Re: [SAGE] Programmers as.. sysadmins..

[sage@xxxxxxxxxxx]

Hi,

I haven't seen very many good sysadmins.
I haven't seen very many good programmers.
Of those that I have seen, the good sysadmins were also good programmers.

Rich.

On Wed, 30 Jan 2008, Dustin Puryear wrote:

> I was having a conversation the other day with a friend that works for a 
> decently sized software/services shop that works almost strictly for the 
> government. They were looking for a Linux sysadmin (they only ever have one, 
> even though they have quite a few Linux and Solaris servers).
>
> Generally their sysadmin helps manage the applications running on the 
> servers, but a lot of the sysadmin work on the Linux and Solaris boxes 
> (testing and production) are done by the programmers.
>
> I noted "Programmers make the worst sysadmins." He didn't quite get my 
> meaning.
>
> So, my question: Have you found, in your experience, that programmers make 
> bad sysadmins? I have. I'm not saying that all programmers are bad sysadmins, 
> or that PAST programmers make bad CURRENT sysadmins, but that CURRENT 
> programmers almost always make bad CURRENT sysadmins, even if small settings.
>
> Some reasons I've found this to be true:
>
> o programmers want to get the job done, and taking short-cuts on the server 
> often comes into play.
> o programmers don't seem to get it when it comes to managing more than one 
> box.
> o programmers treat a UNIX server like they treat their home Linux box.
> o etc.
>
> The thing is, I see this in A LOT of sites, although it tends to happen more 
> often in smaller tech-focused companies.
>
> Thoughts?
>
> P.S. Yes, I know that "it depends on the person". I'm generalizing, but I'm 
> also saying that my generalization tends to be correct on this point. ;)

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