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The Accidental SysAdmin Handbook: A Primer for Early Level IT Professionals
Understand the concepts, processes and technologies that will aid in your professional development as a new system administrator. While every information technology culture is specific to its parent organization, there are commonalities that apply to all organizations. The Accidental SysAdmin Handbook, Second Edition looks at those commonalities and provides a general introduction to critical aspects associated with system administration. It further acts to provide definitions and patterns for common computer terms and acronyms. You'll to build and manage home networking and plan more complex network environmentsHow to manage the network layer and service architectures as well as network support plansHow to develop a server hardware strategy and understand the physical vs. virtual server ecosystemHow to handle data storage, data strategies and directory services, and central account managementHow to work with DNS, DHCP, IP v4 and IP v6How to deploy workstations and printersHow to manage and use antivirus and security management softwareHow to build, manage and work with intranets and Internet support servicesAudienceIt is assumed that the reader has little to no experience in a professional information technology environment.
282 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 1, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 17, 2017
Just got notice that I'd be doing some new work in my organization in a few months; this book seemed like a good boot camp. I sat down and powered through it over the course of a few reading sessions in 24 hours or so. While I learned some things, it was not really what I expected.
The book features a lot of details about the physical setup of a network, and little detail about the basic principles of networking--concepts like DNS, IPv6 addresses, subnet masking, etc. get mentions, but little real in-depth explanation. There's a focus on Microsoft products almost exclusively, which is fine, but this is presented as a vendor-neutral book. Other annoyances include tons of typos, (late-90s-looking) visuals that are discussed as if they are in color but that are printed in black and white, discussions of several outdated technologies (virtual servers are presented as the cutting edge, with cloud computing getting only a passing mention).
It gave me a decent idea of and introduction to a few key concepts. If you're setting up a new network, including with the physical cabling and physical servers, etc. from scratch, it's useful, and there's some good information about keeping machines updated, thinking about backups, security procedures, and all of that. But if you're an "accidental sysadmin" at an organization with an existing IT infrastructure, who's looking for something that's going to walk you through the nitty-gritty of networking, server management, cloud computing--of keeping the lights on for your websites and all of that--this isn't really the book you're looking for. It has its place, it's just not clear from its cover and the publisher's information what that place really is.
The book features a lot of details about the physical setup of a network, and little detail about the basic principles of networking--concepts like DNS, IPv6 addresses, subnet masking, etc. get mentions, but little real in-depth explanation. There's a focus on Microsoft products almost exclusively, which is fine, but this is presented as a vendor-neutral book. Other annoyances include tons of typos, (late-90s-looking) visuals that are discussed as if they are in color but that are printed in black and white, discussions of several outdated technologies (virtual servers are presented as the cutting edge, with cloud computing getting only a passing mention).
It gave me a decent idea of and introduction to a few key concepts. If you're setting up a new network, including with the physical cabling and physical servers, etc. from scratch, it's useful, and there's some good information about keeping machines updated, thinking about backups, security procedures, and all of that. But if you're an "accidental sysadmin" at an organization with an existing IT infrastructure, who's looking for something that's going to walk you through the nitty-gritty of networking, server management, cloud computing--of keeping the lights on for your websites and all of that--this isn't really the book you're looking for. It has its place, it's just not clear from its cover and the publisher's information what that place really is.
February 28, 2017
This is the second (and updated) edition from a series of IT-related titles from this publisher.
The author has over 20 years’ experience in IT, and so in this book manages to cover everything from server room and server rack specifications, through to workstation and printer deployment, in a relatively short 260 pages.
Designed for those new to systems administration the book covers many of the essential aspects involved in planning and deploying a new network, and provides a good theoretical template with some practical insights.
Despite being sub-titled “a primer for entry level IT Professionals”, potential readers of the book can also include those studying IT, those applying for technical support/systems administration roles, and those already working in a network/server environment.
The fourteen chapters start off with some scene-setting fundamentals (including the OSI model), through network services architecture and support plans, physical and virtual servers, directory services, network security, and, finally DR.
It’s not possible to cover everything in a single book, so lack of space may have prevented perhaps at least a chapter on some of the current hot topics and their impact on the traditional systems administration role.
The book will provide an excellent source of background information, however it won’t (and doesn’t promise to) replace specific training and certification.
At around £20 it represents good value as it’s a well presented book, with lots of diagrams, screen-shots, sample checklists, plenty of references and a comprehensive index.
Review by Mike Rees MBCS CITP, IT Consultant
Originally published: http://www.bcs.org/content/conWebDoc/...
The author has over 20 years’ experience in IT, and so in this book manages to cover everything from server room and server rack specifications, through to workstation and printer deployment, in a relatively short 260 pages.
Designed for those new to systems administration the book covers many of the essential aspects involved in planning and deploying a new network, and provides a good theoretical template with some practical insights.
Despite being sub-titled “a primer for entry level IT Professionals”, potential readers of the book can also include those studying IT, those applying for technical support/systems administration roles, and those already working in a network/server environment.
The fourteen chapters start off with some scene-setting fundamentals (including the OSI model), through network services architecture and support plans, physical and virtual servers, directory services, network security, and, finally DR.
It’s not possible to cover everything in a single book, so lack of space may have prevented perhaps at least a chapter on some of the current hot topics and their impact on the traditional systems administration role.
The book will provide an excellent source of background information, however it won’t (and doesn’t promise to) replace specific training and certification.
At around £20 it represents good value as it’s a well presented book, with lots of diagrams, screen-shots, sample checklists, plenty of references and a comprehensive index.
Review by Mike Rees MBCS CITP, IT Consultant
Originally published: http://www.bcs.org/content/conWebDoc/...
September 27, 2017
I actually finished this, even though it was exhausting. There are some noticeable typos and grammatical conflicts, but overall it provided what it said it would: a high-level overview of the basics of network administration. This is not a how to book, so you'd better already have a good understanding of concepts like DNS.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews