Sys Admins, need some suggestions!

S

Shadowssong

[H]ard|Gawd
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Sep 17, 2009
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Hey guys, my system admin class is coming to a close in about 3 weeks and we have to write a final paper. The bulk of the paper is to write about something in the sys admin area that I would like to follow up on. Problem is, I don't really have any ideas of what would be interesting to follow up on, so here I am asking for any opinions. I'm open to whatever, I am willing to do some research/reading but again I just don't know what would be something cool to write about.

The class itself has mostly focused on ESX and some Win2k3 server stuff, but really mostly virtualization (hence why I am posting here).

Here is what the actual assignment writeup says:
3. A system administration topic area that you would like to follow up on. This
should be the bulk of your paper, and should be five to seven (or more if you like
pages). Some suggestions might be:
(a) Writing about a new area such as a new filesystem (e.g. ext4), new
approaches to booting (e.g. upstart), or developments in security.
(b) A well-understood topic such as NFS, server room power provisioning, or
Samba and how it has been recently expanded.
(c) Independent work, where you outline an innovative procedure or thought,
such as a new approach to monitoring a number of computer systems or
even something like a new file system design.
(d) A significant installation project in the lab environment, such as setting up
a three-layer architecture (a.k.a. three tier architecture) service. Please set
up separate virtual machines for these. An example would be setting up an
Asterisk server and some virtual clients.
Click to expand...

Thanks for any help!
 
Compare and contrast different vendor virtualization technologies and how their placement in the data center should be considered. Benefits/Issues/etc

That's me spit balling.
 
i would suggest maybe comparing esx to esxi and how vmware is going to stop using esx in the next generation because they want to remove the COS as a security risk as well as reduce th size of the OS so that it can fit on smaller media and be just as powerful.

you could if u had availible as well setup a VMware view environment as part of D and you could show a multi-tiered environment where you have physical, virtual, and thin client virtual.
 
Not to thread jack, but can you point me to where you got that info. I'd like to read more about it. My google-fu is weak today.
 
its been in vmwares path for long time, to eventually move to esxi.

VMware ESX. VMware vSphere 4.1 and its subsequent update and patch releases are the last releases to include both ESX and ESXi hypervisor architectures. Future major releases of VMware vSphere will include only the VMware ESXi architecture.

http://www.vmware.com/support/vsphere4/doc/vsp_41_new_feat.html

and if u want to know how i know this also check my profile where i work ;)
 
dasaint said:
i would suggest maybe comparing esx to esxi and how vmware is going to stop using esx in the next generation because they want to remove the COS as a security risk as well as reduce th size of the OS so that it can fit on smaller media and be just as powerful.

you could if u had availible as well setup a VMware view environment as part of D and you could show a multi-tiered environment where you have physical, virtual, and thin client virtual.
Click to expand...

Thanks, those are both really great suggestions... I might even go with your first one. I will look into them. Thanks again!
 
dasaint said:
its been in vmwares path for long time, to eventually move to esxi.

VMware ESX. VMware vSphere 4.1 and its subsequent update and patch releases are the last releases to include both ESX and ESXi hypervisor architectures. Future major releases of VMware vSphere will include only the VMware ESXi architecture.

http://www.vmware.com/support/vsphere4/doc/vsp_41_new_feat.html

and if u want to know how i know this also check my profile where i work ;)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the hookup. I used to help run a 2.5 and 3.0 environment a few years ago, and I'm trying to get back into it. Interesting info. Sorry again Shadow for jacking.
 
QHalo said:
Thanks for the hookup. I used to help run a 2.5 and 3.0 environment a few years ago, and I'm trying to get back into it. Interesting info. Sorry again Shadow for jacking.
Click to expand...

lol np im learning shit too! :)
 
If you can't do your own homework, why do you belong in the job market with fake diplomas and certs?



How about that for a paper.
 
Do you know anything about PKE? Active Directory? You could stand up a lab to show how a certificate is used for authentication. You'd need AD and Certificate Authority (could be on same machine), Web Server, and a client (windows xp, vista, 7). Show the chain of trust for the client to hit the web server, and show the SSL connection. Of course you could make this even more worth while if you have access to smard cards and smart card readers.
 
Or you could setup VMs in a lab environment for version control on something like a web server, and maybe a SQL server.

I guess I'd need to know what kind of resources you have access too, as MS licenses might not be supported by your school. Open source solutions might be necessary.

