What is the one thing you wish you knew when you first started being a system administrator?

Posted by Nate on Server Fault See other posts from Server Fault or by Nate
Published on 2009-06-22T13:39:02Z Indexed on 2010/03/30 10:23 UTC
Read the original article Hit count: 313

Filed under:

sysadmin

|

war-stories

For a new system administrator it is important to learn from those that have experience.

What is the thing you know now you wish you knew when you first started?

Alternately, what is the piece of advice you would give to a new system administrator?

© Server Fault or respective owner

Related posts about sysadmin

SysAdmin Career Question: Internal or Client Based

as seen on Server Fault - Search for 'Server Fault'
ServerFault Community, It seems there are two positions SysAdmins find themselves in, either you are working for a non-IT services based single client (your employer) and providing in-house IT support or you work for a company who provides out sourced IT services to multiple clients. Right now… >>> More
UNIX User Account to Restricted SysAdmin (User/Printer Admin only)

as seen on Server Fault - Search for 'Server Fault'
Hi all, I'd like to know if there is a way for a user account to be enabled or elevated to carry out system admin tasks WITHOUT having to use the root account or sudo. Goal here is to allow a user account to Add/Delete users/printers without giving them the 'God' powers that the root account carries… >>> More
How to grow to be global sysadmin of an organization?

as seen on Server Fault - Search for 'Server Fault'
Bit of a non-technical question but I have seen questions of the career development type on here before so hopefully it is fine. I work for a fast growing but still small organization (~65 employees). I have been their external sysadmin for a while now, looking after hosted Linux servers and infrastructure… >>> More
Configuring UCM cache to check for external Content Server changes

as seen on Oracle Blogs - Search for 'Oracle Blogs'
Recently, I was involved in a customer scenario where they were modifying the Content Server's contributor data files directly through Content Server. This operation of course is completely supported. However, since the contributor data file was modified through the "backdoor", a running… >>> More
So you're a new sysadmin...

as seen on Server Fault - Search for 'Server Fault'
I've recently taken over management of a Windows 2003 Small Business server and network for a small, less than ten person company. I have some (antiquated) sysadmin experience, but I've little experience with Exchange. The documentation of the existing infrastructure leaves much to be desired, and… >>> More

Related posts about war-stories

scheme vs common lisp: war stories

as seen on Programmers - Search for 'Programmers'
There are no shortage of vague "Scheme vs Common Lisp" questions on StackOverflow, so I want to make this one more focused. The question is for people who have coded in both languages: While coding in Scheme, what specific elements of your Common Lisp coding experience did you miss most? Or, inversely… >>> More
Scheme vs Common Lisp: war stories

as seen on Programmers - Search for 'Programmers'
There are no shortage of vague "Scheme vs Common Lisp" questions on both StackOverflow and on this site, so I want to make this one more focused. The question is for people who have coded in both languages: While coding in Scheme, what specific elements of your Common Lisp coding experience did you… >>> More
Reducing Deadlocks - not a DBA issue ?

as seen on SQL Blogcasts - Search for 'SQL Blogcasts'
As a DBA, I'm involved on an almost daily basis troubleshooting 'SQL Server' performance issues. Often, this troubleshooting soon veers away from a 'its a SQL Server issue' to instead become a wider application/database design/coding issue.One… >>> More
What is the one thing you wish you knew when you first started being a system administrator?

as seen on Server Fault - Search for 'Server Fault'
For a new system administrator it is important to learn from those that have experience. What is the thing you know now you wish you knew when you first started? Alternately, what is the piece of advice you would give to a new system administrator? >>> More
What are the worst working conditions you have written code in?

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
There are good times and there are worst times. I recently had to write code in a hot room with temperatures near 107°F (42°C); nothing to sit on; 64 Kbps inconsistent internet connection; warm water for drinking and a lot of distractions and interruptions. I am sure many people have been in similar… >>> More