System Administration

Additional to my main role as a developer I also helped out the IT manager Paul Strawhorne with the System administration duties. I had developed skills in Windows administration and Linux administration from previous role and saw an opportunity to use my skill to provide support to the IT manager.

 

I used my Linux skills to help modify and update the cron jobs that had not been touched since the last developer had left. When I noticed that there was no method of recording bugs I discussed this with my IT manager and this lead to me researching for a bug management solution. I ended up deciding on Redmine and hosting it on the same server as the live website to save on additional costs for Terramar Networks. To do this on a CentOS Linux server required me to install ruby, ruby on rails and to then install mod_passenger to have it run from apache.   

 

I also monitored error logs on the Linux server to help me to debug problems that occurred on the web server and to pass on the information to the IT manager for recommendations.  One of the major problems that I discovered was an issue with memory usage and the web server running out of resources. By liaising with both Rackspace (hosting provider) and the IT manager the decision was made for the migration to a new web server.

 

I used my Windows Skills to help me debug problems that occurred on the network such as Internet not being available or if there was a problem with a printer. In my previous roles I was responsible for managing user accounts within active directory. On one occasion when the IT manager was not available and a non technical colleague had forgotten there password I was able to reset there password and allow them access to their computer by using active directory.  

 

One of my achievements in Terramar Networks was during the Rackspace migration of the web server from a CentOS 32bit Linux server to a CentOS 64bit Linux server.  The original server had been in place for over 5 years and several developers had been working on the site since then.  So to do this I had to know everything about the site. I had already made sure that the code was consistent by using svn to create a release build for the source code this had been tested already on the existing server and so could deploy it to the new server in same way, I also had to check all the existing reports and the icon generation functionality was working. This involved creating cron jobs, modifying folder permission and checking log files to ensure everything was working and not causing errors.  The old server was kept running in Rackspace for 2 weeks in case a roll back was required, after the 2 weeks where up it was turned off as no problems had occurred on the new server.

 

My own computer dual boots between Ubuntu Linux and Windows XP as this allows me both to work on Windows and Linux System Administration and helps me to be an all rounder within an IT department.