Panic Stations!!

billybob01

Hey i have just been made Systems Administrator at my work!! Although i have knowledge of their network and have been backing up the data on all servers i am still nervous about the role but it`s a grest learning curve for me. But my question is has anyone else been in the same situation and if so what tips can you give me.

amyamandaallen

stop panicking

Its a great way to gain or apply your skills. If you get anything wrong then dont panic ( you've been backing up after all ), none of us know everything :P

ENJOY the new job and the SALARY that SHOULD go with it.

mikej412

Dive! Dive!

Congratulations!

Best advise I can give -- give it your best shot and don't let them down!

Someone I worked with once got the opportunity to jump in with another team that was having problems and my advise to him was "step up, move up." He was a good guy and I helped him every chance I got.... and he became Manager of that other group. And he got the problems fixed.

Now might be a good time to study like the wind and get your MCSE -- maybe you'll learn something as part of your certification that you may need to save the day in your job.

Or things will run so soothly in your new position, you'll have nothing to do but work on your certifications for your next job opportunity and career advancement. You can always dream!

moss12

Billybob1 don't worry be happy


I wish you all the best

Kaminsky

Trial by fire. Always the best way to learn.

Do not panic. Just get on with learning where everything is. How to fix common problems (old helpdesk logs should help you there). Remember, a server is just a jumped up PC at the end of the day.

They wouldn't have given the opportunity if they didn't think you were up to it.

As Mike says, start studying MCSE if you are not already doing so. Don't start wih the PC one. Start with the server ones so you can learn as you go.

The effort you put in this next year will make you. Don't panic, knuckle down and you'll be fine.

Good luck and grats.

sprkymrk

My advice is this - no matter what, and I mean no matter what, NEVER apply a patch or reboot a server during the day. It will affect someone somewhere who WILL complain. Set up a monthly maintenance cycle and ALWAYS use that time to apply patches and reboot if necessary. Don't do this from a home VPN either, be on site. I have had servers that don't come back up after a patch for some stupid reason and it's always the one I forgot to "double check".

Miscellaneous advice - Always err on the side of caution and be conservative. Don't install freeware of any sort on your production servers no matter how cool it is or how highly recommended it is. I have seen stuff that "phones home" using anything from http to snmp to smtp. Lastly, never attach a lab/test computer, server, or network to your production network.

Congratulations on your promotion and best of luck! Keep us posted on your first few weeks on the job.

famosbrown

Congratulations!! Don't panic! You earned the position, so I'm sure your company has confidence in you. Have confidence in yourself. I was/am in the same boat as far as work experience. You will be surprised how much you have really learned and how much you know when you get that job that pulls all of your certifications and training together in a production/work environment. Never let pride get in your way, so if you don't know something, admit it, but find the answer or consult a co-worker. We can't know everything! Just have fun and good luck!!

blargoe

Get as familiar with the environment as you can. If you have to log on to every server and document what is installed, OS, service pack, antivirus, applications, scheduled tasks, available disk and memory, etc. If your manager allows it, there are great tools out there available for not a lot of money. My favorite utility is called Hyena, I never leave home without it.

This would also be a good time to do a sanity check, look at your backup jobs and be certain everything on every server is selected for backup in the backup software for example.

And, if there isn't a set time already established, do as sprkymrk suggests and set up a maintence window one weekend a month. INSIST on it.

Congrats!

billybob01

Wow Many thanks guys for all your support, that meant so much to me, this site is the best. I`ll keep you informed how i`m getting on.

vsmith3rd

Go get 'em Billybob01.

billybob01

I know for a fact that i have to apply SP2 to most servers, has anyone had any issues with this? or what should i need to be aware of? also to install a WSUS server but i have figured this out at home using VMWare and this might be tricky but to enlarge the discs on our secondary exchange server? i would of thought imaging would be the way to go but my company dont have the dollars to spend on imaging software so any suggestions guys?

Kaminsky

Make sure you get a good backup. Servers have a habbit of not coming back up when you do something seemingly simple like run a service pack. NT4 was a pig for this.