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Index
About This E-Book
Title Page
Copyright Page
Contents at a Glance
Contents
Preface
Who Should Read This Book
Basic Principles
What Is an SA?
System Administration Matters
Organization of This Book
What’s New in the Third Edition
What’s Next
Acknowledgments
For the Third Edition
For the Second Edition
For the First Edition
About the Authors
Part I: Game-Changing Strategies
Chapter 1. Climbing Out of the Hole
1.1 Organizing WIP
1.1.1 Ticket Systems
1.1.2 Kanban
1.1.3 Tickets and Kanban
1.2 Eliminating Time Sinkholes
1.2.1 OS Installation and Configuration
1.2.2 Software Deployment
1.3 DevOps
1.4 DevOps Without Devs
1.5 Bottlenecks
1.6 Getting Started
1.7 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 2. The Small Batches Principle
2.1 The Carpenter Analogy
2.2 Fixing Hell Month
2.3 Improving Emergency Failovers
2.4 Launching Early and Often
2.5 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 3. Pets and Cattle
3.1 The Pets and Cattle Analogy
3.2 Scaling
3.3 Desktops as Cattle
3.4 Server Hardware as Cattle
3.5 Pets Store State
3.6 Isolating State
3.7 Generic Processes
3.8 Moving Variations to the End
3.9 Automation
3.10 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 4. Infrastructure as Code
4.1 Programmable Infrastructure
4.2 Tracking Changes
4.3 Benefits of Infrastructure as Code
4.4 Principles of Infrastructure as Code
4.5 Configuration Management Tools
4.5.1 Declarative Versus Imperative
4.5.2 Idempotency
4.5.3 Guards and Statements
4.6 Example Infrastructure as Code Systems
4.6.1 Configuring a DNS Client
4.6.2 A Simple Web Server
4.6.3 A Complex Web Application
4.7 Bringing Infrastructure as Code to Your Organization
4.8 Infrastructure as Code for Enhanced Collaboration
4.9 Downsides to Infrastructure as Code
4.10 Automation Myths
4.11 Summary
Exercises
Part II: Workstation Fleet Management
Chapter 5. Workstation Architecture
5.1 Fungibility
5.2 Hardware
5.3 Operating System
5.4 Network Configuration
5.4.1 Dynamic Configuration
5.4.2 Hardcoded Configuration
5.4.3 Hybrid Configuration
5.4.4 Applicability
5.5 Accounts and Authorization
5.6 Data Storage
5.7 OS Updates
5.8 Security
5.8.1 Theft
5.8.2 Malware
5.9 Logging
5.10 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 6. Workstation Hardware Strategies
6.1 Physical Workstations
6.1.1 Laptop Versus Desktop
6.1.2 Vendor Selection
6.1.3 Product Line Selection
6.2 Virtual Desktop Infrastructure
6.2.1 Reduced Costs
6.2.2 Ease of Maintenance
6.2.3 Persistent or Non-persistent?
6.3 Bring Your Own Device
6.3.1 Strategies
6.3.2 Pros and Cons
6.3.3 Security
6.3.4 Additional Costs
6.3.5 Usability
6.4 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 7. Workstation Software Life Cycle
7.1 Life of a Machine
7.2 OS Installation
7.3 OS Configuration
7.3.1 Configuration Management Systems
7.3.2 Microsoft Group Policy Objects
7.3.3 DHCP Configuration
7.3.4 Package Installation
7.4 Updating the System Software and Applications
7.4.1 Updates Versus Installations
7.4.2 Update Methods
7.5 Rolling Out Changes . . . Carefully
7.6 Disposal
7.6.1 Accounting
7.6.2 Technical: Decommissioning
7.6.3 Technical: Data Security
7.6.4 Physical
7.7 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 8. OS Installation Strategies
