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Thursday, April 2, 2009

My Server, Windows 2003 infected by Conficker

Today, my server windows 2003 infected by Conficker. One user complain to me that, the server feels so slow. And I check the process on Task Manager. The svchost.exe consumpt so much resources, the cpu getting high about 100 %. I am googling and found interesting website.

http://www.eggheadcafe.com/software/aspnet/29647561/windows-update--microsof.aspx

So I read that website, I go to www.microsoft.com, but the page could not be found. I suscpect it is must be virus. I discuss with my friend... he told to me, maybe it's Conficker. Yeah.. I heard that virus, when I watch the TV Channel in metro TV. So I download the PCMAV express for Conficker.

http://virusindonesia.com/2009/03/22/pcmav-express-for-conficker/

PCMav suggest to patching Microsoft Windows, so I go to

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS08-067.mspx

Download file that I need.

I disable my LAN, so I Start scan using pcmav express.





Thanks to PCMAV, always success to you.

Then I add patch http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS08-067.mspx

Restart the computers, and make sure to scan with pcmav again. Well everything going fine.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Install NIC P5GC-MX/1333 in Centos 5.2

There is an error when installing NIC driver on linux Centos 5.2 (I use driver that come with mainboard ASUS P5GC-MX 1333 series.

So I copy and put in /tmp

[root@localhost src]# make install
make: Warning: File `Makefile' has modification time 3e+07 s in the future
make -C /lib/modules/2.6.18-92.el5/build SUBDIRS=/tmp/l2-linux-v1.0.40.4/src modules
make[1]: Entering directory `/usr/src/kernels/2.6.18-92.el5-i686'
make[2]: Warning: File `/tmp/l2-linux-v1.0.40.4/src/Makefile' has modification time 3e+07 s in the future
CC [M] /tmp/l2-linux-v1.0.40.4/src/at_main.o
In file included from /tmp/l2-linux-v1.0.40.4/src/at.h:30,
from /tmp/l2-linux-v1.0.40.4/src/at_main.c:28:
/tmp/l2-linux-v1.0.40.4/src/kcompat.h:1084: error: redefinition of typedef ‘irq_handler_t’
include/linux/interrupt.h:67: error: previous declaration of ‘irq_handler_t’ was here
make[2]: *** [/tmp/l2-linux-v1.0.40.4/src/at_main.o] Error 1
make[1]: *** [_module_/tmp/l2-linux-v1.0.40.4/src] Error 2
make[1]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/kernels/2.6.18-92.el5-i686'
make: *** [default] Error 2
[root@localhost src]#

There error is in file kcompat.h on line 1084. I read and edit file kcompat.h

#if (!(( RHEL_VERSION == 4 ) && ( RHEL_UPDATE >= 5 )))
/*typedef irqreturn_t (*irq_handler_t)(int, void*, struct pt_regs *); */
#endif

and command on line 1084. It's because in Centos =>5 can not recognize this.

And I compile again, and everything is going well. This will compile as a module.
Try to :
[root@localhost ~]# modprobe atl2
[root@localhost ~]# lsmod |grep atl2
atl2 37144 0
[root@localhost ~]#

Edit in /etc/modules.conf to make alias of device.

alias eth0 atl2

[root@localhost ~]# ifconfig eth0 192.168.0.21 netmask 255.255.255.0

[root@localhost ~]#

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Forward email account to others

I am using postfix, it's very simple to forward email account to another.
in the main.cf the alias maps is in /etc/aliases. postfix is smart. No need to worries for loop mail.

alias_maps = hash:/etc/aliases

Edit /etc/aliases

email: email@example1.com, email2@example2.org

save and exit,
then,
#newaliases

You can try to send email to mail@example.com.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Litespeed on FreeBSD

I compile my kernel FreeBSD 7.1 to try dtrace running on FreeBSD, because lastweek I got error, the dtrace cannot running. To spend my time while compiling my kernel, I try to install Litespeed, on my FreeBSD.
Please for more information visit http://www.litespeedtech.com

Download the package on
http://www.litespeedtech.com/products/webserver/download/

I download the free version, for FreeBSD 6, with release 3.3.24 Std, release data 01-12-2009. For more details please consult to www.litespeedtech.com it’s stable or not running on FreeBSD >6.

viperbsd# ls lsws-3.3.24-std-i386-freebsd6.tar.gz
lsws-3.3.24-std-i386-freebsd6.tar.gz
viperbsd#

viperbsd# tar zxfv lsws-3.3.24-std-i386-freebsd6.tar.gz
viperbsd# mkdir /usr/local/lsws
viperbsd# cd lsws-3.3.24


READ INSTALL


Do you agree with above license? Yes
Please specify the destination directory. You must have permissions to
create and manage the directory. It is recommended to install the web server
at /opt/lsws, /usr/local/lsws or in your home directory like '~/lsws'.

