WHAT IS A

SYSTEM
ADMINISTR
ATOR?
WHAT’S COVERED IN THIS PRESENTATION:

System Administrator Definition

Why System Administration is Important
The many roles of a System Administrator
– Positive Roles
– Negative Roles
– Team Roles
SYSADMINS OR SAS IN DIFFERENT FIELDS

• Sysadmin in a University/School
• Engineering Firm
• Corporation
SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR
(SYSADMIN IN A UNIVERSITY/SCHOOL)

“ A System Administrator is a person who is responsible for the installation,

maintenance and technical support of the hardware, operating systems, and
applications used by the institution.”
SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR
(SYSADMIN IN AN ENGINEERING FIRM)

“ A System Administrator is a person who monitors the company’s network performance,

checks for security breaches and provides policies and standards for ensuring network
stability.”
SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR
(SYSADMIN IN A CORPORATION)

“ A System Administrator is a person who monitors, troubleshoots, and maintains servers

used throughout the enterprise.”
WHY IS IT THAT THE THREE SYSTEM ADMINISTRATORS HAVE
THREE DIFFERENT DEFINITIONS?
• The answers are different because a System Administrator does so many things that it’s
actually difficult to restrict the profession to one general definition!
• It is said that if you ask six administrators to define their jobs, you would get seven different
answers!
• The one thing that is common to three definitions is that they all work within the Information
Technology (IT) or Information System (IS) branch of their place of employment.
MOST SAS WOULD DEFINE THEIR JOB BY
REFERENCING THE COMMON TASKS THEY DO.
• Their tasks can vary based on:
• Where they work
• Who they serve
• Their expertise

• As a result, an SA can be given another Title that suits their common role, such as “System
Engineer”, “Network Administrator”, “Operators”, etc.
FOR NOW, LET’S ACCEPT A VERY GENERAL
DEFINITION:
“A System Administrator is a person who manages computer and network systems on behalf
of another, such as an employer or client.”
 WHY IS SYSTEM
ADMINISTRATION IMPORTANT?
WHY IS SA IMPORTANT?

• System Administration is important because computers and networks are important!

• Computers (software) have changed the way in which industries, schools and businesses
perform their daily operations. (And it only continues to do so!)
• It is necessary to have people who are capable of keeping these systems in good working
order, 24/7.
• The job can be particularly demanding because of the high standard placed on modern
technologies by consumers.
ROLES OF A SYSTEM
ADMINISTRAT
ROLES OF A SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR

• Now that you understand how ‘tenuous’ the definition can be, let’s insert some context by
describing some of the roles.
• System Administrators tend to work in teams because it is unrealistic for one person to
manage all of the roles. However an SA can take on multiple roles at one time.
• It is likely that the roles of each SA will change depending on the tasks that they are trying
to accomplish at the time.
ROLES OF A SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR

• The roles are categorized as:

• Positive: These can be common critical roles that provide value to the company and result in
satisfaction in the individual and from the customer.
• Negative: These are roles than a System Administrator may unwillingly adopt if they are not
careful!
• Team based: The are the roles that every member of a System Administration team may adopt to
maintain diversity (and sanity!) within the team.
POSITIVE ROLES OF A SYSTEM
ADMINISTRATOR
THE INSTALLER

• This is the person who installs “stuff”

• This is the most common perception customers have of SAs
• Valuable because installers show that they can follow through with the task (this is usually
the final step in a project)
• Gets satisfaction from performing the same task well multiple times
• This person is often the ‘face’ of the IT organization; they are expected to be friendly and
polite, as consumers will rate an organization based on the installer’s personality
THE REPAIR PERSON

• This is the person who is called upon to fix anything that’s broken.
• Valuable because it allows the consumer to get “back to business” once the technical
problem is resolved.
• Gets satisfaction from knowing they’ve helped another Person or the whole company
through their efforts
THE MAINTAINER

• This is the person who keeps a built system running.

• This person follows instructions, and is not concerned with improving the system.
• Valuable because they provide stability to the environment
• Get’s satisfaction from knowing that their work is part of the “big picture” that keeps the
organization working.
• They are often annoyed by the people who want to replace their stable system with
something new!
THE PROBLEM PREVENTER

• This person looks for problems and fixes them before they become visible.
• Often invisible to consumers, but valuable because they avert problems (and save their
company money doing so!)
• Gets satisfaction from knowing their work prevented problems that no one knows could
have happened.
• Ironically, this person often doesn’t get enough credit for their efforts!
THE HERO

• This is the person who “saves the day” by performing a crucial task in the nick of time
• This person gets the most praise, and often makes the most personal sacrifices (giving up
night, weekends) for that adulation.
• Valuable, because their effort makes them indispensable to a company.
• Gets satisfaction from being indispensable.
• Risky role because consumers always expect/demand the hero to be available and reliable
(which can be very stressful!)
THE GO-TO PERSON

• This person has become the resident ‘expert’ of a particular technology.