8.1 Consistency Is More Important Than Perfection
8.2 Installation Strategies
8.2.1 Automation
8.2.2 Cloning
8.2.3 Manual
8.3 Test-Driven Configuration Development
8.4 Automating in Steps
8.5 When Not to Automate
8.6 Vendor Support of OS Installation
8.7 Should You Trust the Vendor’s Installation?
8.8 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 9. Workstation Service Definition
9.1 Basic Service Definition
9.1.1 Approaches to Platform Definition
9.1.2 Application Selection
9.1.3 Leveraging a CMDB
9.2 Refresh Cycles
9.2.1 Choosing an Approach
9.2.2 Formalizing the Policy
9.2.3 Aligning with Asset Depreciation
9.3 Tiered Support Levels
9.4 Workstations as a Managed Service
9.5 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 10. Workstation Fleet Logistics
10.1 What Employees See
10.2 What Employees Don’t See
10.2.1 Purchasing Team
10.2.2 Prep Team
10.2.3 Delivery Team
10.2.4 Platform Team
10.2.5 Network Team
10.2.6 Tools Team
10.2.7 Project Management
10.2.8 Program Office
10.3 Configuration Management Database
10.4 Small-Scale Fleet Logistics
10.4.1 Part-Time Fleet Management
10.4.2 Full-Time Fleet Coordinators
10.5 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 11. Workstation Standardization
11.1 Involving Customers Early
11.2 Releasing Early and Iterating
11.3 Having a Transition Interval (Overlap)
11.4 Ratcheting
11.5 Setting a Cut-Off Date
11.6 Adapting for Your Corporate Culture
11.7 Leveraging the Path of Least Resistance
11.8 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 12. Onboarding
12.1 Making a Good First Impression
12.2 IT Responsibilities
12.3 Five Keys to Successful Onboarding
12.3.1 Drive the Process with an Onboarding Timeline
12.3.2 Determine Needs Ahead of Arrival
12.3.3 Perform the Onboarding
12.3.4 Communicate Across Teams
12.3.5 Reflect On and Improve the Process
12.4 Cadence Changes
12.5 Case Studies
12.5.1 Worst Onboarding Experience Ever
12.5.2 Lumeta’s Onboarding Process
12.5.3 Google’s Onboarding Process
12.6 Summary
Exercises
Part III: Servers
Chapter 13. Server Hardware Strategies
13.1 All Eggs in One Basket
13.2 Beautiful Snowflakes
13.2.1 Asset Tracking
13.2.2 Reducing Variations
13.2.3 Global Optimization
13.3 Buy in Bulk, Allocate Fractions
13.3.1 VM Management
13.3.2 Live Migration
13.3.3 VM Packing
13.3.4 Spare Capacity for Maintenance
13.3.5 Unified VM/Non-VM Management
13.3.6 Containers
13.4 Grid Computing
13.5 Blade Servers
13.6 Cloud-Based Compute Services
13.6.1 What Is the Cloud?
13.6.2 Cloud Computing’s Cost Benefits
13.6.3 Software as a Service
13.7 Server Appliances
13.8 Hybrid Strategies
13.9 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 14. Server Hardware Features
14.1 Workstations Versus Servers
14.1.1 Server Hardware Design Differences
14.1.2 Server OS and Management Differences
14.2 Server Reliability
14.2.1 Levels of Redundancy
14.2.2 Data Integrity
14.2.3 Hot-Swap Components
14.2.4 Servers Should Be in Computer Rooms
14.3 Remotely Managing Servers
14.3.1 Integrated Out-of-Band Management
14.3.2 Non-integrated Out-of-Band Management
14.4 Separate Administrative Networks
14.5 Maintenance Contracts and Spare Parts
14.5.1 Vendor SLA
14.5.2 Spare Parts
14.5.3 Tracking Service Contracts
14.5.4 Cross-Shipping
14.6 Selecting Vendors with Server Experience
14.7 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 15. Server Hardware Specifications
15.1 Models and Product Lines
15.2 Server Hardware Details
15.2.1 CPUs
15.2.2 Memory
15.2.3 Network Interfaces
15.2.4 Disks: Hardware Versus Software RAID
15.2.5 Power Supplies
15.3 Things to Leave Out
15.4 Summary
Exercises
Part IV: Services
Chapter 16. Service Requirements
16.1 Services Make the Environment
16.2 Starting with a Kick-Off Meeting
16.3 Gathering Written Requirements
16.4 Customer Requirements
16.4.1 Describing Features
16.4.2 Questions to Ask
16.4.3 Service Level Agreements
16.4.4 Handling Difficult Requests
16.5 Scope, Schedule, and Resources
16.6 Operational Requirements
16.6.1 System Observability
16.6.2 Remote and Central Management
16.6.3 Scaling Up or Out
16.6.4 Software Upgrades
16.6.5 Environment Fit
16.6.6 Support Model
16.6.7 Service Requests
16.6.8 Disaster Recovery
16.7 Open Architecture
16.8 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 17. Service Planning and Engineering
17.1 General Engineering Basics
17.2 Simplicity
17.3 Vendor-Certified Designs
17.4 Dependency Engineering
17.4.1 Primary Dependencies
17.4.2 External Dependencies
17.4.3 Dependency Alignment
17.5 Decoupling Hostname from Service Name
17.6 Support
17.6.1 Monitoring
17.6.2 Support Model
17.6.3 Service Request Model
17.6.4 Documentation
17.7 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 18. Service Resiliency and Performance Patterns
