Lecture 01 Introduction to SA

Summary

This video introduces the role of a systems administrator (SA), who ensures the smooth operation of computing systems. It covers SA tasks like user and hardware management, software installation, security, and troubleshooting. The script emphasizes the importance of patience, tenacity, and strong organizational skills for SAs. It also discusses the challenges, such as dealing with user frustration and long hours, and highlights the value of documentation and the Systems Administrators Guild. The video concludes with insights on SA training, certifications, and key principles like policy, predictability, and scalability.

Takeaways

• 👨‍💻 Systems Administration (SA) involves managing computing systems to ensure they run smoothly and efficiently for users.
• 👥 SA tasks include user management, hardware and software management, security management, system monitoring, and troubleshooting.
• 🛠️ SA professionals are expected to perform backups, maintain documentation, and manage licenses.
• 💡 Automation and planning are crucial for system scalability, assessing new technologies, and avoiding potential problems.
• 🔑 Essential qualities for an SA include patience, tenacity, strong organizational skills, logical reasoning, and ethical behavior.
• 🌟 Benefits of being an SA include job variety, challenges, employability, and the opportunity for continuous learning.
• 😕 Downsides may include occasional user frustration, long working hours, and the expectation to solve every problem.
• 🤝 The Systems Administrators Guild (SAGE) is a professional body that promotes the visibility and recognition of SA as a profession.
• 📚 SAGE provides resources like job descriptions and guidelines to help SA professionals at various levels.
• 🏆 Certifications and trainings, such as those from Microsoft, Red Hat, and LPI, can be beneficial for SA professionals to enhance their skills.
• 🛡️ Key principles in SA include policy foundation, predictability, scalability, and the principle of minimum privilege.

Q & A

What is the role of a systems administrator?

A systems administrator, also known as an SA, is a professional responsible for ensuring that computing systems work effectively. They manage, maintain, and troubleshoot systems to ensure they run smoothly and efficiently, facilitating user productivity.

What are some key tasks of a systems administrator?

Key tasks of a systems administrator include user management, hardware and software management, maintaining resources like disks, memory, and CPU, security management, system monitoring and troubleshooting, documentation, and providing help desk support.

Why is automation important in systems administration?

Automation is crucial for systems administrators as it helps to streamline repetitive tasks, increase efficiency, reduce human error, and free up time for more complex problem-solving and strategic planning.

What are some personal qualities that are beneficial for a systems administrator to possess?

Systems administrators should have patience, tenacity, strong organizational skills, well-developed logic, reasoning, and critical thinking skills, and ethical behavior. These qualities help them handle the challenges and responsibilities of their role effectively.

What does the Systems Administrators Guild (SAGE) do?

SAGE is a professional body for practicing systems administrators, established to increase the visibility and recognition of systems administration as a profession. It provides resources, guidelines, and a community for systems administrators worldwide.

What are the different levels of systems administration as per the Systems Administrators Guild?

The Systems Administrators Guild categorizes systems administration into four levels: Level 1 (Novice), Level 2 (Junior), Level 3 (Intermediate), and Level 4 (Senior). Each level represents increasing experience, education, and responsibilities.

What are some certifications that can be helpful for a systems administrator?

Certifications such as those from Microsoft, Red Hat, Novell, Linux Professional Institute (LPI), CompTIA, and O'Reilly School of Technology can be beneficial for systems administrators, providing specialized knowledge and industry recognition.

Why is ethical behavior important for a systems administrator?

Ethical behavior is important for systems administrators to ensure honesty, fairness, and equity in their professional and academic relationships. It also helps in maintaining the privacy and rights of individuals and groups within the organization.

What is the significance of the 'mantra' for a systems administrator?

The mantra for a systems administrator, 'The computer environment does not exist solely for the amusement of the systems administrator,' serves as a reminder to prioritize the needs of the users and the organization over personal interests or amusement.

How does a systems administrator manage the life cycle of a computer system?

A systems administrator manages the life cycle of a computer system by moving it through states such as new, build, clean, configured, unknown, debug, rebuild, and retire. Each state represents a phase in the system's life, from initial setup to eventual decommissioning.

