Network and system administration usually refers to the skill of keeping computers and networks running properly. But in truth, the skill needed is that of managing complexity. This book describes the science behind these complex systems, independent of the actual operating systems they work on. It provides a theoretical approach to systems administration that: saves time in performing common system administration tasks. allows safe utilization of untrained and trained help in maintaining mission-critical systems. allows efficient and safe centralized network administration. Managing Human-Computer Networks: Will show how to make informed analyses and decisions about systems, how to diagnose faults and weaknesses Gives advice/guidance as to how to determine optimal policies for system management Includes exercises that illustrate the key points of the book The book provides a unique approach to an old problem and will become a classic for researchers and graduate students in Networking and Computer Science, as well as practicing system managers and system administrators.

System administration is about the design, running and maintenance of human-computer systems. Examples of human-computer systems include business enterprises, service institutions and any extensive machinery that is operated by, or interacts with human beings. System administration is often thought of as the technological side of a system: the architecture, construction and optimization of the collaborating parts, but it also occasionally touches on softer factors such as user assistance (help desks), ethical considerations in deploying a system, and the larger implications of its design for others who come into contact with it.This book summarizes the state of research and practice in this emerging field of network and system administration, in an anthology of chapters written by the top academics in the field. The authors include members of the IST-EMANICS Network of Excellence in Network Management.This book will be a valuable reference work for researchers and senior system managers wanting to understand the essentials of system administration, whether in practical application of a data center or in the design of new systems and data centers.- Covers data center planning and design- Discusses configuration management- Illustrates business modeling and system administration- Provides the latest theoretical developments

The first edition of The Practice of System and Network Administration introduced a generation of system and network administrators to a modern IT methodology. Whether you use Linux, Unix, or Windows, this newly revised edition describes the essential practices previously handed down only from mentor to protégé. This wonderfully lucid, often funny cornucopia of information introduces beginners to advanced frameworks valuable for their entire career, yet is structured to help even the most advanced experts through difficult projects. The book's four major sections build your knowledge with the foundational elements of system administration. These sections guide you through better techniques for upgrades and change management, catalog best practices for IT services, and explore various management topics. Chapters are divided into The Basics and The Icing. When you get the Basics right it makes every other aspect of the job easier--such as automating the right things first. The Icing sections contain all the powerful things that can be done on top of the basics to wow customers and managers. Inside, you'll find advice on topics such as The key elements your networks and systems need in order to make all other services run better Building and running reliable, scalable services, including web, storage, email, printing, and remote access Creating and enforcing security policies Upgrading multiple hosts at one time without creating havoc Planning for and performing flawless scheduled maintenance windows Managing superior helpdesks and customer care Avoiding the "temporary fix" trap Building data centers that improve server uptime Designing networks for speed and reliability Web scaling and security issues Why building a backup system isn't about backups Monitoring what you have and predicting what you will need How technically oriented workers can maintain their job's technical focus (and avoid an unwanted management role) Technical management issues, including morale, organization building, coaching, and maintaining positive visibility Personal skill techniques, including secrets for getting more done each day, ethical dilemmas, managing your boss, and loving your job System administration salary negotiation It's no wonder the first edition received Usenix SAGE's 2005 Outstanding Achievement Award! This eagerly anticipated second edition updates this time-proven classic: Chapters reordered for easier navigation Thousands of updates and clarifications based on reader feedback Plus three entirely new chapters: Web Services, Data Storage, and Documentation

Quite soon, the world’s information infrastructure is going to reach a level of scale and complexity that will force scientists and engineers to approach it in an entirely new way. The familiar notions of command and control are being thwarted by realities of a faster, denser world of communication where choice, variety, and indeterminism rule. The myth of the machine that does exactly what we tell it has come to an end. What makes us think we can rely on all this technology? What keeps it together today, and how might it work tomorrow? Will we know how to build the next generation—or will we be lulled into a stupor of dependence brought about by its conveniences? In this book, Mark Burgess focuses on the impact of computers and information on our modern infrastructure by taking you from the roots of science to the principles behind system operation and design. To shape the future of technology, we need to understand how it works—or else what we don’t understand will end up shaping us. This book explores this subject in three parts: Part I, Stability: describes the fundamentals of predictability, and why we have to give up the idea of control in its classical meaning Part II, Certainty: describes the science of what we can know, when we don’t control everything, and how we make the best of life with only imperfect information Part III, Promises: explains how the concepts of stability and certainty may be combined to approach information infrastructure as a new kind of virtual material, restoring a continuity to human-computer systems so that society can rely on them.

Provides the most thorough examination of Internet technologies and applications for researchers in a variety of related fields. For the average Internet consumer, as well as for experts in the field of networking and Internet technologies.

This book gathers the latest research with case studies in secure computing from many researchers. It compiles the recent work and findings through case studies, where the growing security attacks and countermeasures in the mobile and networking world has been explained, along with other pertinent security issues with the technology of the application itself. It discusses the challenges faced and solutions proposed by different researchers in this area.