18.1 Redundancy Design Patterns
18.1.1 Masters and Slaves
18.1.2 Load Balancers Plus Replicas
18.1.3 Replicas and Shared State
18.1.4 Performance or Resilience?
18.2 Performance and Scaling
18.2.1 Dataflow Analysis for Scaling
18.2.2 Bandwidth Versus Latency
18.3 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 19. Service Launch: Fundamentals
19.1 Planning for Problems
19.2 The Six-Step Launch Process
19.2.1 Step 1: Define the Ready List
19.2.2 Step 2: Work the List
19.2.3 Step 3: Launch the Beta Service
19.2.4 Step 4: Launch the Production Service
19.2.5 Step 5: Capture the Lessons Learned
19.2.6 Step 6: Repeat
19.3 Launch Readiness Review
19.3.1 Launch Readiness Criteria
19.3.2 Sample Launch Criteria
19.3.3 Organizational Learning
19.3.4 LRC Maintenance
19.4 Launch Calendar
19.5 Common Launch Problems
19.5.1 Processes Fail in Production
19.5.2 Unexpected Access Methods
19.5.3 Production Resources Unavailable
19.5.4 New Technology Failures
19.5.5 Lack of User Training
19.5.6 No Backups
19.6 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 20. Service Launch: DevOps
20.1 Continuous Integration and Deployment
20.1.1 Test Ordering
20.1.2 Launch Categorizations
20.2 Minimum Viable Product
20.3 Rapid Release with Packaged Software
20.3.1 Testing Before Deployment
20.3.2 Time to Deployment Metrics
20.4 Cloning the Production Environment
20.5 Example: DNS/DHCP Infrastructure Software
20.5.1 The Problem
20.5.2 Desired End-State
20.5.3 First Milestone
20.5.4 Second Milestone
20.6 Launch with Data Migration
20.7 Controlling Self-Updating Software
20.8 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 21. Service Conversions
21.1 Minimizing Intrusiveness
21.2 Layers Versus Pillars
21.3 Vendor Support
21.4 Communication
21.5 Training
21.6 Gradual Roll-Outs
21.7 Flash-Cuts: Doing It All at Once
21.8 Backout Plan
21.8.1 Instant Roll-Back
21.8.2 Decision Point
21.9 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 22. Disaster Recovery and Data Integrity
22.1 Risk Analysis
22.2 Legal Obligations
22.3 Damage Limitation
22.4 Preparation
22.5 Data Integrity
22.6 Redundant Sites
22.7 Security Disasters
22.8 Media Relations
22.9 Summary
Exercises
Part V: Infrastructure
Chapter 23. Network Architecture
23.1 Physical Versus Logical
23.2 The OSI Model
23.3 Wired Office Networks
23.3.1 Physical Infrastructure
23.3.2 Logical Design
23.3.3 Network Access Control
23.3.4 Location for Emergency Services
23.4 Wireless Office Networks
23.4.1 Physical Infrastructure
23.4.2 Logical Design
23.5 Datacenter Networks
23.5.1 Physical Infrastructure
23.5.2 Logical Design
23.6 WAN Strategies
23.6.1 Topology
23.6.2 Technology
23.7 Routing
23.7.1 Static Routing
23.7.2 Interior Routing Protocol
23.7.3 Exterior Gateway Protocol
23.8 Internet Access
23.8.1 Outbound Connectivity
23.8.2 Inbound Connectivity
23.9 Corporate Standards
23.9.1 Logical Design
23.9.2 Physical Design
23.10 Software-Defined Networks
23.11 IPv6
23.11.1 The Need for IPv6
23.11.2 Deploying IPv6
23.12 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 24. Network Operations
24.1 Monitoring
24.2 Management
24.2.1 Access and Audit Trail
24.2.2 Life Cycle
24.2.3 Configuration Management
24.2.4 Software Versions
24.2.5 Deployment Process
24.3 Documentation
24.3.1 Network Design and Implementation
24.3.2 DNS
24.3.3 CMDB
24.3.4 Labeling
24.4 Support
24.4.1 Tools
24.4.2 Organizational Structure
24.4.3 Network Services
24.5 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 25. Datacenters Overview
25.1 Build, Rent, or Outsource
25.1.1 Building
25.1.2 Renting
25.1.3 Outsourcing
25.1.4 No Datacenter
25.1.5 Hybrid
25.2 Requirements
25.2.1 Business Requirements
25.2.2 Technical Requirements
25.3 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 26. Running a Datacenter
26.1 Capacity Management
26.1.1 Rack Space
26.1.2 Power
26.1.3 Wiring
26.1.4 Network and Console
26.2 Life-Cycle Management
26.2.1 Installation
26.2.2 Moves, Adds, and Changes
26.2.3 Maintenance
26.2.4 Decommission
26.3 Patch Cables
26.4 Labeling
26.4.1 Labeling Rack Location
26.4.2 Labeling Patch Cables
26.4.3 Labeling Network Equipment
26.5 Console Access
26.6 Workbench
26.7 Tools and Supplies
26.7.1 Tools
26.7.2 Spares and Supplies
26.7.3 Parking Spaces
26.8 Summary
Exercises
Part VI: Helpdesks and Support
