Week 1: What is System Administration
The System Administration course in the IT Support Professional Certificate is officially opened! The first week will cover the basics of system administration, covering key aspects such as organizational policy, IT infrastructure services, provisioning of users and hardware, routine maintenance, troubleshooting, and issues management. By this module, you would have a clear understanding of what System Administrators do. Let’s get started!
Learning Outcomes
- Explore the various roles and responsibilities of a System Administrator.
- Differentiate between a server and a client machine from a technical viewpoint.
PRACTICE QUIZ: WHAT IS SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION?
1. Which of the following can be a responsibility of a systems administrator?
- Setting up new user accounts and machines
- Maintaining servers
- Troubleshooting user issues
- All of the above (CORRECT)
Great job! A systems administrator has a wide range of responsibilities; this can include, but is not limited to, setting up new user accounts and machines; maintaining servers; and troubleshooting user issues.
2. Which of the following make up IT infrastructure?
- Hardware and software
- Network
- Operating systems
- All of the above (CORRECT)
You got it! IT infrastructure includes the application software, hardware, networks, and operating systems, all other necessary and essential services for an enterprise to function in the IT environment.
3. Which of these is considered a server? Check all that apply.
- A software that provides a service to other software (CORRECT)
- A computer that provides a service to other computers (CORRECT)
- Software that’s only available to the computer it’s installed on
- Software that provides a service to other machines (CORRECT)
Awesome! Servers can be defined as dedicated systems or applications in the computer environment that supply shared services or resources for consumption by other computers or programs on a network.
4. A KVM switch is used to:
- switch between multiple computers using one monitor, keyboard, and mouse (CORRECT)
- allow you to serve web content to many clients.
- enable you to receive incoming SSH connections.
- mount multiple servers into one server rack.
Excellent job! The KVM switch is an appliance that lets you operate more than one computer through a single keyboard, video display (monitor), and mouse. “KVM” means Keyboard-Video-Mouse since these are the three main kinds of peripherals that it controls.
5. Which of these server hardware can you stack on top of each other in a server rack?
- Tower
- Desktop
- Blade (CORRECT)
- Rack (CORRECT)
Great work! A rack server and a blade server are installed with these horizontally in server racks, while usually blade servers are smaller and most likely employed in a chassis stacked in a rack. This configuration is very common nowadays in data centers to maximize and enhance the usage of space.
6. With _______, you can access your data, use applications, and more from anywhere in the world, as long as you have an Internet connection.
- a PAN
- cloud computing (CORRECT)
- a LAN
That’s exactly right! To be clearer, the cloud refers to a network of servers storing and computing data. Cloud computing, for example, allows us to reach most of the activities undertaken from within a specific location as long as there is internet access with respect to all resources and services hosted on these servers away from the site.
7. What are the benefits of cloud computing over local computing? Check all that apply.
- Software updates are handled by the company providing the service. (CORRECT)
- There are smaller starting costs for cloud computing. (CORRECT)
- There are potential long-term costs associated with cloud computing.
- Services are accessible from anywhere in the world. (CORRECT)
Correct! One benefit of cloud computing is that it provides lower upfront costs compared to traditional computing concepts. Accessing services anywhere with an internet connection is very important for today’s economy. Its biggest convenience is that the service provider handles the software and database updates.
8. What are the benefits of local computing over cloud computing? Check all that apply.
- You have complete control of the IT infrastructure. (CORRECT)
- Updates can be handled at anytime. (CORRECT)
- Services are handled by another organization, so that makes your organization dependent on a third party.
- There are potential long-term costs associated with local computing.
You nailed it! When you have local computing, you basically have your complete control over the entire IT infrastructure of your organization, allowing you to update and secure the systems as per your needs. This allows more flexibility and customization options. It also puts more responsibility on the shoulders of an organization in terms of maintenance and security purposes.
PRACTICE QUIZ: SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATION TASKS
1. Which of the following is a good policy to enforce on passwords? Check all that apply.
- A long password length (CORRECT)
- The use of common words
- A mixture of symbols and numbers (CORRECT)
- A short password length
Yep! Pilferers of passwords invade a very critical area of security policy. A strong password policy actually encourages using passwords that are long in length and include a combination of symbols, numbers, and both uppercase and lowercase letters.
2. Which of these is part of the hardware lifecycle? Check all that apply.
- Retirement (CORRECT)
- Procurement (CORRECT)
- Deployment (CORRECT)
- Network Connectivity
Wohoo! There are four important stages of the hardware life cycle: procurement, deployment, maintenance, and retirement. Each of these stages has processes to ensure that hardware is managed effectively from acquisition through deployment up to decommissioning.
QUIZ: WHAT IS SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION?