ATTENTION: The user 'nobody' must be able to access the destination
directory.

Destination [/opt/lsws]: /usr/local/lsws


To change configurations of the interface, login and click
"Interface Configuration" button on the main page.
The administration interface is located at http://localhost:/
or http://:/

Would you like to have LiteSpeed Web Server started automatically
when the server restarts [Y/n]? n

If you want to start the web server automatically later, just run
"/usr/local/lsws/admin/misc/rc-inst.sh"
to install the service control script.

Would you like to start it right now [Y/n]? y

[OK] lshttpd: pid=40872.

LiteSpeed Web Server started successfully! Have fun!

viperbsd#

I got error when trying login in admin console, the error was “ Invalid Credential”

I found the solution on litespeed forum.
http://litespeedtech.com/support/forum/archive/index.php/t-1590.html

edit file and change it to …

/usr/local/lsws/admin/html.3.3.24/classes/ws/CLIENT.php

$salt = substr($pass,0,2);
change it to
$salt = substr($pass,0,CRYPT_SALT_LENGTH);

Here is screen capture





Sunday, February 1, 2009

freebsd page fault panic

I am playing with dtraceall, my silly mistake is make loader module on loader.conf.
I can't boot my machine because I just add one line on loader.conf
link_elf lapic_cyclic_clock_func undefined bla..bla...

I got page fault panic
cat /boot/loader.conf
dtraceall_load="YES"

So, I when to console menu, no "6"
and in the console
OK unload --> to unload all modules
OK load kernel --> load kernel modules
OK boot --> then boot the system.

that's it. Then I remove "dtraceall_load="YES" the line on /boot/loader.conf

Until now I can't play with dtrace. I am still not sure why, but my error messages on /var/log/messages are
...
Feb 1 21:38:54 viperbsd kernel: This module (opensolaris) contains code covered by the
Feb 1 21:38:54 viperbsd kernel: Common Development and Distribution License (CDDL)
Feb 1 21:38:54 viperbsd kernel: see http://opensolaris.org/os/licensing/opensolaris_license/
Feb 1 21:38:54 viperbsd kernel: link_elf: symbol lapic_cyclic_clock_func undefined
Feb 1 21:38:54 viperbsd kernel: KLD profile.ko: depends on cyclic - not available
Feb 1 21:38:54 viperbsd kernel: KLD dtraceall.ko: depends on profile - not available

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Upgrading FreeBSD 7.0 to FreeBSD 7.1

To spend the weekend, I want to upgrade my FreeBSD. There is new release of FreeBSD 7.1, I want to upgrade my FreeBSD 7.0.
My machine running on old computer Pentium III 800 Mhz, with memory 384 Mhz.

I have custom kernel, so I can't use the freebsd-update, I have to using cvsup method.

First create cvsup configuration.

viperbsd# emacs /root/supfile

Here is my configuration.

*default host=cvsup.tw.FreeBSD.org
*default base=/var/db
*default prefix=/usr
*default release=cvs tag=RELENG_7_1
*default delete use-rel-suffix

Begin with cvsup update.

viperbsd# cvsup /root/supfile

After the cvsup update is finish, then make buildworld (Please refer the documentation of FreeBSD Documentation for more detail information.

viperbsd# make buildworld

Because I only use old PC, it's takes 4 Hours.

I need custom kernel, because I want activated the PF and delete unneeded devices.

Then I compile my custom viperbsd71 kernel.

viperbsd# make buildkernel KERNCONF=viperbsd71
viperbsd# make installkernel KERNCONF=viperbsd71

If there is no error, continuing with booting the system.

