Life of a SysAdmin


Book Description




Time Management for System Administrators


Book Description

Provides advice for system administrators on time management, covering such topics as keeping an effective calendar, eliminating time wasters, setting priorities, automating processes, and managing interruptions.




Life of a Sysadmin


Book Description

After 16 years of being a System Administrator, I have decided to put some of my thoughts in this small personal manifesto.Please keep in mind that I am not a writer by profession, it something that I think most of you can relate to. Thank you for your interest.




The Practice of System and Network Administration


Book Description

With 28 new chapters, the third edition of The Practice of System and Network Administration innovates yet again! Revised with thousands of updates and clarifications based on reader feedback, this new edition also incorporates DevOps strategies even for non-DevOps environments. Whether you use Linux, Unix, or Windows, this new 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 experts through difficult projects. Other books tell you what commands to type. This book teaches you the cross-platform strategies that are timeless! DevOps techniques: Apply DevOps principles to enterprise IT infrastructure, even in environments without developers Game-changing strategies: New ways to deliver results faster with less stress Fleet management: A comprehensive guide to managing your fleet of desktops, laptops, servers and mobile devices Service management: How to design, launch, upgrade and migrate services Measurable improvement: Assess your operational effectiveness; a forty-page, pain-free assessment system you can start using today to raise the quality of all services Design guides: Best practices for networks, data centers, email, storage, monitoring, backups and more Management skills: Organization design, communication, negotiation, ethics, hiring and firing, and more Have you ever had any of these problems? Have you been surprised to discover your backup tapes are blank? Ever spent a year launching a new service only to be told the users hate it? Do you have more incoming support requests than you can handle? Do you spend more time fixing problems than building the next awesome thing? Have you suffered from a botched migration of thousands of users to a new service? Does your company rely on a computer that, if it died, can’t be rebuilt? Is your network a fragile mess that breaks any time you try to improve it? Is there a periodic “hell month” that happens twice a year? Twelve times a year? Do you find out about problems when your users call you to complain? Does your corporate “Change Review Board” terrify you? Does each division of your company have their own broken way of doing things? Do you fear that automation will replace you, or break more than it fixes? Are you underpaid and overworked? No vague “management speak” or empty platitudes. This comprehensive guide provides real solutions that prevent these problems and more!




The Cuckoo's Egg


Book Description

In this white-knuckled true story that is “as exciting as any action novel” (The New York Times Book Review), an astronomer-turned-cyber-detective begins a personal quest to expose a hidden network of spies that threatens national security and leads all the way to the KGB. When Cliff Stoll followed the trail of a 75-cent accounting error at his workplace, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, it led him to the presence of an unauthorized user on the system. Suddenly, Stoll found himself crossing paths with a hacker named “Hunter” who had managed to break into sensitive United States networks and steal vital information. Stoll made the dangerous decision to begin a one-man hunt of his own: spying on the spy. It was a high-stakes game of deception, broken codes, satellites, and missile bases, one that eventually gained the attention of the CIA. What started as simply observing soon became a game of cat and mouse that ultimately reached all the way to the KGB.




The Linux Philosophy for SysAdmins


Book Description

Reveals and illustrates the awesome power and flexibility of the command line, and the design and usage philosophies that support those traits. This understanding of how to extract the most from the Linux command line can help you become a better SysAdmin. Understand why many things in the Linux and Unix worlds are done as they are, and how to apply the Linux Philosophy to working as a SysAdmin. The original Unix/Linux Philosophy presented foundational and functional tenets - rules, guidelines, and procedural methods - that worked well. However, it was intended for the developers of those operating systems. Although System Administrators could apply many of the tenets to their daily work, many important tenets were missing. Over the years that David Both has been working with Linux and Unix, he has formulated his own philosophy – one which applies more directly to the everyday life of the System Administrator. This book defines a philosophy, and then illuminates the practical aspects of that philosophy with real-world experiments you can perform. Inspired by David’s real mentors, and dedicated to them, The Linux Philosophy for System Administrators is a mentor to SysAdmins everywhere; remember - "If you fail you learn." What You Will Learn Apply the Linux philosophy to working as a SysAdmin Unlock the power of the knowledge you already have Fully understand and access the vast power of the command line Review the power of Linux as a function of the philosophies that built it Who This Book Is For If you want to learn the secrets that make the best Linux SysAdmins powerful far beyond that of mere mortals; if you want to understand the concepts that unlock those secrets; if you want to be the SysAdmin that everyone else turns to when the bytes hit the fan – then this book is for you.




