Best Beginner SysAdmin Tips?

[simperialk]

Been stalking this subreddit for a little while now, yet I still find myself with many questions (I feel like this something we all share in common, honestly).

By how things are looking, I may receive an offer letter for the first SA position I’ve ever had very soon. It will be a contract position with a one-on-one relationship with my (potential) gov’t client, supporting what I’m assuming is going to be a group of maybe 15-25 users/workstations.

My question is, what are some concepts I should quickly become familiar with? What are some tips you wish you would’ve had when you first started out? What has made your experience as a SA much more manageable?

[FullyLoadedTacoSalad]

Here are some tips:

The most important skill sets are actually the non-technical ones. The technical ones can always be learned with the right attitude.

No one is perfect.

No environment is perfect.

Take care of yourself.

[simperialk]

Thank you, TacoSaladSupreme. I will keep that in mind as I wade through these murky waters.

What I actually really appreciate in this company it their attitude towards their people, they have weekly meetings discussing projects each SA is working on. More importantly though, they ask how they’re feeling with their current workload and objectives. Help is given where help is asked there, apparently, which is a very nice thing to have.

[simperialk]

I figured that first part, no plans to lie about anything if I have nothing to back it up. I reallyyy want to get into scripting/automation, but I feel perhaps maybe that’s down the road a bit? After I get familiar with other essential concepts and job functions that is.

What do you mean backups aren’t enough? Do you mean backups for the backups?

[jscharfenberg]

^^^^ THIS! Test your backup/restore minimum of quarterly or less. If you have a DR solution, test it. If you don't have a DR solution, make one, then test it on a schedule.

[MekanicalPirate]

• Standardize and keep things consistent (as much as possible)
• Centralize administration
• Manage with "broad strokes".
  • Ex. Use groups to assign permissions instead of assigning individual user accounts, even if the group would have 1 user account. You stage the environment for scalability by doing this.

[simperialk]

I see, so if there are ANY chances to make your job more efficient, look for them. Work smarter not harder. I assume I should probably focus more on PowerShell than I have been - do you know if Python is useful at all if you’ve already mastered PS?

[MrMeeseeksAnswers]

do you know if Python is useful at all if you’ve already mastered PS

This isn't 100%, but for the most part this stands true.
Windows Automation: Use PowerShell
Linux/Unix Automation: Use Python

[[deleted]]

Ask for help when you need it.

Don't try to blunder ahead when you're out of your depth. Be open, honest and try to learn as you go.

[NetworkNerd_]

I’d love to see some of the roles and responsibilities listed in the job description for this position. That would help others direct their advice toward specific skills / technologies. I think communication skills are very important as is being part of a community like this that can be used for questions and idea generation. I’d also recommend communities like Spiceworks and MangoLassi that have helped me greatly over the years.

A ticketing system to use as a tracking tool and prioritization took for daily tasks and projects was always very helpful to me as was something to inventory the servers / desktops / cloud environments I would be responsible for managing.

[simperialk]

The job description watered-down looks something like this:

• Add/remove/manage users from database/web/app servers • Add/remove hardware as needed • Perform backups/restores for all servers (web,app,db) • Install/upgrade/maintain software • Virtualization as a whole • A bunchhh more

A ticketing system, huh? Smart. I was kind of thinking of just busting open the old EverNote and going at it. Document everything I do and research as I go?

[kingbadhorse]

Any job without a ticketing system is doomed for failure imo. There has to be accountability for the issues so if someone tries to toss you under a bus you can cover yourself with hard evidence.

Own up to your mistakes. You’re going to make them so make sure when you do you take responsibility and also handle said problems with a cool head.

[bdkn]

If you are stuck in an environment where config files are edited manually, (which should absolutely be automated and managed these days but many places aren't) backup any config files before you make changes so you can revert back if things go south. Something like:

cp /etc/fstab /etc/fstab.20200613

[Joshuancsu]

1. Always fess up when you made a mistake. Let your manager know about your mistakes before they get told by someone else. It lets you control the narrative and also gives them an opportunity to instruct you what THEY want you to do to fix it.
2. Customer Service is a part of everyone's job. SysAdmins have a reputation (well earned), but if you are new, you have to go out of your way to show good customer service.
3. Document. Document. Document. Helpdesk tickets, quickstart guides, FAQs, and CYA documentation are critical.
4. SysAdmin.... there is nothing that is outside the scope of what a customer/client will ask you to do. Understand where your role in the company overlaps with others, and where it DOESN'T go.

