I don’t need to tell you this, but system administration is a critical piece of maintaining your company’s IT infrastructure. And I’m sure you know better than anyone that there’s no shortage of system administration tasks. From managing user accounts to setting up network devices, your system admins have a lot on their plate. It’s obvious to anyone how automating a few of their tasks can be a huge help.
As technology evolves, so does the enterprise environment. The scale of IT systems continues to grow and become even more complex, which in and of itself is difficult for system administrators. Not only are they expected to manage their current environments, but they are also to learn new tools and systems that can improve their company’s overall infrastructure.
In this article, I want to provide a basic understanding of how to automate system administration tasks. I’ll also explain the benefits of automating them and which tasks you shouldn’t try to automate.
Benefits of automating system administration tasks
To the general public, automation is scary. It’s potentially going to replace jobs. But maybe that’s the wrong way to look at it. Automation has the potential to be one of the best tools for system administrators.
There are so many great benefits to automating tasks. Here are just a few of them:
1. Better efficiency
The best types of tasks to automate are the ones that are repetitive and time-consuming. When you’re able to get those off of your system admin’s plate, they can handle more tasks, and some that are even bigger, making your entire IT team even more efficient.
2. Reduced human error
Everyone makes mistakes. After all, to err is human, right? But what happens if the task isn’t being done by a human at all? Automation lowers the chance of human interaction, therefore, reduces the chance of human error, too. Automation can all but guarantee that tasks are completed consistently and accurately.
3. Scalability
When your system administrators don’t have to worry about the tasks that are automated, then they’re able to focus on more important issues — those that can have a more significant impact on your business, allowing your team to maintain larger-scale systems without having to add personnel.
4. Improved security
Automation is able to do things your average IT person can’t. A great example of this is monitoring your network activity. It would be a waste of resources to pay a person to scan the network 24/7. Even if you did that, there’s no way they could monitor an entire infrastructure simultaneously. Whereas automation is able to do that and notify when there’s something that needs human eyes to look at.
5. Lifting team morale
Let’s be honest, dealing with mundane issues day in and day out can be exhausting for anybody. But when those tasks are automated, your system administrators can work on the projects they’re invested in or even explore new technology to improve your environment.
How to automate system administration tasks
Before you jump into automating all of your system admin tasks, there are a few decisions to make. Take a look at this list, and once you have these things answered, then you’ll be well on your way to automating tasks:
- Identify tasks that can be automated. Before automating tasks, it is essential to evaluate which ones are prime candidates. Typically, the best ones are repetitive and prone to human error. Or maybe you want to have some automated tasks in Linux.
- Choose the right tools. There are a ton of automation tools available. You’ll need to do some research on things like simple scripting languages or configuration management tools. You’ll want to pick the tools that align with your team’s skill set and meet your company’s needs.
- Develop and test everything. After you’re set up with your tools, now it’s time to create your scripts and configuration files. It’s best to try them out in a sandbox environment, so you avoid any disruptions to your company.
- Implement version control. Use a version control system to help you track changes in your scripts or configurations. This practice will help you maintain a history of changes and roll back to older versions if needed.
Once you’ve done all of that and your automation is implemented, the work’s not done. It’s a good idea to regularly review and update your automation files. You never know when an update or security patch might interfere with them.
System administration tasks you shouldn’t automate
It’s easy to get excited about automation and want to use it for everything. But there are some limitations to it. Automation is not the right tool for every situation. Here are just a few that come to mind:
- High-level decision-making. The thing to remember is that automation cannot replace critical thinking and problem-solving skills. High-level decisions, like architecture design or complex troubleshooting, should be left to human experts.
- Tasks involving personal data. Tasks that handle sensitive data, such as managing user passwords, can pose a huge security risk and be a liability for organizations.
- Infrequent tasks. If you’re only performing a task once or twice, then automating it might not be worth it. In all likelihood, it will probably take you longer to automate it than just do the task manually.
Automation is a helpful and incredibly resourceful tool for system administrators. It can help them improve their efficiency while at the same time reducing human errors. Harnessing the power of automation is truly a win-win for everybody. There are benefits not just for your company but for your IT team, too.
However, it is important to remember that automation is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Some tasks are best left for humans to do. Striking the right balance between automation and manual design is when you’ll optimize your team’s performance. Hopefully, after reading this article, you’re feeling more confident in automation and ready to jump in.