Chapter 27. Customer Support
27.1 Having a Helpdesk
27.2 Offering a Friendly Face
27.3 Reflecting Corporate Culture
27.4 Having Enough Staff
27.5 Defining Scope of Support
27.6 Specifying How to Get Help
27.7 Defining Processes for Staff
27.8 Establishing an Escalation Process
27.9 Defining “Emergency” in Writing
27.10 Supplying Request-Tracking Software
27.11 Statistical Improvements
27.12 After-Hours and 24/7 Coverage
27.13 Better Advertising for the Helpdesk
27.14 Different Helpdesks for Different Needs
27.15 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 28. Handling an Incident Report
28.1 Process Overview
28.2 Phase A—Step 1: The Greeting
28.3 Phase B: Problem Identification
28.3.1 Step 2: Problem Classification
28.3.2 Step 3: Problem Statement
28.3.3 Step 4: Problem Verification
28.4 Phase C: Planning and Execution
28.4.1 Step 5: Solution Proposals
28.4.2 Step 6: Solution Selection
28.4.3 Step 7: Execution
28.5 Phase D: Verification
28.5.1 Step 8: Craft Verification
28.5.2 Step 9: Customer Verification/Closing
28.6 Perils of Skipping a Step
28.7 Optimizing Customer Care
28.7.1 Model-Based Training
28.7.2 Holistic Improvement
28.7.3 Increased Customer Familiarity
28.7.4 Special Announcements for Major Outages
28.7.5 Trend Analysis
28.7.6 Customers Who Know the Process
28.7.7 An Architecture That Reflects the Process
28.8 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 29. Debugging
29.1 Understanding the Customer’s Problem
29.2 Fixing the Cause, Not the Symptom
29.3 Being Systematic
29.4 Having the Right Tools
29.4.1 Training Is the Most Important Tool
29.4.2 Understanding the Underlying Technology
29.4.3 Choosing the Right Tools
29.4.4 Evaluating Tools
29.5 End-to-End Understanding of the System
29.6 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 30. Fixing Things Once
30.1 Story: The Misconfigured Servers
30.2 Avoiding Temporary Fixes
30.3 Learn from Carpenters
30.4 Automation
30.5 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 31. Documentation
31.1 What to Document
31.2 A Simple Template for Getting Started
31.3 Easy Sources for Documentation
31.3.1 Saving Screenshots
31.3.2 Capturing the Command Line
31.3.3 Leveraging Email
31.3.4 Mining the Ticket System
31.4 The Power of Checklists
31.5 Wiki Systems
31.6 Findability
31.7 Roll-Out Issues
31.8 A Content-Management System
31.9 A Culture of Respect
31.10 Taxonomy and Structure
31.11 Additional Documentation Uses
31.12 Off-Site Links
31.13 Summary
Exercises
Part VII: Change Processes
Chapter 32. Change Management
32.1 Change Review Boards
32.2 Process Overview
32.3 Change Proposals
32.4 Change Classifications
32.5 Risk Discovery and Quantification
32.6 Technical Planning
32.7 Scheduling
32.8 Communication
32.9 Tiered Change Review Boards
32.10 Change Freezes
32.11 Team Change Management
32.11.1 Changes Before Weekends
32.11.2 Preventing Injured Toes
32.11.3 Revision History
32.12 Starting with Git
32.13 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 33. Server Upgrades
33.1 The Upgrade Process
33.2 Step 1: Develop a Service Checklist
33.3 Step 2: Verify Software Compatibility
33.3.1 Upgrade the Software Before the OS
33.3.2 Upgrade the Software After the OS
33.3.3 Postpone the Upgrade or Change the Software
33.4 Step 3: Develop Verification Tests
33.5 Step 4: Choose an Upgrade Strategy
33.5.1 Speed
33.5.2 Risk
33.5.3 End-User Disruption
33.5.4 Effort
33.6 Step 5: Write a Detailed Implementation Plan
33.6.1 Adding Services During the Upgrade
33.6.2 Removing Services During the Upgrade
33.6.3 Old and New Versions on the Same Machine
33.6.4 Performing a Dress Rehearsal
33.7 Step 6: Write a Backout Plan
33.8 Step 7: Select a Maintenance Window
33.9 Step 8: Announce the Upgrade
33.10 Step 9: Execute the Tests
33.11 Step 10: Lock Out Customers
33.12 Step 11: Do the Upgrade with Someone
33.13 Step 12: Test Your Work
33.14 Step 13: If All Else Fails, Back Out
33.15 Step 14: Restore Access to Customers
33.16 Step 15: Communicate Completion/Backout
33.17 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 34. Maintenance Windows
34.1 Process Overview
34.2 Getting Management Buy-In
34.3 Scheduling Maintenance Windows
34.4 Planning Maintenance Tasks
34.5 Selecting a Flight Director
34.6 Managing Change Proposals
