If you are new to the systems you are managing, a first step is to get a laboratory-style notebook and make a map of your network and an inventory of the systems. This map does not need to be complete at the start, but you should create it with an eye toward adding information as you go along. The type of information you keep depends somewhat on your environment, but basic network and system configuration data are a good start. Along the way, you will want to add system-specific quirks, such as odd potential problems or unusual things that need to be done when a system is rebooted. A list of local system modifications and installation procedures should form another section of your system administrator’s notebook. Careful organization can help keep system modifications corralled into manageable areas, but some system configuration information will need to be changed and reinstalled when a system is upgraded. Local installation customs and procedures will also need to be noted, not only for your use but for their use in teaching others and delegating tasks.
System administration is a rapidly evolving field. New tools and new versions of tools appear daily. Security threats and techniques to thwart them are continually changing. Reading books, such as this one and those listed in each chapter’s “References” section, is good a place to start. Short courses and technical conferences offer another avenue for education on current topics. Among the best of these are offered by the USENIX organization in concert with the System Administrator’s Guild (SAGE), and by the System Administration Network Security Institute (SANS). Contact information for both of these organizations is found in the “Reference” section at the end of this chapter.
The graphical user interface (GUI) that is common today originally came from systems developed at Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center. The Xerox Star was an early office system with overlapping windows, mouse pointer, and WYSIWYG text editing. Although the Star did not survive in the marketplace, it was seen by Steve Jobs (of Apple) on a visit to PARC. Inspired by the Star, Apple produced the LISA and Macintosh, bringing the GUI to a wide market.
One of the fundamental design ideas in the UNIX command line interface is the modular combination of basic commands. Many UNIX commands were designed to allow them to be flexibly combined to process or filter information as it is passed from command to command. The vertical bar character, called a pipe, is used to form the connection between commands. Data flows from left to right between commands.
One of the fundamental design ideas in the UNIX command line interface is the modular combination of basic commands. Many UNIX commands were designed to allow them to be flexibly combined to process or filter information as it is passed from command to command. The vertical bar character, called a pipe, is used to form the connection between commands. Data flows from left to right between commands. NOTE: When creating archives using tar , be aware that the path given to tar for the files or directories being archived is saved in the archive, along with the files and directories. If a full path is given (e.g., /home/dwight/AudioBooks ), older versions of tar will not be able to extract the files and directories in any location other than the path they were archived from. Although modern tar commands have the ability to get around this using an option flag, it is a good habit to use a relative path, as demonstrated in the previous example. Archives created with a relative path can be extracted in any location.
One of the fundamental design ideas in the UNIX command line interface is the modular combination of basic commands. Many UNIX commands were designed to allow them to be flexibly combined to process or filter information as it is passed from command to command. The vertical bar character, called a pipe, is used to form the connection between commands. Data flows from left to right between commands. NOTE: When creating archives using tar , be aware that the path given to tar for the files or directories being archived is saved in the archive, along with the files and directories. If a full path is given (e.g., /home/dwight/AudioBooks ), older versions of tar will not be able to extract the files and directories in any location other than the path they were archived from. Although modern tar commands have the ability to get around this using an option flag, it is a good habit to use a relative path, as demonstrated in the previous example. Archives created with a relative path can be extracted in any location. NOTE: One of the most important aspects of the Windows versions of perl and UNIX-like toolkits for Windows is their use in remote system administration. Command line tools such as these can be used remotely to perform basic administration tasks that would ordinarily need to be performed from the Windows console.
As mentioned, information on GUI tools and windowed desktop environments is incorporated where it relates to the task at hand. Most of the tools covered are specific to a given task. However, there are several general-purpose GUI tools a system administrator should be aware of.
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