SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATION

AND MAINTENANCE
Learning Module

Andrew Caezar A. Villegas

Charles Lawrence Javate
Engr. Ronald S. Santos
Joey Dela Cruz
Jomasel G. Savellano

Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology

College of Information and Communications Technology
Sumacab, Cabanatuan City
 CHAPTER II

SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR
The system administrator, IT system administrator, system
administrator, or sys admin is a person employed to manage and
maintain a computer system and/or a network. System administrators
could be members of the Information Technology (IT) Department or
the Department of Management Information Systems (MIS).

Related fields
Most companies are filling other positions related to
system administration. Within a larger organization, most of these
may be separate positions within the Technical Support or
Information Services (IS) department.
 The Database Administrator (DBA) manages a database
infrastructure and is responsible for data integrity and
infrastructure reliability and accuracy.

 The network administrator manages network equipment, such as

switches and routers, and detects issues with or with the
actions of computers linked to the network.

 The security administrator is a computer and network security

expert, performing the management of security devices like
firewalls, as well as general security consultations.

 A web administrator maintains web server services (such as

Apache or IIS) that allow internal or external access to web
pages. Tasks involve managing multiple websites, managing
security, and installing the required components and
software. Duties can also require the management of software
changes.

 Technical support staff address the issues of individual

users with computer systems, gives
instructions and often training, and analyze and fix specific
problems.
Duties and Responsibilities of a System Administrator

The responsibilities of the system administrator are broad in
nature and vary significantly from one organization to another.
System administrators are usually responsible for setting up,
supporting and maintaining servers or other computer systems, and
for preparing and responding to service interruptions and other
issues. Certain roles may include scripting or basic programming,
project management for systems-related projects, supervision or
training of computer operators, and advising on computer problems
beyond the expertise of technical support personnel. To order to
do his or her job well, the system administrator must show a
combination of technical knowledge and responsibility.
Some of the duties and responsibilities of a System Administrator:

 Morning system or software inspections.

 Performing data backups.
 Apply updates to the operating system and adjust
settings.
 Installation and configuration of new hardware or
software.
 Add / delete / create / modify user account information,
reset passwords, etc.
 Responding to technical questions.
 Responsible for security.
 Responsible for documenting the system setup.
 Troubleshooting any identified issues or problems.
 Keep the network up and running.

Recommendations for Better System Administration

Here are a couple of things you can do:

1. Using a Ticket Management System

Server administrators get too many requests to memorize all
of them. You need tools to monitor the influx of requests that you
receive. Whether you call this system request management or
troubleshooting-tracker, you need it. If you are the only system
administrator, you need at least a PDA to manage your list of
tasks.
 2. Manage Quick Requests
Have you ever realized how difficult it is to do something
when people keep disrupting you? Too much distractions make it
difficult to complete any long-term projects. To address this,
organize the System Administration team in such a way that one
member is the shield to handle regular interruptions, and thus let
everyone else focus on their assignments uninterrupted.

3. Adopt Three Time-Saving Guidelines

Tips for Improving System Administration
 How do people get help?
 What is the scope of responsibility of the System
Administration team?
 What’s our definition of emergency?

First, there's a guideline about how people get support. Since

you have just implemented the ticket management system, this
guideline not only informs the user that it exists, but also shows
them how to use it. The main part of this strategy is to find out
that users are going to have to change their habits and no longer
stay around your office, keeping you out of work. (Or, if this is
still necessary, they should be at the desk.

The second guideline describes the extent of the duty of the

System Administration Team. This information shall be conveyed to
both the System Administrators and the customer base. New system
administrators have trouble saying no and end up overloaded and
doing other people's jobs for them. Hand holding becomes "let me
do that for you," and helpful guidance soon becomes a situation in
which the System Administrator spends time maintaining software
and equipment that is not of positive benefit to the company. Older
system administrators acquire the habit of curmudgeonly saying not
so much, much to the disadvantage of any effort by management to
make the team appears to be supportive.

