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System administration - Definition and Overview |
| Related Words: Administrator, Application, Archon, Auspices, Authority, Board, Bureaucracy, Cabinet, Chancellor, Charge, Claws, Command |
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A system administrator is a person responsible for running, or running some aspect of, a computer system.
The precise meaning varies. Organisations with very large or complex computer systems typically divide up computer staff according to specialism, in which case a system administrator ("sysadmin") is someone responsible for the maintenance of the existing computer system, and who is specifically not :
In smaller organisations, not all of these specialties exist separately, and the term "system administrator" is used in a much more generic way - they are the people who know how the computer system works and can respond when something fails.
A system administrator's work will almost always include:
- performing backups
- applying any operating system updates, and configuration changes
- installing and configuring any new hardware/software
- adding/deleting/modifying user account information, resetting passwords, etc.
- answering technical queries
- responsibility for security
- responsibility for documenting the configuration of the system.
- troubleshooting any reported problems.
But may (particularly in smaller organisations) include much of the job description given in the separate articles listed above. In larger organizations, some of the tasks listed above may be divided between different system administrators. For example, there may be a dedicated individual or group responsible for testing and applying system upgrades.
See also: BOFH, PFY, SAGE (organization), System Administrator Appreciation Day.
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