1. A company has a “bring your own device” (BYOD) policy for computers; anyone can just go out and buy whatever computer they want. Which stage of the hardware lifecycle does this scenario belong to?
- Procurement (CORRECT)
- Deployment
- Maintenance
- Retirement
Nice work! The hardware enters the life cycle stage of procurement during the time when any employee has access to it. In the procurement stage, the required hardware is being procured and provisioned for use within the organization.
2. The user can set their own computer hostname and username. Which stage of the hardware lifecycle does this scenario belong to?
- Procurement
- Deployment (CORRECT)
- Maintenance
- Retirement
Excellent! Typically, the deployment phase of the hardware lifecycle occurs when one has set up a new machine for the first time, configuring such settings as the computer’s hostname and username, installing any needed software, and cranking that device into reality.
3. When a machine is having issues, an IT Support Specialist has to file an RMA, or Return Merchandise Authorization form, with the vendor of the machine. Which stage of the hardware lifecycle does this scenario belong to?
- Procurement
- Deployment
- Maintenance (CORRECT)
- Retirement
Nice! This particular stage of the hardware lifecycle includes, but is not limited to, the filing of an RMA with the vendor for the return of any malfunctioning or damaged machine. It is dedicated to ensuring that the hardware continues to function correctly through repairs, updates, and replacements as necessary.
4. A laptop gets replaced if there’s a hardware issue. Which stage of the hardware lifecycle does this scenario belong to?
- Procurement
- Deployment
- Maintenance (CORRECT)
- Retirement
Yep! The repair and maintenance phase of the hardware lifecycle is when an overhaul can lead to replacement due to hardware failures. The significant difference between this stage and complete retirement of equipment is that it undergoes repairs or replacements while still being active rather than being decommissioned or entirely removed from service.
5. Which type of server hardware is the most space-efficient?
- Blade server (CORRECT)
- Tower server
- Rack server
- KVM switch
You nailed it! Blade servers are like rack servers, but even thinner! Very space-saving.
6. In smaller IT “shops,” whose responsibility is it to form organizational computer and network policies?
- Chief Security Officer
- Chief Executive Officer
- Board of directors
- The sysadmin (CORRECT)
Awesome! It is usually the sysadmin in little companies who sets and manages the computer policies such as security settings, access control, and software usage. And if you are the sysadmin around there, this is probably a big part of your job!
7. An employee is leaving your company. Which of these steps are appropriate to take during offboarding? Check all that apply.
- Remove the user’s access to IT resources (CORRECT)
- Ask the user for their logon information
- Wipe the machine for future use (CORRECT)
- Make a copy of the user’s files
To get it, when a user leaves the company, the IT resource access must be removed and the user’s account with all permissions terminated.
Additionally, you got it: If a user resigns, you will have to wipe his machine clean of any sensitive information so that he can be safely reallocated to someone else.
8. What are some important elements of working with vendors as a sysadmin? Check all that apply.
- Procure hardware (CORRECT)
- Independently approve vendor relationships without management permission
- Scheduling on-site maintenance (CORRECT)
- Establishing relationships with vendors (CORRECT)
Okay! Usually a systems administrator within an enterprise environment is in charge of acquiring equipment and making business dealings with vendors or other companies for the procurement of that necessary hardware.
Right that! Sysadmins might also provide support to ensure printers function correctly, and when a commercial printer is acquired, he will have to manage repair and maintenance services ensuring that somebody is available on-site when required.
Right on! Establishing corporate accounts with major vendors can be great because most of them offer some discounts and other benefits for the company that can help reduce costs.
9. Which methods are commonly used by sysadmins to organize issues? Check all that apply.
- Daily checks on each machine
- Ticketing system (CORRECT)
- Random machine checks
- Service monitoring alerts (CORRECT)
Woohoo! In fact, a common industry standard for systems administrators is to use a ticketing or bug tracking system to organize, prioritize, and document issues. In this way, it can be guaranteed that every issue is being addressed in a systematic and timely manner.
Woohoo! Sysadmins need not stay awake every time for problems that happen outside work hours. Using proper monitoring tools, they’ll be alerted when a problem arises, allowing them to respond quickly without the need for constant on-call.
10. What factors are most important when planning for disaster and recovery? Check all that apply.
- Procure sturdy devices
- Regular backups (CORRECT)
- Deleting old backups
- Physically distant backup location (CORRECT)
Well done! Backups are necessary to protect against unfortunate disasters by having redundancy in data. Even though it has not been possible for anyone to tell exactly what problem might crop up at times, a good backup strategy tends to prepare for a good recovery at the time needed.
Well done! Having the necessary backups of your company’s data regularly, and in outside locations, is extremely important. As a result, whenever something goes wrong at the primary location, such as natural disasters or a break-in, the data is still accessible quickly from another safe location.