The third guideline describes an emergency situation. If the

System Administrator is reluctant to say no to consumers because
they believe that any complaint is an emergency, the implementation
of this strategy may go a long way towards allowing the System
Administrators to repair leaking pipes rather than spend the entire
day mopping the floor. In some organizations, this guideline is
easier to formulate than others.
Miriam-Webster Dictionaryʼs Definition of Emergency:
 an unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that
calls for immediate action
 an urgent need for assistance or relief

Those three guidelines will give the overloaded systems

administration staff the breathing space they need to turn things
around.

1. Start Every New Host in a Known State

Eventually, we are amazed at how many sites do not even have

a systematic way loading the operating system (OS) of hosts they
install. Every Modern operating system provides a way to automate
the deployment process. Normally, the system is booted from a
server that downloads a small program that helps prepare the disk,
loads the operating system, loads applications, and then installs
any locally specified installation scripts. The last step is
something we have control, we could even add applications,
configure options, etc. Finally, the system reboots and is ready
for use.

Automation like this has two advantages: time savings and

repeatability.

The time saving reflects the fact that the manual process has
been replaced by automation. One could start the process and
perform other tasks while the automated installation finish.

Repeatability means that every time you create correctly

installed machines, you are able to create them precisely and
consistently. Having them correct signifies less testing before
deployment. (You test a workstation before you give it to someone
else, don't you?) Repeatability saves a lot of time at the help
desk; users can be better supported when help desk staff can expect
a level of consistency in the systems they support. Repeatability
also means that users are treated fairly; people will not be
surprised to find that their workstations lack the software or
features that their colleagues have received.

2. Make Email Work Efficiently

People who approve your finances are significant enough for
the organizational hierarchy to use email and calendar only if
they exist. If these applications are stable and reliable,
management will have more confidence in the team. Resource requests
will be made easier. Having a stable email system could even
provide you with excellent coverage as you fight other battles.
Please ensure that management support staff will also see positive
changes. Often, these people are the ones who run the company.

3. Document Everything
Documentation does not have to be a major burden; organized
a wiki, or create a text file directory on a file server. Start
creating checklists for common activities, like how to set up a
new employee or how to set up user's email. Once recorded, it is
easier to delegate these roles to a junior employee or a new
recruit. Labeling of physical devices is helpful for the
organization to avoid errors and makes it much easier for new
people to help out. Implement a policy that you must pause to label
an unknown device before working on it, even though you're in a
rush. Label the front and back of the device. Stick a label with
the same text on both the power adapter and the device.

4. Address the major loss of time

Choose the single largest time drain, and allocate one
individual to it until it has been fixed. This may mean that the
rest of the team will have to work a little harder for the meantime,
but it'll be worth fixing that problem. This individual will
provide regular updates and ask for support when the technical or
political dependencies are blocked, if necessary.

5. Find a quick solution

When stuck in a hole, one is entirely justified in
strategically choosing short-term solutions to a variety of issues
so that the few major high-impact projects can be completed. Keep
a list of long-term options that have been postponed. When
stability has been established, use that list to prepare the next
round of projects.

6. Provide the necessary power and cooling

Please ensure that every computer room has enough cooling and
electricity. Each device should receive its power from an
uninterruptible power supply (UPS). Nonetheless, when you're
trying to climb out of a hole, it's smart enough to make sure the
most critical servers and network equipment are on the UPS.
Specific UPS — one at the base of each rack — may be a good short-
term solution. UPSs should have enough battery capacity for servers
to sustain a 1-hour downtime and smoothly shut down before the
batteries run out. Power failures longer than one hour seem to be
very rare. Many of the outages are calculated in seconds. Small
UPSs are a good option before a larger UPS that can accommodate
the whole data center is placed. If you purchase a small UPS, be
sure to ask the supplier exactly what sort socket is needed for a
specific model. You would be amazed how many people need something
special. Cooling is more important than heat. Each watt of power
the machine consumes produces a certain amount of heat. Thanks to
the laws of thermodynamics, more than 1 watt of energy is expended
to provide cooling for the heat produced by 1 watt of computing
power. That is, it's really common to spend more than 50 percent
of your energy on cooling.

7. Deploy Easy Monitoring

While we would prefer to have a comprehensive monitoring system
with loads of bells and whistles, a lot can be achieved by getting
one that pings key servers and alerts users to an issue through
email.