System and Network Administration

Unit 1: Introduction

1
 1.1 System and Network Administrator
What is ‘the system’?
In system administration, the word system is used to refer both to the
operating system of a computer and often, collectively the set of all
computers that cooperate in a network.

What is System and Network Administration?

a branch of engineering that concerns the operational management of
human–computer systems.
putting together a network of computers (workstations, PCs and
supercomputers), getting them running and then keeping them running
in spite of the activities of users who tend to cause the systems to fail
it addresses both the technology of computer systems and the users of
the technology on an equal basis.

2
 The terms network administration and system
administration exist separately and are used both
variously and inconsistently by industry and by
academics.
System administration is the term used traditionally by
mainframe and UNIX engineers to describe the
management of computers whether they are coupled by
a network or not.
Network administration means the management of
network infrastructure devices (routers and switches)
and management of PCs in a network.
3
 What is administration?
It encompass engineering issues & organizational aspects.
System design & realization( configuration)
Resource Management
System fault diagnosis & maintenance
In order to achieve these goals, it requires
Procedure
Knowledge and skill
Team work
Ethical practices
Appreciation of security.

4
 It in general comprises two aspects:
 technical solutions .
 A technical solution is required to achieve goals and sub-goals, so
that a problem can be broken down into manageable pieces
policies.
 Policy is required to make the system, as far as possible, and
predictable
 it pre-decides the answers to questions on issues that cannot be
derived from within the system itself. Policy is therefore an
arbitrary choice, perhaps guided by a goal or a principle.

5
 System & Network administration
Is more than installing OS
is about planning and designing an efficient community of
computers
Designing a network which is logical and efficient.
 Deploying large numbers of machines which can be easily
upgraded later.
Deciding what services are needed.
Planning and implementing adequate security.
Providing a comfortable environment for users.
Developing ways of fixing errors and problems which occur.
 Keeping track of and understanding how to use the enormous
amount of knowledge which increases every year.

6
 Goal of system & network Administration
Goal of Network Administration
is to ensures that the users of networks receive the information
and technically serves with quality of services they except.
Comprises of three group
1. Network provisioning : concerned with planning & design
2. Network operations : management( fault, config, traffic…)
3. Network maintenance: concerned with installation & maintenance

7
8
 Responsibilities of Network Administration
to provide a reliable consistent and scalable network infrastructure
that meets or exceeds levels and optimize enterprises assets.
To build hardware configuration
To configure software configuration
Designing of network which is logical and official
 Deploying large nos of machines which can be easily upgraded
later
Deciding which/ what services are needed.
Planning and implementing environments for users.
 Developing a ways of fixing errors and problems when occurs.
To make user life very easy and to empower them in production of
real work.

9
 Goal of System administration
The primary tasks of system administration is to ensures
The top management is assured of efficiency in utilizations of
the system resources
Provide the services to the general user which they are seeking.
Various tasks performed by system administrators are:
 Systems starts up and shutdowns
Opening and closing of users accounts
Helping users to set up there working environments
 Maintaining users services
Allocating disks spaces and relocating quotas when the needs
grows

10
 Task of System & network Administration
Key tasks
To build hardware configuration
To configure software systems.
Both are done for the users
They are working together , the hardware decide the
software to run
Hardware : conform the physical world
Power,temp,.. Conformance to baic standard

11
 Challenge of system & network
administration (human part)

Patience, understanding and broad knowledge &

experience
Needs to work with limited resource, be inventive in a
crisis
Needs continuous update and coop-up with the new
technology.

12
Practice of SAs
Common practice may not be good practice
There are three reasons for common practice:
 Someone did it and others followed blindly;
 Believe it is good after careful thought;
 An arbitrary choice had to be made;
Think for yourself.
Pay attention to experts but don’t automatically believe
anyone.
Every choice needs a reason.
Practice of SAs (cont.)
Good practices
Look for answers in manuals, newsgroups, and archive of
mailing lists. Usually “google” helps for most common
problems.
Use controlled trial and error for diagnosis.
Listen to people who tell us there is a problem. It might be
true.
Write down problems and solutions in a log book, and write
down experiences.
Take responsibilities for our actions.
Remember to tidy things up regularly.
After learning something new, ask yourself “How does this
apply to my work?”
What do sysadmins do?

1. Add and remove users.

2. Add and remove hardware.
3. Perform backups.
4. Install new software systems.
5. Troubleshooting.
6. System monitoring.
7. Auditing security.
8. Helping users.

Slide #15
User Management

 Creating user accounts

 Consistency requires automation
 Startup (dot) files
 Username and UID namespace management
 Home directory backups and quotas
 Removing user accounts
 Consistency requires automation
 Remove everything, not just homedir and passwd

Slide #16
Hardware Management

 Adding and removing hardware

 Configuration, cabling, etc.
 Device drivers
 Scheduling downtimes and notifying users
 Evaluation and purchase
 Capacity planning
 How many servers?
 How much bandwidth, disk space?
 Data Center management
 Power, racks, environment (cooling, fire alarm)

Slide #17
Backups

 Backup strategy and policies

 Scheduling: when and how often?
 Capacity planning
 Location: On-site vs off-site.
 Installing backup software
 Performing backups and restores
 Monitoring backups
 Checking logs
 Verifying media

Slide #18
Software Installation

 Automated consistent OS installs

 Evaluation of software
 Finding and building open source software
 Purchase of commercial software
 Managing software installations
 Distributing software to multiple hosts
 Package management
 Managing multiple versions of a software pkg
 Patching and updating software
 Scheduling downtimes and notifying users

Slide #19
Troubleshooting

 Problem identification
 By user notification
 By log files or monitoring programs
 Tracking and visibility
 Ensure users know you’re working on problem
 Provide an ETA if possible
 Finding the root cause of problems
 Provide temporary solution if necessary
 Solve the root problem to permanently eliminate

Slide #20
Performance Monitoring

 Automatically monitor systems for

 Problems (disk full, error logs, security)
 Performance (CPU, mem, disk, network)
 Log rotation and backups
 Provides data for capacity planning
 Convince management of need for hardware

Slide #21
Helping Users

 Request tracking system

 Ensures that you don’t forget problems.
 Ensures users know you’re working on their problem;
reduces interruptions, status queries.
 Lets management know what you’ve done.
 User documentation and training
 Acceptable Use Policies
 Document software, hardware (printers), etc.

Slide #22
Qualities of a Successful Sysadmin

 Customer oriented
 Ability to deal with interrupts, time pressure
 Communication skills
 Service provider, not system police
 Technical knowledge
 Hardware, network, and software knowledge
 Debugging and troubleshooting skills
 Time management
 Automate everything possible.
 Ability to prioritize tasks: urgency and importance.

Slide #23
Principles of SA

Simplicity
 Choose the simplest solution that solves the entire problem.
Clarity
 Choose a straightforward solution that’s easy to change, maintain,
debug, and explain to other SAs.
Generality
 Choose reusable solutions and open protocols.
Automation
 Use software to replace human effort.
Communication
 Be sure that you’re solving the right problems and that people know
what you’re doing.
Basics First
 Solve basic infrastructure problems before moving to advanced ones.
Good Practice/First Steps

Use a request system.

 receive too many requests to remember them all
 Customers know what you’re doing
 You know what you’re doing.
Manage quick requests right
 Team organize/ shield /day2day+project tasks
 Handle emergencies quickly.
 Use request system to avoid interruptions.
Policies
 How do people get help?
 What is the scope of responsibility for SA team?
 What is our definition of emergency?
Start every host in a known state. Slide #25