The Accidental SysAdmin Handbook: A Primer for Entry Level IT Professionals, Second Edition

Book description

Understand the concepts, processes and technologies that will aid in your professional development as a new system administrator. While every information technology culture is specific to its parent organization, there are commonalities that apply to all organizations.

The Accidental SysAdmin Handbook, Second Edition looks at those commonalities and provides a general introduction to critical aspects associated with system administration. It further acts to provide definitions and patterns for common computer terms and acronyms.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Copyright
  4. Contents at a Glance
  5. Contents
  6. About the Author
  7. About the Technical Reviewer
  8. Chapter 1: Introduction
    1. System Administrator Duties
      1. Task List
      2. Task Management Roles (Example)
      3. Operational Awareness
      4. Communication
      5. Research
      6. Training
      7. Leadership
    2. History in Brief
      1. General
      2. IT Timeline
      3. Personal Computing and Networking
    3. Summary
  9. Chapter 2: Home Networking
    1. Wired Networking
      1. Wired Network Pros
      2. Wired Network Cons
    2. Wireless Networking
    3. Wireless Security
    4. Internet Gateway
    5. Gaming
    6. VoIP9
    7. Home Servers
    8. Backups vs. Archives
    9. Cloud Computing
    10. Summary
  10. Chapter 3: Planning a Networking Environment
    1. Pre-Site Inspection
    2. General Environment Considerations
    3. Power Distribution
    4. Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS)
    5. Return on Investment
    6. Air Conditioning
    7. Rack Placement and Power Distribution
    8. Fire Defense
    9. Security Access
    10. Summary
  11. Chapter 4: Network Layer Architecture
    1. The OSI Model1
      1. Physical Layer
      2. Data Link
      3. Network
      4. Transport
      5. Session
      6. Presentation
      7. Application
    2. Summary
  12. Chapter 5: Network Services Architecture
    1. Routing
    2. Network Security Plan
      1. Technical Security Mechanisms
      2. Operational Security
      3. DNS
      4. DHCP
    3. E-Mail Services
      1. E-mail Strategy – Option 1
      2. E-mail Strategy – Option 2
      3. E-mail Strategy – Option Three
    4. Domain Services
    5. IT Services Administration
    6. Summary
  13. Chapter 6: Network Support Plan
    1. Hardware Services Plan
      1. Firmware/BIOS Maintenance
    2. Hardware Implementation
    3. User Services
      1. SLA
      2. OLA
      3. CMDB
      4. UA
      5. Workstation Deployment
      6. Printer Deployment
      7. File System Plan
      8. Mobile Devices
      9. Intranet Deployment
      10. Service Desk and User Support
    4. Summary
  14. Chapter 7: Server Hardware Strategy
    1. Vendors
      1. Extended Warrantees
      2. Server Hardware Support Library
      3. Online Vendor Inventory Support
    2. Redundancy Outside the Box
      1. Clustering
      2. Web Farms
      3. Standby Servers
    3. Footprint Strategy
      1. Blade Servers
      2. Traditional Servers
      3. Virtual Servers3
      4. Operating Systems
      5. Hosting Applications
    4. Summary
  15. Chapter 8: Physical vs. Virtual Server Environments
    1. Physical
      1. Blade Server Solution
      2. Traditional Server Solution
    2. Virtual Solution
      1. The Unseen Network
      2. Hyper-V
      3. VMware
    3. Shared Storage
    4. Summary
  16. Chapter 9: Data Storage Technologies and User Data Strategy
    1. Local Workstation Hard Drives
    2. Roaming Profiles
    3. Folder Redirection
    4. Public Folders
    5. Folder Synchronization
    6. Thin Clients
    7. Mapped Drives
    8. Distributed File Systems
    9. Clustered File Servers
    10. Portal Storage Strategy
    11. Summary
  17. Chapter 10: Directory Services and Central Account Management
    1. Directory Replication
    2. Directory Architecture
    3. Accounts and Groups
    4. Groups
    5. Accounts
      1. User Accounts
      2. Computer Accounts
    6. Group Policy Objects
    7. Delegating Authority
    8. Summary
  18. Chapter 11: DNS, DHCP, IPv4, and IPv6
    1. DNS
    2. DHCP
    3. IPv4 and IPv6
      1. Supernet
      2. Subnetting Bits a
      3. Enumerating Subnetted Prefixes
    4. Summary
  19. Chapter 12: Deploying Workstations and Printers
    1. Deploying Workstations and Laptops
      1. Workstations
      2. Out of the Box
      3. Enterprise/Corporate Licensing
      4. Laptops
      5. Mobile Devices
    2. Workstation Lifecycle
    3. Deploying Printers
      1. Print Servers
      2. IP Printing
      3. Shared Printers
    4. Summary
  20. Chapter 13: Antivirus, Spyware, Windows Updates, Spam Protection, Security, and Disaster Recovery
    1. Antivirus
    2. Spyware
    3. Windows Updates
    4. Spam Protection
    5. Security
    6. Disaster Recovery
      1. Natural Disasters
      2. Ad Hoc Emergencies
    7. Summary
  21. Chapter 14: Intranet and Internet Support Services
    1. Intranet
      1. The System Administrator’s Perspective
      2. The Content Manager’s Perspective
      3. Department Sites
      4. Shared Planning Calendar
      5. Remote Applications
    2. Internet
      1. Marketing
      2. External Collaboration
    3. Summary
  22. Appendix A: Checklist Templates
    1. Daily Check
      1. Network
      2. Servers
    2. Weekly Check
      1. Network
      2. Servers
    3. Monthly Check
      1. Network
      2. Servers
  23. Appendix B: Network Environment Inspection Templates
    1. Supporting Documentation Checklist
  24. Appendix C: Electrical Circuits and Outlets
    1. Supporting Documentation Checklist
  25. Appendix D: Uninterrupted Power Supply Maintenance
    1. Supporting Documentation Checklist
  26. Index

Product information

  • Title: The Accidental SysAdmin Handbook: A Primer for Entry Level IT Professionals, Second Edition
  • Author(s): Eric Kralicek
  • Release date: February 2016
  • Publisher(s): Apress
  • ISBN: 9781484218174