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67 votes
9 answers
87k views

What a beginner should know/learn for sysadmin job?

This is a Canonical Question about System Administration Careers When I start my job as System Administrator, what basics skills should I know/learn? Are there any key differences for Network, ...
Dhanapal's user avatar
  • 905
65 votes
37 answers
36k views

What is the single most influential book every sysadmin should read?

For software developers, there are some books you must absolutely read. What is the single most influential book every programmer should read? How about for sysadmins? Is there a similar list of ...
19 votes
22 answers
5k views

Best sysadmin WTF?

You sure witnessed it with your own eyes (or are going to) sooner or later: that dreadful project/system/situation where something got SO screwed up you just can't believe it actually went like it did....
142 votes
69 answers
26k views

The Joel Test for system administrator jobs

Based on “Organizational issues” — sore spots of IT? I think it would be fair to say that system administrators need to determine if a place is worth working at. There is a similar well known test ...
131 votes
44 answers
66k views

Cheat Sheets for System Administrators?

I'd like to start a collection of good, free cheat sheet resources for system administrators. Please add your favorite ones. From the Wikipedia "cheat sheet" article: In more general usage, a "...
87 votes
86 answers
17k views

Best system administrator accident [closed]

I'm looking for amusing stories of system administrator accidents you have had. Deleting the CEO's email, formatting the wrong hard drive, etc. I'll add my own story as an answer.
26 votes
8 answers
3k views

SysAdmin & Developer: Responsibilities [closed]

When it comes to something like a production webserver, what is best practice for responsibilities for the sysadmin & developer? Specifically, I am thinking about updating/installing software. (...
Josh Brower's user avatar
  • 1,669
19 votes
10 answers
3k views

What are the Sysadmin-Related Blogs & Mailing Lists you monitor? [closed]

I know this is a gimme question, but I genuinely would like to add more sysadmin related feeds to my reader, so please list the contents of your feedreader.
7 votes
6 answers
4k views

What resources are best for staying current about information security? [duplicate]

What types of sites do you visit, on a regular basis, to stay current on information security issues? Some examples from my list include: http://isc.sans.org/ http://www.kaspersky.com/viruswatch3 ...
4 votes
49 answers
12k views

Naming convention for PC in a network

I worked for a company that named the pc's after roman gods (zeus, mars...). That was quiet funny while there where only 5 pc's on the network, but after changing the pc's several times I didn't ...
24 votes
17 answers
35k views

What is your IT-department to staff ratio?

This is a topic that may be rather political but it related to system administration still...how many people do you have supporting your users in your IT department? We have three people supporting ...
Bart Silverstrim's user avatar
18 votes
8 answers
7k views

Dropbox alternative [closed]

I'm looking for something like Dropbox (or centraldesktop) that I can host locally. I would like users to be able to upload (bonus for multiple upload) and download files into a file structure. ...
8 votes
4 answers
985 views

Self-host an application or outsource it? [closed]

Assuming you have the ability to influence IT purchasing in your organization, what criteria and process do you use to evaluate outsourcing decisions? In a basic "host a commercial application in-...
berberich's user avatar
  • 1,882
8 votes
7 answers
626 views

Keeping up with security [closed]

After some comments made to another question, I wonder how many administrators actually go to websites like Packetstorm? Do you keep up to date with the latest threats coming out? Finally what are the ...
Terry's user avatar
  • 1,073
7 votes
8 answers
2k views

What counts as experience?

I'm currently a high school student wanted to be a system administrator. The biggest thing I see on most job advertisements is experience. What really counts has experience? Is running and configuring ...
Cody Harlow's user avatar
54 votes
24 answers
27k views

Which websites should a system administrator read? [closed]

I try to religiously follow planet sysadmin as well as IBM developerworks. Which ones do you read and advise to other system administrators?
39 votes
17 answers
28k views

How to interview a sysadmin candidate? [closed]

What kinds of questions would you ask and what scenarios would you describe, what kinds of answers would you look for? I don't ask for specific questions. I would like to know which interview ...
splattne's user avatar
  • 28.6k
33 votes
12 answers
2k views

Good book for a software developer doing part-time (Linux) system administration work [closed]

