The area of information technology grows every year, making this market quite promising. After all, all companies need the support of professionals in the area, regardless of their size or industry.

However, many countries suffer from a shortage of qualified professionals capable of working in the development of systems and the protection of sensitive data. 

We know many positions have emerged recently with evolution, while others continue to maintain their relevance over the years. This is the case with SysAdmin.

In this article, we will show you what is a SysAdmin and how this professional works. To facilitate your understanding, we divided our text into topics. These are:

1. What Is a SysAdmin?
2. What Does a SysAdmin Do?
3. How Important Is This Professional?
4. DevOps X SysAdmin: What Is the Difference?
5. How to Become a SysAdmin?
6. Main Tools Used by a SysAdmin
7. About senhasegura
8. Conclusion

Enjoy the read!

1. What Is a SysAdmin?

Also known as a system administrator, this professional is responsible for maintaining, configuring, and operating computer systems with many servers and users.

In practice, a SysAdmin should ensure that computers work securely and perform well.

To achieve this goal, it is possible to install elements that optimize the corporate routine. It may also be necessary to provide technical support and resolve any incidents.

2. What Does a SysAdmin Do?

When we talk about system administrator infrastructure, we think about several activities inherent to the SysAdmin role. Here are some tasks performed by this professional:

• Remaining available to update software and restore corrupted databases;
• Installing servers for websites and operating systems in a secure manner, ensuring the operation of each software, and performing backups to provide more security to data and resources;
• Being available if there is any incident, such as an email server crash;
• Installing routers and cables, configuring networks and firewalls, and guiding traffic to bring the internet to devices;
• Preventing threats such as viruses, malware, spyware, and spam, as well as dealing with events such as power outages, floods, and fires;
• Ensuring the operation of the devices in functional networks;
• Planning, repairing, and protecting computer networks.

3. How Important Is This Professional?

Now that we have shown what is a SysAdmin and what are the functions performed by this professional, check why they are indispensable within an organization:

• To have access to the internet, one needs to install a network, but the networks often have common problems, such as internet with low speed and Wi-Fi that does not work. These issues are resolved by a SysAdmin.
• Ensuring the digital security of your company is essential to avoid problems such as leaks and breaches that can cause great financial losses and loss of credibility. A SysAdmin ensures all your employees access the IT environment with the necessary protection.
• Several responsibilities related to the company’s system are assigned to a SysAdmin, including reviewing network infrastructure, monitoring software and antivirus, analyzing internet bandwidth, and resolving security threats.
• It is important to explain in a clear and didactic way how computers and networks work for people who have doubts related to the topic. After all, when a problem occurs, these professionals are usually questioned and can confuse the interlocutor if they use excessively technical terms.

4. DevOps X SysAdmin: What Is the Difference?

DevOps does not consist of a specific solution or a role occupied by an IT professional, but rather a set of methods used by developers and operators to deliver software efficiently. 

Thus, it resembles a philosophy, as well as the Agile concept, which advocates for a joint and cooperative operation of the IT team. 

On the other hand, a SysAdmin is the professional responsible for maintaining, configuring, and operating computer systems, especially servers.

Now you may be wondering, how the mistaken DevOps X SysAdmin comparison came about. 

In fact, the word DevOps has been widely used in the world of technology, often outside the proper context. Moreover, many companies that want to save money by hiring just one DevOps engineer to handle everything on their own have popularized the misuse of the term.

5. How to Become a SysAdmin?

If you want to know how to become a SysAdmin, keep reading this article. In the topics below, we show you the main skills this professional must have:

• Extensive Knowledge of Operating Systems

It is essential to have skills in the operating system used by the company where you intend to work, which can be Windows, Linux, or Mac. Windows and Linux are the ideal systems to start with, as they have been adopted by many organizations, but we recommend that you find out which operating system is adopted by your corporation.

• Understand Hardware

It is also imperative to be familiar with the hardware, such as printers and servers, as dealing with this equipment is part of the routine of a SysAdmin. 

• Ability to Handle Cloud Computing

Cloud computing services have become part of companies’ routine, especially after many joined remote work, which was driven by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Therefore, anyone who wants to be hired to take on the role of a SysAdmin must necessarily have the ability to handle cloud applications such as Office365, Google Apps, and AWS.

• Ability to Set Up Networks

Knowing how to set up local networks, long-distance networks, and network security features are skills expected of a SysAdmin, especially in small businesses where IT professionals take on numerous roles.

• Communication

In addition to their technical skills, a SysAdmin should be able to guide company employees who request their support frequently. For this, they must be able to communicate clearly, especially with people who do not have the same level of technical knowledge. 

6. Main Tools Used by a SysAdmin

Here are some of the main tools a SysAdmin uses in their daily life:

• WireShark

It is a tool that monitors network traffic and can be used on various platforms, such as MAC OS X, Windows, and Linux systems. As an advantage, it offers filtering features to allow one to track problems that may arise.

WireShark is one of the most popular Windows system management tools in many industries, including education.

• Microsoft Message Analyzer

Like WireShark, Microsoft Message Analyzer makes it possible to analyze network traffic. In addition, it allows one to establish a relationship between the actions performed by each installed application with what is happening on the network.

• Puppet

This tool makes the work of a SysAdmin easier, who needs to manage settings on multiple servers.

With it, one can keep the servers organized without the need to access them individually and make adjustments. 

• Notepad ++

It is an advanced, fast, and lightweight text editor, ideal for working with large files. Because it is customizable, it is also excellent for those who work with coding. 

Its features include: shortcut keys aimed at advanced functions, custom highlighting of code synthesis, and split-screen editing.

• CloneZilla

Free of charge, this IT tool is used to clone individual disks and hard drives, and generate images of them for later restoration if there are problems with the cloned disk. 

Also, it has features such as parallel multi-machine upgrades, single-machine restore, and backup and is ideal for use by school system administrators.

• Terminator

Here, we are talking about a GNU/Linux endpoint, which makes it possible to split the window to perform a job without having to open several tabs. Another important benefit of this tool is its plugins, which facilitate the routine of a SysAdmin.

• Sysinternals Suite 

This solution has more than 40 tools and is used to troubleshoot Windows machines. 

One of its features is System Monitor, which adds detailed data to the Windows event log, improving its functionality. Another very useful feature is Autoruns, which detects which tools are starting automatically.

• RSAT Tools for Windows 10

This set of tools includes Server Manager, Microsoft Management Console, and Windows Power Shell cmdlets, among others.

In practice, they are features that enable administrators to manage functions in Windows Servers remotely, providing more security to the system.

7. About senhasegura

We, from senhasegura, are part of the MT4 Tecnologia group, and aim to provide cybersecurity and digital sovereignty to our customers.

Today, we work with institutions from 54 countries, acting against data theft and tracking actions on servers, databases, network administrators, and devices in general. 

With this, we can provide efficiency and productivity to organizations, as we avoid interruptions of their activities by expiration, in addition to ensuring compliance with audit criteria and standards, such as PCI DSS, Sarbanes-Oxley, ISO 27001, and HIPAA.

8. Conclusion

By reading this article, you saw that: 

• A SysAdmin ensures the secure and efficient operation of their company;
• This professional works to prevent serious failures and minor problems;
• They prevent security breaches, system failures, and other losses and know when it is time to upgrade a system.
• DevOps and SysAdmin are not synonymous: the first refers to a philosophy, the second to a function;
• To become a SysAdmin, you need to present deep knowledge of operating systems, hardware understanding, the ability to handle cloud computing services and set up networks, as well as communicative skills.

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