• This role is similar to the ‘hero’ but more coordinated and knowledgeable.
• Valuable because this person gets the job done when others can’t.
• Gets satisfaction from knowing the impact of their efforts moving forward.
• Risky role because of the demand placed on him/her by the client.
THE INFRASTRUCTURE BUILDER

• This person does long term planning to ultimately improve and scale current systems.
• Valuable to any company that intends to expand its business.
• Gets satisfaction from using their ability to elegantly transition to bigger and better systems
THE POLICY WRITER

• This person provides the documentation that informs others of how, when and why things
should be done.
• Valuable because the provide communication tools that solve some problems and prevent
others.
• Gets satisfaction from knowing that their knowledge, skills and experiences contributed to a
policy.
THE SYSTEM CLERK

• This person is usually given instructions to be followed from higher-level Sas.

• Valuable because they perform the tasks that would otherwise distract high-level SAs from
their specialized work.
• This is usually the starting point for many SAs in their career and many are eventually be
promoted from this role.
• May be risky as the Clerk can also be the scapegoat if they are poorly managed.
THE LAB TECHNICIAN

• This SA works with highly specialized equipment (such as in a research lab or firm).
• Valuable because they allow the researcher to focus on higher level issues (such as design
and analysis)
• Gets satisfaction from completing experiments and demos on time.
• Can get resentful if the researcher does not thank them for their efforts!
THE PRODUCT FINDER

• This person can tell you where to find a product, where to look for one, and can describe
most of the features of a product.
• This person will seem to be unproductive, as they will spend a lot of time on the web
obtaining their information.
• Valuable because they allow their company to remain up-to-date with technology.
• Gets satisfaction from having all the right resources.
THE SOLUTION DESIGNER

• This person provides the best solution for a given problem.

• Unlike product finders, the solution designer may build something from scratch instead of
finding a new product.
• Valuable because they can remove road blocks and simplify the bureaucratic process.
• Gets satisfaction from knowing that their solutions are used, as usage indicates that people
like the solution
THE AD HOC SOLUTION FINDER

• This person creates a solution to a seemingly impossible problem.

• Valuable because they tend to find solutions in restrictive circumstances.
• e.g. A technology may not be traditionally compatible for a special task. The Ad Hoc Solution
finder creates a solution that works around that limitation while still using the technology to
achieve the desired results.

• This person is oXen credited for performing ‘miracles’

• Gets satisfaction from saving the day.
• Risky role as this person is then expected to create miracles often!
THE UNREQUESTED SOLUTION PERSON

• This person provides solutions that weren’t requested!.

• This person consistently seeks improvement, which motivates them to seek answers to
questions that were not asked.
• Valuable because they can usually understand/relate to the needs of the consumer, and can
perceive problems that upper management wouldn’t see or understand.
• Gets satisfaction from seeing that their intuition was correct.
• Risky because this could be a good or bad thing!
• Good: if the solution turns out to be effective/not costly
• Bad: If the SA spends more time on their solutions than their actual work!
THE ONCALL EXPERT

• This knowledgeable person is always available to give advice on their fields of expertise.
• Valuable because people have a reliable person to call when advice is needed.
• Gets satisfaction from helping people (which in turn feeds their ego)
THE EDUCATOR

• This person teaches the customer to use available services.

• Valuable because they allow people to be more productive/efficient with their tools.
• Gets satisfaction from knowing that people work better because of them.
• This SA usually has a close relationship with the client and can oXen provide the best
insight on what they need.
THE POLICY ENFORCER

• This person says “no” to anything that is against policy.

• The Policy Enforcer will shut down efforts of any violators.
• Valuable because this person ensures that company policies are adhered to.
• Gets satisfaction from knowing that they are actively trying to keep the company on the
right track (which is set and desired by management)
NEGATIVE ROLES OF AN SA
THE BLEEDING EDGER

• This person is so obsessed with technology that they tend to unleash it on the customers
before it is ready.
• This can lead to customers dealing with new buggy services.
THE TECHNOLOGY STALLER

• This person stalls on any new technology and will attempt to halt an upgrade because they
are comfortable with the current system
THE SA WHO CRIED WOLF

• This person worries about things that aren’t likely to even occur.
• This SA cannot accept/tolerate any risks in the project.
THE COWBOY

• This person fixes systems or deploys new services without proper planning, in an attempt
to be the hero
• This SA tends to think that they are invaluable but their work often gets in the way.
SLAVES, SCAPEGOATS OR JANITORS

• Slaves: this SA does a task without question, even if there might be better ways to perform
the task
• Scapegoats: Everything that goes wrong in a project is blamed on this person
• Janitors: This person is not considered an SA, but rather an unskilled worker who isn’t
valuable to the company (i.e. merely overhead)
TEAM ROLES OF AN SA
THE END-TO-END EXPERT

• This SA understand all aspects of the technology being used

• Critical to a team for solving obscure problems and major outages
THE OUTSIDER

• This SA brings a fresh viewpoint to a team that may be in a ‘rut’ – even if the viewpoint is
“time to give up.”!
THE LEVEL-FOCUSED PERSON

• This person is aware of the ranks or levels of members of the team and uses that
knowledge to determine the level at which the problem should be solved
THE MARTYR

• This person is always resentful and feels that no one works as hard as they do on the team
• Unlike the other team roles, no SA needs to adopt this role if they wish to maintain a good
dynamic within the team!
DOERS OF REPETITIVE TASKS

• These team members perform the repetitive tasks that cannot be automated (such as
delivery)
• They can solve immediate problems and are considered important to the team
THE SOCIAL DIRECTOR

• This person boosts team spirit by finding a reason for the group to celebrate together
(especially in a non work context)
• This member is essen1al to the team for building team cohesion