The system administrator, also known as Sysadmin, work behind the scenes to maintain important IT services. Due to the rise of cloud computing and DevOps, demand for professionals with multifaceted skill set is increasing rapidly.
The usual tasks system administrators perform installation, maintenance, configuration, network management and repair for servers. System administrators dabble in both hardware and software. Thus, the adequate knowledge of programming and scripting to perform tasks across applications and infrastructure is a must.
Due to interchangeable job responsibilities, many Sysadmins also take on the role of developers and vice versa. So, if you are planning to start a career in Information Technology, step into this diverse field by becoming a System Administrator.
Let’s dive into what System Administrators do and what skills are essential for the job!
As a Sysadmin, you essentially maintain the IT infra and network to ensure zero downtime that may cause any loss in revenue. With numerous network configurations, operating systems and security operations, system administrators experience continuous learning.
Essential Skills and Technologies
Basic automation, cloud computing, programming and networking know-how is a must. More skills technologies that sysadmins should know:
- Modern Tools: Understanding of software configuration management tools such as CFEngine, Puppet, CHEF, Ansible is an add on to the skills. These tools help you automate a number of tasks, including configuration management, deployment, orchestration open-source tool.
- Cloud Infrastructure: With the advent of cloud computing, system administrators need to understand how to work with systems in the cloud. How to manage the servers, what monitoring tools to be used and how application and services move.
- Version Control: Sysadmins need to know how to track changes, update and fix errors due to any changes made by developers.
- Server and network management: One of the main responsibilities include network management. System administrators need to know the ins and outs of network and server updates. They need to continuously improve systems for reliability, avoid outages and quick response to any incidents.
- Programming: A working knowledge of programming is must to proactively identify problems and fix them. Sysadmins who are able to write scripts and know programming language are in high-demand in today’s market.
Main Job Responsibilities of System Administrators:
- Monitoring and alerting: Depending on the technology, sysadmins are in charge of monitoring and alerting across applications. Monitoring metrics like CPU, DNS, ETL and other IT infrastructure is essential.
- Sign-on and password management: System administrators are tasked with SSO policies and managing passwords. They need to ensure security requirements are met with high efficiency.
- User permissions and administration: In charge of user permissions and administration, sysadmins assign user roles and manage the entire organization’s IT stack.
- Data Organization: Security and apt management of files according to policies and procedures of an organization are among other responsibilities.
- Software installation and upkeep: Sysadmins need to ensure all systems have required software installation and are updated regularly; check interdependencies between new versions, issue detection and fix errors as required.
- Incident detection and response: System administrators build It infrastructure with visibility and speed in mind. Set up systems that allow rapid incident detection and response effectively in minimum time duration.
- Post-incident reviews: System administrators are in charge of post-incident reviews for affected systems. Keeping tabs on issues, incident reviews and collaborating with affected parties can help improve IT and developer relationships.
- Documentation: SysAdmins maintain documentation accurate and keep books up-to-date to ensure development life cycle doesn’t slow down.
BizTech College’s 19-week System Administrator certificate program offers in-depth knowledge in a specialist area within Information Technology support. Within this short duration, you will learn essential skills to secure expert positions in a variety of business settings. Also, industry-standard certification such as MCSE and CompTIA adds on to your resume for better job opportunities.