===> usr.sbin/zzz (all)
gzip -cn /usr/src/usr.sbin/zzz/zzz.8 > zzz.8.gz
===> etc (all)
===> etc/sendmail (all)
rm -f freebsd.cf
m4 -D_CF_DIR_=/usr/src/etc/sendmail/../../contrib/sendmail/cf/ /usr/src/etc/sendmail/../../contrib/sendmail/cf/m4/cf.m4 /usr/src/etc/sendmail/freebsd.mc > freebsd.cf
chmod 444 freebsd.cf
rm -f freebsd.submit.cf
m4 -D_CF_DIR_=/usr/src/etc/sendmail/../../contrib/sendmail/cf/ /usr/src/etc/sendmail/../../contrib/sendmail/cf/m4/cf.m4 /usr/src/etc/sendmail/freebsd.submit.mc > freebsd.submit.cf
chmod 444 freebsd.submit.cf

--------------------------------------------------------------
>>> World build completed on Sat Jan 10 21:56:04 WIT 2009
--------------------------------------------------------------
viperbsd#


viperbsd# reboot


Boot on single user mode, for updating configuration, and library.

# mount -a -t ufs
# mergemaster -p
# mergemaster -i
# reboot

Afterthis, check my machine with :

viperbsd# uname -a
FreeBSD viperbsd.org 7.1-RELEASE-p1 FreeBSD 7.1-RELEASE-p1 #0: Thu Jan 15 20:14:40 WIT 2009 root@viperbsd.org:/usr/obj/usr/src/sys/viperbsd71 i386
viperbsd#



Note :
I got error when build kernel step, here is my error.

cd /usr/obj/usr/src/sys/viperbsd71; MAKESRCPATH=/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm make -DNO_CPU_CFLAGS -DNO_CTF -f /usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/Makefile
Warning: Object directory not changed from original /usr/obj/usr/src/sys/viperbsd71
yacc -b aicasm_gram -d -o aicasm_gram.c /usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_gram.y
yacc -b aicasm_macro_gram -p mm -d -o aicasm_macro_gram.c /usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_macro_gram.y
cc -O2 -fno-strict-aliasing -pipe -nostdinc -I/usr/include -I. -I/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm -c /usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm.c
cc -O2 -fno-strict-aliasing -pipe -nostdinc -I/usr/include -I. -I/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm -c /usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c:50:16: error: db.h: No such file or directory
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c:63: error: expected '=', ',', ';', 'asm' or '__attribute__' before '*' token
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c: In function 'symbol_delete':
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c:86: error: 'symtable' undeclared (first use in this function)
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c:86: error: (Each undeclared identifier is reported only once
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c:86: error: for each function it appears in.)
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c:87: error: 'DBT' undeclared (first use in this function)
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c:87: error: expected ';' before 'key'
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c:89: error: 'key' undeclared (first use in this function)
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c: In function 'symtable_open':
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c:133: error: 'symtable' undeclared (first use in this function)
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c:134: error: 'DB_HASH' undeclared (first use in this function)
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c: In function 'symtable_close':
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c:147: error: 'symtable' undeclared (first use in this function)
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c:148: error: 'DBT' undeclared (first use in this function)
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c:148: error: expected ';' before 'key'
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c:149: error: expected ';' before 'data'
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c:151: error: 'key' undeclared (first use in this function)
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c:151: error: 'data' undeclared (first use in this function)
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c:151: error: 'R_FIRST' undeclared (first use in this function)
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c: In function 'symtable_get':
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c:169: error: 'DBT' undeclared (first use in this function)
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c:169: error: expected ';' before 'key'
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c:170: error: expected ';' before 'data'
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c:173: error: 'key' undeclared (first use in this function)
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c:176: error: 'symtable' undeclared (first use in this function)
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c:176: error: 'data' undeclared (first use in this function)
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c: In function 'symtable_dump':
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c:472: error: 'DBT' undeclared (first use in this function)
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c:472: error: expected ';' before 'key'
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c:473: error: expected ';' before 'data'
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c:477: error: 'symtable' undeclared (first use in this function)
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c:486: error: 'R_FIRST' undeclared (first use in this function)
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c:487: error: 'key' undeclared (first use in this function)
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c:487: error: 'data' undeclared (first use in this function)
/usr/src/sys/dev/aic7xxx/aicasm/aicasm_symbol.c:524: error: 'R_NEXT' undeclared (first use in this function)
*** Error code 1

Stop in /usr/obj/usr/src/sys/viperbsd71.
*** Error code 1

Stop in /usr/src.
*** Error code 1

Stop in /usr/src.
viperbsd#

From that error, show that there was no db.h on my /usr/include.
So I Install Berkeley DB, and make soft link to /usr/include.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Installing jabber on solaris 5.10

