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How Are You Celebrating National Sysadmin Day?

jfruh writes "July 26 is Sysadmin Day, the system administrator's version of Secretary's Day. Are you giving your hardworking sysadmin the recognition they deserve? Blogger (and, yes, sysadmin) Sandra Henry-Stocker argues that a holiday like this is needed because due to the nature of their job, in everyday life sysadmins 'get noticed least when they do the best work' So if your systems run so smoothly that you sometimes forget you even have a sysadmin on staff, be sure to recognize them for their excellent work today."

136 of 200 comments (clear)

  1. Hmmm ... by gstoddart · · Score: 5, Funny

    First I'm going to delete your inbox.

    Then I'm going to switch your phone extension with Larry in facilities management.

    And I think this afternoon I will take the Production environment down for a little while.

    --
    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    1. Re:Hmmm ... by MightyYar · · Score: 2

      That's OK, I'm doing my best to beat the worst "luser" story that my current sysadmin has ever heard.

      --
      W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
    2. Re:Hmmm ... by gstoddart · · Score: 2

      That's OK, I'm doing my best to beat the worst "luser" story that my current sysadmin has ever heard.

      Challenge accepted ... oh, and did I mention my assistant will be testing the sprinklers in your office today??

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    3. Re:Hmmm ... by DickBreath · · Score: 2

      Developers who treat their sysadmin this way are banished to an outer abode of darkness where they must forever try to create a flawless perfect and exhaustively complete software ecosystem using only COBOL and punched cards.

      If their sysadmin worked at Google, then the offending developer may only type on the keypunch machine using their toes.

      --

      I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
    4. Re:Hmmm ... by gstoddart · · Score: 1

      Developers who treat their sysadmin this way

      I think you have it backwards ... that was my plan for the developers.

      I won't tell you what I'm doing to sales, because I don't want to spoil the surprise. ;-)

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    5. Re:Hmmm ... by armanox · · Score: 1

      If he can get in. Windows update broke the security system, and now the door won't open from the outside.

      (Actually had that happen when a developer decided to install updates on the security system, which has no direct contact with the internet (no gateway + firewalled traffic).

      --
      I'm starting to think GNU is the problem with "GNU/Linux" these days.
    6. Re:Hmmm ... by gstoddart · · Score: 3, Interesting

      If he can get in. Windows update broke the security system, and now the door won't open from the outside.

      Unrelated to developers and admins ... a bunch of years ago we had a major power outage in our building (OK, it was a good chunk of North America, got some news coverage, you might have heard of it).

      Some idiot had decided that in the case of a power outage you wouldn't want to have the security doors open. So when the power dropped, the doors on some of the exits essentially locked down and simply could not be opened -- inside or out.

      So here's a whole bunch of people streaming down the stairwell, only to find themselves at a door which wouldn't open from the inside -- if it had been a real emergency with fire, people would have died.

      Some failure conditions in doors can be catastrophic.

      It took me several weeks to get it through HR and the building owners that emergency doors which lock you inside in the event of a power loss are safety hazards. Eventually the light-bulb went off and they suddenly grasped that I was telling them something they needed to act on.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    7. Re:Hmmm ... by davester666 · · Score: 3, Informative

      Why did you waste the effort? Drive to the local fire stationhouse, and tell them the doors won't open from the inside. They will be able to make it clear to the people MUCH faster.

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
    8. Re:Hmmm ... by Muros · · Score: 1

      No need to worry, sales aren't reading this. They're at a party with cocaine and hoo... *ahem* at a sales meeting.

    9. Re:Hmmm ... by GameboyRMH · · Score: 2

      This. The doors in my office require power to stay closed, AND are tied into the fire alarm. If the fire alarm goes off or the backup battery runs out, all the doors swing free. Unless a system meets these conditions it's illegal as all hell in any half-decently-developed country.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    10. Re:Hmmm ... by cusco · · Score: 2

      Your company's security contractors are idiots. There are two kind of door strikes, Fail Safe and Fail Secure. When power drops a Fail Safe door unlocks, this is required of all emergency exits by law in (AFAIK) all 50 states and probably the Canadian provinces. In most states the strike power supplies for emergency exit doors are also required to be tied into the fire system, so that if the fire system goes off they drop power to all doors. If your Facilities Manager didn't know this they need to be fired.

      --
      "Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
    11. Re:Hmmm ... by operagost · · Score: 1

      This whole scenario is crazy anyway. I could understand the mistake of the doors remaining locked from the outside, but shouldn't some of the doors already have a release from the inside that people use when the building's locked after hours? Otherwise, people could be locked in all night just because they worked late.

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    12. Re:Hmmm ... by Synerg1y · · Score: 1

      This. It is very illegal to have doors lock on power failure. It is against any fire code for one, and if something does happen I believe there's a criminal negligence charge filed against the owner of that building.

    13. Re:Hmmm ... by gstoddart · · Score: 1

      I could understand the mistake of the doors remaining locked from the outside, but shouldn't some of the doors already have a release from the inside

      By law, absolutely ... there's supposed to be a push bar which unlocks it. It's fire code.

      Whatever fucking idiot designed it, when all of the power dropped, the door did not open. Don't know what the mechanism was.

      In this case there was no fire, and we could find our way through a dark hallway to another door (after several minutes of fumbling) -- but I spent several weeks trying to explain to HR and the building owners that they basically had a death trap on their hands. They were just too stupid to understand what I was telling them.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  2. In my country... by mfarah · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This day is known only by the sysadmin themselves (and former sysadmins, as well), so we pat each other on the back, post a message on twitter and/or facebook and that's it.

    --
    "Trust me - I know what I'm doing."
    - Sledge Hammer
    1. Re:In my country... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

      A good sys admin is like a Navy SEAL if you do a good job no one really knows what you do. : )

    2. Re:In my country... by Sporkinum · · Score: 2

      Most of the sysadmins that I work with don't use twitter and/or facebook.

