10 Rules of The Incredible Linux Admin

Gather round boys and girls, friends and neighbors.

Today, we are going to hear about that mythical creature, The Administrator.

Well, it doesn't have to be just a Linux Administrator, he or she could look over a number of different Operating Systems ( and often does just that ) all on one big, mixed up network. The Admin is something incredible to behold.

What does one need to do to be an Admin?

Well, most Admins start out by going to college, getting a job as a technician of some kind and working their way up the ranks.

However, there are a lot of examples of people being self taught and just kind of being in the right place at the right time.

There have even been many of those who were just stupid enough to be the one to say "Yeah, I'll do that." when the boss came asking.

So, just what does it take to be an Admin? It takes courage, immense self confidence, the ability to be entirely self motivated and most of all, having a thick skin.

Oh yeah, an Admin must also have a pretty thorough knowledge of the computers and network systems they will be looking over.

let's discuss this from the POV of a Linux Admin though. Linux is still in the "woodsy" area of the computers systems world.

Yes, there are an increasing amount of colleges and universities that are offering Linux based classes, mixed in with their other studies programs. However, there is still not that big of an educational inroad of course as say, Microsoft products might enjoy.

You will still quite often find people training to be Linux Admins via online courses and practicing at home or at small to middle sized companies that don't have the bureaucracy or red tape to prevent them from investigating Linux or other Open Source solutions and offerings.

The best thing anyone can remember about being an Admin is that you don't have to know everything. You do have to know where to find the info at a moments notice though.

You will find that the more you do things, the more often you do them, they will become ingrained into your memory. They will become habits. What you want is good Admin habits.

Rule 1 of being a good Admin is BACKUP everything. as often as it is called for, if not more.

Rule 2 of good Admins, is to keep excellent and well organized notes and documentation.

There is no way we can emphasize more the crucial importance to document everything you do. Think of it as backing up your memory.

Rule 3 is never ever let yourself become pigeon holed or paint yourself into a corner. Always keep multiple options open. Explore as many other distros and desktop environments as possible. You don't have to like them all, but you had better be familiar with them.

Rule 4 is NO FEAR. There is no time to be afraid or timid in a Linux or any other system environment. All fear does is cloud your thinking and increase your chances of making mistakes.

Rule 5 is Don't be cocky. It is good to have no fear, but don't over-extend that to being cocky. All cocky does is cause you to overlook simple errors and come back to bite you in the butt later. Often making you look terribly foolish at the same time.

Rule 6 shall be, defend your LAN. It's yours, do you you hear me? Mine mine mine. Or, well, you know what I mean. You are responsible for it's stability, it's continued uptime and productivity. When things go awry, it's your tukus that will feel the boot. Don't let others bully their way into your system. You built it (or inherited it ) and you should know it better than you know the back of your hand.

Rule 7 consequently is, Listen to others. Being the Admin, you are sometimes to close to the action to see what someone who is just a regular user might see. Use everyone else as scouts and your eyeballs. Every user is a potential bug finder ( or causer, in which case, it's good to know who you need to babysit the most ) . This rule falls under " Keep your friends close but your enemies closer."

Rule 8. Well yes, way down here we will say that the command line is your friend. If you have a variety of distros in your system, the most common method of entry into those will be the command line terminal.
Again, the more you use various commands, the more they will stay in your memory and the less often you will have to look them up. Get used to it. Learn it, live it, love it.

Rule 9 is that information is everywhere. You just have to know where to find it. Online, in Books, other peoples ( and their notes ). You must become a veritable cornucopia of information. Not only knowing the specific of your system, but of systems in general and knowing where to find that information in the blink of an eye.

Rule 10. Have fun. Yup, you must allow yourself to relax and take it easy sometimes. This is computer stuff, not the end of the world. You will only become miserable and hate what you do if you do not allow it to be fun for you and your team mates.

That's it. Hopefully, you have enough information to really get yourself into the thick of it. Don't blame me. I tried to warn you.