Meet System Administrators at Google

Summary

In this video, Google systems administrators Steve Brito, Mark Bernhardt, and Chris discuss their roles in maintaining Google's servers. They emphasize the importance of a holistic approach to system maintenance, which includes log collection, user interaction, and problem-solving. The video highlights the collaborative nature of their work, the opportunity for coding, and the availability of extensive training. The team's culture is characterized by a focus on work-life balance, team bonding through 'mandatory fun' activities, and an environment that encourages innovation and pushing boundaries.

Takeaways

• 👨‍💻 Steve, Mark, and Chris are systems administrators at Google, responsible for maintaining and troubleshooting the company's servers.
• 🛠️ A systems administrator's role includes log collection, user communication, and holistic fleet monitoring to ensure Google's smooth operation.
• 🔍 They identify root causes of issues and propose solutions, working collaboratively to implement them.
• 💼 The job involves significant interaction with colleagues and is not limited to solitary computer work.
• 💡 Systems administrators at Google have opportunities to engage in coding and contribute to the IT and sysadmin community.
• 🏫 Google offers extensive training opportunities, enhancing skills valuable both internally and to future employers.
• 🎉 The team culture emphasizes fun, with activities like 'mandatory fun' outings to foster team bonding.
• 🤝 The team's positive and encouraging culture supports vulnerability, honest feedback, and innovative thinking.
• 🌟 The team is encouraged to think outside the norm, with the confidence to innovate and push boundaries in the IT industry.
• 🌱 There is a focus on team growth and cohesion, which is seen as crucial for the team's success and ability to provide candid feedback.

Q & A

What is the primary responsibility of a systems administrator at Google?

A systems administrator at Google is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the many servers, ensuring that Google keeps running behind the scenes. This includes collecting logs, interacting with users when necessary, and looking at the overall health of the server fleet.

How does a systems administrator approach problem-solving at Google?

A systems administrator at Google identifies the root cause of issues, proposes different solutions, and then implements the chosen solution as a team.

What kind of interaction does a systems administrator have with other people at Google?

Systems administrators interact with a lot of people and are not just heads-down working in front of a computer all day. They also get involved in coding and other collaborative tasks.

What opportunities does Google offer for training and skill development for systems administrators?

Google provides a lot of training opportunities, allowing systems administrators to receive a wide variety of trainings from different perspectives, which are valuable to any employer.

How does the team culture at Google contribute to work-life balance?

The team culture at Google emphasizes having fun and maintaining a good work-life balance. They have activities like 'mandatory fun' where the team goes out every other week or month to build bonds and enjoy time together.

What is the manager's approach to fostering a positive team culture at Google?

The manager at Google stresses the importance of having a good work-life balance and encourages team bonding through activities like 'mandatory fun' to build a positive and encouraging team culture.

How does the team at Google focus on growing and building cohesion?

The team at Google spends a lot of time focusing on growing as a team and building cohesion by being vulnerable with each other, giving honest feedback, and proposing innovative ideas and solutions.

What kind of innovations can the team at Google push due to their culture and trust in each other?

The team at Google can innovate in ways that other companies can't because they have faith in each other's capabilities and are encouraged to propose ideas and solutions that go beyond the norm.

How does the script describe the role of a systems administrator in terms of visibility and interaction within the company?

The script describes the role of a systems administrator as not being isolated, but rather involving interaction with various people and departments within the company, highlighting the collaborative nature of the role.

What is the significance of the term 'mandatory fun' mentioned in the script?

The term 'mandatory fun' signifies the team's commitment to work-life balance and team bonding through organized social activities, which are considered an essential part of the team culture at Google.

Outlines

00:00

👨‍💻 Introduction and Role Explanation

The speaker introduces themselves as Steve Brito, Mark Bernhardt, and Chris, and explains their role as a systems administrator at Google. They describe their responsibilities, which include maintaining servers, collecting logs, and interacting with users to ensure smooth operations. The focus is on identifying root causes of issues, proposing solutions, and implementing them as a team. The role involves both technical work and collaboration with others.

💻 Hands-On and Coding Opportunities

The speaker emphasizes that being a systems administrator at Google is not just about sitting in front of a computer. It involves active participation in coding and driving ongoing initiatives within the IT and sysadmin world. They highlight the variety of training opportunities available at Google, which provide valuable skills applicable both internally and externally.

🤝 Team Culture and Work-Life Balance

The speaker discusses the positive and encouraging culture within their team, where work-life balance is highly valued. They mention 'mandatory fun' activities, such as regular team lunches, which help build strong bonds within the team. The focus is on fostering team cohesion, providing honest feedback, and encouraging innovative thinking. The team is confident in pushing the boundaries and innovating in ways that other companies may not be able to.

Keywords

💡Systems Administrator

A systems administrator is a professional responsible for the upkeep, maintenance, and management of an organization's computer systems and networks. In the context of the video, this role at Google involves ensuring the smooth operation of servers, collecting logs, and troubleshooting issues from a holistic perspective. The script mentions that systems administrators interact with users, propose solutions, and implement them as a team, highlighting the collaborative and problem-solving nature of the job.