34.6.1 Sample Change Proposal: SecurID Server Upgrade
34.6.2 Sample Change Proposal: Storage Migration
34.7 Developing the Master Plan
34.8 Disabling Access
34.9 Ensuring Mechanics and Coordination
34.9.1 Shutdown/Boot Sequence
34.9.2 KVM, Console Service, and LOM
34.9.3 Communications
34.10 Change Completion Deadlines
34.11 Comprehensive System Testing
34.12 Post-maintenance Communication
34.13 Reenabling Remote Access
34.14 Be Visible the Next Morning
34.15 Postmortem
34.16 Mentoring a New Flight Director
34.17 Trending of Historical Data
34.18 Providing Limited Availability
34.19 High-Availability Sites
34.19.1 The Similarities
34.19.2 The Differences
34.20 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 35. Centralization Overview
35.1 Rationale for Reorganizing
35.1.1 Rationale for Centralization
35.1.2 Rationale for Decentralization
35.2 Approaches and Hybrids
35.3 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 36. Centralization Recommendations
36.1 Architecture
36.2 Security
36.2.1 Authorization
36.2.2 Extranet Connections
36.2.3 Data Leakage Prevention
36.3 Infrastructure
36.3.1 Datacenters
36.3.2 Networking
36.3.3 IP Address Space Management
36.3.4 Namespace Management
36.3.5 Communications
36.3.6 Data Management
36.3.7 Monitoring
36.3.8 Logging
36.4 Support
36.4.1 Helpdesk
36.4.2 End-User Support
36.5 Purchasing
36.6 Lab Environments
36.7 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 37. Centralizing a Service
37.1 Understand the Current Solution
37.2 Make a Detailed Plan
37.3 Get Management Support
37.4 Fix the Problems
37.5 Provide an Excellent Service
37.6 Start Slowly
37.7 Look for Low-Hanging Fruit
37.8 When to Decentralize
37.9 Managing Decentralized Services
37.10 Summary
Exercises
Part VIII: Service Recommendations
Chapter 38. Service Monitoring
38.1 Types of Monitoring
38.2 Building a Monitoring System
38.3 Historical Monitoring
38.3.1 Gathering the Data
38.3.2 Storing the Data
38.3.3 Viewing the Data
38.4 Real-Time Monitoring
38.4.1 SNMP
38.4.2 Log Processing
38.4.3 Alerting Mechanism
38.4.4 Escalation
38.4.5 Active Monitoring Systems
38.5 Scaling
38.5.1 Prioritization
38.5.2 Cascading Alerts
38.5.3 Coordination
38.6 Centralization and Accessibility
38.7 Pervasive Monitoring
38.8 End-to-End Tests
38.9 Application Response Time Monitoring
38.10 Compliance Monitoring
38.11 Meta-monitoring
38.12 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 39. Namespaces
39.1 What Is a Namespace?
39.2 Basic Rules of Namespaces
39.3 Defining Names
39.4 Merging Namespaces
39.5 Life-Cycle Management
39.6 Reuse
39.7 Usage
39.7.1 Scope
39.7.2 Consistency
39.7.3 Authority
39.8 Federated Identity
39.9 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 40. Nameservices
40.1 Nameservice Data
40.1.1 Data
40.1.2 Consistency
40.1.3 Authority
40.1.4 Capacity and Scaling
40.2 Reliability
40.2.1 DNS
40.2.2 DHCP
40.2.3 LDAP
40.2.4 Authentication
40.2.5 Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting
40.2.6 Databases
40.3 Access Policy
40.4 Change Policies
40.5 Change Procedures
40.5.1 Automation
40.5.2 Self-Service Automation
40.6 Centralized Management
40.7 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 41. Email Service
41.1 Privacy Policy
41.2 Namespaces
41.3 Reliability
41.4 Simplicity
41.5 Spam and Virus Blocking
41.6 Generality
41.7 Automation
41.8 Monitoring
41.9 Redundancy
41.10 Scaling
41.11 Security Issues
41.12 Encryption
41.13 Email Retention Policy
41.14 Communication
41.15 High-Volume List Processing
41.16 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 42. Print Service
42.1 Level of Centralization
42.2 Print Architecture Policy
42.3 Documentation
42.4 Monitoring
42.5 Environmental Issues
42.6 Shredding
42.7 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 43. Data Storage
43.1 Terminology
43.1.1 Key Individual Disk Components
43.1.2 RAID
43.1.3 Volumes and File Systems
43.1.4 Directly Attached Storage
43.1.5 Network-Attached Storage
43.1.6 Storage-Area Networks
43.2 Managing Storage
43.2.1 Reframing Storage as a Community Resource
43.2.2 Conducting a Storage-Needs Assessment
43.2.3 Mapping Groups onto Storage Infrastructure
43.2.4 Developing an Inventory and Spares Policy
43.2.5 Planning for Future Storage
43.2.6 Establishing Storage Standards
43.3 Storage as a Service
