System Administrator
by Lijoe Chakiath, Member, Executive Team, Bobcares
Published on: 11th Nov. 2004
"Water water everywhere but not a drop to drink"
The INTERNET is growing so rapidly that we are experiencing dearth of highly skilled System Administrators.
In this article I would like to highlight job profile for a System Administrator.
Who is a System Administrator? A common misconception is that a sysadmin is someone who provides technical support of servers and networks. On the contrary, a System Administrator is someone who can setup, maintain. document as well as think ahead keeping in mind future requirements, catastrophes, vulnerabilities and upgradations that a System would need.
Job Profile
These are the people who make IT work. Systems administrators are responsible for the efficient use of networks by organizations. They ensure that all of the components, including computers, the network, and software fit together and work properly.
Furthermore, they monitor and adjust performance of existing networks and continually survey the current site to determine future network needs.
Administrators also troubleshoot problems as reported by users, use automated network monitoring systems and make recommendations for enhancements in servers.
Skill Set
There is no clear cut distinction on academic qualifications that are needed for a System Administrator. But usually people with a degree in Computer Science are best. Certification courses with emphasis on this field also is good.
Persons interested in becoming a Systems administrator must have strong problem-solving, analytical, and communication skills because troubleshooting and helping others are vital parts of the job. The constant interaction with customers and employees requires systems administrators to communicate effectively on paper, via e-mail, or in person. They frequently work in teams and must be able to communicate effectively with not just computer savvy employees, like programmers and managers, but also with employees who may have no computer background.
Strong writing skills are useful when preparing manuals for employees and customers.
Systems administrators must be able to think logically because they often deal with a number of tasks simultaneously, the ability to concentrate and pay close attention to detail is important.
Based on Experience and Knowledge as criteria, System Administrators can be classified as Novice, Junior, Intermediary & Senior System Administrators.
Novice System Administrator
Primary Skills
1. Is familiar with Unix flavors such as Linux, Solaris and its commands/utilities at a user level; can edit files, use a shell, find users' home directories, navigate through the filesystem, and use i/o redirection.
2. Is able to follow instructions well.
Desirable
1. Previous experience in customer support, computer operations, system administration or another related area.
2. Motivated to advance in the profession.
Junior System Administrator
Primary skills:
1. Strong inter-personal and communication skills; capable of training users in applications and Linux fundamentals, and writing basic documentation.
2. High skill with of most Linux commands/utilities.Familiarity with most basic system administration tools and processes; for example, can boot/shutdown a machine, add and remove user accounts, use backup programs and fsck, maintain system database files (groups, hosts, aliases). Fundamental understanding of a UNIX-based operating system; for example, understands job control, soft and hard links, distinctions between the kernel and the shell etc.
Desirable
1. Familiarity with networked/distributed computing environment concepts; for example, can use the route command, add a workstation to a network, and mount remote filesystems.
2. Ability to write scripts in some administrative language (Tk, Perl, a shell).
3. Programming experience in any applicable language.
Intermediate/Advanced System Administrator
Primary skills:
1. Strong inter-personal and communication skills; capable of suggesting purchase justifications, training users in complex topics, making presentations to an internal audience, and interacting positively with upper management. Independent problem solving; self-direction.
2. Is comfortable with most aspects of UNIX systems administration; for example, configuration of mail systems, system installation and configuration, fundamentals of security, installing 3rd-party software.
3. A solid understanding of a UNIX-based operating system; understands paging and swapping, inter-process communication, devices and what device drivers do, filesystem concepts ("inode", "superblock").
4. Familiarity with fundamental networking/distributed computing environment concepts; can configure DNS,Apache,MySQL,Firewalls, can use 'dig' command for DNS query, understands basic routing concepts.
5. Ability to write scripts in some administrative language (Tk, Perl, a shell).
6. Ability to do minimal debugging and modification of C programs.
Desirable
1. Significant programming background in any applicable language.
Senior System Administrator
Primary skills:
1. Strong inter-personal and communication skills; capable of writing proposals or papers, acting as a vendor liaison, making presentations to customer or client audiences or professional peers, and working closely with upper management.
2. Ability to solve problems quickly and completely.
3. Ability to identify tasks which require automation and automate them.
4. A solid understanding of a UNIX-based operating system; understands paging and swapping, inter-process communication, devices and what device drivers do, filesystem concepts ("inode", "superblock"), can use performance analysis to tune systems.
5. A solid understanding of networking/distributed computing environment concepts; understands principles of routing, client/server programming, the design of consistent network-wide filesystem layouts.
6. Ability to program in an administrative language (Tk, Perl,a shell), to port C programs from one platform to another, and to write small C programs.
Desirable
1. Extensive programming background in any applicable language.
2. Publications within the field of system administration.
Experience level to be in each grade varies from 0-1 year for Novice, 1-2 years for Junior, 2-3 years for Intermediary & 3-5 years for Senior System Administrators.
Some additional special talents such as a good knowledge in networks, routers, security of systems, RDBMS administration, spam prevention etc widely add to the effective growth of the organisation and make these professionals highly in demand.
Job Opportunities
Computer support specialists and systems administrators are
projected to be among the fastest growing occupations.
Computer support specialists and Systems administrators held
about 758,000 jobs in 2002. Of these, about 507,000 were
computer support personnel and about 251,000 were network and
systems administrators. Although they worked in a wide range of industries, 35 percent of all computer support specialists and systems administrators were employed in professional and business services industries, principally in computer systems design and related services such as webhosting industries and Network Operations Centers(NOCs).
Pay Scale
According to Robert Half International, starting salaries in 2003 ranged from $27,500 to $56,500 for help-desk support staff, and from $51,000 to $67,250 for more senior technical support specialists. For Systems Administrators, starting salaries in 2003 ranged from $49,000 to $70,250.
These statistics are relevant in the US. With the advent of Outsourcing, more and more US companies and webhosting industries are moving their support services to remote locations with India as a front runner, Philipines, Romania etc. By outsourcing, these companies are able to obtain higher qualified people at one-half to one-third the salaries in the US.
Epilogue
With increasing demand of qualified system administrators in US not being able to be met with local people, the outsourcing boom has caught up. The cost effectiveness and quality is higher because most companies choosing a mixed approach. With essential System Administrators(to perform the on-hand work) hired locally and the rest being outsourced, they are able to bring about a highly competitive business model.
Most companies make the mistake of employing under qualified people in a bid to save costs. Their role and importance tend to be overlooked until one fine day when Murphy's law catches up with Client networks & servers. Thats when the difference of having a good System Administrator comes to the fore!
For more information:
Lijoe Chakiath
Member, Executive Team
1-(603)-724-6595
lijoe@poornam.com
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US: 1-602-288-9145
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