I would suggest you do something with the VM lab so that you gain experience in that type of environment. Writting a report or something
 
Verge said:
If you can't do your own homework, why do you belong in the job market with fake diplomas and certs?



How about that for a paper.
Click to expand...

9.2 years and you troll, nice. Someone obviously needs to give you a hug.

J-Will said:
Do you know anything about PKE? Active Directory? You could stand up a lab to show how a certificate is used for authentication. You'd need AD and Certificate Authority (could be on same machine), Web Server, and a client (windows xp, vista, 7). Show the chain of trust for the client to hit the web server, and show the SSL connection. Of course you could make this even more worth while if you have access to smard cards and smart card readers.
Click to expand...

No @ PKE. I know a little bit about AD, we set up one in our lab but I wouldn't say I am proficient at it yet. Only problem about doing all this hands on stuff is time. Don't get me wrong I would love to do this stuff in an actual lab environment but my classes are way to intense for me to take a ton of time setting up an environment like that. Seems interesting, I might try it during the break between the semesters.

J-Will said:
Or you could setup VMs in a lab environment for version control on something like a web server, and maybe a SQL server.

I guess I'd need to know what kind of resources you have access too, as MS licenses might not be supported by your school. Open source solutions might be necessary.

I would suggest you do something with the VM lab so that you gain experience in that type of environment. Writting a report or something
Click to expand...

Oh don't get me wrong, this whole class is hands on. We have teams of 3 and each team has 3 computers (ESX box, Ubuntu box, XP Box). From there we have our own VM's (I just did a full gentoo buildup, huge pain in the ass) including Win2k3 server, Win7 32/64bit and we are doing a Solaris build tonight.

Thanks so much for your suggestions, I am definitely going to talk to my professor about what he would suggest as well.
 
You could also look into cloud computing. Comparing the role of a system admin 5 years ago compared to today.
 
Vengance_01 said:
You could also look into cloud computing. Comparing the role of a system admin 5 years ago compared to today.
Click to expand...

This is important, with internet connections becoming much cheaper and faster, and servers and software licences remaining expensive, it's becoming increasingly popular for businesses to outsource not only tech support but also all of the servers and as many systems as possible.

Hosted exchange, as well as web based technology is slowly replacing more traditional in house servers and desktop applications. An excess of resources such as highly multi threaded hardware and large hard drives is driving virtulization. Modern systems administrators have to balance the useability, availability, risk and cost of these different methods of working. The role will significantly change over time, even over just 5 years.

Great idea Vengance.

P.S I love being a system administrator, it may not be the most focused job in the world but man do I have a lot of experience with various technology and how it all fits together, a jack of all trades master of none, but in a good way :)
 
content mangement, and access control is a hot topic in DoD right now. As well as DLP - Data Loss Prevention
 
Last edited:
Vengance_01 said:
You could also look into cloud computing. Comparing the role of a system admin 5 years ago compared to today.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll look into this as well!

PrincessFrosty said:
This is important, with internet connections becoming much cheaper and faster, and servers and software licences remaining expensive, it's becoming increasingly popular for businesses to outsource not only tech support but also all of the servers and as many systems as possible.

Hosted exchange, as well as web based technology is slowly replacing more traditional in house servers and desktop applications. An excess of resources such as highly multi threaded hardware and large hard drives is driving virtulization. Modern systems administrators have to balance the useability, availability, risk and cost of these different methods of working. The role will significantly change over time, even over just 5 years.

Great idea Vengance.

P.S I love being a system administrator, it may not be the most focused job in the world but man do I have a lot of experience with various technology and how it all fits together, a jack of all trades master of none, but in a good way :)
Click to expand...

Thanks, yeah I really want to become one now that I have taken this sys admin class. It really has a mix of so many different things, most of which I do in my spare time anyways!

J-Will said:
content mangement, and access control is a hot topic in DoD right now. As well as DPL - Data Loss Prevention
Click to expand...

Thanks I will look into this as well.

I gotta start the paper this weekend so I'll let you guys know what I choose!
 
How virtualization has pushed along the business continuity process and made DR scenarios an easier reality
 
Thanks everyone for your suggestions but I think I am going to look into cloud computing. I don't know much about it and I would like to learn so I think this paper would help me learn a lot about it. Unless anyone has any objections to this?

Thanks again so much everyone!!!
 
I talked to my professor and he agreed that cloud computing would be a good topic so thats what I settled on. Thanks to Vengance_01 for that suggestion and everyone else who contributed!!
 
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