How to Be a Great System Administrator in 3 Steps

[@techguy1678]

You are spot on with Powershell, Cloud and a home lab. I would suggest anyone wanting to dive into the Sys Admin field that setting up a Hyper-V environment would greatly benefit you. Create a server, promote it to a Domain Controller, setup Active Directory first and have users created. Create 2 or 3 client PC's with Windows 10 and use those machines for users to log into. You will want to create a NAT switch to get all these virtual machines to talk to each other. Also setup a DHCP server and learn to define scopes. Assign static IP's to your clients by using their MAC addresses. This will definitely help get you started.

[@Nhia89]

How do you create your own "home lab"‽

[@donsan6404]

@@Nhia89 can you recommend one or two book to learn?

[@Itcareerquestions]

You can also signup for a free AWS or Azure account.

[@SlampthChompth]

@@Nhia89 by home lab he means like a table in your home to put the equipment onto and plug into each other, etc.

[@kevinkirk3156]

This is amazing advice

[@aaronvenomfang]

Here is my top 5: 1) Never automate something that you can't do manually yourself and don't fully understand. 2) Advanced skills are good basics. Focus on the basics, everything builds from them. 3) Learn Powershell, BASH/ZSH, and Python. 4) Not everything can, or should, be ran in the cloud. 5) Learn to build your own private cloud.

[@servtheking5245]

In 2021,what certification would you start with? Is a CCNA a good place to start?

[@unpass]

what exactly do you mean by building your own private cloud?

[@mememan9890]

@@unpass Like running your own cloud server. Essentially, have a computer at your home dedicated to web storage.

[@heyitsbroski]

@@mememan9890 You're better off with a NAS.

[@danielsavignon6652]

Wao thank you for those tips.

[@topunnisdrowning8940]

Timestamps 0:51 Powershell (Python and Bash) 2:05 Cloud 3:21 Create a Homelab

[@LVang152]

I love this guy to point me the right way. The hardest part about self-taught are stay motivation and perseverance toward your goal.

[@wesleyjin8071]

I agree, there’s so much information out there to make good decisions.

[@rdumiak]

Great suggestions - Along with Automation, Cloud basics and Home Lab, I would add networking and security basics.

[@meherali4073]

I want to add database

[@sheylacerna5463]

just O&& un. Aa- - Think Think

[@sheylacerna5463]

Y

[@apristinemadani]

By security basics, are you talking specifically about setting up the Windows Firewall rules settings (inbound & outbound rules type of thing) on the server? One of my many personal areas of self improvement has to do with understanding the difference between Firewall Settings versus Windows Defender? Are these both part of Windows Defender on my server? Or is Firewall settings and Windows Defender two separate areas?

[@pieterwillembotha6719]

I knew a few people who were either network or systems adminitrators (actually head of a department) and they told me that they learned everything they needed to know from the ground up, literally, by working from the bottom and sticking with it. Easy to do when it's a topic you're interested in.

[@KevtechITSupport]

That is correct sir, Azure is good for 30 days. You can sign up for free and use it for 30 days. Labs, labs and more labs help with getting familiar with cloud and getting yourself ready for a system admin role. Did I forget to mentioned labs?

[@CondeEdison]

What kind of labs are you talking about exactly? Thanks

[@KevtechITSupport]

@@CondeEdison labs for IT, I have videos on it and zach has videos on it.

[@Gumbier_Than]

Hey it's Kev! Ever invite this channel onto yours for a video? I do love a good collab!

[@KevtechITSupport]

@@Gumbier_Than up to Zach if he wants to do a collab, I'm down any time.

[@Itcareerquestions]

Anytime you want kev

[@Iliuzija666]

My journey to the position of IT administrator started with volunteering in that organization. The organization was poor, unable to hire a professional, so after volunteering offered me to stay and work. I got a chance to build everything from scratch and I still do. Thank you for this video, I think you are 100 percent right.

[@patrickcephas8554]

Hi, as an IT admin, what do you really do?.

[@liamcrowder7760]

Always skeptical of videos like this but this all legit advice.

[@Itcareerquestions]

Thank you I appreciate that.