      --
      "He's lost in a 'floyd hole"
    3. Re:In my country... by ArcadeMan · · Score: 1

      Are you saying system administrators and Navy SEAL are gods?

    4. Re:In my country... by TWiTfan · · Score: 1, Flamebait

      Most of the sysadmins that I work with are barely able to use vocal language.

      --
      The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
    5. Re:In my country... by h4rr4r · · Score: 2

      Perhaps you should question your employers hiring practice and maybe look into filing a complaint with the DOL.

      There are lots of American sysadmins that can curse at you all day in American English just waiting to fill those jobs.

    6. Re:In my country... by Minwee · · Score: 4, Funny

      Ray, when someone asks you if you're a god, you say YES!

    7. Re:In my country... by turp182 · · Score: 1

      A Sledge Hammer reference!!!!

      Small world story: David Rasche's (Sledge Hammer) father baptized me in my grandmother's house some time ago. David even came to the church one time between seasons 1 and 2 (I have all three issues of the comic book signed by him...). He's from Belleville, IL (his Wikipedia page is incorrect, it's a suburb of St. Louis).

      --
      BlameBillCosby.com
    8. Re:In my country... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Now, if people choose not to care or choose not to understand....that's another problem entirely.

      I fail to see a problem at all. I've got better things to do than worry about whatever niche group decided today is their day to have a circle-jerk. If it's not an official or widely-recognized holiday, then it's just another day.

    9. Re:In my country... by Muros · · Score: 2, Funny

      Are you saying system administrators are gods?

      No, we're more in the Lord of the Files territory.

    10. Re:In my country... by ArcadeMan · · Score: 1

      My system administrator is more in the Lord of the Flies territory.

  3. Same as every year by Scutter · · Score: 4, Funny

    As usual, the only people who know (or care) about SysAdmin Day are sysadmins. Therefore, nothing is being done to celebrate it. Not even a free donut.

    --

    "Tell me doctor, with all of your defenses, are there any provisions for an attack by killer bees?"
    1. Re:Same as every year by i+kan+reed · · Score: 1

      I know, as a developer, but I have no-damn-clue who my sysadmin is.

    2. Re:Same as every year by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      You must either be the best developer on earth or work in one hell of a big company. I constantly have to go chase after our devs when they decide to have me push code they screwed up.

    3. Re:Same as every year by Applekid · · Score: 1

      Or maybe he's got a good sysadmin.

      I unfortunately know my sysadmin by name, because most sentences with his name usually include "I know for a fact that you didn't". I'd love to have a gentleman's agreement in place where I promise to run well-written unit tests that won't take anything else down and he promises not to keep randomly locking firewall ports "just to see if I was still using it."

      --
      More Twoson than Cupertino
    4. Re:Same as every year by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      Have him fired. He does not deserve that job.

      The devs know me because I am the one on their case for trying to do dumb stuff. Like adding a column with a default value to a table that has billions of records. They of course try to do this during the day. FSM forbid they think about making their code treat null as the default value or that they do it at a later time or test it on the test environment.

    5. Re:Same as every year by i+kan+reed · · Score: 1

      That's not an acceptable solution either. Code shouldn't be making assumptions about data like that. If there's a default value, and it could reasonably be ascribed to the schema, then the software shouldn't be assuming it.

    6. Re:Same as every year by Synerg1y · · Score: 1

      Isn't that more in the DBA realm than sysadmin?

    7. Re:Same as every year by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      Welcome to my world. I work for a smallish company and wear a lot of hats.

  4. How Are You Celebrating National Sysadmin Day? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    "How Are You Celebrating National Sysadmin Day?"

    The same thing we do every night, Pinky—try to take over the world!

  5. Same as I do every day by smooth+wombat · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Dealing with incompetence and stupidity.

    --
    We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
    1. Re:Same as I do every day by gstoddart · · Score: 5, Funny

      Dealing with incompetence and stupidity.

      It can be challenging, but don't let anyone else tell you what your limitations are.

      Oh, did you mean the users? ;-)

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    2. Re:Same as I do every day by smooth+wombat · · Score: 1

      Users mainly (obviously) but the crap I have to deal with from these supposed global companies is really getting on my nerves.

      The worst part is I'm not a full-fledged admin. I'm the guy who does just about everything else that people rely on, including working with the admins.

      As I like to say, I'm the guy who fixes the problems created by the experts.

      --
      We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
    3. Re:Same as I do every day by cusco · · Score: 2

      I'll be looking for tips in the BOFH Archives.

      --
      "Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
  6. Same as every day by Sparticus789 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Telling the developers, for the 76732198435 time, that their application is not important enough to warrant it's own server, they do not need root access, and I cannot fix their personal laptop.

    --
    sudo make me a sandwich
    1. Re:Same as every day by h4rr4r · · Score: 2

      If they get too uppity give them a chroot that looks like the production environment. They won't figure out why nothing they do works for at least a week or two.

    2. Re:Same as every day by DJ+Jones · · Score: 1

      Screw you, man. Just wack off a dedicated VPS chunk and put it behind whatever paranoid tin-foil hat firewall sandbox you want. I don't want to have to open a support ticket and wait two hours every time I need to check the logs on my application server.

      - Senior Developer

    3. Re:Same as every day by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      Hey numbnuts, go look at the syslog machine. If you are too stupid to log to syslog properly maybe you should be demoted to trainee developer.

    4. Re:Same as every day by DJ+Jones · · Score: 1

      And what happens when I need to tweak the virtual host settings or tune the database to better meet the demands of my specific application? You want me to f-over every other application running on the production server?

    5. Re:Same as every day by Bigbutt · · Score: 1

      With virtual environments it's really not a problem to give them their own Unix[0] server and I prefer it. It's much easier to schedule patches and outages when I only have to deal with one customer/department than a shared server with different maintenance windows.

