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Introduction

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Abstract

The Accidental SysAdmin Handbook is designed to give new system administrators an understanding of concepts, processes, and technologies that will aid in their professional development. It is assumed that you have little to no experience in a professional information technology environment. While every information technology culture is specific to its parent organization, there are commonalities that apply to all organizations. This book looks at those commonalities and provides a general introduction to critical aspects associated with system administration. It further acts to provide definitions for common computer terms and acronyms.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    ITIL v3 home web site: http://www.itil-officialsite.com/home/home.asp

  2. 2.

    SOP – Standard Operational Procedures: “A Standard Operating Procedure is a document which describes the regularly recurring operations relevant to the quality of the investigation. The purpose of a SOP is to carry out the operations correctly and always in the same manner. A SOP should be available at the place where the work is done”. FAO Corporate Document Repository, “2 Standard Operational Procedures”; 1998, Natural Resource Management and Environment Department. http://www.fao.org/docrep/W7295E/w7295e04.htm

  3. 3.

    This is the 90/8/2 rule, that is 90 percent will be self-directed, 8 percent will be provided by a “generalist resource,” and 2 percent will be provided by a “specialist resource,” “Computer Technology Planning,” paragraph 5.12; Langa College, December 6, 2005; http://www.langara.bc.ca/about-langara/policies/media/pdfs/B1004.pdf

  4. 4.

    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/default.aspx

  5. 5.

    http://www.informationweek.com/

  6. 6.

    https://subscribe.1105pubs.com/sub/MI?WP=NEWFREE&TC=1

  7. 7.

    http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/

  8. 8.

    http://thejournal.com/articles/2000/09/01/sun-microcomputer-systems.aspx

  9. 9.

    http://whatis.techtarget.com/

  10. 10.

    http://eventid.net/

  11. 11.

    http://techrepublic.com.com/

  12. 12.

    Example certifications: Microsoft MTA, MCSA, MCSE, MCSD. Cisco CCENT, CCDA, CCNA, CCT, CCNP. VMware Certified Associate, Professional, Implementation Expert, and Design Expert. SANS Institute GICSP, GIAC, GCCC. ITIL Foundation, Service Operations, Service Transition, and Service Design.

  13. 13.

    “The ENIAC Story”, Martin H Weik, 1961, Ordinance Ballistic Research Laboratories, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. http://ftp.arl.army.mil/∼mike/comphist/eniac-story.html

  14. 14.

    “The History of the UNIVAC - J Presper Eckert and John Mauchly”, Mary Bellis, 1997, http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa062398.htm

  15. 15.

    “The History of International Business Machines and IBM Computers”, Mary Bellis, 1997, http://inventors.about.com/od/computersandinternet/a/IBM701.htm

  16. 16.

    1963: “Douglas Engelbart invents the Mouse”, Berkley Engineering, 2007, http://www.coe.berkeley.edu/about/history-and-traditions/1963-douglas-engelbart.html

  17. 17.

    “History of the Internet”, Hilary Poole, Tami Schuyler, Theresa M. Senft, Christos J.P. Moschovitis, May, 1999, http://www.historyoftheinternet.com/chap2.html

  18. 18.

    “UNIX, LINUX,and variant history”, Computer Hope, 1998-2009, http://www.computerhope.com/history/unix.htm

  19. 19.

    “Intel’s First Microprocessor – the Intel® 4004”, Intel Corporation, 2009, http://www.intel.com/museum/archives/4004.htm

  20. 20.

    “The History of E-Mail & Ray Tomlinson”, Mary Bellis, About.com, 2009, http://inventors.about.com/od/estartinventions/a/email.htm

  21. 21.

    TCP/IP History; http://www.tcpipguide.com/free/t_TCPIPOverviewandHistory.htm

  22. 22.

    “Microsoft Corporation”, International Directory of Company Histories, Vol.63. St. James Press, 2004; http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Microsoft-Corporation-Company-History.html

  23. 23.

    “The Beginning”, The Apple Museum, 2009, http://www.theapplemuseum.com/index.php?id=55

  24. 24.

    “Company Profile”, Sun Microsystems, 2009. http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/company/history.jsp#1982

  25. 25.

    Novell, Inc. History of the Company, http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Novell-Inc-Company-History.html

  26. 26.

    “Hypertext and CERN”, Tim Berners-Lee, CERN, March 1989, May 1990, http://www.w3.org/Administration/HTandCERN.txt

  27. 27.

    “UNIX, LINUX,and variant history”, Computer Hope, 1998-2009, http://www.computerhope.com/history/unix.htm

  28. 28.

    http://www.cpu-collection.de/?l0=co&l1=DEC&l2=Alpha%20AXP

  29. 29.

    “Windows History”, Microsoft Incorporated, 2009, http://www.microsoft.com/windows/WinHistoryDesktop.mspx

  30. 30.

    GUI stands for graphical user interface.

  31. 31.

    NOS is a computer operating system that is designed primarily to support workstations, personal computers, and, in some instances, older terminals that are connected on a local area network (LAN). Artisoft’s LANtastic, Banyan VINES, Novell’s NetWare, and Microsoft’s LAN Manager are examples of network operating systems. In addition, some multi-purpose operating systems, such as Windows NT and Digital’s OpenVMS, come with capabilities that enable them to be described as a network operating system.

  32. 32.

    Peer-to-peer is a communications model in which each party has the same capabilities and either party can initiate a communication session. Other models with which it might be compared include the client/server model and the master/slave model. In some cases, peer-to-peer communications are implemented by giving each communication node server and client capabilities. In recent usage, peer-to-peer has come to describe applications in which users can use the Internet to exchange files with each other directly or through a mediating server.

  33. 33.

    VMS (Virtual Memory System) is an operating system from Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) that runs in its older mid-range computers. VMS originated in 1979 as a new operating system for DEC’s new VAX computer, the successor to DEC’s PDP-11. VMS is a 32-bit system that exploits the concept of virtual memory.

  34. 34.

    NDS (Novell Directory Services) is a popular software product for managing access to computer resources and keeping track of the users of a network, such as a company’s intranet, from a single point of administration. Using NDS, a network administrator can set up and control a database of users and manage it using a directory with an easy-to-use graphical user interface (GUI).

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© 2016 Eric Kralicek

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Kralicek, E. (2016). Introduction. In: The Accidental SysAdmin Handbook. Apress, Berkeley, CA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-1817-4_1

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