sensitive subject in outsourcing, with many companies outsourcing their Internet presence.

Page 25: Sample Organizational Structures

  • Small companies have one or two SAs covering all bases.

  • Medium-size companies have specialized SAs and a dedicated helpdesk team.

  • Large companies have highly specialized SAs, helpdesk, and regional SA organizations.

  • E-commerce sites require separate SA teams for Internet presence and corporate systems.

Page 26: Sample Organizational Structures (cont..)

  • Universities and nonprofit organizations have limited budgets and centralize as much as possible.

  • Strong leadership and good service from the central SA team are crucial.

Page 28: Perception and Visibility

  • Perception is how people see the SA, while visibility is how much people see of the SA.

  • Technical skills alone do not guarantee positive perception and visibility.

Page 29: Perception

  • Customers perceive efficiency based on how soon their requests are completed.

  • A good first impression is key to achieving positive perception.

  • Attitude and aligning priorities with customer expectations are important.

Page 30: A Good First Impression

  • Making a good first impression is important with customers.

  • Being on time, polite, friendly, and attentive to appearance is crucial.

  • Staying calm in disagreements and providing proper orientation for new hires.

Page 31: Attitude, Perception, and Customers

  • Disrespect for customers is a common attitude problem among SAs.

  • Frustration and negative assumptions about customers can lead to trouble.

  • Creating opportunities to interact with customers can improve perception.

Page 32: The System Advocate

  • The SA should proactively solve customer problems and advocate for their needs.

  • Automation and efficient handling of situations are important.

Page 33: Visibility

  • SAs are often noticed only when something breaks, leading to the perception that they are not needed.

  • Boosting visibility can be achieved through management meetings and educating managers about infrastructure changes.

Page 34: Visibility (cont..)

  • Physical visibility and office location can impact perception and visibility.

  • Town hall meetings, newsletters, and communication with customers can improve visibility.

Page 35: Time Management

  • Time management is crucial for SAs to make the most of limited time.

  • Helpful techniques and planning can increase productivity without working more hours.

Note

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  • Interruptions can prevent you from working on high-priority goals

    • Responding to requests based on other people's priorities

  • Prevent interruptions by setting boundaries and communicating when you don't want to be interrupted

  • Advertise policies such as opening a ticket instead of coming to your desk

Page 37

  • Messy desks and distractions make it difficult to focus

  • Email can be a major interruption

  • Split your day between project time and customer-focused time to manage interruptions

Page 38

  • Follow-through means completing what you committed to do

  • Being organized helps ensure good follow-through

  • Use an organizer to remind yourself of regular events

Page 39

  • Making decisions once is more efficient than making them repeatedly

  • Retain decisions and avoid reevaluating them

  • Example mantras for precompiling decisions

Page 40

  • Eliminate rather than automate to find free time

  • Stop reading social media and remove yourself from busy mailing lists

  • Filter email and invest in training workshops and books

  • Set priorities with key customers

Page 41

  • Dealing with ineffective people

    • First, try to coach them

    • Second, work with their management

    • Third, make sure you are the highest priority interrupt

  • Dealing with slow bureaucrats

    • Befriend them

    • Get escalated to managers who can streamline processes

Page 42

  • Technical issues are often communication issues

  • SAs need good negotiation skills for dealing with vendors, customers, and superiors

Page 43

  • Communication problems fall into four categories

    • My problems

    • Your problems

    • Our problems

    • Other people's problems

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  • Negotiation skills for SAs

    • Recognize when you are in a negotiating situation

    • Communicate the situation to your team

  • Format of an effective negotiation meeting

  • Work towards a win-win outcome

  • Planning, knowing the competition, and remembering the win-win goal

Page 45

  • Motivation as an SA

  • Money is a short-term motivator

  • Some people are motivated by the good feeling of helping others

  • Accept compliments and maintain positive self-esteem

  • Maintain an "accomplishment wall" for positive feedback

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  • End