      Root access? Hell, Devs don't get accounts on production servers. Don't support the dev/sqa area so don't care what they have there[1]

      I fix their personal laptop by installing Slackware and giving it back. They don't ask twice. :D

      [John]

      [0] If it's not Unix based, I don't care as our group doesn't support it.
      [1] Well, sort of. I'd rather we support the lab/sqa area so the devs have systems that mirror production. Prevents surprises and delays when we're deploying new systems.

      --
      Shit better not happen!
    6. Re:Same as every day by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      No, you are not allowed to do any of that for good reason.

      You will fuck over the other apps doing that, since like all devs you won't care if your changes break anything you are not working on. You can ask nicely after proving in the test environments that it does not cause any harm.

    7. Re:Same as every day by FloydTheDroid · · Score: 1

      Ha!

      I did just spend an hour trying to convince our admins to ignore PCI compliance with such gems as "what good is a third party app if we don't use it" and "but the directory has 'data' in its name so I should be able to write data to it". But that was only because I knew that they wouldn't expect anything less from me.

    8. Re:Same as every day by Sparticus789 · · Score: 1

      Just because it takes 30 minutes to compile your code once every 2 weeks doesn't mean you require a $15,000 server so it takes 10 minutes instead. Here's a thought, how about you write up your system requirements right the first time and I will be able to create a server environment (bare metal, VM, whatever) that can satisfy all your needs? If you need python 3.3, then tell me while I am building it, instead of sending me an "EHRMAGAWD" e-mail about how the world is going to end because you cannot run your brand new script that requires it, despite the fact that you have been writing the script for weeks and never bothered to tell me that it was in a version of python that I had not installed yet.

      - Root

      --
      sudo make me a sandwich
    9. Re:Same as every day by Sparticus789 · · Score: 1

      I give them virtual machines when they are using something specialized that may mess with other apps. However, most of my developers are running Java code or experimental scripts to parse/process large amounts of data. The Java devs have their own Java test server, and since Java apps are self-contained none of them actually need an independent server. The parse/process guys have their own environment with access to the RAID, and they can do whatever they want as long as they do not modify the original data.

      And I have an overflow server that I use for my own parse/process experiments, and I let the developers that I like use it when they need to.

      --
      sudo make me a sandwich
    10. Re:Same as every day by GoogleShill · · Score: 1

      Maybe I'll spit on the admins that constantly ask engineering for help doing their jobs. Can't find that rogue DHCP server? Can't figure out how to manage passwords on a Linux box? Need a bash script written to help save you time everyday? Can't figure out why 802.1x authentication is failing on some ports?

      Figure it out yourself. :)

      I know this is a sysadmin-heavy site, and I used to be one, so don't mod me down right away. There are shitty devs and shitty sysadmins. I work at a network security software company, and every one of our software engineers can do a better job at systems and network administration than our admins. They escalate to us frequently.

    11. Re:Same as every day by Sparticus789 · · Score: 2

      Everything you have described is a systems administrator task, and one worth his/her weight in salt would be able to do those in their sleep. Syslog will tell you the address of the DCHP server. Password management is in GUI form now. Bash is just a series of terminal commands.

      Sounds like you need to hire some new systems administrators.

      --
      sudo make me a sandwich
    12. Re:Same as every day by manu0601 · · Score: 1

      If you give them root access, even in a chroot, they can still crash the machine by overusing resources.

  7. no celebration here... no job! by Greg01851 · · Score: 1

    Have been looking in SoCal for 18+ months... job market sucks!

    1. Re:no celebration here... no job! by Bigbutt · · Score: 1

      We have 2 open positions out here in Colorado. Can't find a Unix sysadmin who isn't dumb as a box of rocks. (You've been a Redhat admin for 8 years and don't know the significance of /etc/rc3.d/S*? You're a Unix admin who's scared of soft links? Been a Unix admin for 20 years but don't know how to script???)

      Honestly we're not in the Tech Center so it's a tad harder to find talent.

      [John]

      --
      Shit better not happen!
    2. Re:no celebration here... no job! by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      RHEL is not UNIX. I am not a UNIX admin, just a Linux one and I can tell you that.

      Only 7 years here, but I can tell you about run levels till you fall asleep, write perl mortals can read if they really try, and I don't even know what to say about being afraid of soft links. I would think the new laws in Colorado would make it easy to find sysadmins. Assuming company policy does not remove that huge advantage.

    3. Re:no celebration here... no job! by Bigbutt · · Score: 1

      Oh we have Solartus, H-PUX, Tru64, and even a couple of AIX boxes kicking around (oh and one lone FreeBSD box). Most of our new gear is either H-PUX or Redhat though with Oracle buying Sun (CTO hates Oracle).

      The softlinks guy said basically that if a slice was lost, you'd lose all access to any file that was softlinked (which made his comment worse of course). After we boggled at him, he asked if he could take back his answer :D

      And company policy is set by the parent company. No smoking on campus (the smokers have to walk to the far end of the parking lot to smoke) and drug tests as it's still a federal crime.

      [John]

      --
      Shit better not happen!
    4. Re:no celebration here... no job! by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      We do pretty much just RHEL. Got rid of the last HPUX machine ages ago.

      Why does the company care about it though?
      Pirating software is a federal crime, I don't see any rules against that in most employee handbooks.

      For the record I have not indulged since college, but I still will not take a drug test for a job. You can't inspect my house either. I like my privacy.

    5. Re:no celebration here... no job! by Bigbutt · · Score: 1

      I think it's more insurance than anything. We have the option to select a specific insurance plan where we affirm that we don't smoke thereby saving us (and probably the company) a few bucks a year. There's a bunch of 'Timmy-B-Fit' propaganda around the intranet and on posters around the company as well.

      I haven't checked our handbook for a while so can't answer that one. :)

      The company does require a drug test before hiring though. We work in the Emergency 911 industry so the company's a tad pickier than most. Still, it's a pretty cool place to work in general. Too bad we're so far from the Tech Center. I think that's the biggest hindrance to getting more applicants.

