Actions That UNIX System Admin Should Refrain from At All Costs
UNIX is unlike any other operating system and its command line interface is very hard to understand unless you have taken a few UNIX training classes or are an advanced programmer. So, you cannot really understand the work of a UNIX system administrator, unless you have a fairly good knowledge of the OS. There have been cases where UNIX system administrators make some bad calls, which might jeopardize the scheme of things. We will highlight a few actions that UNIX system admin’s should refrain from at all costs.
Password Sharing
If you are a UNIX system admin, never share your password with anyone else, not even fellow administrators. Administrating a UNIX backed enterprise or a server is not a very complex process. But at the same time, others who are not used to the job tend to make mistakes, which can create major problems. That is why never ever give your passwords to anyone else. Even if the password grants you pseudo privileges, it is safe not to share that password with anyone else.
Refrain from Running Backups or Running Backups in The Middle of Working Day
It is a well known fact that UNIX systems should be backed up when the activity is at the lowest. Also, a lot of bandwidth is consumed while backing up, which will slow down the connection to other users, is in progress. Also, if files are being changed while backup is in progress, the backup will become redundant. That is why you should refrain from running system backups during the middle of the day if you are a UNIX system admin. Also, backups are very important as UNIX systems are prone to data losses due to admin errors.
Naming the Script Same As a Command
One of the top rules that they teach in your UNIX classes is to never name a script same as a command. This is because the compiler will behave oddly when you do this and give you very odd outputs. It is always a good move on your part to keep the script name as random as possible.
Running an Unknown Command
If you don’t know what a command does, don’t even try to use it. There have been instances where an admin has brought the whole server crashing just because he/she has used an unknown command. If you want to know what a command does, look it up on the internet or use the command database. Never try it.
Please Share This Knowledge With Others!
Daryl says
I have never used Unix before but to me it is bad practice to share your password with anyone, when I worked at a factory I made the mistake of sharing my password once and ended up being written up for something I didn’t even do on a very important clients account. This is great advice so if you are not used to having a secure password please pay attention.
Vanessa says
I was surprised to hear that Unix systems are not all that complicated. I have always been somewhat intimidated about learning more about Unix simply because it is the core of any web server – at least, it is for my web hosting company, which has been very reliable for many years in service to me. Then I learned that there are applications made to save you some coding, just at there are in Windows systems.
David says
I would say that Unix is a very necessary and popular platform, especially because there are so many Mac or Macbook users. While all versions of Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server have been UNIX-based (and thus allow administrator to compile and install any number of UNIX tools), Leopard Server is the first to be certified as an Open Brand UNIX 03 Registered Product.
Gerald says
Everybody talks about computer security as if the term had a clear meaning, but it doesn’t. So, to be clear, what I think it means is the maintenance of information integrity in a system – something that’s very difficult to define clearly but is essentially a matter of being able to assure senior management that things are working, and are likely to continue working, as they should.
Dianne says
No matter how “senior” you become, and no matter how omnipotent you feel in your current role, you will eventually make mistakes. Some of them may be quite large. Some will wipe entire weekends right off the calendar. An experienced admin once told me, the key to success in administering servers is to mitigate risk, have an exit plan, and try to make sure that the damage caused by potential mistakes is limited.
Delmer says
There are always a few common oversights and mistakes which can trip you up, whether you’re new to network administration or to the Windows environment. It’s all the same, different language. Maybe you’re a brand new network admin. You’ve taken some courses, you’ve passed some certification exams, perhaps you even have a Windows domain set up at home. But you’ll soon find that being responsible for a company network brings challenges you hadn’t anticipated.
Kristi says
Just about everybody does this – loading unneeded software on exposed servers or implementing SANS and switches where they’re not needed. Every piece of software you add to a system, whether running on the main processor or on associated gear, adds vulnerabilities. The rule is simple: if it’s not necessary, don’t load it, don’t use it, and don’t worry about it. This also applies to any OS, whether it be MAC or Windows, Linux, etc.
Neil says
One of the most common mistakes is not checking log files (reason #10). I often find it hard to keep up and sometimes parse the variety of system logs on a system. A great tool for managing this is called LogWatch. While not a GUI, it summarizes system logs into a convenient report that you can cron to run regularly and email to yourself, or just monitor. It’s highly configurable with varying degrees of detail.
Patrick says
Unix system administration is an interesting and complex craft. It’s good if your work demands use of your technical skills, creativity and judgment. If it doesn’t, then you’re in absurd world of Dellbertized cubicle farms. In Unix, and a talented sysadmin like any talented craftsman is able to expose this hidden beauty of the masterful manipulation with complex symbolic objects to the amazed observers.
John says
As Linux squeezes itself into all facets of technology, more people are being forced to use it who have little knowledge of the foreign Unix land. Maybe you are trying to learn your way around, or maybe you are the Windows guy who just got promoted to maintaining the Linux system; either way, things are odd, and you just really, really donate want to fubar the system.
Bradley says
This whole idea is wrongheaded. The concepts of “foreground” and “background” don’t apply to dmons. They apply to user interfaces. They apply to processes that have controlling terminals. There is a “foreground process group” for controlling terminals, for example. They apply to processes that present graphical user interfaces. The window with the distinctive highlighting is conventionally considered to be “in the foreground”. For example: Dmons don’t have controlling terminals and don’t present textual/graphical user interfaces.
Jose says
I have never had any of these types of problems with the Unix admins from my hosting company – and I have thrown them all kinds of challenges over the years. I have presented them with all sorts of scenarios that they have had to resolve or at least offer some alternative solution for. I don’t think they have let me down more than once.
Ryan says
I respect the heck out of quality Unix admins, and that is mainly because the Unix code looks like Urdu to me. I tried to learn some basics about establishing a secure ftp connection. I think I understood it a little, but I think I will stick to depending on the pros to do all the web server tasks, even if admins are human too and can make mistakes just like anyone.
Charles says
Jose thank you for posting your comment after reading some of the other comments and article I was beginning to think that no one out there had a positive experience with this unix system. I have been researching it and was thinking about trying it but was unsure, thanks to your post I am leaning towards giving it a try again.
Stewart says
It is quite risky for Oracle to move towards cloud servers. I know that is where the future of every industry is going, but the Oracle platform is used to manage extremely valuable data by financial institutions and such. So, for them to push the time table and make this move without first conducting extensive testing over the course of months and years, is a big risk they chose so as to not fall behind.
Barbara says
Maybe I need to take a training course on the Unix / Linux language(s) because other than a few basic FTP commands, I find it really perplexing. That is why whenever I have any kind of issue with my webserver, I just call up the tech support team at my web hosting company and let them handle it. They do a great job, by the way.
Helen says
I have been hearing disturbing stories about how hackers and spammers are targeting mobile apps. That was kind of shocking to me, but it is not so surprising when they target the newest Operating Systems such as Windows 7 or 8. I have been experiencing and dealing with malicious scripts for years. The best way is still to simply reformat your hard drive and OS. So save your data on flash drives.
Frank says
Everybody talks about computer security as if the term had a clear meaning, but it doesn’t. Unix is critical to business operations in most of the companies and organizations Management tends to promote projects and people using the same technology the managers involved grew up with. I think this is over reliance on any one platform.