Outlines

00:00

💻 Introduction to Systems Administration

This paragraph introduces the concept of systems administration, defining it as the management of computing systems to ensure they operate effectively and efficiently. It highlights the role of a systems administrator (SA), who is responsible for user and hardware management, software installation, security, system monitoring, and troubleshooting. The SA also handles documentation, user support, and automation. The paragraph outlines the tasks of an SA, which include adding or removing users and hardware, configuring and maintaining systems, managing resources like disks and CPU, and ensuring system security. It also touches on the need for SAs to have patience, tenacity, organizational skills, logical reasoning, and ethical behavior.

05:00

🔧 The Roles and Challenges of a Systems Administrator

Paragraph 2 delves into the benefits and challenges of being a systems administrator. It mentions the variety and challenges that come with the role, making it a fulfilling career. It also notes the high employability of SAs and the importance of independent learning and organized work habits. The downsides include potential frustrations with users, management, and tech support, as well as the expectation to have immediate solutions to problems. The paragraph also discusses the 'ugly' side of the job, where SAs may go unnoticed when things run smoothly but are heavily relied upon during crises. It emphasizes the importance of documentation, which helps in system reconstruction, decision-making narratives, and maintaining service quality.

10:04

📜 The Systems Administrators Guild and Ethical Standards

This paragraph introduces the Systems Administrators Guild (SAG), established in 1992, which serves as a professional body for systems administrators worldwide. It discusses the guild's goal of increasing the visibility and recognition of systems administration as a profession. The SAG has published a series of handbooks, including job descriptions for SAs at various levels. The paragraph also presents the SAG's creed, which includes a commitment to high ethical and professional standards, personal integrity, and adherence to laws and policies. It outlines the ethical responsibilities of SAs, emphasizing the importance of education, social responsibility, and the well-known adage 'with great power comes great responsibility.'

15:05

🛠 Systems Administration Levels and Certifications

Paragraph 4 discusses the different levels of systems administration, ranging from novice to senior, each with increasing responsibilities and experience. It mentions that new hires are expected to operate at the guild's level one. The paragraph also covers the various certifications and trainings available for systems administrators, such as those from Microsoft, Red Hat, Novell, LPI, CompTIA, and O'Reilly School of Technology. It stresses the value of certain principles in systems administration, including policy as the foundation, predictability, scalability, minimum privilege, and community considerations.

20:06

🔄 Systems Administration Processes and Lifecycle

The final paragraph outlines the processes and lifecycle of systems administration, including the states of machines and the transitions between them. It describes the stages from a new machine to a retired one, with states such as build, clean, configured, unknown, and off. The paragraph explains the transitions, such as initialization, update, entropy, debug, rebuild, and retirement. It also touches on the importance of understanding these states and transitions for effective systems administration.

Keywords

💡Systems Administration

Systems Administration refers to the management of an organization's computer systems and networks. It involves ensuring that systems run smoothly, efficiently, and securely. In the video, it is the central theme, with the systems administrator (SA) being described as someone who takes care of the systems others are using. The video discusses various tasks of an SA, emphasizing the importance of balancing system performance with user needs.

💡User Management

User Management is a key task for systems administrators, which involves adding and removing users from systems. This is crucial for maintaining security and ensuring that only authorized individuals have access to the system. The video mentions user management as one of the primary responsibilities of an SA, highlighting the need for efficient user handling to support system security and functionality.

💡Hardware Management

Hardware Management encompasses the tasks of adding, removing, configuring, and maintaining hardware and software. This is essential for the physical components of a system to function correctly and to ensure they are compatible with the software. The video script mentions that systems administrators are responsible for hardware management, which is critical for the overall performance and reliability of the systems they manage.

💡Security Management

Security Management is about securing the entire computing environment, which includes protecting systems from unauthorized access, data breaches, and other security threats. The video emphasizes the importance of security management in systems administration, as it is a vital aspect of ensuring the integrity and confidentiality of the systems and data.

💡System Monitoring and Troubleshooting

System Monitoring and Troubleshooting involve monitoring system usage and performance, detecting and correcting problems, and optimizing system performance. This is a critical aspect of systems administration, as it helps to maintain the efficiency and reliability of systems. The video script describes this as a key task for SAs, who must be vigilant in identifying and resolving issues to prevent system downtime.

💡Documentation

Documentation in systems administration refers to the practice of recording system configurations, policies, procedures, and changes. It is essential for maintaining a clear record of system states and decisions, which can be useful for troubleshooting and future reference. The video script highlights the importance of documentation, suggesting that it helps to recreate systems and provides a narrative for decisions made.