In many smaller organisations, developers often end up doing some system administration work (for obvious reasons). A lot of the time, they have great developer skills, but few system administration ...
26 votes
17 answers
66k views

Alternatives to Nagios

Can you recommend any alternatives to Nagios, capable of monitoring both Linux and Windows computers and having an extensible architecture? I would like free products, but commercial ones could also ...
25 votes
26 answers
2k views

Best Information Technology Blogs [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: What are the Sysadmin-Related Blogs & Mailing Lists you monitor? Are there any great IT blogs out there? Which would you recommend from basic to advance stuff?
juan's user avatar
  • 373
10 votes
19 answers
13k views

What is the best resource for really understanding Linux deeply

I have been a Linux user on and off for many years. Recently, I have been using it daily. I am looking for suggestions for media; commercial books, free information, online videos etc that will help ...
Stuart Woodward's user avatar
9 votes
23 answers
18k views

What do you call the main component of a computer system?

What do you call the main component off your computer system. I am talking about the case plus all the guts (motherboard, cpu, hard drive, video, etc) minus the peripherals (video, mouse, keyboard). ...
8 votes
8 answers
3k views

Open source backup solution for windows, mac and linux [closed]

I'm the sysadmin for a small company (60 users over two sites). We have a mix of Windows, Mac and Linux desktop machines. I have set-up a backup server at both sites with a large amount of storage ...
user avatar
7 votes
7 answers
12k views

How to enter the field with 0 experience and a A+ cert? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: What a beginner should know/learn for sysadmin job? To explain my situation, right now I am a high school senior with an A+ certification, and am aiming for the Net+ and (...
TheLQ's user avatar
  • 993
5 votes
3 answers
6k views

List of registered domain names [closed]

Where can I find a list of domain names that I can download in a text file? I looked around and I found many sites with lists of expired domain names or domain names that will expire soon, but that's ...
user avatar
4 votes
7 answers
10k views

How long do servers usually last? [closed]

I'm trying to estimate ROI for a new server and how long it will most likely be in service. Are there any average numbers for how long you can expect a server to last that's in 24/7 use? In other ...
AX1's user avatar
  • 1,289
1 vote
8 answers
1k views

anti-virus / malware solution for small non-profit network [closed]

I'm an IT volunteer at a local non-profit. I'm looking for a good AV/malware solution. We currently use a mishmash of different client solutions, and want to move to something centralized. There is ...
Jason's user avatar
  • 193
86 votes
13 answers
5k views

10 servers to administer and I'm a history major [closed]

Through reasons that don't warrant exhaustive discussion, I find myself in charge of 10 servers: A domain controller-~500 hosts/~350 users IIS web server-This is where we make our money SQL server-...
chipandachair's user avatar
60 votes
6 answers
3k views

Ending company IT Admin relationship [closed]

We have been using a company to administer our (small office) IT infrastructure. We don't have complete records of what has been done or hasn't been done and don't know what we need to ask for in ...
35 votes
21 answers
1k views

What do you wish developers would do differently? [closed]

As a developer, I spend most of my time thinking about the code, UI, data structures and so on, but (I bravely admit) I don't tend to consider the implications of my app for sysadmins and DBAs until ...
harriyott's user avatar
  • 491
33 votes
31 answers
4k views

Your worst "High Maintenance User" experience [closed]

We all have them, let's share some stories about them. What kind of support person are you? Kudos to explanations of how you [un]civilly dealt with them! EDIT: Ok, let's hear some more. Really I ...
27 votes
20 answers
27k views

What makes a "Good" or "Great" Administrator? [closed]

In the scheme of things, it's pretty easy to run a web-server. Install, for example, Apache, PHP, and MySQL, and you're on your way. But the job, obviously, doesn't end there. Good administrators ...
24 votes
10 answers
6k views

Ethics and Windows License Stickers [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Can you help me with my software licensing question? I've come by some older laptops and want to re-install windows on them. (See my related question on an easy way to do so.)...
Clinton Blackmore's user avatar
21 votes
9 answers
7k views

IT Documentation Platforms [closed]

