Comments on: A New Year System Administrator Inspiration http://rackerhacker.com/2010/01/03/a-new-year-system-administrator-inspiration/ Words of wisdom from a server administrator Sat, 11 Feb 2012 23:43:21 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: hunter.c http://rackerhacker.com/2010/01/03/a-new-year-system-administrator-inspiration/#comment-16194 hunter.c Thu, 22 Apr 2010 07:54:41 +0000 http://rackerhacker.com/?p=1104#comment-16194 Thanks, Very nice site. Thanks, Very nice site.

]]> By: davetiye http://rackerhacker.com/2010/01/03/a-new-year-system-administrator-inspiration/#comment-16094 davetiye Sat, 03 Apr 2010 18:38:03 +0000 http://rackerhacker.com/?p=1104#comment-16094 thank you wery much thank you wery much

]]> By: Jeff H http://rackerhacker.com/2010/01/03/a-new-year-system-administrator-inspiration/#comment-15784 Jeff H Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:01:17 +0000 http://rackerhacker.com/?p=1104#comment-15784 Understanding the ecosystem of an IT service is key to assuring that problems are resolved quickly. I stress this approach to my staff. I find if you gain a good understanding of how an IT service is integrated from its components, such as firewalls, networks, file servers, databases, web servers, you can then design effective monitoring tools that allow you to pinpoint issues rather than chasing phantoms. Understanding the ecosystem of an IT service is key to assuring that problems are resolved quickly. I stress this approach to my staff. I find if you gain a good understanding of how an IT service is integrated from its components, such as firewalls, networks, file servers, databases, web servers, you can then design effective monitoring tools that allow you to pinpoint issues rather than chasing phantoms.

]]> By: Major Hayden http://rackerhacker.com/2010/01/03/a-new-year-system-administrator-inspiration/#comment-15707 Major Hayden Mon, 04 Jan 2010 18:52:09 +0000 http://rackerhacker.com/?p=1104#comment-15707 David - You definitely hit the nail on the head there. By not sharing the knowledge - intentionally or unintentionally - you slow down the community as a whole. End users, administrators and developers all get left out of the loop. Well said! David - You definitely hit the nail on the head there. By not sharing the knowledge - intentionally or unintentionally - you slow down the community as a whole. End users, administrators and developers all get left out of the loop.

Well said!

]]> By: Kevin http://rackerhacker.com/2010/01/03/a-new-year-system-administrator-inspiration/#comment-15706 Kevin Mon, 04 Jan 2010 17:14:06 +0000 http://rackerhacker.com/?p=1104#comment-15706 Every System Admin must also have this bookmarked for his family: http://xkcd.com/627/ Every System Admin must also have this bookmarked for his family: http://xkcd.com/627/

]]> By: Major Hayden http://rackerhacker.com/2010/01/03/a-new-year-system-administrator-inspiration/#comment-15704 Major Hayden Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:11:12 +0000 http://rackerhacker.com/?p=1104#comment-15704 Kyle - Thanks for the kind words! Kyle - Thanks for the kind words!

]]> By: David Mackintosh http://rackerhacker.com/2010/01/03/a-new-year-system-administrator-inspiration/#comment-15703 David Mackintosh Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:10:25 +0000 http://rackerhacker.com/?p=1104#comment-15703 One thing I'd add: if you find an answer, document it. If you ask a question in an internet forum, then go back and answer your own question. If you learn something that isn't apparently on the internet anywhere, find someplace to document your answer. One of the problems of Google is that everyone and their dogs are asking questions. The problem is, most of these questions never get answered, so for some esoteric stuff you end up paging through all these people asking for help with no response. So by following through on any questions you ask, you increase the signal-to-noise ratio (or maybe the help-to-helplessness ratio) of the internet at large. If you don't have your own 'blog or wiki, a simple place to add questions (or even ask them) is serverfault.com or superuser.com. It is simple to sign up, ask your question, and then answer it directly. What's better usually is to just ask your question and wait to see if the rest of the site's user community can come up with an answer. Yes, it's a numerical competition, but it is one where quality answers are a nice side-effect of that competition. One thing I'd add: if you find an answer, document it. If you ask a question in an internet forum, then go back and answer your own question. If you learn something that isn't apparently on the internet anywhere, find someplace to document your answer.