Here is a note for installing jabber on solaris 5.10

Firstly install pkg-get like on my last post.

bash-3.00# /opt/csw/bin/pkg-get -i jabberd

This will download packages. After all packaged install succesfully check with pkginfo.

bash-3.00# pkginfo |grep jabberd
application CSWjabberd jabberd - Jabber Server 1.4.3
bash-3.00#

Edit file main.xml in /opt/csw/etc/jabberd

set with your environment.

start jabber server in /etc/init.d

bash-3.00# ./cswjabberd start

Check your jabber is running or not, if not check your log in

bash-3.00# ps -A |grep jabber
18606 pts/5 0:00 jabberd
18603 pts/5 0:01 jabberd
bash-3.00#

Jabber server is running.

bash-3.00# tail -f /opt/csw/var/log/jabberd/main.log

pkg-get on solaris, there is new link for url

After not using pkg-get on Solaris for couple months, I got error like this.

bash-3.00# /opt/csw/bin/pkg-get -i nano
WARNING: gpg not found
No existing install of CSWnano found. Installing...
Trying http://ibiblio.org/pub/packages/solaris/csw/unstable/i386/5.10/nano-1.2.5,REV=2005.08.14-SunOS5.8-i386-CSW.pkg.gz
--11:26:07-- http://ibiblio.org/pub/packages/solaris/csw/unstable/i386/5.10/nano-1.2.5,REV=2005.08.14-SunOS5.8-i386-CSW.pkg.gz
=> `nano-1.2.5,REV=2005.08.14-SunOS5.8-i386-CSW.pkg.gz'
Resolving ibiblio.org... 152.46.7.80
Connecting to ibiblio.org|152.46.7.80|:80... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 404 Not Found
11:26:08 ERROR 404: Not Found.

Error downloading http://ibiblio.org/pub/packages/solaris/csw/unstable/i386/5.10/nano-1.2.5,REV=2005.08.14-SunOS5.8-i386-CSW.pkg.gz
(Perhaps you need to update your catalog?)
nano-1.2.5,REV=2005.08.14-SunOS5.8-i386-CSW.pkg.gz: No such file or directory

Attempting to update catalog, then retry

Getting catalog...
--11:26:08-- http://ibiblio.org/pub/packages/solaris/csw/unstable/i386/5.10/catalog
=> `catalog'
Resolving ibiblio.org... 152.46.7.80
Connecting to ibiblio.org|152.46.7.80|:80... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 404 Not Found
11:26:08 ERROR 404: Not Found.

ERROR: could not get catalog file
bash-3.00#

Hey, whats going on with .. pkg-get.
Then I go to

http://solaris.reys.net/english/2006/02/pkg-get_blastwave_how-to

looking for some information, looks everything is fine.

Then i visiting this site

http://ibiblio.org/pub/packages/solaris/opencsw/

well, look the URL was change, I am not sure since when ..

so I edit the configuration pkg-get on /opt/csw/etc/pkg-get.conf

and change the default site from

url=http://ibiblio.org/pub/packages/solaris/csw/unstable

to


url=http://ibiblio.org/pub/packages/solaris/opencsw/unstable

and everything going fine.

So I download and install package using pkg-get again.

For example installing nano editor :

bash-3.00# /opt/csw/bin/pkg-get -i nano

...
/opt/csw/share/locale/ro/LC_MESSAGES/nano.mo
/opt/csw/share/locale/ru/LC_MESSAGES/nano.mo
/opt/csw/share/locale/sr/LC_MESSAGES/nano.mo
/opt/csw/share/locale/sv/LC_MESSAGES/nano.mo
/opt/csw/share/locale/tr/LC_MESSAGES/nano.mo
/opt/csw/share/locale/uk/LC_MESSAGES/nano.mo
/opt/csw/share/man/man1/nano.1
/opt/csw/share/man/man5/nanorc.5
[ verifying class ]
## Executing postinstall script.
Updating the info dir file for CSWtexinfo
chroot: exec failed: No such file or directory

Installation of was successful.
bash-3.00#

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Upgrade ports on freebsd

I want to install postgresql 8.2 from ports, but the package was not found. So I have to upgrade the newest ports.
Here is the step for upgrade the ports on FreeBSD 7.

