Introduction
HR of a manufacturing company was asked to write, what should a system administrator do? For organizations with only one IT person on staff, this is a tricky question. I tried to describe in simple terms the functional levels of one specialist. I hope this will help someone in communicating with non-IT Muggles. If I missed something, then senior comrades will correct me.
Level: Technician
Tasks. This is where economic issues come into play. To work what you can touch with your hands. At this level: audit, inventory, accounting system, drill, screwdriver. Remove wires from under tables. Replace fan or power supply. Find IT contracts, warranty cards and put them in your folders. Write out the phone numbers of 1C-nickname, office equipment master, providers. Meet the cleaner. The cleaner is your friend and helper.
This is the foundation. You will not be able to proceed to the next levels if you are distracted by calls about a faded print or a dead battery. A spare cartridge should be in the bedside table under the MFP, spare batteries for mice - at the office manager. And you must take care of it.
At this level, you almost never work at a computer. What matters to you is not the build version of the operating system, but whether the company has a regular vacuum cleaner.
Interaction. At this level, in addition to IT subcontractors, you communicate with the supply manager, building engineer, cleaners, and electrician. Communicate respectfully. You are colleagues with them. You have many common tasks. You must help each other.
Qualities. Straight arms, accuracy, love of order.
Level 2: Enikey
Tasks. Working with user programs. 80% of technical support falls on Enikey.
We sit down at the computer. You know at least three ways to solve most of the problems that users ask. This causes some condescension. But remember, they earn money for the company. And you just know how to quickly reinstall Windows and know that some types of print drivers are best never used. Basically, you are just a very advanced user. You can solve the problem with a table in Excel and a document in Word. Install and configure any program.
At this level, you work at a computer. For a stranger for the most part. It is important for you to know the specific software that the company works with. Accounting is everywhere, so the features of setting up 1C on the client side in any configuration are your bread and butter. But there are also designers, lawyers, production department. And they also have programs with their own characteristics. There are also programmers. The good news is they will set everything up themselves.
Interaction. You guessed it. with users. But not only. Online services are replacing conventional applications. Applications are made on the websites, they control deliveries, they issue passes, they work with government contracts. These services were not written by you. But you will be asked. Why does this site not print an invoice in Excel? And yesterday it worked. You will need a tech support phone and a couple of shaman tambourines.
Qualities. Endurance, ability to quickly solve problems, diligence.
Level 3: Sysadmin
Tasks. Services, servers, networks, backup, documentation.
Ask enikey: is the server running? He will answer: you need to take the keys to the server room, and check if the black box with green lights is buzzing.
And the Sysadmin will not be able to answer this question.He will need to first understand what was meant. Probably, we are talking about the server 1C: Enterprise. But not a fact. Perhaps about the Microsoft SQL Server database in which this 1C stores data? Or about the Windows Server 2019 virtual operating system running this SQL Server? Windows Server 2019, in turn (don't worry, this will end soon) is running on VMware ESX Server, which is running a dozen other virtual servers. And now VMware ESX is running on that black server with beautiful light bulbs.
At this level, you have a decent computer with two monitors, on one open the article "how to set up XXX Π² YYYΒ» on the other - the console of the remote server c YYYwhere you are trying to do XXX. And you are great, and everything is great for you if this remote server is in a test environment.
Script programming, backup, monitoring systems, databases, server virtualization - these are the tasks of the Sysadmin. He is tired of users, they distract him from the beautiful world of console commands, file storage and cloud servers. He also does not like to communicate with his superiors, because it is difficult for them to explain what exactly he does here and why buy another server for 300 thousand.
All because the Sysadmin is engaged in infrastructure services.
Ask Google what it is and ... it will not become clearer. In fact, everything is simple.
These are systems that are not needed on their own. But only for other systems.
Here is the laptop. You need it for work. To set up many laptops, you need an Active Directory directory service. AD is an infrastructure service. Is it possible to do without Active Directory? Can. But it's more comfortable with him. Where five admins were needed, now one can do it.
Interaction. You still have to communicate with the Sysadmin. And more. with other sysadmins. With the client admin, you will decide why mail does not go between the mail servers of your companies. With an IP telephony provider, why the extension number does not work. With Diadoc, why the electronic signature of documents does not work. With the 1C franchisee, you will find out the boundaries of the area of ββresponsibility. And developers need to provide a virtual environment for web servers and access to the database.
Qualities. The ability to break a complex task into several simple ones, perseverance, attentiveness. Ability to prioritize.
3.1 sublevel: Networker
Network Administrator. He is a computer network specialist. Your big world. Neither a provider, nor a telecom operator, nor banks can do without a Network Engineer. In large companies with a network of branches, the network manager also has enough work. Any system administrator should know the basics of this profession.
3.2 sublevel: Developer
These are programmers. Own caste, even a few. Some write online stores, others - processing in 1C. The job is interesting, but if there is a programmer position in a regular, non-technological company, there may be something wrong with business processes. Sysadmins write code to automate their tasks, but still Sysadmin and Developer are different professions.
Level 4: Manager
Tasks. IT leadership. Management of risks. Managing business expectations. Calculation of economic efficiency.
You are considering an IT development strategy. You control this process. You communicate your vision to management. Organize projects within this strategy. You allocate your team's time resources and department budget.
You do not care how Linux works, but you are very interested in whether it is profitable to switch from Windows to Linux, taking into account the operating costs.
You will not understand why the site did not work, but you know how much the downtime of this service cost the company.
And if the system administrator makes everything work and be stable, then you, as a manager, on the contrary, interfere with him. Because you are making a difference. And change is the risk of downtime for the business, additional work for the system administrator, and slowdown in the learning phase for users.
Interaction. Management, top management, outsourcing companies. You are dealing with business. It is important to understand business processes and how IT can affect the business as a whole.
Qualities. Ability to communicate with management, negotiate with other managers, set goals and achieve their implementation. Systems approach.
Conclusions
Users expect you to change cartridges for them. Management would like to see some strategic initiatives from your side. Both of them are right in their own way. Finding a balance between these requirements and building relationships in the team is an interesting task. And how will you solve it?
Source: habr.com