43.3.1 A Storage SLA
43.3.2 Reliability
43.3.3 Backups
43.3.4 Monitoring
43.3.5 SAN Caveats
43.4 Performance
43.4.1 RAID and Performance
43.4.2 NAS and Performance
43.4.3 SSDs and Performance
43.4.4 SANs and Performance
43.4.5 Pipeline Optimization
43.5 Evaluating New Storage Solutions
43.5.1 Drive Speed
43.5.2 Fragmentation
43.5.3 Storage Limits: Disk Access Density Gap
43.5.4 Continuous Data Protection
43.6 Common Data Storage Problems
43.6.1 Large Physical Infrastructure
43.6.2 Timeouts
43.6.3 Saturation Behavior
43.7 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 44. Backup and Restore
44.1 Getting Started
44.2 Reasons for Restores
44.2.1 Accidental File Deletion
44.2.2 Disk Failure
44.2.3 Archival Purposes
44.2.4 Perform Fire Drills
44.3 Corporate Guidelines
44.4 A Data-Recovery SLA and Policy
44.5 The Backup Schedule
44.6 Time and Capacity Planning
44.6.1 Backup Speed
44.6.2 Restore Speed
44.6.3 High-Availability Databases
44.7 Consumables Planning
44.7.1 Tape Inventory
44.7.2 Backup Media and Off-Site Storage
44.8 Restore-Process Issues
44.9 Backup Automation
44.10 Centralization
44.11 Technology Changes
44.12 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 45. Software Repositories
45.1 Types of Repositories
45.2 Benefits of Repositories
45.3 Package Management Systems
45.4 Anatomy of a Package
45.4.1 Metadata and Scripts
45.4.2 Active Versus Dormant Installation
45.4.3 Binary Packages
45.4.4 Library Packages
45.4.5 Super-Packages
45.4.6 Source Packages
45.5 Anatomy of a Repository
45.5.1 Security
45.5.2 Universal Access
45.5.3 Release Process
45.5.4 Multitiered Mirrors and Caches
45.6 Managing a Repository
45.6.1 Repackaging Public Packages
45.6.2 Repackaging Third-Party Software
45.6.3 Service and Support
45.6.4 Repository as a Service
45.7 Repository Client
45.7.1 Version Management
45.7.2 Tracking Conflicts
45.8 Build Environment
45.8.1 Continuous Integration
45.8.2 Hermetic Build
45.9 Repository Examples
45.9.1 Staged Software Repository
45.9.2 OS Mirror
45.9.3 Controlled OS Mirror
45.10 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 46. Web Services
46.1 Simple Web Servers
46.2 Multiple Web Servers on One Host
46.2.1 Scalable Techniques
46.2.2 HTTPS
46.3 Service Level Agreements
46.4 Monitoring
46.5 Scaling for Web Services
46.5.1 Horizontal Scaling
46.5.2 Vertical Scaling
46.5.3 Choosing a Scaling Method
46.6 Web Service Security
46.6.1 Secure Connections and Certificates
46.6.2 Protecting the Web Server Application
46.6.3 Protecting the Content
46.6.4 Application Security
46.7 Content Management
46.8 Summary
Exercises
Part IX: Management Practices
Chapter 47. Ethics
47.1 Informed Consent
47.2 Code of Ethics
47.3 Customer Usage Guidelines
47.4 Privileged-Access Code of Conduct
47.5 Copyright Adherence
47.6 Working with Law Enforcement
47.7 Setting Expectations on Privacy and Monitoring
47.8 Being Told to Do Something Illegal/Unethical
47.9 Observing Illegal Activity
47.10 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 48. Organizational Structures
48.1 Sizing
48.2 Funding Models
48.3 Management Chain’s Influence
48.4 Skill Selection
48.5 Infrastructure Teams
48.6 Customer Support
48.7 Helpdesk
48.8 Outsourcing
48.9 Consultants and Contractors
48.10 Sample Organizational Structures
48.10.1 Small Company
48.10.2 Medium-Size Company
48.10.3 Large Company
48.10.4 E-commerce Site
48.10.5 Universities and Nonprofit Organizations
48.11 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 49. Perception and Visibility
49.1 Perception
49.1.1 A Good First Impression
49.1.2 Attitude, Perception, and Customers
49.1.3 Aligning Priorities with Customer Expectations
49.1.4 The System Advocate
49.2 Visibility
49.2.1 System Status Web Page
49.2.2 Management Meetings
49.2.3 Physical Visibility
49.2.4 Town Hall Meetings
49.2.5 Newsletters
49.2.6 Mail to All Customers
49.2.7 Lunch
49.3 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 50. Time Management
50.1 Interruptions
50.1.1 Stay Focused
50.1.2 Splitting Your Day
50.2 Follow-Through
50.3 Basic To-Do List Management
50.4 Setting Goals
50.5 Handling Email Once
50.6 Precompiling Decisions
50.7 Finding Free Time
50.8 Dealing with Ineffective People
50.9 Dealing with Slow Bureaucrats