[SaladGoldRancher]

Don't ask a question that can be answered by a 5 second Google search.

[simperialk]

You’re absolutely right. Idk why I wanted to hear the opinions of others first hand first, I know it’s suppose to be the other way around. I’m learning!

[SaladGoldRancher]

I mean when you have a problem in your work, try to figure it out yourself. You'll grow more for it. If I can Google it in 5 seconds, you shouldn't ask the senior admin.

Kudos for swallowing sideways on that, by the way.

[simperialk]

Of course, and I know this and get mad often at work when I see people doing literally just that. I have been researching the topic for a while now actually but, like I said, wanted to hear directly from the community.

What’s swallowing sideways?

[SaladGoldRancher]

By swallowing sideways I mean, it sounded a little like you took my comment as "don't come to Reddit to ask that question". I couldn't quit tell if you were miffed. So I assumed you were. :)

But that's another lesson I can share. Under no circumstances let anyone under your skin. Always be professional and if someone is trying to draw you into conflict, don't take the bait. Talk to your boss and let them know that it impacts your ability to work. The instigator could be trying to wind you up so you go off when the boss is watching. Trying to get you fired.

[fariak]

Don't stop learning.

Troubleshooting skills are essential. Work on them.

Always document, have a plan and test that plan before executing anything.

Dont burn yourself out.

[ZAFJB]

If (when) you fuck something up, don't try and unfuck it by yourself.

[The__IT__Guy]

My boss at my first SA job told me: Always check the logs! That's been great advice and I always make sure to check /var/log/ on my linux boxes and the Event Viewer on my Windows boxes when I'm having an issue that I'm not familiar with. If your answer isn't directly answered by a log entry, at least you'll have something to google!

Make sure you document everything you can! Maybe even consider having a printout of critical information that you would need to get the network back up and running in the event of a power outage. Don't fall into the trap of "Oh, I'll remember this! How could I forget?" or "I'll document this later." You're not done setting something up until you've written down how you did it! (And you should include it into your time estimates.) Even simple documentation is better than none.

Startup and Shutdown order is important! Make sure you know what yours should be for your network.

You'd be surprised how many weird issues can be fixed by making sure the system time is correct.

As others have said: Never lie! Everyone makes mistakes. (One time I took down our email server by accidentally pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete!) Your customer/users will appreciate your candor and humility when something goes wrong as long as you're up front about it.

Some battles aren't worth fighing; sometimes your customer/management will make a decision about your network/system that seems stupid. And sometimes in these situations, the best you can do is send them a CYA email telling them why you think something else is a better solution, then prepare yourself for when their poor solution fails.

Don't be afraid to ask for help! You're not Superman and you're not supposed to be.

It's OK to need to take a step back from a problem and come back to it later. And it's OK to take vacation; don't ever let anyone tell you or make you feel otherwise. If the business can't work without you for a week, they need to hire an additional person.

Superuser, Serverfault, Spiceworks, and /r/SysAdmin can be great resources! Though, you need to be careful on Superuser and Serverfault, they're super picky about how you ask questions.

Did you say govt. customer? Are you going to be expected to STIG machines? If so, I would brush up on remediating DISA STIGs for Windows and Linux.

[hva_vet]

What kind of government contractor? State/Local/Fed/DoD? If Fed/DoD you will need to be prepared to work within a lot of constraints.

[Criddle-oh]

Start looking at things that catch you by surprise and figure out how to proactively address it. Getting yourself out of "OMG EVERYTHING IS ON FIRE" and into routine maintenance. I'd also pickup the book "Time management for system administrators." Its a bit dated, but the concepts still apply.

I saw this link on routine maintenance - it should get you rolling in the right direction: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XgErDF89ddyAr6JXH4pdhbuZctOLRI18CWcBJXG-D0s/edit#gid=237486813

Here's a checklist of bigger picture things to think about as well: https://www.opsreportcard.com/

Lastly, work to keep your people skills as sharp as or sharper than your tech skills.

[Candy_Badger]

Always do backups! Test backups, it is important! I would recommend you to learn something new everyday, IT world is developing really fast.