#portsnap fetch update
#portsnap extract
#portsnap update
#Ports tree is already up to date.
#

If only spesified package only use
#portupdgrade package-name

Monday, November 17, 2008

Definisi System Administrator dan Network Administrator

Di bawah ini difinisi System Administrator dan Network Administrator saya ambilkan dari http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_administrator dan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_administrator



A system administrator, systems administrator, or sysadmin, is a person employed to maintain and operate a computer system and/or network. System administrators may be members of an information technology department.

The duties of a system administrator are wide-ranging, and vary widely from one organization to another. Sysadmins are usually charged with installing, supporting, and maintaining servers or other computer systems, and planning for and responding to service outages and other problems. Other duties may include scripting or light programming, project management for systems-related projects, supervising or training computer operators, and being the consultant for computer problems beyond the knowledge of technical support staff. A System Administrator must demonstrate a blend of technical skills and responsibility.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Skills
* 2 Related fields
* 3 Training
* 4 Duties of a system administrator
* 5 System Administrator Privileges
* 6 See also
* 7 References
* 8 External links
o 8.1 Certification Organizations
o 8.2 Periodicals
o 8.3 Conferences
o 8.4 Books
o 8.5 Online Resources
o 8.6 Technology Unions and related links
o 8.7 Articles

Skills

The subject matter of systems administration includes computer systems and the ways people use them in an organization. This entails a knowledge of operating systems and applications, as well as hardware and software troubleshooting, but also knowledge of the purposes for which people in the organization use the computers.

However, perhaps the most important skill to a system administrator is problem solving -- frequently under various sorts of constraints and stress. The sysadmin is on call when a computer system goes down or malfunctions, and must be able to quickly and correctly diagnose what is wrong and how best to fix it.

System administrators are not software engineers or developers. It is not usually within their duties to design or write new applications software. However, sysadmins must understand the behavior of software in order to deploy it and to troubleshoot problems, and generally know several programming languages used for scripting or automation of routine tasks.

Particularly when dealing with Internet-facing or business-critical systems, a sysadmin must have a strong grasp of computer security. This includes not merely deploying software patches, but also preventing break-ins and other security problems with preventive measures. In some organizations, computer security administration is a separate role responsible for overall security and the upkeep of firewalls and intrusion detection systems, but all sysadmins are generally responsible for the security of the systems in their keep.

Related fields

Many organizations staff other jobs related to systems administration. In a larger company, these may all be separate positions within a computer support or Information Services (IS) department. In a smaller group they may be shared by a few sysadmins, or even a single person.

* A database administrator (DBA) maintains a database system, and is responsible for the integrity of the data and the efficiency and performance of the system.
* A network administrator maintains network infrastructure such as switches and routers, and diagnoses problems with these or with the behavior of network-attached computers.
* A security administrator is a specialist in computer and network security, including the administration of security devices such as firewalls, as well as consulting on general security measures.
* A web administrator maintains web server services (such as IIS or Apache) that allow for internal or external access to web sites. Tasks include managing multiple sites, administering security, and configuring necessary components and software. Responsibilities may also include software change management.
* Technical support staff respond to individual users' difficulties with computer systems, provide instructions and sometimes training, and diagnose and solve common problems.
* A computer operator performs routine maintenance and upkeep, such as changing backup tapes or replacing failed drives in a RAID array. Such tasks usually require physical presence in the room with the computer; and while less skilled than sysadmin tasks require a similar level of trust, since the operator has access to possibly sensitive data.

In some organizations, a person may begin as a member of technical support staff or a computer operator, then gain experience on the job to be promoted to a sysadmin position.

Training

Unlike many other professions, there is no single path to becoming a system administrator. Many system administrators have a degree in a related field: computer science, information technology, computer engineering, information system management, or even a trade school program. Other schools have offshoots of their Computer Science program specifically for systems administration.

Some schools have started offering undergraduate degrees in Systems Administration. The first, RIT[1] started in 1992. Others such as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Marist College, and Drexel University have more recently offered degrees in Information Technology.

As of 2008, only four U.S. universities, Rochester Institute of Technology[2], New York City College of Technology,Tufts, and Michigan Tech have graduate programs in system administration.[citation needed] In Norway, there is a special English-taught MSc program organized by Oslo University College [3] in cooperation with Oslo University, named "Masters programme in Network and System Administration." University of Amsterdam (UvA) offers a similar program[1], in cooperation with Hogeschool van Amsterdam (HvA). However, many other schools offer related graduate degrees in fields such as network systems and computer security.