50.10 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 51. Communication and Negotiation
51.1 Communication
51.2 I Statements
51.3 Active Listening
51.3.1 Mirroring
51.3.2 Summary Statements
51.3.3 Reflection
51.4 Negotiation
51.4.1 Recognizing the Situation
51.4.2 Format of a Negotiation Meeting
51.4.3 Working Toward a Win-Win Outcome
51.4.4 Planning Your Negotiations
51.5 Additional Negotiation Tips
51.5.1 Ask for What You Want
51.5.2 Don’t Negotiate Against Yourself
51.5.3 Don’t Reveal Your Strategy
51.5.4 Refuse the First Offer
51.5.5 Use Silence as a Negotiating Tool
51.6 Further Reading
51.7 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 52. Being a Happy SA
52.1 Happiness
52.2 Accepting Criticism
52.3 Your Support Structure
52.4 Balancing Work and Personal Life
52.5 Professional Development
52.6 Staying Technical
52.7 Loving Your Job
52.8 Motivation
52.9 Managing Your Manager
52.10 Self-Help Books
52.11 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 53. Hiring System Administrators
53.1 Job Description
53.2 Skill Level
53.3 Recruiting
53.4 Timing
53.5 Team Considerations
53.6 The Interview Team
53.7 Interview Process
53.8 Technical Interviewing
53.9 Nontechnical Interviewing
53.10 Selling the Position
53.11 Employee Retention
53.12 Getting Noticed
53.13 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 54. Firing System Administrators
54.1 Cooperate with Corporate HR
54.2 The Exit Checklist
54.3 Removing Access
54.3.1 Physical Access
54.3.2 Remote Access
54.3.3 Application Access
54.3.4 Shared Passwords
54.3.5 External Services
54.3.6 Certificates and Other Secrets
54.4 Logistics
54.5 Examples
54.5.1 Amicably Leaving a Company
54.5.2 Firing the Boss
54.5.3 Removal at an Academic Institution
54.6 Supporting Infrastructure
54.7 Summary
Exercises
Part X: Being More Awesome
Chapter 55. Operational Excellence
55.1 What Does Operational Excellence Look Like?
55.2 How to Measure Greatness
55.3 Assessment Methodology
55.3.1 Operational Responsibilities
55.3.2 Assessment Levels
55.3.3 Assessment Questions and Look-For’s
55.4 Service Assessments
55.4.1 Identifying What to Assess
55.4.2 Assessing Each Service
55.4.3 Comparing Results Across Services
55.4.4 Acting on the Results
55.4.5 Assessment and Project Planning Frequencies
55.5 Organizational Assessments
55.6 Levels of Improvement
55.7 Getting Started
55.8 Summary
Exercises
Chapter 56. Operational Assessments
56.1 Regular Tasks (RT)
Sample Assessment Questions
Level 1: Initial
Level 2: Repeatable
Level 3: Defined
Level 4: Managed
Level 5: Optimizing
56.2 Emergency Response (ER)
Sample Assessment Questions
Level 1: Initial
Level 2: Repeatable
Level 3: Defined
Level 4: Managed
Level 5: Optimizing
56.3 Monitoring and Metrics (MM)
Sample Assessment Questions
Level 1: Initial
Level 2: Repeatable
Level 3: Defined
Level 4: Managed
Level 5: Optimizing
56.4 Capacity Planning (CP)
Sample Assessment Questions
Level 1: Initial
Level 2: Repeatable
Level 3: Defined
Level 4: Managed
Level 5: Optimizing
56.5 Change Management (CM)
Sample Assessment Questions
Level 1: Initial
Level 2: Repeatable
Level 3: Defined
Level 4: Managed
Level 5: Optimizing
56.6 New Product Introduction and Removal (NPI/NPR)
Sample Assessment Questions
Level 1: Initial
Level 2: Repeatable
Level 3: Defined
Level 4: Managed
Level 5: Optimizing
56.7 Service Deployment and Decommissioning (SDD)
Sample Assessment Questions
Level 1: Initial
Level 2: Repeatable
Level 3: Defined
Level 4: Managed
Level 5: Optimizing
56.8 Performance and Efficiency (PE)
Sample Assessment Questions
Level 1: Initial
Level 2: Repeatable
Level 3: Defined
Level 4: Managed
Level 5: Optimizing
56.9 Service Delivery: The Build Phase
Sample Assessment Questions
Level 1: Initial
Level 2: Repeatable
Level 3: Defined
Level 4: Managed
Level 5: Optimizing
56.10 Service Delivery: The Deployment Phase
Sample Assessment Questions
Level 1: Initial
Level 2: Repeatable
Level 3: Defined
Level 4: Managed
Level 5: Optimizing
56.11 Toil Reduction
Sample Assessment Questions
Level 1: Initial
Level 2: Repeatable
Level 3: Defined
Level 4: Managed
Level 5: Optimizing
56.12 Disaster Preparedness
Sample Assessment Questions
Level 1: Initial
Level 2: Repeatable
Level 3: Defined
Level 4: Managed
Level 5: Optimizing
Epilogue
Part XI: Appendices
Appendix A. What to Do When . . .
