RE: Systems Admin Checklist

This can be a difficult subject as the answer is more dependant on your own
environment than anything else.  The iSeries was originally designed to run
in a "set it and forget it" environment so they can often run reliably for
years with minimal administration.

At a minimum the SysAdmin should develop and maintain a valid Backup (and
Restore) strategy, and monitor DASD and performance for capacity planning.
If you have more than a few active users you will need to develop and
maintain a security policy.  If you are running a production "cycle" or
actively developing applications you'll need to know which software products
your application uses and the PTF's required for them.  Cumulative PTF
packages and group PTF's simplify this considerably but you should be aware
of your O/S and PTF levels and keep them reasonably current.

Certainly you could write a program to check the history log for specific
messages, but it would be very easy to miss something important and there
are better tools available.  (And how many out there have heard the stories
about people who forgot to enter their license keys after an upgrade, and
seventy days later when some or all of the system quits working say, "I
never saw the message..."  Learn to use Operation Navigator, it has the
capability to monitor jobs, DASD, CPU, etc. and can send you a message or a
page when designated situations occur.  WRKPRB and the PAL logs might show
you problems you never even knew you had.

The iSeries System Administration certification test objectives are listed
here:
http://www-1.ibm.com/certify/tests/obj355.shtml

Regards,

Scott Ingvaldson
iSeries System Administrator
GuideOne Insurance Group

-----Original Message-----
date: Sun, 25 Apr 2004 14:06:08 -0700 (PDT)
from: Mike Berman <mikeba777@xxxxxxxxx>
subject: Systems Admin Checklist

HI I am looking for an idea of what the Systems admin should be doing on a
daily or weekly basis, in order to ensure that the system is healthy, and to
measure any changes to the system, that could require a reaction. 
 
One thing I mentioned earlier was to run a program to check the history log.
I am looking for any other tips and established Best-Practices that you are
familiar with.

Thank you,
Mike
   
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