Labeling: Physical assets should be labeled with identifying information such as a serial number, asset tag, or barcode for easy tracking and identification.
Warranty: Keeping track of warranty information for servers and other hardware can help ensure that repairs or replacements are covered if they are needed.
Leased vs. owned devices: For assets that are leased or rented, it is important to keep track of contract terms and renewal dates.
Life-cycle management: This involves tracking the procurement, usage, end-of-life, and disposal or recycling of assets.
Inventory: Keeping an up-to-date inventory of assets is important for planning and budgeting purposes. It should include information such as the make, model, serial number, and location of each asset.
Effective asset management can help organizations reduce costs, improve security, and increase efficiency by ensuring that their hardware and software assets are being used effectively and efficiently throughout their entire lifecycle.
Documentation management
Documentation management is an essential aspect of server administration that involves the creation, maintenance, and updating of documents related to the server infrastructure. The following are some of the documents that need to be managed:
1. Updates: This document provides information about the latest updates to the server operating system, firmware, and drivers. It should include information on the update process and any issues that may arise during the update.
2. Service manuals: These documents contain information on the hardware and software components of the server, including configuration settings, troubleshooting tips, and maintenance procedures.
3. Architecture diagrams: These diagrams provide an overview of the server infrastructure, including network topology, hardware components, and software applications.
4. Infrastructure diagrams: These diagrams provide a more detailed view of the server infrastructure, including physical and logical components, connections, and dependencies.
5. Workflow diagrams: These diagrams illustrate the flow of data and processes in the server infrastructure, including backups, data transfers, and system monitoring.
6. Recovery processes: This document provides information on disaster recovery procedures, including backup and restore processes, data replication, and failover procedures.
7. Baselines: These documents provide a snapshot of the server infrastructure at a particular point in time, including configuration settings, performance metrics, and security settings.
8. Change management: This document provides information on any changes made to the server infrastructure, including the reason for the change, the impact on the system, and the approval process.
9. Server configurations: This document provides detailed information on the server configurations, including hardware and software components, operating system settings, and security settings.
Company policies and procedures
Company policies and procedures are a set of guidelines, rules, and protocols that an organization establishes to ensure consistent and appropriate behavior and actions by its employees. When it comes to server administration, policies and procedures are critical in maintaining the health and availability of servers and the data they host.
Here are some common policies and procedures related to server administration:
Business impact analysis (BIA): A BIA is an assessment of the potential effects of a disruption to business operations. In the context of server administration, a BIA can help identify critical systems, processes, and data, and assess the impact of downtime or data loss.
Mean time between failure (MTBF): MTBF is the average time between failures of a system or component. This metric can be useful in assessing the reliability of server hardware and identifying potential areas of concern.
Mean time to recover (MTTR): MTTR is the average time it takes to restore a failed system or component to operational status. This metric can help assess the effectiveness of recovery procedures and identify areas for improvement.
Recovery point objective (RPO): RPO is the maximum amount of data loss that can be tolerated in the event of a disaster or outage. This metric can help determine the frequency of backups and the appropriate backup and recovery solutions.
Recovery time objective (RTO): RTO is the maximum allowable downtime for a system or process. This metric can help determine the appropriate recovery procedures and solutions.
Service level agreement (SLA): An SLA is a formal agreement between a service provider and a customer that specifies the level of service expected and the consequences of failing to meet those expectations. In the context of server administration, an SLA can help ensure that service levels are met and appropriate remedies are in place in case of a breach.
Uptime requirements: Uptime requirements are the amount of time a system or process must be available for use. In the context of server administration, uptime requirements can help determine the appropriate level of redundancy, backup and recovery solutions, and maintenance procedures to ensure that servers are available when needed.
Document availability
Document availability is the ability for authorized personnel to access and retrieve necessary documents in a timely manner. It is important to ensure that documentation is easily accessible when required, but also protected from unauthorized access.
Secure storage of sensitive documentation
Secure storage of sensitive documentation involves ensuring that sensitive information is stored in a secure location with limited access, both physically and electronically. Physical documents should be kept in locked cabinets or rooms, and electronic documents should be encrypted and password protected. Access should be limited to only authorized personnel who require the information for their job duties. Regular backups of sensitive documentation should also be performed and stored in a secure location to ensure availability in the event of a disaster.
Licensing
Licensing refers to the legal agreement between the software vendor and the end-user that allows the end-user to use the software. In simpler terms, it is the process of obtaining permission to use a particular software legally.
Software licenses can be either proprietary or open source. Proprietary licenses are restrictive licenses that are granted by the software vendor, which restrict the user from accessing or modifying the software's source code. In contrast, open-source licenses are permissive licenses that allow the user to access and modify the software's source code.
Licensing can also involve payment of fees or royalties to the software vendor, depending on the type of license agreement.
