{"id":2248,"date":"2019-12-24T09:26:36","date_gmt":"2019-12-24T08:26:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.codemotion.com\/magazine\/uncategorized\/system-administrators-dos-and-donts-interview-with-kenneth-hess\/"},"modified":"2020-12-28T10:45:45","modified_gmt":"2020-12-28T09:45:45","slug":"system-administrators-dos-and-donts-interview-with-kenneth-hess","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.codemotion.com\/magazine\/backend\/system-administrators-dos-and-donts-interview-with-kenneth-hess\/","title":{"rendered":"System Administrator’s DOs and DON’Ts: interview with Kenneth Hess"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is quite clear that the most important skill for a System Administrator <\/strong>to have is problem solving<\/strong>. As a result, it can be a very stressful job<\/span>, especially when there is little time to analyse the problem and find a solution. A lot depends on this role – so much so that there’s even a System Administrator Appreciation Day<\/span> (29th July)!<\/p>\n

But what skills are most essential for a good SysAdmin<\/strong>? Which technologies should a System Administrator be familiar with, and which are becoming obsolete? In this interview, we asked Kenneth Hess<\/strong> to share his experience and most relevant thoughts about the daily duties of a System Administrator<\/strong>, about the Cloud, and the future of Data Centers.<\/p>\n

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Kenneth Hess<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Kenneth Hess is the Community Manager of Enable Sysadmin<\/em>, a system administrator-focused site by Red Hat that offers tips and tricks, guides, how-tos and tutorials about Linux<\/span> and open-source<\/span> software<\/span>. Previously, Kenneth was Senior System Analyst at CymSTAR – a Simulation and Training Systems company for the military sector – where he covered system administration, system design, service design, and mentoring of IT personnel. Earlier in his career, Kenneth was a third level System Administrator at Hewlett Packard Enterprise and a famous blogger on ZDNet.<\/p>\n

Our face-to-face conversation with Kenneth follows:<\/p>\n

Talking about your most recent challenge, what is the idea that drives Enable Sysadmin and what are the long-term plans?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our idea is that this is a site run by sysadmins for sysadmins and written by sysadmins. We encourage and need submissions from the sysadmin community. Long-term we want Enable Sysadmin to be the “Go To” site for Linux<\/span> system administrators to glean from the knowledge of other sysadmins.<\/p>\n

How is the content published on Enable Sysadmin selected?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, that’s an interesting question. Contributors can come up with their own topics and pitch them to us. We also have dozens of topics\/titles for sysadmin<\/span> contributors to pick from.<\/p>\n

Do you think it still makes sense, nowadays, to pick up a paper handbook?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, I wish someone would rewrite Essential System Administration<\/em> (Aeleen Frisch) for Linux<\/span>. I personally love having a book handy and for me, that was THE book for years.<\/p>\n

The skills needed to be a System Administrator are constantly changing. How should a SysAdmin keep up to date? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, I think that a sysadmin<\/span> has to read and educate themselves. You have to stay current with what’s going on. I know many of us work in a vacuum, but you have to go to Meetups<\/strong> and collaborate with others like yourself, or you become a clich\u00e9 and we don’t want that.<\/p>\n

How can we distinguish what is useful to learn in order to avoid skills obsolescence?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It’s hard to do because there are still so many legacy systems<\/span> out there that require attention. For example, I was the only one at HP<\/span> who knew how to work with Solaris 5, so you have to keep your footing in both the old and the new. I also had a client that used an old Xenix<\/span> system and I was the only one who knew how to work on that as well.\u00a0 I can’t count the number of SCO systems I used to support.<\/p>\n

Which technologies do you recommend developers specialized in SysAdmin focus on?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you had asked me this just ten years ago, I would have said PHP<\/span>. But now? Python<\/span> <\/strong>is the one. Ruby<\/span> to some extent, but Python<\/span>, for sure.<\/p>\n

Until a few years ago we looked at charts to understand the growth of Linux<\/span> in the IT market. Now, this does not seem to be an important topic any more. Did Linux<\/span> win the fight in the Enterprise segment? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, it did win. I can remember a time when I was told (unkindly) to get that Linux machine off the network because it’s not an approved OS<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Is it really the only choice available to a Company?<\/strong><\/p>\n

No, I think Windows<\/span> Server<\/span> is a valid choice for some things. You can’t be an OS<\/span> bigot today. Fifteen years ago during the OS<\/span> wars, yes, but not now. Everyone has to work with all operating systems<\/span> and technologies. If you refuse to learn, then you become obsolete.<\/p>\n

You have direct experience of Cloud and virtualization at the highest level. Today, the new horizon is Hybrid Cloud<\/span>. How could Edge Computing<\/span> and Hybrid Cloud<\/span> change the software ecosystem of an old-style small or middle-sized Company?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hybrid cloud<\/span><\/strong> is a great choice for companies that are cautious about going full-on into a dedicated hosted environment. I’m not sure it will go away soon – too many companies like to have that locus of control for their systems. So-called Edge computing<\/span><\/strong> is what we’ve been doing for the past 50 years or more. Cloud, in whatever form you take it, is the real game-changer. I think that within ten years, hardly anyone will have their own data centers<\/span> or server<\/span> rooms unless it’s just for test\/dev type applications<\/span>. SMBs can enjoy quicker startup using cloud technologies and a geographically diverse workforce as well. Having to go into an office to manage a server<\/span> is quickly becoming a thing of the past. It’s ridiculous to do it these days.<\/p>\n

Who should avoid this approach?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I’m not sure anyone should avoid cloud computing<\/span>. Security is better there than in a private data center<\/span> these days and there’s less overhead<\/span> and fewer points of complete failure, etc. Plus, why would you avoid something that’s better, cheaper, more agile, and less worry?<\/p>\n

Are new paradigms and maximum results always in accordance?<\/strong><\/p>\n

No. I think that for most people in computing<\/span>, there are always those who want to push boundaries and adopt the latest thing but it’s a foolhardy pursuit because so much of it is unproven and you never know which way technology will lean. For example, BetaMax<\/span> was better but everyone went VHS. Tiny flip phones fell away to larger smartphones<\/span>. And laptops were never replaced by tablets<\/span>. It’s not always what’s better, cheaper, or even more aesthetically pleasing that wins out in technology.<\/p>\n