System and Network
Administration
Lecture 1
5/2/2025 Introduction 1
Computer System
Computer system is a collection of entities (hardware and
software) that are designed to receive, process, manage and present
information in a meaningful format.
Hardware refers to the physical, tangible computer equipment and
devices, which provide support for major functions such as input,
processing (internal storage, computation and control), output,
secondary storage (for data and programs), and communication.
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There are five main hardware components in a
computer system: Input, Processing, Storage,
Output and Communication devices.
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Computer software, also known as programs or
applications, are the intangible components of the
computer system.
They can be classified into two main classes
namely – system software and application
software.
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What is Systems Administration?
System administration is the profession of working with
and managing computing, and sometimes networking,
infrastructure for an organization
A system administrator, IT systems administrator,
or sysadmin is a person employed to maintain and operate a
computer system and/or network.
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What is Systems Administration?
These activities minimally include system installation,
configuration, integration, maintenance, performance
management, data management, security management, failure
analysis and recovery, and user support.
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What Is a Sysadmin?
In a “small company” the Sysadmin may be the entire
information technology staff.
The Sysadmin may do everything from telephone, to fax,
to computer management.
Sysadmin may have to order supplies, deal with users,
develop software, repair hardware.
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What Is a Sysadmin?
In a large company the Sysadmin may be one
member of a large group.
May be responsible for one aspect of the data
center operation.
Programmers
Database Administrators
Network Administrators
Operators
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Common Sysadmin Traits
The Sysadmin must be able to solve difficult technical
problems.
The Sysadmin must be able to work in a group setting.
The Sysadmin must document activities in order to
reproduce the results.
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Common Sysadmin Traits
The Sysadmin must be able to solve difficult technical
problems.
The Sysadmin must be able to work in a group setting.
The Sysadmin must document activities in order to
reproduce the results.
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Common Sysadmin Traits
Good System Administrator should have equal parts:
Technical skills
People & communications skills
Problem solving & Common sense
Personal Commitment
“SA involves a tension between authority and responsibility on one
hand and service and co-operation on the other.”
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Common Sysadmin Traits
As a job, Systems Administration is
complex
painful
highly interactive
well paid
employable
thankless
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Common Sysadmin Traits
The tasks of system management varies
dramatically from sites to sites.
Some possible tasks
Adding and removing users
Adding and removing hardware
Performing backups
Installing new software
Monitoring the system
Troubleshooting
Maintaining local documentation
Auditing security
Help users
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What Does a Sysadmin Do?
Plan and manage the machine room environment
- Design machine room; specify cooling, cabling,
power connections, and environmental controls (fire
alarm, security)
Install and maintain operating system software,
application software, and patches.
Determine hardware and software pre-requisites,
which patches to install, which services to provide, and
which services to disable.
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What Does a Sysadmin Do?
Schedule downtime to perform upgrades/patches, and test
devices and schedule downtime to manage devices.
Install and maintain user accounts; develop acceptable use
policy and login-name policy; determine password change
policies; install/configure/manage name services; and manage
licenses.
Determine disk quota, police/manage disk space, and monitor
log files.
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What Does a Sysadmin Do?
Train users on software and security.
Ensure that users have access to documentation.
Help users and provide help-desk support and
problem tracking system to answer user questions.
Configure network services:
- printing, file sharing, name service.
- determine file sharing needs and printing policies.
- manage security for shared resources.
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What Does a Sysadmin Do?
Install/maintain system devices, hardware/drivers;
specify supported devices; determine spares practices.
Install/configure/manage web servers, configure web
access agents
Configure and maintain business applications
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What Does a Sysadmin Do?
Install/configure/manage e-mail software
mail transfer agents.
mail readers.
Configure and manage system security
security for business applications,
read security mailing lists ,
install/configure "firewall" software to limit intruder access,
collect evidence in case of successful intrusion and clean up
after intrusion
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What Does a Sysadmin Do?
Configure and maintain connectivity between
hosts
monitor connectivity
troubleshoot connectivity problems
investigate complaints of poor response
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What Does a Sysadmin Do?
Configure and maintain system backups,
determine backup strategy and policies, and
configure backup software
perform backups
monitor backup logs
check backup integrity
determine disaster survival plans
perform restores
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What Does a Sysadmin Do?
Troubleshoot and repair system problems; and
determine, locate, and repair/replace problem
components
Document the system, and develop and maintain
documentation on local setup and local policies
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Skills Required
Delegation and Time Management
Ethics
Ability to create/follow Policies and Procedures
Desire to learn
Customer Service Attitude
Knowledge of technical aspects
Hardware
Software
Problem Solving
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Essential Tasks of SA
Daily operations
emergencies
regular tasks (automate)
system monitoring
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Essential Tasks of SA
Hardware and software
Programming
Evaluation
Purchase
Installation
testing and maintenance
Upgrading
phasing out
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Essential Tasks of SA
Administration and planning
Documentation
time management
Policy
self-education
Planning
administrative tasks
Interaction with people
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Successful System
Administration
Need to find a balance between
Authority and responsibility
Service and cooperation
A few Basic strategies
Plan it before you go it
Make changes incrementally
Test, test, test before you unleash it on the world
Know how things REALLY work.
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Successful System
Administration
Careful planning
Habit
Change root password regularly
Faithfully making backups ( no matter how tedious)
Testing every change several times
Sticking to policies you’ve set
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System Administration: Ethics
Systems Administration is a profession.
It is a powerful profession.
A Systems Administrator must be ethical
Respect private information
Do not abuse power
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Practice of SAs
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.
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Practice of SAs
Good practices
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?”
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Practice of SAs
Common practice may not be good practice
There are two reasons for common practice:
Someone did it and others followed blindly;
Believe it is good after careful thought;
Think for yourself.
Pay attention to experts but don’t automatically believe
anyone.
Every choice needs a reason.
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The last but not the List
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