Operations System Administration Network

SA Tenets – Mistakes Are OK

This is a continuation of the “SA Tenets” series of posts in which I discuss my beliefs about System Administration and work in general

What Makes Me Nervous

It’s not layoff rumors, or a superior that is too busy for me. It’s not the budget or the outages. It’s not the latest bit of busy work or the next rash of hackers.

SA Tenets – Eat Your Own Dog Food

This is a continuation of the “SA Tenets” series of posts in which I discuss my beliefs about System Administration and work in general

Eat Your Own Dog Food

I have a coworker who hates that phrase – he thinks it’s too self-deprecating. He prefers “Eat Your Own Cooking”, but the sentiment is the same.

SA Tenets – Oncall Applies In Both Directions

This is a continuation of the “SA Tenets” series of posts in which I discuss my beliefs about System Administration and work in general

SA Tenets – Automate The Hell Out Of Everything

This is a continuation of the “SA Tenets” series of posts in which I discuss my beliefs about System Administration and work in general

Automate The Hell Out Of Everything

There is an old joke that goes like this:

• The junior SA can’t help you because she is too busy because nothing is automated.

SA Tenets – If You Can’t Open It, You Don’t Own It

This is a continuation of the “SA Tenets” series of posts in which I discuss my beliefs about System Administration and work in general

If You Can’t Open It, You Don’t Own It

This one is borrowed from the MAKE crowd. The gist is to not let external parties dictate what you can and can not do with your resources.

SA Tenets – Manage the Interesting

This is a continuation of the “SA Tenets” series of posts in which I discuss my beliefs about System Administration and work in general

Manage the Interesting

So, you are collecting your statistics. Any you look at them every so often. Maybe you even meet to review them with your customers and bosses.

SA Tenets – First, Do No Harm

This is a continuation of the “SA Tenets” series of posts in which I discuss my beliefs about System Administration and work in general

First, Do No Harm

Yes, stolen from the popular misquote of the Hippocratic Oath. It’s important for SAs to remember, too.

SA Tenets

This is the first post of a series where I will discuss my general beliefs about System Administration, and in some cases, work in general. I’ll update the links in the “SA Tenets” version of this post linked at the top of the site.

You’ve Been Laid Off – Now What?

Being laid off is a source of stress as well as a relief. It is an ending to your relationship with a company who has had your dedication and hard work. And there is a wealth of information on the Internet you should read. Here are my own suggestions. Follow these points to make sure you end it well, and get a jump on your new beginning.

Naming Servers

How do you name your servers? Cute and cuddly? Sterile but functional? Or perhaps mandated by management? Let’s discuss the different conventions and why to implement them.

A coworker pointed out this article on host naming conventions because it caused such a controversy among the SAs. Go ahead and take a look now, just come back when you are done. So, here are some of the conventions I have used.