11. Who works in the background to make sure a company’s IT infrastructure is always working, and is constantly fighting to prevent IT disasters from happening?
- The janitor
- The regional manager
- The CEO
- The system administrator (or sysadmin) (CORRECT)
Nice job! Totally! System Administrators play a very significant role in the successful functioning of any organization. They always ensure the stable, secured and efficient operation of the whole IT infrastructure. Sys Admins manage servers and networks, troubleshoot networking and server issues, and implement security measures. All these probably either by keeping them connected and operational or by leaving the operations happening in a very obvious manner. This is what makes them very beneficial for other departments in terms of productivity and ensuring business continuity.
12. What is a machine that uses services provided by a server called?
- Managed hub
- VPN (Virtual Private Network)
- KVM switch
- Client (CORRECT)
You nailed it! Absolutely! The entire architecture of a client-server model is made up of the servers offering services or resources and the clients that will request all these from the servers. Clients may be workstations, mobile machines, or any other system that request data, processing power, or applications from the server. It can be explained more specifically like this: when a server receives a request from a client, it can provide any of the required information or ins…
13. An IT department submits a purchase order to buy a new computer from a vendor. “Purchase orders” are documents issued by buyers that indicate a purchase they want to make from a seller. Which stage of the hardware lifecycle does this scenario belong to?
- Procurement (CORRECT)
- Deployment
- Maintenance
- Retirement
You got it! Right! It is the procurement stage of the hardware lifecycle, which consists of the acquisition of hardware as required by an organization. This can happen through a number of ways. Some of these include placing purchase orders, leasing or any other method of acquisition of hardware. If the hardware is procured, it is normally referred to as having entered the equipment’s next life stage or phase, which is usually deployment, where the installation and configuration of the equipment for use are done.
14. Which of these are common responsibilities of systems administrators?
- All of the above (CORRECT)
- Work in the background to make sure a company’s IT infrastructure is always working
- Help users with issues, such as lost passwords and logon problems
- Constantly troubleshoot problems, such as network issues
Right on! Indeed, that is an interesting fact! It is true that individuals often forget their password too many times, which is why it is necessary to install password management mechanisms in the organizations, like using password managers, enforced multi-factor authentication, and enforcing changing passwords frequently. Giving employees the right equipment-such as a computer and software, as well as ensuring proper access control-can enhance productivity while minimizing frustrations arising from password issues.
10. What happens during the data collection and aggregation step of the SIEM process? Select two answers.
- Data is centralized in one place. (CORRECT)
- Data is collected from different sources. (CORRECT)
- Data is analyzed according to rules.
- Data is cleaned and transformed.
15. Which of these terms describe a facility that stores hundreds, if not thousands, of servers?
- Data center (CORRECT)
- SSH server
- Web server
- KVM switch
Nice job! Data centers are buildings that design insulation and walls to ensure an isolated environment. It has managed all data areas and comprises several servers in one place. Hence, these centers are so important for the business organization which stores a huge amount of information because it ensures the secure storage, maintenance, and retrieval of the data when wanted. These data centers are well designed and completed with power redundancy, cooling redundancy, space redundancy, and security redundancy for availability and security purposes.
16. Which is NOT an important troubleshooting step?
- Updating services (CORRECT)
- Asking questions
- Reading logs
- Isolate the problem with trial and error
You got it! That’s right! Troubleshooting is just a methodical approach that aims at getting to the bottom of the problem. Certainly, there are cases where updates can fix a known bug or improve performance; however, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they will identify the root of the given problem. Troubleshooting requires a stepwise way, which includes checking up error messages, applying logs analysis, testing the components involved, and addressing other causalities. Because of such an approach, the appropriate problem is finally addressed, making the solution much more effective.
17. A machine is having issues, so the user is responsible for getting the machine serviced. Which stage of the hardware lifecycle does this scenario belong to?
- Procurement
- Deployment
- Maintenance (CORRECT)
- Retirement
Great job! Certainly! The maintenance stage of the hardware lifecycle encompasses the ongoing treatment and care of the machine to ensure its proper functioning. It involves various activities such as performing frequent software updates, substitution of faulty hardware components, troubleshooting, and repair works. Such nurturing keeps the machines in healthy operational states and solves arising problems before they culminate into higher problems or downtime.
18. A script sets up user accounts and installs software for a machine. Which stage of the hardware lifecycle does this scenario belong to?
- Procurement
- Deployment (CORRECT)
- Maintenance
- Retirement
That’s exactly right! At the deployment phase of the hardware life cycle, there may also be situations in which the configuration of user account and software setting occurs through a script as opposed to a human deploying the hardware.
19. A laptop gets recycled by an e-waste recycling company once it can’t be used anymore. Which stage of the hardware lifecycle does this scenario belong to?