💡Automation

Automation in systems administration is the process of using scripts and tools to perform routine tasks automatically. This can increase efficiency and reduce the potential for human error. The video mentions automation as a way for SAs to handle complex tasks and maintain system efficiency by automating as many tasks as possible.

💡Ethical Behavior

Ethical Behavior in the context of systems administration involves adhering to principles of honesty, fairness, and equity in professional and academic relationships. It also includes respecting the rights and dignity of individuals within the organization. The video script discusses the importance of ethical behavior for SAs, emphasizing that it is a cornerstone of professional conduct and responsible system management.

💡Systems Administrators Guild (SAGE)

The Systems Administrators Guild (SAGE) is a professional organization for systems administrators, established to increase the visibility and recognition of systems administration as a profession. The video script mentions SAGE as a resource for SAs, providing guidelines, training, and a community for professionals in the field.

💡Certifications

Certifications in systems administration are professional qualifications that demonstrate an individual's expertise and knowledge in specific areas of systems management. The video script lists various certifications such as those from Microsoft, Red Hat, and LPI, which can be helpful for SAs to validate their skills and advance in their careers.

💡Policy

Policy in systems administration refers to the rules, regulations, and procedures that guide the operation and management of systems. It serves as the foundation for decision-making and resource allocation within an organization. The video script discusses policy as a key principle for systems administration, emphasizing its role in maintaining order and predictability within the system.

Highlights

Introduction to systems administration and the role of a systems administrator (SA).

SA responsibilities include user management, hardware and software management, and security.

The importance of system monitoring, troubleshooting, and optimization for performance.

Documentation and help desk support as key tasks for a SA.

Automation and planning policies as part of a SA's job.

The necessity of patience and tenacity for a successful SA.

Strong organizational skills as a requirement for effective systems administration.

The significance of logical reasoning and critical thinking in problem-solving for SAs.

Ethical behavior in systems administration, including respect for user privacy and rights.

Benefits of being a SA, such as job variety, challenges, and employability.

Challenges faced by SAs, including long hours and the expectation to solve all problems.

The 'ugly' side of systems administration, where the job's importance is often overlooked.

Strategies for dealing with problems and stress in systems administration.

The role of documentation in systems administration for maintaining system integrity.

The Systems Administrators Guild (SAGE) and its resources for professional development.

SAGE's code of ethics and its importance for professional conduct.

The importance of certifications and training for SAs for career advancement.

Principles of systems administration, including policy, predictability, and scalability.

The concept of minimum privilege and its role in system security.

The significance of communities and uniformity in systems administration.

Resource mapping as a strategy for effective systems management.

The five-state submachine model for understanding systems administration processes.

