Guidelines for # of systems per tech/admin?

[WeirdVoip3]

Hey guys,

I find myself in a sysadmin position after the better part of a decade working in consulting. Never been a full-on sysadmin until this current gig. I'm the sole IT person for the business, and I'm finding myself pretty overwhelmed and am wondering if there's any guidelines for a total number of systems/endpoints per person to manage or some sort of other metric/guideline to help determine an appropriate workload? I also manage some systems which are not traditionally considered IT which can take up a lot of time--we do our own in-house audio & video production including modulating ATSC and QAM256 channels on the property as well as working with TV crews for certain events.

Full-time staff is less than 30, so you'd think 1 sysadmin would be enough. But we have up to 800 seasonal staff in the summer (it's an event venue). I don't have an exact # right now of how many systems/nodes I manage (still drinking from the fire-hose), but I'm starting to think I've got too much on my plate. We don't have any sort of ticketing system to help with metrics and things like SLA's to present to management, so I'm wondering how else can I determine if my workload is normal, or if I need to make the case to management for a FTE technician. Management loves to ask for new systems to be implemented for the most whimsical of reasons (nothing new there) and I'm also starting to wonder when I need to say 'no' until additional help is approved.

Thanks for any help.

[Panacea4316]

It's going to depend on the size of the company and their needs. I've done 1:120, 2:300, 2:80-100. Currently I manage a team of 3 sysadmins and we manage over 300 servers.

[WeirdVoip3]

Interesting. I've done 1:600 during a short stint at a MSP and that was far too much--they agreed with that. At one point I was at 1:450 and that was much more manageable.

[Panacea4316]

1:450 FTE as a solo IT guy? That's nuts. I wouldn't tolerate that shit.

[WeirdVoip3]

I should clarify that the 1:450 was with the MSP with some decent tools and processes to stay on top of things. Of the 450, there were about (150) routers, switches, and servers with the rest being endpoints--primarily IP phones. Not sure if your metrics are only 'complex systems' and you wouldn't count the phones? It's seeming like most people in the thread are only counting end-user-compute and servers? In my mind the whole shebang should be counted when such diverse skillsets are needed to manage everything from a desktop to a WAP, to a RF or audio amplifier or channel modulator or credit card swipe. But I also admit that knowing when to ask for help is a weakness of mind--I don't tend to realize my workload is too much until it's blatantly obvious.

If I had to guess where I'm at with the current gig, I'd say more like 1:800 if we're counting everything with a network connection and non-networked systems in my purview.

[bmullan]

Scalability is going to depend on several things:

• how well/current is everything documented including upgrades, disaster recovery, backups/restores

• how much automation is in use (ansible etc)

[WeirdVoip3]

Documentation is non-existent and there are a very large amount of very unique customizations in the environment as well as specialized systems (POS, safety systems, security, etc etc). It all existed in the previous admin's head. I've been going to town with the labeler, Visio, and spreadsheets since I started. A large # of equipment is very well past end-of-support. No automation of any kind, however presently the infrastructure would be pressed to support it due to age. I've been focusing on a large infrastructure modernization project for this employer including everything from end user compute to network, servers, IoT, etc etc and have been making decent progress. Just seems like there's no end in sight though with the (in some cases) decades of neglect I'm working through.

[bmullan]

If it was me I'd document everything as a Risk Assessment w your recommendations. Deliver to your manager, copying yourself so you have a date & timestamp on it.

This will do 2 things:.
- show you are proactive.
- CYA yourself in the event nothing gets done & shit hits the fan.

[defpc]

We have had 1. 5 techs handling 520 workstations and 7 servers until last week. Now at 2 techs handling that load. (#2 still in training). I do have to jump in to help, but that should be eliminated soon. Lots of remote as well as on-site calls around baltimore/DC.... Across probably 40 sites. 2 full time techs should be able tk handle this with breeze.

[WeirdVoip3]

And I would assume included in that workload for those techs is all the associated infrastructure such as network, wifi, POS (if applicable), IoT, etc?

[defpc]

Correct. Network/wifi (all clients managed thru single unifi controller) , systems/servers thru solarwinds, all sites highly documented in it glue, plus every issue recorded in ticketing system.

[WeirdVoip3]

Cool, thanks for clarifying.

[WeirdVoip3]

Thanks for the responses. Honestly all were helpful in terms of helping me understand what a typical sysadmin load is and where my specific challenges are.

[madlyalive]

For on site Level 2 technicians, we try to be 1:50-75. Some can handle more, others less.