💡Maintenance

Maintenance refers to the process of keeping systems, equipment, or software in good working order by regularly checking, cleaning, and repairing them. In the video, maintenance is a key aspect of a systems administrator's job, as they are tasked with ensuring that Google's servers continue to run efficiently and effectively behind the scenes.

💡Upkeep

Upkeep is similar to maintenance and involves the continuous care and attention required to keep something in proper condition. In the video, the term is used to describe the ongoing efforts of systems administrators to support the infrastructure at Google, which includes not only technical tasks but also engaging with users and ensuring system reliability.

💡Logs

Logs are records of events that occur in a computer system or network. They are crucial for monitoring, diagnosing, and troubleshooting issues. The video script mentions that systems administrators collect logs as part of their role, which helps them understand what is happening within the system and identify any potential problems.

💡Root Cause

The root cause is the underlying reason for a problem or issue. In the context of the video, systems administrators are responsible for identifying the root cause of any issues that arise within the IT infrastructure. This involves a deep analysis and understanding of the system to propose effective solutions.

💡Holistic

Holistic refers to an approach that considers the whole system or organization rather than just individual parts. The video script uses this term to describe how systems administrators look at the fleet of servers from a comprehensive standpoint, ensuring that they address issues in a way that considers the entire system's health and performance.

💡Coding

Coding is the process of writing computer programs or scripts in a particular programming language. The video emphasizes that systems administrators at Google are involved in coding, which is an essential skill for automating tasks, creating solutions, and contributing to the ongoing development within the IT world.

💡Training Opportunities

Training opportunities refer to the availability of educational programs or resources that help employees develop new skills or improve existing ones. The video script highlights the variety of trainings available at Google, which are beneficial for systems administrators to enhance their expertise and stay current with industry advancements.

💡Work-Life Balance

Work-life balance is the equilibrium between an individual's work and personal life. The video script mentions that the team's manager stresses the importance of having a good work-life balance, indicating that Google promotes a healthy lifestyle for its employees by encouraging them to maintain a balance between their professional and personal commitments.

💡Team Cohesion

Team cohesion refers to the unity and agreement among team members, which is crucial for effective collaboration and achieving common goals. The video script describes how the team focuses on building cohesion, which is evident in their efforts to be vulnerable with each other, provide candid feedback, and propose innovative ideas.

💡Innovation

Innovation is the process of introducing new ideas, methods, or products. The video script suggests that the team at Google has a culture that encourages innovation, as they are confident in their ability to push boundaries and come up with solutions that can significantly impact the IT and sysadmin world.

Highlights

Steve Brito, Mark Bernhardt, and Chris introduce themselves.

Chris is a systems administrator at Google.

Systems administrators are responsible for server maintenance and upkeep at Google.

Their role involves collecting logs and interacting with users to ensure Google's smooth operation.

They have a holistic view of the server fleet, not just focusing on one system.

After identifying issues, they propose and implement solutions as a team.

Systems administrators interact with many people and are not just heads down working.

They have opportunities to do coding and drive IT and sysadmin initiatives.

Google offers a lot of training opportunities for systems administrators.

The training covers a wide variety of topics from different parts of the company.

The skills learned are valuable to any employer, even externally.

The team culture emphasizes fun and a good work-life balance.

There is a 'mandatory fun' policy where the team goes out for activities or lunches.

The team culture is positive, encouraging, and focuses on team cohesion.

The team encourages vulnerability and honest feedback among members.

The team is innovative and can push boundaries due to the trust in each other's capabilities.

Transcripts

My name is Steve Brito.

My name is Mark Bernhardt.

My name is Chris, I'm a systems administrator.

A systems administrator is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep

of the many servers that run here at Google.

We make sure that Google keeps running behind the scenes.

It's collecting logs, it's talking with users when appropriate,

it's looking at what's happening on the fleet from a holistic standpoint,

not necessarily just one particular system.

And then once you've identified the root cause, we propose different solutions

to resolve it, and then finally we implement that as a team.

We interact with a lot of people.

It's not all heads down work.

You're not just gonna be sitting in front of a computer all day.

You're really going to be getting in there and doing coding,

and we have a really good opportunity to drive a lot of the things that are ongoing

within the IT world or sysadmin world.

Here at Google, there's a lot of training opportunities available,

and you can get a wide variety of trainings from different perspectives

of people that work at different parts of the company.

and I've learned a lot of skills that even externally

would be really valuable to any employer.

On our team we like to have fun.

One of the things that our manager really likes to stress is

have a good work-life balance.

We have this thing called mandatory fun where we all go out every other week

or every month to even just get lunch together

and really build that bond within the team.

The culture in my team is a really positive and encouraging culture.

We spend a lot of time focusing on growing as a team,

as building the team cohesion, so that we can be vulnerable with each other

so we can give each other honest and candid feedback.

We can propose ideas and solutions that go really far outside of the norm,

but because we know of the type of people that were working with,

and we know what we're capable of.

We have faith that we can push the envelope.

We can really innovate in ways that other companies just can't.