- Procurement
- Deployment
- Maintenance
- Retirement (CORRECT)
Great work! Retirement from the hardware life cycle includes scenarios like those in which a laptop can no longer be used and is ultimately recycled by an e-waste company.
20. Which of these are likely considerations for developing a computer policy? Check all that apply.
- Whether users should be able to install software (CORRECT)
- Whether or not users should share their passwords
- Whether you should set a device password on an employee’s company phone (CORRECT)
- Whether users should be able to view non-work-related websites, like Facebook (CORRECT)
You are correct! Enabling installation software makes it easy for users to inadvertently infect the system with malicious software.
As for mobility, the most important security measure is putting passwords on the devices to keep company data private even in moments when they are lost or stolen.
Now, in the case of work computers and networks, some organizations have limited their usage for work purposes only, while most allow the use of equipment for other purposes, for example, business marketing or catching up with social media and current events.
21. What is NOT one of the main stages of the hardware lifecycle?
- Recycling (CORRECT)
- Deployment
- Maintenance
- Procurement
You got it! Stages of hardware lifecycle are four in number, they include procurement, deployment, maintenance, and retirement. These include everything from the acquisition of the hardware to the last end, which would be defined as disposal or recycling.
22. Which are potential responsibilities of a sysadmin? (Check all that apply)
- Database administration (CORRECT)
- Technical support (CORRECT)
- Network administration (CORRECT)
- payroll administration
Correct: Truly! A Systems Administrator may have a number of different responsibilities, such as Network Administration, as it relates to managing and maintaining the network infrastructure, which could keep communications within the organization and flow of data seamless.
23. What are some disadvantages of cloud computing? Check all that apply.
- It could potentially cost you more. (CORRECT)
- You use less local storage space.
- You become dependent on the cloud provider. (CORRECT)
- You don’t have to manage server hardware yourself
Fine work: When you manage your own server hardware, costs are paid upfront. However, cloud service costs, while small at first, eventually add up quite a lot.
Fine work: Great job! You now depend entirely on the cloud-service provider for your productivity, and that’s going to be your liability.
24. In additon to setting up services, what other tasks does a sysadmin have to keep in mind? Check all that apply.
- Security patches (CORRECT)
- Maintain compatibility (CORRECT)
- Keep a record of user passwords
- Routine updates (CORRECT)
Excellent! As a sysadmin, the establishment of a secured network is one of the core and fundamental responsibilities!
Good work! One important job of a sysadmin is configuration management, making sure that settings are indeed consistent from machine to machine and that software is getting updated accordingly to maintain compatibility.
Awesome! Services are to be regularly upgraded, and it’s the sysadmin’s duty to make sure that they are.
25. What is it called when you set aside a regular time to update your servers at once?
- Batch update (CORRECT)
- Scheduled update
- Timed update
- Automatic update
Correct: Great job! A batch update means that all of your servers must receive the latest security patches once a month or so. This implies planning some downtime, carrying out the update, and then having everyone come back to see whether the new update works properly.
26. As sysadmin, you will have to prioritize issues. Which of these issues would be a top priority?
- A central printer is down.
- A user’s computer keeps crashing.
- A server stopped providing service to 100 users. (CORRECT)
- A user has forgotten their password.
Correct: Hooray! Sysadmins also need to troubleshoot and prioritize issues on a larger scale. Most times, issues affecting a group of users have to be persuaded to resolve interruptions against productivity.
27. What device is commonly used to connect to and control multiple computers using a single keyboard, mouse, and monitor?
- Load Balancer
- DNS server
- Managed hub
- KVM switch (CORRECT)
Correct: Cool! The acronym KVM stands for Keyboard, Video, and Mouse. A KVM switch is a kind of device that connects multiple computers to a single keyboard, mouse, and monitor so that the computer can be controlled through the switch.
28. Which type of server most closely resembles a desktop computer in appearance?
- Rack server
- Blade server
- Tower server (CORRECT)
- DNS server
Correct: Well done! Server hardware can come in lots of different forms: they can be towers that sit upright and look very similar to the desktops we’ve seen
29. Which might have an IT infrastructure run by a single person?
- Apple
- Hometown Independent Computer Company, LLC (CORRECT)
Correct: At smaller firms, it’s often just one person that is in charge of the entire IT infrastructure: network, hardware maintenance, and the software support. Woohoo!
30. Which is not a component of a KVM switch?
- Printer (CORRECT)
- Mouse
- Monitor
- Keyboard
Correct: Absolutely correct! Printing services are consistent with KVM switches, but not entirely relevant. KVM switches are connected keyboards, video and mouse inputs/outputs compatible to different machines, while printing services work independently outside this context.