      [John]

      --
      Shit better not happen!
    6. Re:no celebration here... no job! by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      Smoking was something I gave up at the same time. It just irks me that they trust me so little and expect me to give up so much for generally so little. I will say for enough money everything would be negotiable.

      We are in Buffalo NY and it is not too bad finding them, but the pool of decent folks is small enough you quickly get to know a lot of them. I bet if you offered enough and relocation it would not be too hard to find takers.

  8. Why didnt anyone tell me sooner by drummerboybac · · Score: 4, Funny

    Quick, I need A black T-Shirt(preferably with an antisocial saying in white block letters), some Mountain Dew(or preferably Jolt Cola), a Carpal Tunnel wrist brace, a desk piled with manuals and CD-R spindles, and a LOT of terminal windows open.

    Hmm, looks like I already have the terminal windows part covered........and the black T-Shirt...and the CDR Spindles

    Crap.

    1. Re:Why didnt anyone tell me sooner by geminidomino · · Score: 1

      The wrist brace is under your bed. HTH. ;)

    2. Re:Why didnt anyone tell me sooner by gstoddart · · Score: 1

      If I'd known, I wouldn't have shaved. But it sounds like I have the rest covered ... well, I went out of the box, and the t-shirt is brown today.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  9. Sysadmin Day Events and Discounts by WHiTe+VaMPiRe · · Score: 2

    We're celebrating in Columbus, OH this evening at the Three Legged Mare...

    http://eevent.com/lopsa-columbus/2013sysadminday

    Events all over the place, more listed here...

    https://lopsa.org/content/sysadmin-day-events

    LOPSA has a significant discount for renewing members and new members until Sunday...

    https://lopsa.org/content/sys%C2%A0admin-day-discount-until-728

    Happy System Administrator's Day!

  10. Some love by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 1

    At least someone documented it for public television.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU92ryHp_Fg

  11. hmmm by lkcl · · Score: 1

    rm -fr /*

  12. Custom app not important enough for own server? by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If you're blowing cash on a dev team (let's say 5 folks at $120K/year each with benefits), you're going to try to save $1-2K a year so you don't have to host the final product (perhaps a publicly-facing final product) on its own server?

    And it's "its" dammit. Happy SysAdmin Day.

    1. Re:Custom app not important enough for own server? by h4rr4r · · Score: 2

      $1-2k per year? What POS are you hosting that on? How are you paying for backups or redundancy?
      How are you handling maintenance?
      I don't want to be a dick here, but you sound like a typical developer. They generally have no idea what goes on to keep their crap working.

      This is why virtualization exists. For 99% of software it does not need its own hardware and virtualization makes redundancy cheaper, backups easier and life simpler for everyone.

    2. Re:Custom app not important enough for own server? by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 1

      Troll...fed. :)

    3. Re:Custom app not important enough for own server? by Bacon+Bits · · Score: 1

      If you're blowing cash on a dev team (let's say 5 folks at $120K/year each with benefits), you're going to try to save $1-2K a year so you don't have to host the final product (perhaps a publicly-facing final product) on its own server?

      It would be fine if people would budget money to pay for the servers instead of expecting the tech department to foot the bill. Your desires and poor budgeting are not an excuse for burdening another department with your overhead costs. If you want it, you pay for it and we manage it.

      --
      The road to tyranny has always been paved with claims of necessity.
    4. Re:Custom app not important enough for own server? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      If you want it, you pay for it and we manage it.

      If we paid for it, we'll bloody well manage it ourselves.

      What's the point in having a lab if I have to listen to Mordac the Preventer telling me we're not allowed to make changes in the environment?

      It's our machine, not yours.

    5. Re:Custom app not important enough for own server? by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      Nope, the point is it mirrors production. We are surely not letting you screw that up for everyone.

      If that machine was yours you would handle maintenance, monitoring, backups and all the networking for it. Good luck with that and remember any unlabeled and unaccounted for cable in the server room will be cut. This includes pulling the power plug and cutting it off as well.

    6. Re:Custom app not important enough for own server? by gmuslera · · Score: 1

      Deciding if an app its going to a real server, or virtual or even a container fits into sysadmin role, provided that have all the relevant info. Is not about importance, but about need.

    7. Re:Custom app not important enough for own server? by Zalbik · · Score: 1

      I don't want to be a dick here, but you sound like a typical developer.

      Then don't be a dick. The developers you've worked with may have been asshats, but that doesn't mean the "typical" developer is.

    8. Re:Custom app not important enough for own server? by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      How about all the ones I have ever met save one?
      Not just the ones I worked with.

      I think my sample size at this point is not too shabby.

    9. Re:Custom app not important enough for own server? by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      I was assuming he would be trying to sneak in behind someone.

      I had to chase a verizon guy out once with a rack rail. He walked in after someone else. He later claimed I was going to assault him since I picked up a weapon. My employer stated he could leave or be arrested for trespassing. He was on the wrong floor, somehow conned the front desk to let him in and then followed someone into the server room. I only picked up the rack rail when he refused to leave and made threatening motions to me, he was also a good foot taller and had to be 100lbs heavier than I am.

      Actually where I work there is very little tension. The devs do their job, sysadmins do theirs and we all get along. None of them would be so stupid on purpose. They make mistakes like everyone does, but they are not purposefully like that idiot above.

    10. Re:Custom app not important enough for own server? by Sparticus789 · · Score: 1

      I've got to tell you JonBoy, I've tried products like these before, paid a pretty penny. And if these $1-2K/year servers work, I'll order a dozen!

      --
      sudo make me a sandwich
    11. Re:Custom app not important enough for own server? by Bacon+Bits · · Score: 1

      If you want it, you pay for it and we manage it.

      If we paid for it, we'll bloody well manage it ourselves.

      Fine. Then it doesn't go on our network or receive any network services we provide.

