The Practice of System and Network Administration, Second Edition

1364 Pages·2007·8.49 MB·English

by  Tom Limoncelli

The Practice of System and Network
Administration, Second Edition

Thomas A. Limoncelli
Christina J. Hogan
Strata R. Chalup

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Limoncelli, Tom.
The practice of system and network administration / Thomas A. Limoncelli,
Christina J.
Hogan, Strata R. Chalup.—2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-321-49266-1 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Computer networks—Management. 2. Computer systems.
I. Hogan, Christine. II. Chalup, Strata R. III. Title.
TK5105.5.L53 2007
004.6068–dc22
2007014507
Copyright © 2007 Christine Hogan, Thomas A. Limoncelli, Virtual.NET Inc.,
and Lumeta Corporation.

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This publication is
protected by copyright, and permission must be obtained from the publisher
prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or
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photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permissions,
write to:

Pearson Education, Inc.
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Boston, MA 02116
Fax: [phone]

ISBN 13: 978-0-321-49266-1

ISBN 10: 0-321-49266-1

Text printed in the United States on recycled paper at RR Donnelley in
Crawfordsville, Indiana.

First printing, June 2007
Contents at a Glance

Preface

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

Part I. Getting Started

Chapter 1. What to Do When ...

Chapter 2. Climb Out of the Hole

Part II. Foundation Elements

Chapter 3. Workstations

Chapter 4. Servers

Chapter 5. Services

Chapter 6. Data Centers

Chapter 7. Networks

Chapter 8. Namespaces

Chapter 9. Documentation

Chapter 10. Disaster Recovery and Data Integrity

Chapter 11. Security Policy

Chapter 12. Ethics

Chapter 13. Helpdesks

Chapter 14. Customer Care

Part III. Change Processes

Chapter 15. Debugging
Chapter 16. Fixing Things Once

Chapter 17. Change Management

Chapter 18. Server Upgrades

Chapter 19. Service Conversions

Chapter 20. Maintenance Windows

Chapter 21. Centralization and Decentralization

Part IV. Providing Services

Chapter 22. Service Monitoring

Chapter 23. Email Service

Chapter 24. Print Service

Chapter 25. Data Storage

Chapter 26. Backup and Restore

Chapter 27. Remote Access Service

Chapter 28. Software Depot Service

Chapter 29. Web Services

Part V. Management Practices

Chapter 30. Organizational Structures

Chapter 31. Perception and Visibility

Chapter 32. Being Happy

Chapter 33. A Guide for Technical Managers

Chapter 34. A Guide for Nontechnical Managers

Chapter 35. Hiring System Administrators

Chapter 36. Firing System Administrators

Epilogue

Appendixes
Appendix A. The Many Roles of a System Administrator

Appendix B. Acronyms

Bibliography

Index
Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

Part I. Getting Started

1. What to Do When ...

1.1 Building a Site from Scratch

1.2 Growing a Small Site

1.3 Going Global

1.4 Replacing Services

1.5 Moving a Data Center

1.6 Moving to/Opening a New Building

1.7 Handling a High Rate of Office Moves

1.8 Assessing a Site (Due Diligence)

1.9 Dealing with Mergers and Acquisitions

1.10 Coping with Frequent Machine Crashes

1.11 Surviving a Major Outage or Work Stoppage

1.12 What Tools Should Every SA Team Member Have?

1.13 Ensuring the Return of Tools

1.14 Why Document Systems and Procedures?

1.15 Why Document Policies?

1.16 Identifying the Fundamental Problems in the Environment

1.17 Getting More Money for Projects

1.18 Getting Projects Done
1.19 Keeping Customers Happy

1.20 Keeping Management Happy

1.21 Keeping SAs Happy

1.22 Keeping Systems from Being Too Slow

1.23 Coping with a Big Influx of Computers

1.24 Coping with a Big Influx of New Users

1.25 Coping with a Big Influx of New SAs

1.26 Handling a High SA Team Attrition Rate

1.27 Handling a High User-Base Attrition Rate

1.28 Being New to a Group

1.29 Being the New Manager of a Group

1.30 Looking for a New Job

1.31 Hiring Many New SAs Quickly

1.32 Increasing Total System Reliability

1.33 Decreasing Costs

1.34 Adding Features

1.35 Stopping the Hurt When Doing “This”

1.36 Building Customer Confidence

1.37 Building the Team’s Self-Confidence

1.38 Improving the Team’s Follow-Through

1.39 Handling an Unethical or Worrisome Request

1.40 My Dishwasher Leaves Spots on My Glasses

1.41 Protecting Your Job

1.42 Getting More Training

1.43 Setting Your Priorities

1.44 Getting All the Work Done

1.45 Avoiding Stress