11 System Administration Unix’s Hidden Cost If the automobile had followed the same development as the com- puter, a Rolls-Royce would today cost $100, get a million miles per gallon, and explode once a year killing everyone inside. —Robert Cringely, InfoWorld All Unix systems require a System Administrator, affectionately known as a Sysadmin. The sysadmin’s duties include: • Bringing the system up. • Installing new software. • Administrating user accounts. • Tuning the system for maximum performance. • Overseeing system security. • Performing routine backups. • Shutting down the system to install new hardware. • Helping users out of jams. A Unix sysadmin’s job isn’t fundamentally different from sysadmins who oversee IBM mainframes or PC-based Novell networks. But unlike these

222 System Administration other operating systems, Unix makes these tasks more difficult and expen- sive than other operating systems do. The thesis of this chapter is that the economics of maintaining a Unix system is very poor and that the overall cost of keeping Unix running is much higher than the cost of maintaining the hardware that hosts it. Networked Unix workstations require more administration than standalone Unix workstations because Unix occasionally dumps trash on its net- worked neighbors. According to one estimate, every 10-25 Unix worksta- tions shipped create at least one full-time system administration job, making system administration a career with a future. Of course, a similar network of Macs or PCs also requires the services of a person to perform sysadmin tasks. But this person doesn’t spend full time keeping everything running smoothly, keeping Unix’s entropy level down to a usable level. This person often has another job or is also a consultant for many applica- tions. Some Unix sysadmins are overwhelmed by their jobs. date: wed, 5 jun 91 14:13:38 edt from: bruce howard bhoward@citi.umich.edu to: unix-haters subject: my story over the last two days i’ve received hundreds and hundreds of “your mail cannot be delivered as yet” messages from a unix uucp mailer that doesn’t know how to bounce mail properly. i’ve been assaulted, insulted, frustrated, and emotionally injured by sendmail processes that fail to detect, or worse, were responsible for generating various of the following: mail loops, repeated unknown error number 1 mes- sages, and mysterious and arbitrary revisions of my mail headers, including all the addresses and dates in various fields. unix keeps me up for days at a time doing installs, reinstalls, refor- mats, reboots, and apparently taking particular joy in savaging my file systems at the end of day on friday. my girlfriend has left me (muttering “hacking is a dirty habit, unix is hacker crack”) and i’ve forgotten where my shift key lives. my expressions are no longer reg- ular. despair is my companion. i’m begging you, help me. please.