The Practice of System and Network Administration

Thomas A. Limoncelli ist seit 1988 Systemadministrator und hat für viele verschiedene Großunternehmen. Als Speaker wurde er zu vielen internationalen Konferenzen eingeladen, um dort zu so unterschiedlichen Themen wie Firewall-Sicherheit oder Zeitmanagement zu sprechen. Seit 2001 beschäftigt er sich auch in seinem Blog mit Sysadminthemen.

The first edition of The Practice of System and Network Administration introduced a generation of system and network administrators to a modern IT methodology. Whether you use Linux, Unix, or Windows, this newly revised 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 the most advanced experts through difficult projects.
The book's four major sections build your knowledge with the foundational elements of system administration. These sections guide you through better techniques for upgrades and change management, catalog best practices for IT services, and explore various management topics. Chapters are divided into The Basics and The Icing. When you get the Basics right it makes every other aspect of the job easier--such as automating the right things first. The Icing sections contain all the powerful things that can be done on top of the basics to wow customers and managers.

Inside, you'll find advice on topics such as

The key elements your networks and systems need in order to make all other services run better
Building and running reliable, scalable services, including web, storage, email, printing, and remote access
Creating and enforcing security policies
Upgrading multiple hosts at one time without creating havoc
Planning for and performing flawless scheduled maintenance windows
Managing superior helpdesks and customer care
Avoiding the temporary fix trap
Building data centers that improve server uptime
Designing networks for speed and reliability
Web scaling and security issues
Why building a backup system isn't about backups
Monitoring what you have and predicting what you will need
How technically oriented workers can maintain their job's technical focus (and avoid an unwanted management role)
Technical management issues, including morale, organization building, coaching, and maintaining positive visibility
Personal skill techniques, including secrets for getting more done each day, ethical dilemmas, managing your boss, and loving your job
System administration salary negotiation
It's no wonder the first edition received Usenix SAGE's 2005 Outstanding Achievement Award!

This eagerly anticipated second edition updates this time-proven classic:

Chapters reordered for easier navigation
Thousands of updates and clarifications based on reader feedback
Plus three entirely new chapters: Web Services, Data Storage, and Documentation

Preface xxv Acknowledgments xxxv About the Authors xxxviiPart I: Getting Started 1Chapter 1: What to Do When ... 3 Chapter 2: Climb Out of the Hole 27Part II: Foundation Elements 39Chapter 3: Workstations 41 Chapter 4: Servers 69 Chapter 5: Services 95 Chapter 6: Data Centers 129 Chapter 7: Networks 187 Chapter 8: Namespaces 223 Chapter 9: Documentation 241 Chapter 10: Disaster Recovery and Data Integrity 261 Chapter 11: Security Policy 271 Chapter 12: Ethics 323 Chapter 13: Helpdesks 343 Chapter 14: Customer Care 363Part III: Change Processes 389Chapter 15: Debugging 391 Chapter 16: Fixing Things Once 405 Chapter 17: Change Management 415 Chapter 18: Server Upgrades 435 Chapter 19: Service Conversions 457 Chapter 20: Maintenance Windows 473 Chapter 21: Centralization and Decentralization 501Part IV: Providing Services 521Chapter 22: Service Monitoring 523 Chapter 23: Email Service 543 Chapter 24: Print Service 565 Chapter 25: Data Storage 583 Chapter 26: Backup and Restore 619 Chapter 27: Remote Access Service 653 Chapter 28: Software Depot Service 667 Chapter 29: Web Services 689Part V: Management Practices 725Chapter 30: Organizational Structures 727 Chapter 31: Perception and Visibility 751 Chapter 32: Being Happy 777 Chapter 33: A Guide for Technical Managers 819 Chapter 34: A Guide for Nontechnical Managers 853 Chapter 35: Hiring System Administrators 871 Chapter 36: Firing System Administrators 899 Epilogue 909Appendixes 911Appendix A: The Many Roles of a System Administrator 913 Appendix B: Acronyms 939Bibliography 945 Index 955