System administration is about the design, running and maintenance of human-computer systems. Examples of human-computer systems include business enterprises, service institutions and any extensive machinery that is operated by, or interacts with human beings. System administration is often thought of as the technological side of a system: the architecture, construction and optimization of the collaborating parts, but it also occasionally touches on softer factors such as user assistance (help desks), ethical considerations in deploying a system, and the larger implications of its design for...

Network and system administration usually refers to the skill of keeping computers and networks running properly. But in truth, the skill needed is that of managing complexity. This book describes the science behind these complex systems, independent of the actual operating systems they work on.

It provides a theoretical approach to systems administration that:

• saves time in performing common system administration tasks.
• allows safe utilization of untrained and trained help in maintaining mission-critical systems.
• allows efficient and safe centralized...

Researchneedsideas, discourseandexperimentationinordertothrive, butmore than ever we are expected to make researchimmediately relevant and available to society and the world of commerce. Of these three poles (ideas, discourse and experimentation), ideas lie farthest from a ?nished product, and it is therefore ideas that are most easily left behind in the rush to catch the gravy train. The pressure to prioritize applications rather than understanding hinders researchers from thinking deeply about problems, and in the worst case prevents us from truly understanding and innovating. The ?rst...