No more hiding in the server room

What makes a great sysadmin?

"Sorry to disturb you Bob. Can I install iTunes on my computer please?", I ask Bob, our sysadmin.

"Of course!" Bob replies. "Why don't I do it for you?"

"And the Internet's a bit slow at the moment."

Bob puts down his sandwich. "That's a bit strange. Which web site were you trying to reach?," he asks, and comes over to my computer. Bob starts typing. Ping, tracert, ipconfig - strange sysadmin language that means nothing to me. "You see, what I'm doing is I'm trying to work out where about the problem is in the network. Aha! Looks like Redstone - that's our ISP - is having problems with one of their routers. Let me give them a call."

Bob turns round. And then I realise that it's not Bob I've been talking to, it's Angelina Jolie. I look down and I'm wearing no clothes. And I shouldn't be at work - I've got an exam to go to.

Damn! It's all been a dream.

Until the last bit, I could have been talking to one of the Red Gate sysadmins - they're a fantastic bunch, smart, patient, friendly hard working people. And I'm sure you fall into that category too.

But for many end users - and this is based on past experience at previous workplaces, and from talking to other users - the description of my dream will remain just that - a dream. All too often, the real world answer to the questions I asked my friendly, fictional sysadmin will be "iTunes? Of course you can't install freaking iTunes" and "Slow. What do you mean slow? Works fine on my computer."

For me, an end user, what distinguishes a great sysadmin from a merely competent one is attitude. Technical skills are easy, problem solving ability is harder, but it's great attitude that's truly rare. And a lot of technical people - not just sysadmins - don't see this. They don't understand that the reason they're not getting promoted isn't because their Exchange 2007 skills are poor, or because they haven't got their MCSE yet. It's because, frankly, they hate their users and it shows.

What do you think makes a great sysadmin? Post here ...

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Comment by John McGrath on February 20, 2009 at 1:36pm: Communication is the key to a positive experience with customers. We have all ran into the customer that states "but doing 'X' works at home, why doesn't it work here?" or calls for everything that does not "look right" on their PC.

When the IT staff communicates in a cordial, polite manner to customers, your customers are willing to trust that when a big issue comes up (network outage, apps servers failing to communicate), that you are on the job, getting it resolved.

I am constantly surprised at some of the intelligent IT people that I have worked with that don't have the customer service skills that make up a significant part of our jobs.

Comment by Shane Corellian on February 20, 2009 at 9:08pm: A great Sys Admin will not only have the technical knowledge needed to do the job but he will also have:

- The knowledge that he doesn't know everything and will admit when he doesn't know. By recognizing this he will have an easier time expanding his knowledge and expertise.
- The ability to see the world through non-Sys Admin eyes.
- Excellent communication and a willingness to actually use it.
- Be a part of the team, not outside of it. Get involved with all of the departments and users that he supports. He needs to understand their business needs and goals. These needs and goals are now part of the Administrators highest priorities.
- Realizes that the user is not in the way of him doing HIS job but actually the other way around.
- Hygiene. Gravy stains should not be visible on the same shirt for 13 consecutive days.

Comment by John McGrath on February 20, 2009 at 10:02pm: 13 days?!? is that a hard and fast rule?
:-D

Comment by Craig on February 21, 2009 at 3:03am: yeah, 12 days is ok!

Comment by Shane Corellian on February 24, 2009 at 7:53pm: Sorry, 13 days is hard and fast. I can't bend this one... trust me, I've tried

Comment by Haralambos Mavromatidis on February 26, 2009 at 3:22pm: A sysadmin fixes problems.
A good sysadmin prevents problems.
A great sysadmin educates users without belittling them and evangelizes best practices - then finds a place like this to vent.

Comment by David Mackintosh on February 26, 2009 at 7:03pm: I can't install Itunes on your computer because your neighbour installed a BitTorrent client on his (but of course will deny doing anything when questioned about it), which incidentally is why the internet is slow.

Comment by Steven on March 17, 2009 at 6:26pm: I spent 14 years in marketing before making the move to being a full time I.T. person. I'd say a lot of my job boils down to sales. The users are the customers and I was taught that the customer is always right, and if the customer isn't right you need to convince them (sell them) on the right way of seeing things. Not shove it down their throats with a snarl. (And no... I'm not always successful, sometimes the snarl is far too emotionally gratifying!)

What everyone said is right... down to the gravy stains... but I'd add master motivator and salesman.

Comment by Thomas Stensitzki on March 25, 2009 at 11:31am: I totally agree with Haralambos.
But becoming a great sysadmin is a tough job to do.

What makes a great sysadmin?

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