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Shauna Iannone is looking for a few definitions. A few educated guesses:
Configuration Management: what components are installed, the relationships
between them, hardware and software requirements.
System Administration: how to keep things running smoothly and how to know
whether they're running smoothly; dealing with all those annoying users who
do their best to stop the system from running smoothly.
Security Administration: how to make sure that users can only see the
information and access the functions that they've been granted access to,
how to make sure you don't lose the whole tamale to a virus or a hacker,
etc.
System Backup and Restore vs. Archive and Recovery: Some people distinguish
between backups (data currently being used) and archives (stuff no longer
being used but too valuable to throw out); some don't. In any event, both
sections involve two main aspects: getting the system running again after a
crash, and making sure the most recent data is available after a crash. (For
"crash", read "anything that might cause data loss or loss of ability to use
the system".)
Application Help/Support: what we do (manuals and help files)!
Contingency Plan: what to do when things go wrong, a list of things that can
go wrong
Documentation Control: how to keep the docs in synch with the product,
keeping track of versions, editing and revisions, scheduling, production
issues
System Monitoring: how to know whether the system is functioning smoothly or
is about to die on you
Training: teaching people to use the system
--Geoff Hart, FERIC, Pointe-Claire, Quebec
geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
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