What Are System Administrators and What is Their Job

System Administrators , also called Sysadmins, are people that manage and maintain computer systems and networks.

System Administrators take care of a wide ranging number of computer support functions within an organization. System Administrators are normally known as the people who install, support and maintain workstation and server computer systems. However, a

System Administrators key function is to ensure business continuity by ensuring that computers system experience minimal downtime. To ensure minimal outage in computer services, System Administrators must plan for and make provision for responding to service outages and other problems.

System Administrators may also perform other duties such as scripting, IT project management and training computer operators. System Administrators may also act as consultants for scoping business requirements and selecting appropriate computer system to support business processes. A System Administrator is truly a diversely skilled IT Professional.

A system administrator's responsibilities might include:

* Analyzing system logs and identifying potential issues with computer systems.

* Introducing and integrating new technologies into existing computer environments.

* Performing routine audits of systems and software.

* Performing backups.

* Applying operating system updates, patches, and configuration changes.

* Installing and configuring new hardware and software.

* Adding, removing, or updating user account information, resetting passwords, etc.

* Answering technical queries.

* Responsibility for security.

* Responsibility for documenting the configuration of the system.

* Troubleshooting any reported problems.

* System performance tuning.

* Ensuring that the network infrastructure is up and running.

To administrate computer systems a System Administrator must understand computer systems and how people within an organization use them. The System Administrator must therefore be able to align IT capabilities with the needs of the organization. This requires a knowledge of operating systems, applications, computer hardware, networking methodologies and networking equipment and security systems.

While System Administrators need diverse IT and business process knowledge, their task they are mostly engaged in on a day-to-day basis is problem solving. System Administrators must be on call and able to react quickly when a computer system goes down or malfunctions. They must be able to correctly diagnose a problem and take steps to resolve issues in a prompt and timely manner.

Because of their diversity, people often confuse the function of System Administrators with that of software engineers and software developers. System Administrators do not design or write new software applications. While they may give input to the software design and development process, their level of programming skill is usually limited to scripting in order to automate routine tasks.

System Administrators must have a good knowledge of computer system security, especially when dealing with Internet-facing or business-critical systems. System Administrators generally monitor software and various aspects of the computer network, ensuring that software patches are applied to fix application layer security issues and applying a variety of security technologies and methodologies in order to prevent unauthorized systems or network access.

In smaller organizations System Administrators are skilled in many facets of systems deployment, support and administration. In larger organizations System Administration tasks may all be separate positions within a computer support or Information Services (IS) department, for example:

* A database administrator (DBA) looks after database systems.

* A network administrator maintains network infrastructure such as switches and routers.

* A security administrator is a specialist in computer and network security.

* A web administrator maintains web server services (such as IIS or Apache) that allow for internal or external access to web sites.

These separate skills are often wrapped up in one person called the System Administrator. Sometimes System Administrators also act as technical support staff, responding to individual users' difficulties with computer systems, providing instructions and diagnosing and solving common problems. Such support is often done using remote access solutions that enable the System Administrator to view the computer desktop, taking control of the computer keyboard and mouse.

Modern System Administration is often performed from remote with System Administrators performing routine diagnostics, reporting, maintenance and upkeep using Virtual Network Management services. Remote System Administration is however limited to the software component of the business computer systems because tasks such as changing backup tapes or replacing failed drives in a RAID array require physical presence in the room with the computer. This problem is often overcome by Remote System Administrators with the aid of off-site backup systems.

At all times System Administrators must be responsible and methodical in their work. They must also be trustworthy, working with a high degree of integrity as they often have access to what is possibly sensitive data.

Sean Wheller is the founder of www.SystemAdministrator.co.za, a Computer Services provider in South Africa, providing virtual system administration services for small and medium sized businesses.