One of the primary difficulties with teaching system administration as a formal university discipline, is that the industry and technology changes much faster than the typical textbook and coursework certification process. By the time a new textbook has spent years working through approvals and committees, the specific technology for which it is written may have changed significantly or is now obsolete.

In addition, because of the practical nature of systems administration and the easy availability of open-source server software, many systems administrators enter the field self-taught.

Generally, a prospective administrator will be required to have some experience with the computer system he or she is expected to manage. In some cases, candidates are expected to possess industry certifications such as the Microsoft MCSA, MCSE, Red Hat RHCE, Novell CNA, CNE, Cisco CCNA or CompTIA's A+ or Network+, Sun Certified SCNA, among others.

Sometimes, almost exclusively in smaller sites, the role of system administrator may be given to a skilled user in addition to or in replacement of his or her duties. For instance, it is not unusual for a mathematics or computing teacher to serve as the system administrator of a secondary school.

Duties of a system administrator

A system administrator's responsibilities might include:

* Analyzing system logs and identifying potential issues with computer systems.
* Introducing and integrating new technologies into existing data center environments.
* Performing routine audits of systems and software.
* Performing backups.
* Applying operating system updates, patches, and configuration changes.
* Installing and configuring new hardware and software.
* Adding, removing, or updating user account information, resetting passwords, etc.
* Answering technical queries.
* Responsibility for security.
* Responsibility for documenting the configuration of the system.
* Troubleshooting any reported problems.
* System performance tuning.
* Insuring that the network infrastructure is up and running.

In larger organizations, some tasks listed above may be divided among different system administrators or members of different organizational groups. For example, a dedicated individual(s) may apply all system upgrades, a Quality Assurance (QA) team may perform testing and validation, and one or more technical writers may be responsible for all technical documentation written for a company.

In smaller organizations, the system administrator can also perform any number of duties elsewhere associated with other fields:

* Technical support
* Database administrator (DBA)
* Network administrator/analyst/specialist
* Application analyst
* Security administrator
* Programmer

System administrators, in larger organizations, tend not to be system architects, system engineers, or system designers. However, like many roles in this field, demarcations between systems administration and other technical roles often are not well defined in smaller organizations. Even in larger organizations, senior systems administrators often have skills in these other areas as a result of their working experience.

In smaller organizations, IT/computing specialties are less often discerned in detail, and the term system administrator is used in a rather generic way — they are the people who know how the computer systems work and can respond when something fails.


Network administrator is a modern profession responsible for the maintenance of computer hardware and software that comprises a computer network. This normally includes the deployment, configuration, maintenance and monitoring of active network equipment. A related role is that of the network specialist, or network analyst, who concentrate on network design and security.


The Network Administrator is usually the highest level of technical/network staff in an organization and will rarely be involved with direct user support. The Network Administrator will concentrate on the overall health of the network, server deployment, security, ensuring network connectivity throughout a company's LAN/WAN infrastructure, and all other technical considerations at the network level of an organizations technical hierarchy. Network Administrators are considered Tier 3 support personnel that only work on break/fix issues that could not be resolved at the Tier1 (helpdesk) or Tier 2 (desktop/network technician) levels.

Depending on the company, the Network Administrator may also design and deploy networks. However, these tasks may be assigned to a Network Engineer should one be available to the company.

The actual role of the Network Administrator will vary from company to company, but will commonly include activities and tasks such as network address assignment, assignment of routing protocols and routing table configuration as well as configuration of authentication and authorization – directory services. It often includes maintenance of network facilities in individual machines, such as drivers and settings of personal computers as well as printers and such. It sometimes also includes maintenance of certain network servers: file servers, VPN gateways, intrusion detection systems, etc.

Network specialists and analysts concentrate on the network design and security, particularly troubleshooting and/or debugging network-related problems. Their work can also include the maintenance of the network's authorization infrastructure, as well as network backup systems.

The administrator is responsible for the security of the network and for assigning IP addresses to the devices connected to the networks. Assigning IP addresses gives the subnet administrator some control over the professional who connects to the subnet. It also helps to ensure that the administrator knows each system that is connected and who personally is responsible for the system.