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What are some of the day to day problems a computer systems administrator will have to face.
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4 answers
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Dirk’s Answer
Of course this depends on the system itself. I am working as a Business Application Consultant, helping people install our software and set it up for the client's maximum benefits. I work a lot with Admins, and their chores are (probably to be continued by others, so this list is not exclusive):
1. Setting up each user of the system, including grating security access to the tasks they are supposed to perform (and ensuring they canNOT do things they shouldn't do, ie only select users should be able to print check out of an Accounting System).
2. Trouble Shooting: there are so many things can can - for whichever reason - stop working or working incorrectly The Admin is usually the first person to hear about it and who is supposed to start solving the issues.
3. Maintaining an overview of the system functionality
4. Leading the 'Help Desk'
5. Assisting in Designing the Application, understanding how to make changes to the standard design, and determine if certain requests should be handled in house or outsourced.
6. To be continued by others.
1. Setting up each user of the system, including grating security access to the tasks they are supposed to perform (and ensuring they canNOT do things they shouldn't do, ie only select users should be able to print check out of an Accounting System).
2. Trouble Shooting: there are so many things can can - for whichever reason - stop working or working incorrectly The Admin is usually the first person to hear about it and who is supposed to start solving the issues.
3. Maintaining an overview of the system functionality
4. Leading the 'Help Desk'
5. Assisting in Designing the Application, understanding how to make changes to the standard design, and determine if certain requests should be handled in house or outsourced.
6. To be continued by others.
Updated
Greg’s Answer
Working as a system administrator can be a rewarding and fulfilling career choice. You'll be constantly challenged to keep your skills up-to-date so that means you'll be learning new things and getting training and certifications which your company should pay for. You'll get the satisfaction that your skills will be in demand and quite marketable. That said, you'll be given responsibility for keeping things up and running smoothly for your users and customers. If you're working in a data center, that means you'll need to pay attention to security and being sure your systems are patched and properly configured to guard against cybercrimes and vulnerabilities. To that end, you'll need have good backups and disaster recovery plans that are kept up-to-date. You'll also have to track your hardware configurations, asset inventory, licenses, hardware and software support contracts to ensure you can get technical support should one of your systems crash and need repair or replacements. You may also need to be knowledgeable about virtual computing like VMware or public cloud computing like AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure platforms. You'll need to be familiar with potentially multiple operating systems like Linux, MacOS, Windows and maybe even some exotic platforms like AIX and HPUX. It's really a fun and exciting time to be a computer system administrator. Good luck to you in your career!
Updated
Jake’s Answer
Here are some problems / tasks you might have to handle.
-Installing server OS with needed roles and features.
-Setting up shared folders and applying / troubleshooting permissions.
-Creating users and security groups.
-Troubleshooting performance issues in the OS.
-Backing up and testing recovery process with software.
-Troubleshooting bad windows updates.
-Creating documentation for end users / helpdesk for different processes.
-Possibly troubleshooting VPN issues.
-Syncing issues between multiple domain controllers.
-AD Azure Connect (which connects Active Directory to Office 365).
-Possibly dealing with escalated helpdesk issues which could vary.
-Dealing with 3rd party software vendors for support.
-Installing server OS with needed roles and features.
-Setting up shared folders and applying / troubleshooting permissions.
-Creating users and security groups.
-Troubleshooting performance issues in the OS.
-Backing up and testing recovery process with software.
-Troubleshooting bad windows updates.
-Creating documentation for end users / helpdesk for different processes.
-Possibly troubleshooting VPN issues.
-Syncing issues between multiple domain controllers.
-AD Azure Connect (which connects Active Directory to Office 365).
-Possibly dealing with escalated helpdesk issues which could vary.
-Dealing with 3rd party software vendors for support.
Updated
Mark’s Answer
As a computer systems administrator your basic daily tasks would include granting access to systems for users, performing software upgrades to keep your systems up to date, backing up data for disaster recovery, and troubleshooting issues.
An admin also has to stay up to speed on the latest technologies and applications. Sometimes your work day will be focused on training to understand a new technology or new release of software.
An admin also has to stay up to speed on the latest technologies and applications. Sometimes your work day will be focused on training to understand a new technology or new release of software.
Thank you very much for your reply.
Michael