      The tech team is tasked with to managing and maintaining all workstations, servers, and networks for the organization. We have no desire to prevent users from doing work. However, you're not the only people doing work and we have to consider the needs of the organization as a whole. We can't pull magical servers from our ass that don't consume any resources. Those resources are already shared by the rest of the organization, and those resources were already properly sized and budgeted for by other departments. If you require additional resources, you must do the same as everyone else and request that they be made available and provide the funds necessary to support them.

      This is not unreasonable. This is standard. The point of centralized management is to consolidate resources and to ease administration. That doesn't mean those resources are limitless or free, and like all users in the organization your access to those resources will be based on what you need to do your job and/or that what you can appropriately budget for.

      You want a server? Send us the specs and we'll give you a system quote you can use in your budget. Purchase the system and we'll install, configure, and maintain the system. Does your application need root? If it does, you're undoubtedly doing something wrong. If it doesn't, you don't need it either. Do you really just want a sandbox environment? Then why can't you just use a VM on your workstation? If you truly need a hardware test environment to fully play around with it's going to be on it's own VLAN and dedicated hardware, because I'm not going to risk the rest of the organization because you misplaced a decimal point. My job is not only to provide you with services but to prevent your activities from interrupting the rest of the organization. Either way, you're paying for it from your budget because that's what the dev budget is for. Development.

      --
      The road to tyranny has always been paved with claims of necessity.
    12. Re:Custom app not important enough for own server? by FaxeTheCat · · Score: 1

      We get cloud based email, cloud based file storage, and it just fucking works and we can communicate and collaborate and get done what we need to. If our internet connection goes down we call and bitch and they fix it and we move on.

      And, like, the cloud provider does not have sysadmins? The only change is that instead of internal sysadmins doing the work, the cloud providers sysadmins do the job.

    13. Re:Custom app not important enough for own server? by CAIMLAS · · Score: 1

      I'd mod you up, if I believed in such crude heuristics. :P

      Truthfully, my experience is pretty much identical to your's. They think they need 3 tiers of physical servers for their simple 3 month development project (which undoubtedly will get stretched to 6 or 9 months), by and large.

      But this doesn't even verge into why they're asshats: they think they know what's going on everywhere, often with less input information to make their decision on than news ticker headlines and high gloss magazine covers. We're talking about the people who ride Harleys (or ricers of some kind) because they've heard they're cool; people who like the most obnoxious music, claim it's great, but have no musical talent; people who buy expensive wine but can't discern the difference between it and something cheaper; and are generally the most politically/ideologically noxious people you'll find out there out of straight hippies and bible thumpers, regardless of actual political affiliation.

      I honestly only can think of a single developer who isn't obnoxious like that. He's politically liberal but socially conservative (kids, family). The rest seem to be different stripes of "I write shitty Java apps on a Mac and claim to work for Apple, even though I don't" - they're worst in the Bay Area by far.

      --
      ~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
    14. Re:Custom app not important enough for own server? by CAIMLAS · · Score: 1

      Ahahahahahahahahaa

      *deeeeeep breath*

      HAAAAAHAHAHAHAHahahaha

      No, seriously. You didn't mean to imply there that developers would be managing actual systems, right? Surely you were talking about some jailed off environment with no external network access?

      We've all seen that, and it works about as well as putting sawdust in an old car's oil to stop a heavy leak. Static "straight from the developer workstation" libraries copied over system binaries, root accounts left intentionally open (or unknowningly), everything left in a completely unpatched state for half a decade while on the public Internet, wanton use of cross host NFS mounts and conflicting hosts files, foolish storage arrangements (I once saw 24 disks in RAID0 on two different HBAs to a single host... which then got rsync'd to another RAID0 that wasn't used for anything other than a backup) - and so on. I've yet to see developers manage anything more than regular coffee and bathroom breaks which didn't make everyone who knew what they were doing groan.

      --
      ~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
  13. Re:lets play a game by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

    Sysadmins don't care, that is the helpdesk team's problem.

  14. The linked article says it's the last day in July. by fredrated · · Score: 1

    So now July only has 26 days?

  15. I'm celebrating by planning my visit to VMWorld... by fullmetal55 · · Score: 1

    not terribly exciting, but I get to schedule what i'm doing that week.

  16. Re:How about we have "Kick a Sysadmin" day instead by TWiTfan · · Score: 3, Funny

    Aim for the neckbeard, it's his weakest point.

    --
    The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
  17. For our sysadmins ... by PPH · · Score: 2

    ... we bought them all 512Gb flash drives. And vacations in Hong Kong.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
    1. Re:For our sysadmins ... by Minwee · · Score: 1

      ...which turned into extended vacations in Russia. Due to circumstances beyond our control the trip to Ecuador has cancelled.

    2. Re:For our sysadmins ... by MindStalker · · Score: 1

      But what happened to Wednesday?

  18. Happy Sysadmin Day by K3rn3lPan1c · · Score: 1

    I'm considering riding over to Redmond on the MS campus and having lunch at Yummy Pho. Then, visiting the restroom, whipping out my Sharpie, and writing "Linux Rocks" on the wall above the urinal.

  19. Still no Helpdesk Day by SoundGuyNoise · · Score: 1

    I'll recognize National Sysadmin Day, when the man approved National Helpdesk Day. We're the front lines, in the trenches!

