[Cialug] Getting started as a sysadmin

Tue Feb 17 13:37:10 CST 2015

Need to concentrate on 4&5 then. The rest I feel moderately comfortable
with.
 On Feb 17, 2015 1:11 PM, "Crouse" <crouse at usalug.net> wrote:

> Not having a clue as to where you are in your knowledge of things, I'd
> recommend the basics ... unless your looking to specialize already.
>
> 1. Learn how to read man pages and logs. (I know... it SOUNDS simple... :)
> )
> 2. Learn how to use default text editors. (vi, vim absolutely - emacs if
> you think you must... :)   )
> 3. Learn how to use a terminal multiplexer. (I prefer screen, but there is
> tmux, among others)
> 4. Learn how to shell script.  (Must know bash, but there are others like
> ksh.)
> 5. Learn about other languages you might run into...
> (c/perl/python/php/ruby)
> 6. Understand / learn all the builtin/normal commands that are usually
> available on systems... there are a TON of those...
> 7. Learn how to setup a web server then move on to other types of servers
> and understand the configs... there are TONS of those too...
> 8. Build your own systems if you can afford too... build a virtual machine
> server so you can test things on...(vmware/xen/kvm)
> 9. Build your own NAS if you can afford too... (nas4free / nexenta
> community edition / freenas)
>
> Those are pretty much in order for me...
> Once you can read man pages and logs 1 ... things become alot clearer alot
> faster...
> If you can't use the default text editors 2 on systems that you might need
> to manage, you will struggle... become good with vi or vim I've never seen
> a system without one of those.
> Once you figure out a terminal multiplexers 3, your productivity/speed will
> increase as your not flipping through point/n/click terminal windows. Trust
> me, take the time to learn at least ONE.
> 4 is pretty self explanatory imho.  Bash is like the super-glue for Linux
> for a sysadmin, not sure what you'd do without it...
> 5 is just handy to know how to ready and understand other
> programs/crons/tools written in things other than bash, you don't have to
> be an expert, but being able to understand those helps alot.
> Since bash is the super-glue, it's nice to understand the building blocks
> (those other commands others before us have given us to use) 6 ... things
> like  apropos, netstat, tac, sort, uniq, sed, awk ... the list is long...
> very long...
> Setup a web server 7 ... install mediawiki... keep your notes/ideas
> there...
> Once you have 8 and 9, it's very easy to start building all kinds of
> servers with different operating systems and get alot of experience with
> virtualization and storage and networking.
> You can also do the same on an older cheap computer, it's just not as
> handy... :)
>
> Once you have the basics down, it's easy to start learning all the "cool
> new stuff" that may or may not be the flavor of the day tomorrow, but all
> those "basics" will prove to be timeless, and useful, no matter what new
> app of the month is in vogue at the time...
>
> Someone once told me a long time ago, that a good sysadmin doesn't know
> everything, but can figure it out quickly.  You won't ever know everything
> there is to know... it's simply not possible.  So, once you know the
> basics, concentrate on what you like to do best, and just keep expanding
> from there to what you think might be fun  :)
>
> These are just my opinions, nothing set in stone there... mostly, you just
> have to keep learning and enjoy what your doing.
>
>
> On Tue, Feb 17, 2015 at 9:21 AM, Matthew Nuzum <newz at bearfruit.org> wrote:
>
> > Let me reply to my question:
> >
> > If you are looking to get hired, you have two challenges: Look for what
> > skills are in demand now and learn them, and figure out what skills are
> > going to be in demand when you enter the marketplace.
> >
> > Skills that should always be in demand are networking, esp TCP/IP and
> > routing, security and integrating with a Windows network. Virtualization
> is
> > a hot topic now and should continue to be a hot topic, but its hard to
> > predict where things are going to be. There's a lot of buzz around
> docker,
> > but VMWare seems to have staying power. Something that I know is big to
> > many businesses but is completely unfamiliar to me is storage. I don't
> even
> > know the technology de jour. Sadly, these things are expensive and you
> > probably won't get much experience without having an employer to sponsor
> > your education, which is why I know nothing about it. :-)
> >
> > I went to Dice.com and did a quick search. You might want to browse
> through
> > these <
> https://www.dice.com/jobs?q=system+administrator&l=Des+Moines%2C+IA
> > >
> > to see what looks interesting to you. Seems that one of the top
> attributes
> > they look for is "Good communication skills." Here's an interesting read
> > for a junior admin
> > <
> >
> http://www.dice.com/jobsearch/servlet/JobSearch?op=302&dockey=xml/9/1/91db29ddb4377b62c7333a17a029238e@endecaindex&source=0&FREE_TEXT=&rating=&
> > >.
> > I respect companies who look for juniors. That means they're willing to
> > invest in you. (as a side benefit, they get a good deal and they get
> > someone who's bought into their way of doing things) In my mind, it's the
> > opposite attitude of the company who wants a rack star sysadmin (see
> what I
> > did there?), where they want all the benefit and none of the risk.
> >
> > On Tue, Feb 17, 2015 at 9:12 AM, Matthew Nuzum <newz at bearfruit.org>
> wrote:
> >
> > > On Tue, Feb 17, 2015 at 9:08 AM, Tim Kromphardt <aaronmit at gmail.com>
> > > wrote:
> > >
> > >> Anyone willing to share what skills an aspiring system admin should
> > >> concentrate on?
> > >>
> > >
> > >
> > > Is your goal to get employed or do you just like learning new stuff?
> > >
> > > --
> > > Matthew Nuzum
> > > newz2000 on freenode, skype, linkedin and twitter
> > >
> > > ♫ You're never fully dressed without a smile! ♫
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Matthew Nuzum
> > newz2000 on freenode, skype, linkedin and twitter
> >
> > ♫ You're never fully dressed without a smile! ♫
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> >
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