A.1 Building a Site from Scratch
A.2 Growing a Small Site
A.3 Going Global
A.4 Choosing Checklists to Put on Your Wiki
A.5 Fixing the Perception of Being Unprofessional
A.6 Replacing Services
A.7 Moving a Datacenter
A.8 Moving to or Opening a New Building
A.9 Handling a High Rate of Office Moves
A.10 Dealing with Mergers and Acquisitions
A.11 Coping with Frequent Machine Crashes
A.12 Experiencing a Major Outage or Work Stoppage
A.13 Creating a Toolkit for Each SA on a Team
A.14 Ensuring the Return of Tools
A.15 Asked Why Documentation is Necessary
A.16 Policies Are Not Documented
A.17 Identifying the Fundamental Problems in the Environment
A.18 Getting More Money for Projects
A.19 Getting Projects Done
A.20 Keeping Customers Happy
A.21 Keeping Management Happy
A.22 Keeping SAs Happy
A.23 Keeping Systems from Being Too Slow
A.24 Coping with a Big Influx of Computers
A.25 Coping with an Influx of New Users
A.26 Coping with an Influx of New SAs
A.27 Handling a High SA Team Attrition Rate
A.28 Handling a High User-Base Attrition Rate
A.29 Being New to a Group
A.30 Being the New Manager of a Group
A.31 Looking for a New Job
A.32 Needing to Hire Many New SAs Quickly
A.33 Increasing Total System Reliability
A.34 Decreasing Costs
A.35 Adding Features
A.36 It Hurts When I Do “This”
A.37 Building Customer Confidence
A.38 Building the Team’s Self-Confidence
A.39 Improving the Team’s Follow-Through
A.40 Handling an Unethical or Worrisome Request
A.41 My Dishwasher Leaves Spots on My Glasses
A.42 Protecting Your Job
A.43 Getting More Training
A.44 Setting Your Priorities
A.45 Getting All the Work Done
A.46 Reducing Stress
A.47 Working as Part of a Team
A.48 Managing SAs
A.49 Working as an SA
A.50 Reporting Up the Management Chain
Appendix B. The Many Roles of a System Administrator
B.1 Common Positive Roles
B.1.1 The Installer
B.1.2 The Repair Person
B.1.3 The Maintainer
B.1.4 The Problem Preventer
B.1.5 The Hero
B.1.6 The Go-To Person
B.1.7 The Infrastructure Builder
B.1.8 The Policy Writer
B.1.9 The System Clerk
B.1.10 The Lab Technician
B.1.11 The Product Finder
B.1.12 The Solution Designer
B.1.13 The Ad Hoc Solution Finder
B.1.14 The Unrequested Solution Person
B.1.15 The Oncall Expert
B.1.16 The Educator
B.1.17 The Policy Enforcer
B.1.18 The Disaster Worrier
B.1.19 The Careful Planner
B.1.20 The Capacity Planner
B.1.21 The Budget Administrator
B.1.22 The Customer’s Advocate
B.1.23 The Technocrat
B.1.24 The Salesperson
B.1.25 The Vendor Liaison
B.1.26 The Visionary
B.1.27 The Mother
B.1.28 The Monitor
B.1.29 The Facilitator
B.1.30 The Customer/SA
B.1.31 The Helpdesker
B.1.32 The Policy Navigator
B.2 Negative Roles
B.2.1 The Bleeding Edger
B.2.2 The Technology Staller
B.2.3 The SA Who Cried Wolf
B.2.4 The Cowboy
B.2.5 Slaves, Scapegoats, or Janitors
B.3 Team Roles
B.3.1 The End-to-End Expert
B.3.2 The Outsider
B.3.3 The Level-Focused Person
B.3.4 The Martyr
B.3.5 Doers of Repetitive Tasks
B.3.6 The Social Director
B.3.7 Captain Break Time
B.4 Summary
Exercises
Bibliography
Index
Code Snippets
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