Transcripts

hi hello there welcome to introduction

to systems administration

what is a systems administration

when you say systems administration

there should be a systems administrator

aka sa for short

someone who takes good care of the

systems others are using

the professional responsible for making

computing systems work

effectively

so one can be an essay at home

or at work

they are responsible

for balancing systems running smoothly

and efficiently with the users able to

work in an easy and efficient manner

if you own and maintain a computer

then you are a systems administrator for

that computer

what are the system administration tasks

first would be user management

add and remove users from the systems

hardware management

add and remove hardware and software

configure and maintain hardware and

software

maintain resources like disks

memory and cpu

and

sa should be able to retire a hardware

software management

install software

or reinstall software

security management meaning the sa have

to secure the entire environment

system monitoring and troubleshooting

perform backup and restore operations

monitor system usage and performance

detect and correct problems

and optimize system performance

next would be documentation and help

desk

so general user support is answering

users questions

and maintain documentation and

licenses

sa should be able to perform backup also

next would be automation

planning policies and auditing

this includes system planning

scaling the system

assessing new technologies

anticipate and avoid problems

also under automation and planning

the sa write programs to automate as

many tasks as possible

determine and enforce usage policy

educate users

role model a liarson between user needs

and the budgetary

resource and technology limitations

and

sa should negotiate with

vendors

systems administration requirement

the first one would be patience

the first person that you need to have

patients with when you are administering

a system is yourself

systems administration is hard and

sometimes

you will have bugs or difficult problems

to overcome

if it's always easy

then you aren't challenging yourself

and you aren't growing as a system

administrator

next would be tenacity

most people will tell you that tenacity

is a great quality to have

especially if you're trying something

challenging

that takes a while to complete

next would be

strong organizational skills

organizational skills are the abilities

that let you stay focused on different

tasks

and

use your time energy

strength

mental capacity

physical space and others

to effectively and efficiently in order

to achieve the desired outcome

next would be well-developed logic

reasoning

and critical thinking skills

so try to anticipate the outcome for

your decisions

the ability to read and comprehend

technical information

also ethical behavior

ethical behavior is characterized by

honesty

fairness

and equity in interpersonal

professional and academic relationships

and in research and scholarly activities

also

so ethical behavior respects the dignity

diversity and rights of individuals and

group of people within the organization

okay

so what are the good about

being a systems administrator

so good ideas for systems that means

lots of variety

okay challenging

fulfilling

and face well

also

it's very employable

so learn

to learn independently

okay develop systematic and organized

work habits

find balance between reality problems

happen take note and utopia

next would be the bad

okay bad ideas for systems admin

annoying at times

to the users

management

vendor tech support

expect a single right answer to every

problem

okay

so

get stuck due to frustration

okay so long hours of

work

and this may not be your only job

so expect the manual internet co-worker

to be able to accurately and completely

answer every question

okay so these are the bad ideas for the

systems admin

now let's take a look at the ugly side

most people don't understand the job

okay so understand that you're not alone

when things go well

go unnoticed

okay

they don't do anything be like a game

player like a webster uh surfers

it's important to document everything

okay

so don't panic

see the problem as a challenge

not a deal breaker

okay so fake it till you make it if you

have encounter problem

then admit it if you don't know

you can also find an ally

ask specific questions

and then check in with others

okay so these are just some of the

strategies

for what you can do

if it's happening to you at work

next

when there is a problem

well

everyone is looking for you

okay that's highly stressful

some blame

you

for that problem

and may graduate to miracle worker

status once problem is fixed

okay

now for the documentation

documentation help ensure

consent and expectations

okay so it enables you to recreate

system

it helps to tell the narrative for

decisions made

and how yourself or the client responded

to different situations

in the same manner

it is important to record information

that can help support the proper

treatment plan and the reasoning for

such services

now the contents include

configuration information

policies and procedures

useful commands and resources

daily lag of modifications

okay you could also have wikis

and a request ticket system

systems admin guild or the search

okay so this is the systems

administrators guild

it was established in 1992 out of usenix

license conferences

large installation

systems administrators

so for almost a decade

such has served the needs of systems

administrators around the world

so this is a professional body for

practicing systems administration

so one of the such main goals is the

increase of visibility and recognition

of systems administration

as a profession

so such is made up of sa organizations

from all over the world

okay so if you want to know more about

this sags

you could go ahead and check them online

via http www.such.org

so to this end

such has published a series of short

topics handbooks all of them are

excellent

so a good one to start with is a job

descriptions for systems administrators

so this work provides detailed job

descriptions

for systems administration's position

in various levels so as such

it is very useful for evaluating both

your skills

and your present position in light of

general practices

let's talk about the such guidelines

so they have creed

god of essex

and mantra

let's go to it

let's start with such grid

okay so the sunscreen states that we

as professional systems administrators

do hereby commit ourselves to the

highest standards of ethical and

professional contact and

agree to be guided by this code of

ethics and encourage every system

administrator to do the same

code of ethics

first would be professionalism

must display professionalism in the

performance of duties at all times

contact with clients and colleagues must

be kept to the highest standards of

professional behavior

next would be personal integrity

integrity must be beyond reproach

privacy do not unnecessarily infringe

on the rights of others

