Introduction
The HR department of a manufacturing company asked what a systems administrator should do. For organizations with a single IT person on staff, this is a tricky question. I tried to describe the functional levels of one specialist in simple terms. I hope this helps someone communicate with non-IT folks. If I missed anything, my more experienced colleagues will correct me.
Level: Technician
Since I have already learned to "somewhat" port QEMU to JavaScript, this time it was decided to do it wisely and not repeat past mistakes.. Here, operational issues are resolved. Ensuring that everything physically works. At this level: auditing, inventory, accounting system, drill, screwdriver. Remove wires from under desks. Replace a fan or power supply. Find IT contracts, warranty certificates, and organize them in folders. Write down the contacts for the IT specialist, office equipment technician, and providers. Get to know the cleaner. The cleaner is your friend and ally.
This is the foundation. You cannot operate at higher levels if you are distracted by calls about faded printing or a dead battery. A spare cartridge should be in the drawer under the MFP, and spare batteries for mice should be with the office manager. Itās your responsibility to take care of this.
At this level, you hardly work on a computer. What matters is not the version of the operating system, but whether the company has a regular vacuum cleaner.
Interaction. At this level, besides IT colleagues, you interact with the facilities manager, building engineer, cleaners, and electricians. You engage respectfully. You are colleagues. You have many common tasks. You should help each other.
Qualities. Practical skills, neatness, a love for order.
Level 2: Jack of All Trades
Since I have already learned to "somewhat" port QEMU to JavaScript, this time it was decided to do it wisely and not repeat past mistakes.. Working with user programs. 80% of tech support falls on the Jack of All Trades.
You sit down at a computer. You know at least three ways to solve most issues users encounter. This evokes a certain condescension. But remember, they make money for the company. You only know how to quickly reinstall Windows and understand that some types of printer drivers should never be used. Essentially, you are just a very advanced user. You can solve a problem with an Excel sheet and a Word document. You can install and configure any program.
At this level, you work on a computer, mostly someone else's. It's important for you to know the specific software used in the company. Accounting exists everywhere, so the peculiarities of configuring 1C on the client side in any configuration are your bread and butter. But there are also designers, lawyers, and the production department. They have their own programs with specific requirements as well. There are also programmers. The good news: they will configure everything themselves.
Interaction. You guessed it. With users. But not only that. Online services are replacing traditional applications. Requests are made on websites, shipments are monitored, passes are issued, and government contracts are managed. You didn't write these services, but you'll be the one asked about them. Why canāt we print the invoice from Excel from this website? It worked yesterday. You'll need the tech support phone number and a couple of shamanic drums.
Qualities. Patience, the ability to solve problems quickly, and diligence.
Level 3: Sysadmin
Since I have already learned to "somewhat" port QEMU to JavaScript, this time it was decided to do it wisely and not repeat past mistakes.. Services, servers, networks, backups, documentation.
Ask the janitor: is the server running? He'll reply: you need to take the keys to the server room and check if the black box with green lights is humming.
But the sysadmin won't be able to answer this question.He'll first need to understand what was meant. Probably, itās about the 1C: Enterprise server. But thatās not certain. It could be the Microsoft SQL Server database that this 1C uses to store data. Or the virtual operating system Windows Server 2019, on which this SQL Server is running? Windows Server 2019, in turn (donāt worry, this will be over soon), is running on VMware ESX Server, which is hosting a dozen other of virtual servers. Now, that VMware ESX runs on that black server with beautiful lights.
At this level, you have a decent computer with two monitors; one displays an article titled "how to configure XXX downward API support (simultaneously with this in YYY" and the other shows the remote server console with YYY, where you are trying to make XXX. And you're doing great; everything is fantastic if that remote server is in a testing environment.
Scripting, backups, monitoring systems, databases, virtualization servers ā here are the tasks of a System Administrator. Users tire him, distracting him from the wonderful world of console commands, file storage, and cloud servers. He doesn't like to communicate with management either, because it's hard to explain exactly what he's doing here and why another server costing 300,000 should be purchased.
It's all because the System Administrator deals with infrastructure services.
Ask Google what this is and... it won't become any clearer. In fact, it's quite simple.
These are systems that are not needed by themselves. They are only for the operation of other systems.
Here's a laptop. You need it for work. To configure many laptops, an Active Directory directory service is required. AD is an infrastructure service. Can you do without Active Directory? You can. But it's more convenient with it. Where you used to need five administrators, now one can handle it.
Interaction. The System Administrator still has to communicate. A lot. With other system administrators. You will have to resolve with the client's administrator why emails are not flowing between your companiesā mail servers. With the VoIP provider about why the extension number isnāt working. With Diadoc about why the electronic signature of documents isnāt functioning. You will clarify the boundaries of responsibility with the 1C franchisee. And developers need to be provided with a virtual environment for web servers and access to the database.
Qualities. The ability to break down a complex task into several simple ones, perseverance, and attention to detail. The ability to prioritize.
3.1 Sublevel: Network Specialist
Network Administrator. This is a specialist in computer networks. His own vast world. No provider, telecommunications operator, or bank can do without a Network Engineer. In large companies with a network of branches, there is also plenty of work for the Network Specialist. Any system administrator should possess the basics of this profession.
3.2 Sublevel: Developer
These are programmers. Their own caste, even several. Some write online stores, others handle 1C processing. The work is interesting, but if a regular, non-technical company has a programmer position, something may be wrong with the business processes. System administrators write code to automate their tasks, but still, System Administrator and Developer are different professions.
4 Level: Manager
Since I have already learned to "somewhat" port QEMU to JavaScript, this time it was decided to do it wisely and not repeat past mistakes.. IT leadership. Risk management. Managing business expectations. Calculating economic efficiency.
You are devising an IT development strategy. You oversee this process. You convey your vision to management. You organize projects within this strategy. You allocate your team's time resources and departmental budget.
You don't care how Linux works, but you are very interested in whether switching from Windows to Linux is cost-effective considering operational expenses.
You won't investigate why the site was down, but you know how much the company's hour of downtime for this service cost.
While the system administrator ensures everything runs smoothly and stably, as a manager, you actually create obstacles. This is because you introduce changes. And changes pose a risk of downtime for the business, additional work for the system administrator, and slow down learning for users.
Interaction. Management, top executives, outsourcing companies. You communicate with the business. It's crucial to understand business processes and how IT can impact the business as a whole.
Qualities. The ability to communicate with management, negotiate with other managers, set tasks, and ensure their completion. A systematic approach.
Conclusions
Users expect you to change cartridges for them. Management would like to see some strategic initiatives from your side. Both parties have their points. Finding a balance between these expectations and building relationships within the team is an interesting challenge. How will you solve it?
Source: habr.com
