Edit: The infocenter link is a blast from the past. I edited the user group link. I also edited the link to the irc and usenet article, although there is much more there as well.
Originally posted July 29, 2008 on AIXchange
Writing this blog is interesting. I hear from people with many different backgrounds, and from many different places. Some readers are brand new to AIX (having recently come from other UNIX flavors), while others have been around AIX from the start. Some are part of very large enterprises with multiple locations, hundreds of machines and teams of people. Others work in small businesses that might have one or two critical servers.
While there are commonalities to every administrator’s job–you need to know how to patch, upgrade, and manage the machines from day to day–a lot of what you do depends on the type organization you work for.
In large organizations powered by enterprise-class machines, IT personnel may be specialized and devoted to specific areas. They want to read about topics that cover things like networking, storage, best practices or disaster recovery. In a smaller shop, fewer people handle multiple roles. In fact, the Windows admin and the AIX admin may well be the same person. For these AIX professionals, the interest in areas like networking and SANs may be even greater, since they’re the ones supporting it all.
Security should be a focus in all organizations. Of course, it’s harder to be confident that your machines are secure and set up properly when they’re the first and only AIX machines that you’ve ever seen. Things that seasoned administrators take for granted may not be done according to best practices in a smaller shop with less skilled personnel.
I like sending new administrators to the Information Center, but there’s a difference between reading about things and doing them over and over in a production environment.
Another way you can get help is to get involved with or start a user group in your area.
For newer admins and the guys in the smaller shops, user groups can provide great opportunities to get information and advice from more seasoned professionals. Most people I know are willing to help out someone who’s looking for help, especially when the person asking the question has already put some effort into finding the answer.
Two other good resources are Usenet and IRC.
Here’s a final piece of advice: Someone once told me, turn off the TV and use that time to study. Even if you only do it a couple times a week, you’ll be amazed at what you can get done. Nobody knows everything. Sometimes doing the same things the same way over a period of years makes you reluctant to learn new things. Staying current requires effort. Regardless of your environment, you can know as much as you want, depending on what you’re willing to put into it. Put in the effort, and you’ll quickly gain the necessary skills to do the job.