maintain an exemplary work ethic

laws and policies would be next

you also have communication

system integrity

education

responsibility to computing community

social responsibility

and

ethical responsibility

so according to edmund burke the greater

the power

the more dangerous the abuse

okay so from the spider-man you still

remember that with great power comes

great responsibility

how about the mantra mantra of a systems

administrator

the computer environment does not exist

solely for the amusement of the systems

administrator

okay so mantra is a mystical words of

our sounds used to facilitate

a meditative conscious state

next

what are new

to systems administrators training

okay

so new hires are expected to be

operating at systems administrators

guild level one

okay so that is level one is novice

junior level two

level three is intermediate

and then level four is senior so higher

such levels have more experience more

education

more responsibilities and then maybe

they are managers

so for the systems administrator levels

okay so you will each be responsible for

running one of the following small or

complex sites

so when you say small small uniform site

less than 50 computers

all running the same operating system

and 20 or

fewer users

that is small

now for complex site that would be up to

100 systems

running more than two different

operating systems and up to 100 users

you even have the large complex site so

that is greater than 100 computers

potentially running more than one

operating system and

more than 100 or more users

now what are the certifications

available and trainings available for

systems admin

so certifications are not required for

your current position but may be helpful

especially the first two

okay

so microsoft so i know a specific

approach

to systems administration

and then you also have red hat having

the same thing

next would be

novell

okay

so linux professional institute or the

lpi

comptia

o'reilly school of technology

principles of systems administration

so our organization strongly believes in

the value of the following principles

first

policy is the foundation

policy is a law

regulation

procedure

administrative

action

incentive

or voluntary

practice of governments and other

institutions

so policy decisions are frequently

reflected in resource allocations

okay health can be influenced by

policies in many different sectors

all right

next would be predictability this is the

goal

predictability is the degree to which a

correct prediction or forecast of system

state

can be made either qualitatively or

quantitatively

next would be scalability

this is often important

so scalability is the measure of systems

ability to increase or decrease in

performance

and cost in response to changes in

application and systems

processing demands

enterprises that are growing rapidly

should pay special attention to

scalability

when evaluating hardware and software

next

minimum privilege restriction of

unnecessary privilege protects a system

from accidental and malicious damage

okay so that comes with the corollary

don't work

as administrator

root

okay so something like 95 percent of all

businesses today

okay

uses their computers

running as administrator root on their

computer at all time

i upload the businesses

who have successfully removed elevated

privileges from non-admin employees

although it isn't easy to do

making this one security change can

significantly reduce the risk of

malicious exploit

okay so the most common issue is that

end users want to install and remove

their own software and configure their

own settings

so developers often need to debug

programs and load and unload device

drivers

right

next would be

communities so each member needs to

consider

ramifications of actions

sixth would be uniformity so increases

predictability

it may decrease costs

variety

so used as needed for risk management

and flexibility

it may increase costs

delegation aka specialization so develop

experts

who can do tasks more efficiently

and more costly effective

and

resource map

so mapping our hardware and software

resources increases the predictability

and removes ambiguity of the complete

system

okay it displays parts of the system

and their inter relationships so

contingencies can be made

for expected problem areas

some crude

model what is a sample model so the

basic components of our organization

and the system administrators

responsibilities can be summarized as

some good

okay

first

software users

machines

that's for some

create

read

update

delete that's for root

so when you say systems admin

it's a sum root

average pipe state of machine so being

assistance admin

you should know

this five state submachine

okay so the first one would be

new

when you say new it's a new machine

okay

so build

this is moving between states okay so

when say build

that is during the build process the

operating system is installed on the

machine

okay

next would be clean

what is clean a computer with the os

installed but not configured

to work in the environment

you also have configured

configured a computer that is configured

correctly according to the requirements

of the computing environment

next state is

unknown a computer that has been

misconfigured or

gotten out of the or perhaps been

borrowed by an intern and returned with

stains on it okay so that's unknown

and then off is or

surplus

okay now let's go over moving between

states we are done already with build

okay

let's go to initialize what is

initialize this is the state

or the movement from clean to configured

when you say initialize

often directly after or part off

build the process

this will typically include things like

network configuration

naming

and may include os patches and other

changes

okay

the next one would be update

okay

so update at some point after the

initialization the computer will

probably have to be modified in order to

bring the machine into conformance

with the current requirements in most

cases

this will happen continually

for the lifetime of the computer

right

next from configured to unknown you've

got entropy there

okay so entropy refers to the gradual

process of change

that results in a computer

that has an unknown state

the causes for this are numerous they

include for example undisciplined

changes made to the machine

major changes in the environment

or unexplained problems

okay

next would be debug debug is from

unknown to configured

so this refers to the process of

debugging an unknown machine and getting

it back

into specification

right next would be rebuild so from

unknown to clean

okay so rebuild

in some cases

a machine will need to be rebuilt

either because of some kind of problem

or for a large scale change

okay

and the last one would be retired okay

retire

from unknown to off

retire this is the process of turning

the machine off in some sites

there is an official process for this

matters

it merely involves turning the computer

off or forgetting it exists

right so that's the end of this video

have a great day see you on the next

video