Questions asking for best practices in a given field. Be aware, that sometimes there might be no generally accepted best practices, in which case the question is likely to be closed for being subjective.
Questions tagged [best-practices]
351 questions
96
votes
18 answers
What sysadmin things should every programmer know?
As a programmer, we tend to take sysadmins for granted. The few times I've been without a good sysadmin have really made me appreciate what you guys do. When we're venturing into an environment without a sysadmin, what words of wisdom can you…
Nathan DeWitt
- 1,344
40
votes
15 answers
Should I keep my ex-employer's data?
Following my brief reign as System Monkey, I am now faced with a dilemma:
I did successfully create a backup and a test VM, both on my laptop, as no computer at work had enough free disk space. I didn't delete the backup yet, as it's still the only…
György Andrasek
- 615
23
votes
9 answers
A partner wants a copy of our written IT security policy and I'm not sure what to do
My company is working with another company and as part of the contract they are requesting a copy of my company's written IT Security Policy. I don't have a written IT security policy, and I'm not exactly sure what I want to give to them. We're a…
reconbot
- 2,455
17
votes
9 answers
What is the system administration equivalent to dogfooding?
Software developers have the concept of "dogfooding", which is where they personally use the software that they are developing, often on a regular basis. For some projects, the direct interaction it provides can be invaluable in debugging the…
Nic
- 13,545
7
votes
2 answers
As an admin, what tools do you use to log what you do to your boxes?
I am more of a linux applications developer than an admin. Over time, I've built servers and maintained them, sometimes to offer services, mostly just to develop the applications I work on.
Way back when I would create a file in my account to keep…
Jerry Asher
- 238
- 1
- 7
6
votes
8 answers
System administration standard
I have been given the responsibility to manage a team of 4 system admins. They are managing 70+ servers. They don't yet have written processes/procedures/practices. I don't much about system administration. Is there a standard which we can follow to…
newbie
- 93
4
votes
3 answers
New Server hardware verification tests
Is there any kind of best practice when it comes to verifying the hardware of a new server, before putting it into production?
For instance, running it through the manufacturer's hardware test, or running memtest on it for x amount of hours?
-Josh
Josh Brower
- 1,669
2
votes
0 answers
Installing consumer software on a server
I am in need of a simple low-maintenance off-site backup solution for one or more Windows servers. I have had great success using some consumer-grade backup software that allows me to backup files from one PC to another through the Internet. I've…
Phil
- 1,013
1
vote
7 answers
Employee no longer with the company
When an employee is fired or let go, it is critical to disable their accounts and access to resources immediately. How do you handle this at your organization?
Brett G
- 2,023
0
votes
1 answer
Should I create a new user for each web app?
I have a VPS and I'm trying to gather the best practices in terms of user setup for web services.
I have different services in my server (a cloud app, a streaming app, etc).
What I do know is that I create a user for each service, each one having…
Creak
- 101