The SysAdmin FAQ

Sometimes I receive mails from peoples that asks "are you really such a bastard or you just pretend to be?", so I decided to put up this page in the hope that they could read it and avoid to ask.

Q Today is someday, but in your story you begin with "it is totally other day/month", are you kidding or do you have a time machine?
A Usually I write down my tales more or less when they happens, sometimes I have to wait a bit to cool down and see the "funny" part of the story (if there is one) but I only publish once a week. If in a day 3 things that I consider 'worth' happens they will be published in 3 different weeks. The more stuff accumulate the more in the future they gets pushed.

Q Why are you as SysAdmin?
A The computer was crashing every 10 minutes, I got it working for 10 days without a reboot. My collegue asked how I did it. Then he told it to somebody else. And somebody else... And after a while I had the Admin password and everybody was calling me.

Q But if you don't like the job why don't you do something else?
A I did it. I switched job and place. But the computer was crashing ever 10 minutes...

Q So it is the computer then?
A Not necessarily. The fact is that I like to solve the problem and most of the time I can do it.

Q Why are you in The Netherland?
A The mob was chasing me... No, I got an offer from a dutch company and I decided to see what was about.

Q There are classes or schools for SysAdmins?
A There are various certification and classes for system administration, but none of them really prepare you for the real life. The important thing is that you need to be able to figure out what the problem is and then fix it or propose a fix.

Q What's the compenstion level of a SysAdmin?
A It depends. In most cases is higher than a programmer but lower than a Project Manager.

Q How much consideration does SysAdmins have?
A Let's put it like this: if some of your collegues goest to the loo and pee all over the place 'cause he can't hit the target, he won't complaint about it to the janitor. However, if he accidentally nuke his e-mails, he will nag the sysadmin to 'fix' his computer.

Q Do your collegues/coworkers knows that you're publishing these tales?
A I seriously hope not.

Q But are really really true stories?
A Unfortunately yes.

Q I wanna be a SysAsmin! What do you suggest?
A Get a shrink. No seriously, SysAdmin ain't a work that you choose, is something that suck you in.

Q To be a SysAdmin is required to know Unix/Linux and to snob Windows?
A If you want to work on Unix/Linux you'll need to know something about them, when you do the first part, the second one came on his own.

Q Do all sysadmins hate their users?
A I have this fantasy: to do a job (any job), you need to know something about it and about the tools that are required to do it. If you want to be a surgeon you need to have a vague idea of anatomy, so when you're cutting somebody on a table you know that "better not touch that red pulsing thing there, maybe I'm gonna cut away this white thing down here...". And when I met somebody that has used the same word processing software for ten years and still can't change the font...

Q Judging by your tales it looks like your company is full of retarded idiots, how is that the company is still afloat?
A Your guesses are good as mine. Maybe because is like this everywhere?

Q Why don't you write a book?
A Do you know a good editor? One that doesn't want money before pubblication?

Q In your tales you talk about a "system monitor". What is it?
A I use a lot of different tools, mostly Nagios, BCNU, Zabbix and Cacti.

Q In my company happens a lot of things like in yours, can I send you my own tales?
A RTFM

Q Well, I know what "LOL" means, "ROTFL", and CL, UL and the like is ok, BOFH, Lart etc. But what the heck is 'doh'?
A Do you know Homer Simpson? The cartoon one? Well.. DOH!

Q Hemmmm... and what about 'tfu'?
A Totally Fooled Up or Totally Fucked Up. In other words: broken.

Q What kind of distribution do you use?
R For work, mostly RedHat and similar (CentOS), for myself: Slackware.

Q Have you ever used... do you know... how can I...
R Probably no, probably no, and RTFM.

Comments are added when and more important if I have the time to review them and after removing Spam, Crap, Phishing and the like. So don't hold your breath. And if your comment doesn't appear, is probably becuase it wasn't worth it.

12 messages post new

soft-land.org and Windows 7 By Corrado - posted 16/01/2009 00:53 - reply

Quote: "Finalmente uno dei POCHI siti che ancora funzionano con IE5 dentro Windows 3.1"
Ora non chiedetemi perche' l'ho fatto, sara' stato un momento di debolezza, sara' che ho trovato in casa un hard disk tutto vuoto.... beh ho provato a installare Windows 7! E che si scopre?? soft-land.org: "Uno dei POCHI siti che NON funzionano con IE8 dentro Windows 7" ... Uno dei siti più leggibili e "maneggevoli" del web (tralasciando i contenuti ovviamente!)... funziona con win3.1, NON funziona con win7. E questa sarebbe evoluzione? Senza parole--
Corrado

