Practice of System and Network Administration

This book revolves around six key principles of site design and support practices: simplicity, clarity, generality, automation, communication, and basics first. It examines the major areas of responsibility for system administrators within the context of these principles. The book also discusses change management and revision control, server upgrades, maintenance windows, and service conversions. Chapters are divided into 'The Basics' and 'The Icing'. 'The Basics' discusses the essentials that sysadmins have to get right to avoid problems and added work down the road. 'The Icing' deals with the cool things that sysadmins can do to be spectacular, but should only attempt once they've mastered the basics. The chapter format has been updated for increased usability: chapter summaries, future speculations sections, and further reading sections have been added, and the end of chapters questions have been updated. A lively, witty style and the use of anecdotes and case studies taken from the authors' personal experience all contribute to make this book an effective, instructive, and yet entertaining read.The first edition of The Practice of System and Network Administration introduced a generation of system and network administrators to a modern IT methodology. Whether you use Linux, Unix, or Windows, this newly revised edition describes the essential practices previously handed down only from mentor to protégé. This wonderfully lucid, often funny cornucopia of information introduces beginners to advanced frameworks valuable for their entire career, yet is structured to help even the most advanced experts through difficult projects.The book's four major sections build your knowledge with the foundational elements of system administration. These sections guide you through better techniques for upgrades and change management, catalog best practices for IT services, and explore various management topics. Chapters are divided into The Basics and The Icing. When you get the Basics right it makes every other aspect of the job easier--such as automating the right things first. The Icing sections contain all the powerful things that can be done on top of the basics to wow customers and managers.Inside, you'll find advice on topics such asThe key elements your networks and systems need in order to make all other services run better Building and running reliable, scalable services, including web, storage, email, printing, and remote access Creating and enforcing security policies Upgrading multiple hosts at one time without creating havoc Planning for and performing flawless scheduled maintenance windows Managing superior helpdesks and customer care Avoiding the "temporary fix" trap Building data centers that improve server uptime Designing networks for speed and reliability Web scaling and security issues Why building a backup system isn't about backups Monitoring what you have and predicting what you will need How technically oriented workers can maintain their job's technical focus (and avoid an unwanted management role) Technical management issues, including morale, organization building, coaching, and maintaining positive visibility Personal skill techniques, including secrets for getting more done each day, ethical dilemmas, managing your boss, and loving your job System administration salary negotiationIt's no wonder the first edition received Usenix SAGE's 2005 Outstanding Achievement Award!This eagerly anticipated second edition updates this time-proven classic:Chapters reordered for easier navigation Thousands of updates and clarifications based on reader feedback Plus three entirely new chapters: Web Services, Data Storage, and Documentation