    --
    You never expect irony, do you?
    Want to be a professional wrestler? Visit www.iyfwrestling.com
    @iyfwrestling
  20. Important dates by rossdee · · Score: 1

    26th July is the anniversary of the day I got my first Amiga (Amiga 1000 in 1986)

    The previous day (25th July) is the anniversary of when I got my first computer (Trash 80 in 1979) and my 2nd computer (Compucolor II in 1980)

  21. I'm not. by Seumas · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    I'm not, because I'm busy celebrating the following in July:

    Air-Conditioning Appreciation Days (7/3 to 8/15), Bereaved Parents Awareness Month, Bioterrorism/Disaster Education & Awareness Month, Cell Phone Courtesy Month, Dog Days (7/3 to 8/11), Eggplant and Lettuce Month , Family Reunion Month ,Family Golf Month , Freedom From Fear of Speaking Month , Hemochromatosis Screening Awareness Month , Herbal/Prescription Awareness Month, International Blondie and Deborah Harry Month, International Group B Strep Awareness Month , International Women with Alopecia Month, International Zine Month, Mango and Melon Month , National Black Family Month, National Blueberries Month, National Child-Centered Divorce Month , National "Doghouse Repairs" Month, National Grilling Month, National Ice Cream Month, National Horseradish Month, National Hot Dog Month, National Independent Retailers Month, National Make A Difference to Children Month, National Recreation & Parks Month, National Share A Sunset With Your Lover Month , National Wheelchair Beautification Month, Nectarine and Garlic Month , Sandwich Generation Month, Share A Sunset With Your Lover Month , Smart Irrigation Month, Social Wellness Month, Tour de France Month (Started 6/30 - 7/19?), Women's Motorcycle Month, Women With Alopecia Month, Worldwide Bereaved Parents Month, National Education Association Week, National Unassisted Homebirth Week, Beans and Bacon Days, Freedom Week, International Chicken Wing Week, Be Nice To New Jersey Week, Creative Maladjustment Week, National Farriers Week, Nude Recreation Weekend, Everybody Deserves A Massage Week, Sports Cliché Week, Rabbit Week, National Baby Food Week, National Ventriloquism Week, Comic Con International, Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) Education & Awareness Week, National Scrabble Week, National Parenting Gifted Children Week, Captive Nations Week, National Independent Retailers Week, National Zoo Keeper Week, World Lumberjack Championships, Garlic Days, Single Working Women's Week, AFRMA Fancy Rat & Mouse Week, Canada Day: 1, National GSA Employee Day: 1, Second Half of The Year Day: 1, U.S. Postage Stamp Day: 1, Zip Code Day: 1, I Forgot Day: 2, Made In The USA Day: 2, World UFO Day: 2 , Compliment Your Mirror Day: 3, Stay Out Of The Sun Day; 3, Boom Box Parade Day: 4, Fourth of July or Independence Day: 4, Independence From Meat Day: 4, Indivisible Day: 4, Bikini Day: 5, Earth at Aphelion: 5, International Chicken Wing Day: 5 (First Day of Chicken Wing Week), Rosewell UFO Days: 5-7 , Hop A Park Day: 6 (First Saturday), International Chicken Wing Society Cook-off Day: 6-8 ,International Cherry Pit Spitting Day: 6 (First Saturday), International Kissing Day or World Kiss Day: 6 , International Day of Cooperatives: 6 (First Saturday), Take Your Webmaster to Lunch Day: 6, Chocolate Day: 7 , Father-Daughter Take A Walk Together Day: 7, Global Forgiveness Day: 7 , Tell The Truth Day: 7, Math 2.0 Day: 8 (Founding Day) , SCUD Day (Savor the Comic, Unplug the Drama): 8, International Town Criers Day: 8 (Second Monday), Martyrdom of The Bab: 9, Ramadan: 9, Clerihew Day: 10, Don't Step On A Bee Day: 10, Hot Dog Night: 10, Piña Colada Day: 10 , Teddy Bears' Picnic Day: 10 , Bowdler's Day: 11, Cheer Up The Lonely Day: 11, Day of The Five Billion: 11 , National Rainier Cherries Day: 11 , Slurpee Day: 11 , World Population Day: 11, Chick-fil-A's Cow Appreciation Day: 12 [2nd Friday] Dress Like a cow and get free sandwich! , Collector Car Appreciation Day: 12 (2nd Friday) , Simplicity Day: 12 , Bald Is In: 13 (Second Saturday), Carver Day: 13 (Second Saturday), Embrace Your Geekness Day: 13, Gruntled Workers Day: 13, Wayne Chicken Day: 13 (Second Saturday), National French Fries Day: 13 , Grange Day: 13 (Second Saturday), International Nude Day: 14 , Be A Dork Day: 15 , Global Hug Your Kid Day: 15 (Third Monday), Gummi Worm Day: 15 , National Get Out of the Doghouse Day: 15 (Third Monday), Saint Swithin's Day: 15 , Tish B'Av: 15, Wrong Way Corrigan Day:

    1. Re:I'm not. by armanox · · Score: 1

      You forgot Bastille Day on Jul 14...

      --
      I'm starting to think GNU is the problem with "GNU/Linux" these days.
  22. Working by Pagey123 · · Score: 1

    Working my ass off...fortunately, or unfortunately. It's better than digging ditches or getting shot at, but sometimes I think, "By god, a shovel would feel good in my hands today."

    1. Re:Working by Minwee · · Score: 1

      "By god, a shovel would feel good in my hands today."

      Unfortunately, the company lawyers still say that educating users that way counts as murder.

    2. Re:Working by Capt.DrumkenBum · · Score: 1

      "By god, a shovel would feel good in my hands today."

      Unfortunately, the company lawyers still say that educating users that way counts as murder.

      Sounds like time to educate a few company lawyers. Ah, what a happy thought.

      --
      If I were God, wouldn't I protect my churches from acts of me?
    3. Re:Working by Pagey123 · · Score: 1

      That's a good point. I hadn't stopped digging long enough to realize the shovel could be put to other uses!

    4. Re:Working by lightBearer · · Score: 1

      It's only murder if it doesn't look self-inflicted.

      --
      - No Bounce, No Play -
    5. Re:Working by operagost · · Score: 1

      PETER
      Ok, will do. This isn't so bad, huh?
      Making bucks, getting exercise, working outside.

      LAWRENCE
      Fuckin' A.

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
  23. Re:The linked article says it's the last day in Ju by lactose99 · · Score: 1

    Should be the last FRIDAY in July

    --
    Fully licensed blockchain psychiatrist
  24. Uhhhh by mpaci1 · · Score: 1

    Yeah, right...Mention that to a user, they'll just laugh. How do I know? It happened.