We are a growing IT operation that continues to provide additional offerings and support to a variety of customers. As we continue to sustain this growth, we have found that we need to have easy ...
John's user avatar
  • 2,276
21 votes
16 answers
1k views

How have you saved green by going green? [closed]

For the purpose of this question, I am interested in server/datacenter related hardware. Have you had any measureable amount of ROI by swapping existing hardware to more "green" or energy efficient ...
Bob's user avatar
  • 2,967
18 votes
4 answers
4k views

Agile sysadmin and devops - How to accomplish? [closed]

Nowadays, agile systems adminitration and devops are some of the most trending topics regarding systems administration and operations. Both these concepts are mainly focused on bridging the gap ...
Marco Ramos's user avatar
  • 3,150
16 votes
16 answers
2k views

IT Services: In House or Outsource?

For the purposes of a small business (less than 50 employees) is it generally advisable to hire someone full-time for IT Services or outsource to a separate company? Here are some details about the ...
brad's user avatar
  • 283
16 votes
6 answers
4k views

What software is available to keep track of hundreds of servers? [closed]

What good software is available (free or not free) to help me keep track of information relating to hundreds of servers, their relationships to each other (parent/child, category, type), and ...
15 votes
9 answers
8k views

Tool or script to detect moved or renamed files on Linux prior to a backup [closed]

Basically I am searching to see if there exists a tool or script that can detect moved or renamed files so that I can get a list of renamed/moved files and apply the same operation on the other end of ...
Pharaun's user avatar
  • 350
11 votes
6 answers
11k views

any good networking book recommended? [closed]

i have wanted to learn about networking and how they work. Are there books or websites that are good for them? Some things I wanted to learn about: how to write a program that works like ...
nonopolarity's user avatar
11 votes
9 answers
1k views

Professional Groups and Associations [closed]

After reading How valuable do you find professional memberships? I thought it would be useful to list the various professional groups and associations available. Discussion of the value (or not) of ...
10 votes
13 answers
2k views

"Organizational issues" -- sore spots of IT? [closed]

Is it common for "organizational issues" (such as politics, organizational inertia, and selective hearing -- think Dilbert) to cause more IT problems than computers and servers do? Likewise, is it ...
10 votes
3 answers
5k views

Is there a Mercurial admin web frontend? [closed]

Something like Bitbucket (of course much less feature-rich). It must be able to hold multiple repositories, and be private (i.e. if you don't login, it doesn't show you anything). It should be able ...
o0'.'s user avatar
  • 411
7 votes
10 answers
2k views

Worst SysAdmin Accident [closed]

In line with the question about Best sysadmin accident, what's the worst accident you've been involved in? Unlike the previous question, I mean "worst" in the sense of most system damage or actual ...
7 votes
2 answers
271 views

Interesting opensource projects to contribute to as a sysadmin? [closed]

I know that as a sysadmin you can contribute to opensource projects such as a Debian and Fedora. Joining their infrastructure groups and help with administration. I'm just wondering if there are any ...
6 votes
8 answers
2k views

Merits of having a shared development server [closed]

The developers on my team want a shared development machine to use instead of running the software on their own computers. Their rationale seems to be that we are only targeting Fedora/CentOS/Red Hat ...
BenGC's user avatar
  • 1,785
6 votes
5 answers
2k views

Should i do MCSE 2003 or MCITP for Windows Server 2008 [closed]

I want to go in networking and windows field . Currently I am in Web design field but i want to go in window Administration. I want to do MCSE. Should i go for 2008 server or 2003 server.
user avatar
6 votes
6 answers
526 views

How valuable do you find professional memberships? [closed]

I've been a sysadmin for the better part of a decade, but only in the past few years have I really been interested in really bettering myself and the profession. To that end, I joined LOPSA (it was ...
6 votes
24 answers
2k views

What are some non-IT/Admin books every Admin should read?

What are some non-IT/Admin books every Admin should read?
Dhanapal's user avatar
  • 905
5 votes
9 answers
7k views

What's the difference between sysadmin and an IT Consultant? [closed]

My official title is a Network administrator. I pretty much go out on trouble calls, patch security holes, and help out with administrating some of our network encryption gear, setting up fiber paths, ...
killamjr's user avatar
  • 191