Cobra78 @ Corrado By Cobra78 - posted 08/09/2009 16:01 - reply

> Quote: "Finalmente uno dei POCHI siti che ancora funzionano con IE5 dentro Windows 3.1"
> Ora non chiedetemi perche' l'ho fatto, sara' stato un momento di debolezza, sara' che ho trovato in casa un hard disk tutto vuoto.... beh ho provato a installare Windows 7! E che si scopre?? soft-land.org: "Uno dei POCHI siti che NON funzionano con IE8 dentro Windows 7" ... Uno dei siti più leggibili e "maneggevoli" del web (tralasciando i contenuti ovviamente!)... funziona con win3.1, NON funziona con win7. E questa sarebbe evoluzione? Senza parole

Scusa, per curiosità ho avviato Win 7 (ce l'ho tramite l'uni, e visto che sul portatile un sistema microsoft tocca averlo, meglio 7 di Vista) e non ho particolari problemi con soft-land.....
Oppure è una cosa già risolta?

--
Prendi la vita al minuto, non all'ingrosso.
Sogna come se dovessi vivere per sempre; vivi come se dovessi morire
oggi.

Davide Bianchi -AT- Corrado By Davide Bianchi - posted 16/01/2009 08:19 - reply

> sara' che ho trovato in casa un hard disk tutto vuoto.... beh ho provato a installare Windows 7!

Be' ma allora sei masochista eh...

> E che si scopre?? soft-land.org: "Uno dei POCHI siti che NON funzionano con IE8 dentro Windows 7"

Sei in grado di dare piu' informazioni? Cosa "non" funziona? Scrivimi in mail privata.--
Davide Bianchi

johnnymnemonic Slackware By johnnymnemonic - posted 28/01/2009 21:28 - reply

> Per lavoro, per lo piu' RedHat o derivate (CentOS), per me, Slackware per sempre

Ma non è che sei utente di slacky.eu?

--
johnnymnemonic

Davide Bianchi -AT- johnnymnemonic By Davide Bianchi - posted 29/01/2009 07:43 - reply

> Ma non è che sei utente di slacky.eu?

So neanche che roba e'.
--
Davide Bianchi

m0rdr3d -AT- Davide Bianchi By m0rdr3d - posted 03/02/2009 11:08 - reply

> > Ma non è che sei utente di slacky.eu?
>
> So neanche che roba e'.

Beh, se ti capita allora facci un salto!
per l'appunto: www.slacky.eu

P.S.: ti leggo da un po', e purtroppo molte situazioni le capisco... complimenti comunque, le storie sono fantastiche!

Slackware 4 life!--
m0rdr3d

mk66 subject By mk66 - posted 06/02/2009 13:17 - reply

> D Ma come' che sei finito in Olanda?
> R La mafia mi inseguiva e cosi'...

Non e' che anche a loro si incatastava il computer ogni 10 minuti e cercavano qualcuno che glielo facesse funzionare per almeno 10 giorni? $:-\)$ --
mk66

Davide Bianchi -AT- mk66 By Davide Bianchi - posted 06/02/2009 13:26 - reply

> Non e' che anche a loro si incatastava il computer ogni 10 minuti e cercavano qualcuno che glielo facesse funzionare per almeno 10 giorni?

Puo' darsi, ma sai cosa succede se non riesci a farlo funzionare no?--
Davide Bianchi

mk66 -AT- Davide Bianchi By mk66 - posted 06/02/2009 13:57 - reply

Mi pare che dal ramo informatico si passi al ramo edilizio, verificando direttamente il corretto funzionamento delle colate di cemento..
si, sicuramente e' meglio l'Olanda.

--
mk66

ilPasta Grafica sito By ilPasta - posted 11/05/2009 15:34 - reply

D Yeh flippin' God! La veste grafica del sito fa' veramente schifo! Perche' non la cambi?

Questo è uno dei pochissimi siti leggibili e fruibili in tutto e per tutto senza orbelli inutili.

--
ilPasta

Davide Bianchi -AT- ilPasta By Davide Bianchi - posted 11/05/2009 15:35 - reply

> Questo è uno dei pochissimi siti leggibili e fruibili in tutto e per tutto senza orbelli inutili.

Dillo a quelli che ci piacciono i siti in Flash.
--
Davide Bianchi

anonymous -AT- Davide Bianchi By anonymous - posted 12/05/2009 08:22 - reply

> > Questo è uno dei pochissimi siti leggibili e fruibili in tutto e per tutto senza orbelli inutili.
>
> Dillo a quelli che ci piacciono i siti in Flash.
>
> --
> Davide Bianchi

E' molto difficile spiegarglielo senza insultarli
per loro bello e fruibile sono sinonimi di pesante ergo flash.
personalmente ho abolito dalla navigazione i siti in flash salvo quei due o tre che purtroppo mi servono.--
anonymous

12 messages post new

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Davide Bianchi, works as Unix/Linux administrator for a "network security" company of Haarlem. Contacts: mail: davide AT onlyforfun.net , Jabber: davideyeahsure AT gmail.com

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