  25. Giving notice by nadamucho · · Score: 1

    Didn't know it was Sysadmin day, but I, the Sysadmin, am giving notice and moving on to another IT firm.

  26. How to celebrate like a champ. by grub · · Score: 1


    Be a champ: configure your company's squid proxy to replace all images with goatse guy.

    --
    Trolling is a art,
  27. Upgrading by FilmedInNoir · · Score: 1

    To SysAdmin Day v2.03

    --
    Sig. Sig. Sputnik
  28. Re:lets play a game by armanox · · Score: 1

    Where I work we're also the helpdesk team (and network, and phones, and...)

    --
    I'm starting to think GNU is the problem with "GNU/Linux" these days.
  29. Re:lets play a game by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

    Been there, done that. Won't being doing it again.

  30. Interesting times for sysadmins by gmuslera · · Score: 1

    This year they will need your support more than ever. There are several new developments (like Docker) that could change everything they are used to. And they got the nightmare of having a very probable and hardly detectable NSA (and company) intrusion or backdoor in their systems.

    1. Re:Interesting times for sysadmins by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      Containers are not new.
      Silly devs.

  31. More work by spiffmastercow · · Score: 1

    I'm letting him know the build server is offline, and reminding him that I'm still waiting for my VPN access.

  32. Re:lets play a game by Minwee · · Score: 1

    And then, after I do that, I will leave a note saying "Okay, I fixed your personal laptop."

  33. nice surprise by hb253 · · Score: 1

    Wow, pleasant surprise, I thought all sysadmin work was outsourced or H1B'd years ago. Nice to see some locals still at it.

    --
    Self awareness - try it!
  34. Day Off by Princeofcups · · Score: 1

    Home sick, but still on-call, across multiple companies.

    --
    The only thing worse than a Democrat is a Republican.
  35. I'm the whole team by msobkow · · Score: 1

    I'm the whole team for my little pet project and small network of systems. So I guess I'll buy myself a coffee. :P

    --
    I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
  36. By telling my users... by SpTr · · Score: 1

    Today is National Sysadmin Day! THE GREAT E-MAIL GOD ECKS-HANG'E DEMANDS A HUMAN SACRIFICE, lest he block your humorous cat videos. All hail Ecks-Hang'E! F'htagn!

  37. Re:The linked article says it's the last day in Ju by sayno2quat · · Score: 1

    Kind of throws a wrench in the trick question "What months have 28 days in them?".

    --
    Sure I sold you robot insurance. But you were attacked by a cyborg. Not covered.
  38. Not.. by SuperDre · · Score: 1

    It's a BS day... It's your job, just like the person who cleans the toilets, do you see any 'toilet-cleaner-day'? NO, so why should sysadmins (and secretaries) get their own day...

  39. Chocolate by Peter+Simpson · · Score: 1

    We ordered a cake for our guys (and their "Jen"), then called the m to our conference room, one by one. Judging from the silence and lack of leftovers, it was well received!

  40. Re:How about we have "Kick a Sysadmin" day instead by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

    Unless he's a *nix sysadmin who also has a traditional beard. Then that's his ultimate weapon.

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  41. By helping him out! by Shoten · · Score: 1

    I thought I'd make his life easier by getting rid of a lot of unneeded files on my system. There's a whole lot of stuff in C:\Windows that I never seem to use...let's start there!

    --

    For your security, this post has been encrypted with ROT-13, twice.
  42. It's Friday by shuz · · Score: 1

    So not much.

    Expensed out a team lunch dreamed about the day when infrastructure decisions were not made by the PHB's. Also said a little prayer to the DC gods to not have a hardware failure(but I do that everyday).

    --
    There is or can be built a machine that can simulate any physical object. -Church-Turing principle
  43. I'm celebrating because I'm not longer a sysadmin by IANAAC · · Score: 1
    Then again, I get to celebrate all year round.

    I don't miss being in that profession at all. The money was great, but it got to a point that it wasn't enough to compensate for all the 24/7 shit I put up with.

  44. Does any country other than the US celebrate it? by rklrkl · · Score: 1

    I'm in the UK and I can pretty well guarantee that virtually all non-IT people in the UK have never heard of "National Sysadmin Day" (or "Secretaries Day" for that matter). Is there any country other than the US that's heard of it amongst non-IT people? I'm raising all this because the article doesn't mention which countries honour it, so by default that means more than just the US to me. Please don't use "National" in an article title if it means just the US.

  45. Things not to do by shuz · · Score: 1

    deltree c: /autotest
    dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda

    --
    There is or can be built a machine that can simulate any physical object. -Church-Turing principle
  46. Well ... by 3seas · · Score: 1

    is there a way to fake a total system failure? For what better way to recognize a really good Sysadmin but to fake'em out. When they realize the joke, they will know they are recognized.

  47. National Coffee Milkshake Day by drstevep · · Score: 1

    Today is National Sysadmin Day. It is also National Coffee Milkshake Day.

    Coincidence? I think not.

  48. Thank god for cloud hosting by SmallFurryCreature · · Score: 1

    Just the services you need, no sysadmin telling you to use obsolete software versions or complaining that it is hard to upgrade storage or insisting to partition a raid up into small chunks for a server whose database will need all the storage within months but they want to create busy work for themselves by having to change the partitioning every week.

    I flatly refuse to do development anymore on any internal servers no matter how they are handled, it just ain't worth my time. When it comes time to deploy and a sysadmin insists on getting his un-educated paws on it, I write an install script and then hand of ALL responsibility.

    You want to be a respected sysadmin? ENABLE people and stop being the blocker.

    Your typical sysadmin is like the cantine cook who refuses to let people make a meal after hours if they are working overtime. No doubt they are thinking they are just enforcing the rules but they are a hindrance in a company where people want to achieve things.

    A good sysadmin enables what is needed in a safe and sensible way. A bad sysadmin just blocks everything to be safe.

