http://queue.acm.org/listing.cfm?item_topic=System Administration&qc_type=topics_list&filter=System Administration&page_title=System Administration&order=desc http://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=2945077 The small batches principle is part of the DevOps methodology. It comes from the lean manufacturing movement, which is often called just-in-time manufacturing. It can be applied to just about any kind of process. It also enables the MVP (minimum viable product) methodology, which involves launching a small version of a service to get early feedback that informs the decisions made later in the project. System Administration Tue, 24 May 2016 15:28:43 GMT Thomas A. Limoncelli 2945077 http://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=2891413 Q: Dear Tom, How can I devalue my work? Lately I've felt like everyone appreciates me, and, in fact, I'm overpaid and underutilized. Could you help me devalue myself at work? A: Dear Reader, Absolutely! I know what a pain it is to lug home those big paychecks. It's so distracting to have people constantly patting you on the back. Ouch! Plus, popularity leads to dates with famous musicians and movie stars. (Just ask someone like Taylor Swift or Leonardo DiCaprio.) Who wants that kind of distraction when there's a perfectly good video game to be played? System Administration Mon, 08 Feb 2016 16:54:11 GMT Thomas A. Limoncelli 2891413 http://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=2082137 Computer-system logs provide a glimpse into the states of a running system. Instrumentation occasionally generates short messages that are collected in a system-specific log. The content and format of logs can vary widely from one system to another and even among components within a system. A printer driver might generate messages indicating that it had trouble communicating with the printer, while a Web server might record which pages were requested and when. System Administration Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:02:02 GMT Adam Oliner, Archana Ganapathi, Wei Xu 2082137 http://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=1937179 The methods of system administration have changed little in the past 20 years. While core IT technologies have improved in a multitude of ways, for many if not most organizations system administration is still based on production-line build logistics (aka provisioning) and reactive incident handling. As we progress into an information age, humans will need to work less like the machines they use and embrace knowledge-based approaches. That means exploiting simple (hands-free) automation that leaves us unencumbered to discover patterns and make decisions. This goal is reachable if IT itself opens up to a core challenge of automation that is long overdue: namely, how to abandon the myth of determinism and expect the unexpected. System Administration Mon, 31 Jan 2011 15:06:25 GMT Mark Burgess 1937179 http://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=1922541 System administration can be both stressful and rewarding. Stress generally comes from outside factors such as conflict between SAs (system administrators) and their colleagues, a lack of resources, a high-interrupt environment, conflicting priorities, and SAs being held responsible for failures outside their control. What can SAs and their managers do to alleviate the stress? There are some well-known interpersonal and time-management techniques that can help, but these can be forgotten in times of crisis or just through force of habit. The purpose of this article is to restate these maxims and remind readers of these important soft skills, particularly as they apply to SAs. System Administration Tue, 04 Jan 2011 14:39:17 GMT Christina Lear 1922541 http://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=1921361 A friend of mine is a grease monkey: the kind of auto enthusiast who rebuilds engines for fun on a Saturday night. He explained to me that certain brands of automobiles were designed in ways to make the mechanic's job easier. Others, however, were designed as if the company had a pact with the aspirin industry to make sure there are plenty of mechanics with headaches. He said those car companies hate mechanics. I understood completely because, as a system administrator, I can tell when software vendors hate me. It shows in their products. System Administration Wed, 22 Dec 2010 12:24:47 GMT Thomas A. Limoncelli 1921361 http://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=1898149 George was in trouble. A seemingly simple deployment was taking all morning, and there seemed no end in sight. His manager kept coming in to check on his progress, as the customer was anxious to have the deployment done. He was supposed to be leaving for a goodbye lunch for a departing co-worker, adding to the stress. He had called in all kinds of help, including colleagues, an application architect, technical support, and even one of the system developers. He used e-mail, instant messaging, face-to-face contacts, his phone, and even his office mate's phone to communicate with everyone. And George was no novice. He had been working as a Web-hosting administrator for three years, and he had a bachelor's degree in computer science. But it seemed that all the expertise being brought to bear was simply not enough. Why was George in trouble? We'll find out. System Administration Mon, 06 Dec 2010 19:45:43 GMT Eben M. Haber, Eser Kandogan, Paul Maglio 1898149 http://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=1889916 Virtualization is often touted as the solution to many challenging problems, from resource underutilization to data-center optimization and carbon emission reduction. The hidden costs of virtualization, largely stemming from the complex and difficult system administration challenges it poses, are often overlooked, however. Reaping the fruits of virtualization requires the enterprise to navigate scalability limitations, revamp traditional operational practices, manage performance, and achieve unprecedented cross-silo collaboration. Virtualization is not a curse: it can bring material benefits, but only to the prepared. System Administration Mon, 22 Nov 2010 09:03:09 GMT Evangelos Kotsovinos 1889916