Linux in Action


Book Description

Summary Linux in Action is a task-based tutorial that will give you the skills and deep understanding you need to administer a Linux-based system. This hands-on book guides you through 12 real-world projects so you can practice as you learn. Each chapter ends with a review of best practices, new terms, and exercises. Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications. About the Technology You can't learn anything without getting your hands dirty including Linux. Skills like securing files, folders, and servers, safely installing patches and applications, and managing a network are required for any serious user, including developers, administrators, and DevOps professionals. With this hands-on tutorial, you'll roll up your sleeves and learn Linux project by project. About the Book Linux in Action guides you through 12 real-world projects, including automating a backup-and-restore system, setting up a private Dropbox-style file cloud, and building your own MediaWiki server. You'll try out interesting examples as you lock in core practices like virtualization, disaster recovery, security, backup, DevOps, and system troubleshooting. Each chapter ends with a review of best practices, new terms, and exercises. What's inside Setting up a safe Linux environment Managing secure remote connectivity Building a system recovery device Patching and upgrading your system About the Reader No prior Linux admin experience is required. About the Author David Clinton is a certified Linux Server Professional, seasoned instructor, and author of Manning's bestselling Learn Amazon Web Services in a Month of Lunches. Table of Contents Welcome to Linux Linux virtualization: Building a Linux working environment Remote connectivity: Safely accessing networked machines Archive management: Backing up or copying entire file systems Automated administration: Configuring automated offsite backups Emergency tools: Building a system recovery device Web servers: Building a MediaWiki server Networked file sharing: Building a Nextcloud file-sharing server Securing your web server Securing network connections: Creating a VPN or DMZ System monitoring: Working with log files Sharing data over a private network Troubleshooting system performance issues Troubleshooting network issues Troubleshooting peripheral devices DevOps tools: Deploying a scripted server environment using Ansible




Linux System Administration


Book Description

This guide provides a solid background for Linux desktop users who want to move beyond the basics of Linux, and for experienced system administrators who are looking to gain more advanced skills.




UNIX and Linux System Administration Handbook


Book Description

“As an author, editor, and publisher, I never paid much attention to the competition—except in a few cases. This is one of those cases. The UNIX System Administration Handbook is one of the few books we ever measured ourselves against.” —Tim O’Reilly, founder of O’Reilly Media “This edition is for those whose systems live in the cloud or in virtualized data centers; those whose administrative work largely takes the form of automation and configuration source code; those who collaborate closely with developers, network engineers, compliance officers, and all the other worker bees who inhabit the modern hive.” —Paul Vixie, Internet Hall of Fame-recognized innovator and founder of ISC and Farsight Security “This book is fun and functional as a desktop reference. If you use UNIX and Linux systems, you need this book in your short-reach library. It covers a bit of the systems’ history but doesn’t bloviate. It’s just straight-forward information delivered in a colorful and memorable fashion.” —Jason A. Nunnelley UNIX® and Linux® System Administration Handbook, Fifth Edition, is today’s definitive guide to installing, configuring, and maintaining any UNIX or Linux system, including systems that supply core Internet and cloud infrastructure. Updated for new distributions and cloud environments, this comprehensive guide covers best practices for every facet of system administration, including storage management, network design and administration, security, web hosting, automation, configuration management, performance analysis, virtualization, DNS, security, and the management of IT service organizations. The authors—world-class, hands-on technologists—offer indispensable new coverage of cloud platforms, the DevOps philosophy, continuous deployment, containerization, monitoring, and many other essential topics. Whatever your role in running systems and networks built on UNIX or Linux, this conversational, well-written ¿guide will improve your efficiency and help solve your knottiest problems.




System Administration Ethics


Book Description

Successfully navigate through the ever-changing world of technology and ethics and reconcile system administration principles for separation of duty, account segmentation, administrative groups and data protection. As security breaches become more common, businesses need to protect themselves when facing ethical dilemmas in today’s digital landscape. This book serves as a equitable guideline in helping system administrators, engineers – as well as their managers – on coping with the ethical challenges of technology and security in the modern data center by providing real-life stories, scenarios, and use cases from companies both large and small. You'll examine the problems and challenges that people working with customer data, security and system administration may face in the cyber world and review the boundaries and tools for remaining ethical in an environment where it is so easy to step over a line - intentionally or accidentally. You'll also see how to correctly deal with multiple ethical situations, problems that arise, and their potential consequences, with examples from both classic and DevOps-based environments. Using the appropriate rules of engagement, best policies and practices, and proactive “building/strengthening” behaviors, System Administration Ethics provides the necessary tools to securely run an ethically correct environment. What You'll Learn The concepts of Least Privilege and Need to KnowRequest change approval and conduct change communication Follow "Break Glass" emergency proceduresCode with data breaches, hacking and security violations, and proactively embrace and design for failures Build and gain trust with employees and build the right ethical culture Review what managers can do to improve ethics and protect their employees Who This Book Is ForThis book’s primary audience includes system administrators and information security specialists engaged with the creation, process and administration of security policies and systems. A secondary audience includes company leaders seeking to improve the security, privacy, and behavioral practices.