    A classic example is file exchange. Business often needs to exchange large files. A BAD sysadmin (99%) will limit email boxes to 1mb or less and ban 99% if attachments and offer NO other options. Then people hack around the sysadmin to enable them to do business and from that grows a culture to do all sort of stuffs because the boss no longer believes the sysadmin because he had to go around him himself to many times.

    A GOOD sysadmin enables file transfer is a safe responsible way and is then respected and will find other sensible rules obeyed because his co-workers know they are not there to inflate the sysadmins ego but because they make good business sense.

    I have had it so bad that I had to admin remote linux servers over gprs because port 22 was blocked outgoing because the sysadmin insisted all servers were internal and runnings windows. Luckily it was a telco so it didn't cost anything but it was a bit silly. Especially when EVERYONE started using developer sims to hook up their own modems to get around all the restrictions. Office of over 500 people an at least a 100 were using GPRS.

    Good sysadmins enable, bad sysadmins disable.

    Bad sysadmins get replaced with cloud computing and then bitch about immigrants.

    --

    MMO Quests are like orgasms:

    You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.

    1. Re:Thank god for cloud hosting by Sparticus789 · · Score: 1

      I have a feeling that your concept of "enabling" is closer to the concept of "The developer is always right". A good systems administrator will have a firewall running and only allow needed ports (i.e. 22, 80, 443). I have never seen e-mail inboxes limited to 1MB, I think you are either making that up or this is a story from 20 years ago. I would also imagine that your custom install scripts ignore recommended practices in terms of security, because you do not want to type in your 4-letter password each time you need to sudo. You probably have no firewall rules, and I bet that you put the /boot sector on a non-ext* partition, because RAIDs are "cool". Does your custom install script also install tools like tripwire and AV? Probably not, because it would be too much of a hassle. There are more ways to exchange files than I can count. In-house thumb drive, scp, sftp, shared network drive, etc. Why do you have to use e-mail, which generally includes absolute 0 security measures?

      --
      sudo make me a sandwich
  49. Re:How about we have "Kick a Sysadmin" day instead by TWiTfan · · Score: 1

    If he's a *nix sysadmin, he'll probably just let you kill him.

    --
    The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
  50. I like my sysadmin by beschra · · Score: 1

    I'm saddened to see how much animosity there seems to be between developers and sysadmins. I have always gotten along very well with my sysadmins over the years. Not sure what the difference is.

    --
    It is unwise to ascribe motive
  51. I'm celebrating.... by AmazingRuss · · Score: 1

    ... by thanking whatever gods exist that I am no longer a sysadmin.

  52. OP vs Admin by VortexCortex · · Score: 2

    I managed to get my old BBS functioning on an x86 beige box. So, I'm celebrating sysop day by hooking it up to my land line. I've only had a few legit visitors -- friends who recognized the sweet sound of a system ready to serve and managed to dial in.

    It's possible to set the GNU/Linux terminal font to CP437, and browse the board via raw console in all its ANSI art splendor.

    Having my BBS hold all my calls for a day is nicer than getting a few reminders thanks to the lamer who clogged the mail server failing to CC all, and instead sending hundreds of individual messages, Yay sysadmin day!... grr.

  53. and it took an fire that kill people for some fire by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    and it took an fire that kill people for some fire codes to be updated that all stairwell doors must unlock in an fire so you can reenter at any floor

  54. Re:So this is what I walk into this morn at work: by beschra · · Score: 1

    Brutal. Funny, but brutal.

    --
    It is unwise to ascribe motive
  55. Re:and it took an fire that kill people for some f by Synerg1y · · Score: 1

    That's pretty much how most of the fire code's been establish up to this point.

  56. Let's see that new grad likey had an BA / BS CS by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    With loads of theory and limited to no hands on work.
    Now when that boss called you should of said I will talk to you at my consulting rate.

  57. Bastard Operator From Hell by Somebody+Is+Using+My · · Score: 1

    How am I celebrating National SysAdmin Day?

    By re-reading stories from the Bastard Operator From Hell, of course.

    Whether I do this so I may follow in his footsteps or to protect myself from his antics, I'll leave unsaid.

  58. I don't by Tom · · Score: 1

    If I were to celebrate every day that has been nominated by someone as some special something, I wouldn't be getting anything done.

    Sysadmin day is the same bullshit as mothers day or valentines day: If you need a day marked in the calendar to remind you of something, you're not appreciating it, and your show of appreciation (or your celebration) is fake.

    --
    Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
  59. Celebrate with irony. by eldergeek89 · · Score: 1

    Spent more time today looking for a job. Kind of ironic to that on Sysadmin Day I'm still looking for a job in IT. Years of sysadmin experience with Windows, Linux and even Unix, Master's degree, project management experience and even developer experience in most of the buzzword development tools and languages.

    My job went to India four years ago and I'm still looking. Seems like there is a disconnect between jobs that are really available and the claim that businesses need more H1B visa workers. I've been told I'm too old and too experienced. Interviews?

    I've started feeling lucky to even get an acknowledgment of a resume or application. Tired of getting asked "why is someone with your qualifications applying for this job?" - Answer is "I need a paycheck!". I've been applying for all kinds of jobs at levels from entry level to management. Last interview they popped up with a "test" that included questions about their internal procedures and internally developed tools. Obviously it was a "courtesy" interview because you don't ask someone from outside your company "How would you use our custom event log analysis software to track a problem with the Leonides network?" and expect any kind of rational answer. When I asked if I could see some documentation on the software and the network they just said something to the effect of "you're not qualified for this position" and that was the end of the interview.

    There doesn't seem to be anyone hiring experienced IT workers in any category over 35 any in the eastern half of the country. Comparing my experience with some others who worked for the same company and talking to recent graduates in Computer Science and Systems Engineering it seems like the real unemployment rate for IT people in the southeastern US is pushing 20%, especially in the over 35 crowd.

    It's a hell of a way to celebrate a holiday!