One of the problems of Google is that everyone and their dogs are asking questions. The problem is, most of these questions never get answered, so for some esoteric stuff you end up paging through all these people asking for help with no response. So by following through on any questions you ask, you increase the signal-to-noise ratio (or maybe the help-to-helplessness ratio) of the internet at large.

If you don't have your own 'blog or wiki, a simple place to add questions (or even ask them) is serverfault.com or superuser.com. It is simple to sign up, ask your question, and then answer it directly. What's better usually is to just ask your question and wait to see if the rest of the site's user community can come up with an answer. Yes, it's a numerical competition, but it is one where quality answers are a nice side-effect of that competition.

]]> By: Twirrim http://rackerhacker.com/2010/01/03/a-new-year-system-administrator-inspiration/#comment-15702 Twirrim Mon, 04 Jan 2010 06:51:16 +0000 http://rackerhacker.com/?p=1104#comment-15702 It's long since reached a stage where the very first thing I think of is DNS. It's stunning just how many disparate problems are caused by it. Given it takes all of 30 seconds to run "dig" it's one of the first things I do when a problem gets escalated to my team. It's so easy to get fixated on one cause (and I'm just as guilty of it), but a lot of the time I'm able to resolve customer problems that have been escalated to my department simply because I habitually drop back to first principles. It's not that I distrust the tech support teams (we've got some of the most skilled 'basic' support technicians I've ever had the pleasure of working with), but just that I don't like to take anything as certain unless I've proven it myself. It's long since reached a stage where the very first thing I think of is DNS. It's stunning just how many disparate problems are caused by it. Given it takes all of 30 seconds to run "dig" it's one of the first things I do when a problem gets escalated to my team.

It's so easy to get fixated on one cause (and I'm just as guilty of it), but a lot of the time I'm able to resolve customer problems that have been escalated to my department simply because I habitually drop back to first principles. It's not that I distrust the tech support teams (we've got some of the most skilled 'basic' support technicians I've ever had the pleasure of working with), but just that I don't like to take anything as certain unless I've proven it myself.

]]> By: Kyle G's Blog » Inspiration from a RackSpace Systems Administrator http://rackerhacker.com/2010/01/03/a-new-year-system-administrator-inspiration/#comment-15701 Kyle G's Blog » Inspiration from a RackSpace Systems Administrator Mon, 04 Jan 2010 03:50:46 +0000 http://rackerhacker.com/?p=1104#comment-15701 [...] http://rackerhacker.com/2010/01/03/a-new-year-system-administrator-inspiration/ [...] [...] http://rackerhacker.com/2010/01/03/a-new-year-system-administrator-inspiration/ [...]

]]> By: Kyle Gato http://rackerhacker.com/2010/01/03/a-new-year-system-administrator-inspiration/#comment-15698 Kyle Gato Mon, 04 Jan 2010 03:25:32 +0000 http://rackerhacker.com/?p=1104#comment-15698 Major, This post was to the point an excellent write up, I think it showcases how just knowing a lot about computers is not enough. It shows how being an Systems Administrator is more than knowing how to manipulate command line, I think it's a way of thinking, a way of problem solving. I am fortunate enough to work with someone as experienced with you, even though it'd indirectly, just knowing your in the same building and able to answer any questions or offer advice is a privilege. Looking forward to 2010, and the things it's going to bring RackSpace, The Cloud, and all of us personally. -Kyle Major,
This post was to the point an excellent write up, I think it showcases how just knowing a lot about computers is not enough. It shows how being an Systems Administrator is more than knowing how to manipulate command line, I think it's a way of thinking, a way of problem solving.

I am fortunate enough to work with someone as experienced with you, even though it'd indirectly, just knowing your in the same building and able to answer any questions or offer advice is a privilege.

Looking forward to 2010, and the things it's going to bring RackSpace, The Cloud, and all of us personally.

-Kyle

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