Simple Systems Administrators Toolbox

“Over the years I’ve come to appreciate the value of simplicity
in systems administration. The more simple a setup is, the more
likely it will be stable and easy to fix and maintain. If a setup
is so complicated that it takes serious brainpower just to
comprehend, chances are that there is going to be something wrong
somewhere. Obviously, systems administrators have been dealing with
complexity for a long time, and the basic sysadmin toolbox reflects
the lean towards keeping it simple.

“My toolbox is very plain Jane, and for a reason. It’s basic
because these are the tools that get the job done on every
Unix-like platform available. Everything I’ve come to rely on is
open source, even on proprietary platforms like AIX. If there’s a
part of my toolbox missing, I’ll download the package or source and
make sure it’s available. Here’s what’s in my sysadmin’s
toolbox:”

Complete
Story