[@apristinemadani]

​@@Itcareerquestions Your advice is sound... However, to get the resources (training that shows step by step all these kinds of concepts)... That's a whole other ball of wax As someone myself whose been training myself on Sys-Admin concepts (never even having had an official help desk role in an ADDS environment), I can tell you that it takes a LOT of doing, to become someone truly adept at Domain management. The reason is because it's not just Active Directory, but all the other surrounding tools and concepts that are also involved! Things like WDS (windows deployment svc) RDS and RD gateway for remote desktop control MECM & MEM skills Routing and switching Security settings Permissions Network shares File permissions And many other tools

[@tmasst07]

Take a system administrator and or a help desk technician/engineer to lunch and dinner and pick their brain. Set up a mentor-mentee schedule. While I definitely agree that learning on your own produces excellent level of mastery if you are disciplined and stay with your training schedule 1 to 4 hours a day a good Mentor can shave countless precious hours and years off of your learning time and understanding time especially when it comes down to the heart of what we do in system administration... Troubleshooting!

[@heyitsbroski]

Systems Administrator here. I cover a ton of different technologies and just completed my AWS and Azure program. Surprisingly, I do not do any automation yet.

[@celestialadministration]

Coursera, skillshare and udemy. The first one is the best because you won't snooze or become less engaged.

[@kaushallegion2112]

I agree with you 100%, automate whatever you can a because you can allocate your time on learning new things like troubleshooting, performance analyzing and tuning.

[@zidanetribal2343]

I am so amazed how Python is essential in today's IT landscape since it allows automation. Thank you Sir for this, as for someone like me shifting career from Engineering to IT, this kind of advise that self study is still one of the best approach in learning is reassuring. Cheers~

[@hristokoemdzhiev6710]

I've heard from sysadmins that there are two types of skills needed to be successful in the industry and with colleagues. Industry: CCNA for network fundamentals Linux PowerShell Phyton More but that's the main ones for colleagues you need to know the following: 1.MANA 2.DPS 3.AOE 4.No afk 5. All the classes and their skill cooldowns on Lineage , so you can anticipate and really level up your PvP

[@invander2]

😂

[@gabe9832]

Networking and communication skills are probably the most important in my opinion !

[@pysof]

Yes, the do matter but who is gonna do the work? The connections you have made or you and your knowledge?

[@techdad7695]

I would also like to add keep learning and keep pressing forward. Employers like to see self-driven individuals, they stand out from the pack.

[@incrediblez394]

Right now I'm going over new A+ and network+. Also gonna cover the windows 10 administration book. See if I can find an entry level position. I'll start at low end. Just want an opportunity to build experience.

[@TravelingTaco86]

I am close to two years of exp in IT and just took a lower paying job but it offers a ton of exposure. Even if its not the pay you want always try and build that experience!

[@aniketchauhan2389]

Having a critical thinking and problem solving with Networking and security things will make you better sys admin and learning about virtualization and hardware is a plus as well

[@rolandkatsuragi]

I'm interested getting into IT primarily because someone I know, who isn't very tech savvy, was able to successfully do it for a few years, and it seems like the money is worth it.

[@prabathpallewela5053]

Great suggestions. Home lab ,power shell , cloud .

[@cheryls.7144]

Thank you for getting straight to the point!! Watched 3 vids & it took people 5+ mins. to dive right in.

[@Kinos141]

If you have issues with cloud, remember cloud is basically internet servers. If you can do a on-prem server, you can do a cloud server. It's slightly different, but not by much.

[@TheCbrown146]

What is a great source for learning PowerShell?

[@kingsleynhangumele9896]

Couldn't agree more !! Automation definitely eases the whole administration process. Powershell is really a powerful thing.

[@mohammeduddin7082]

I am new to IT and I just landed my first help desk position, I really want to make more money and become a system admin. Thank you so much for making this video. How do you create a home lap, Any IT certification you recommend.

[@MeezyPeezy]

How do I start building a “home lab”

[@fbsoul1]

AWS ( provides) one year free tier to try. AWS is awesome to learn.

[@rapperfreakquency]

great video !

[@legionsman7476]

how do you build a home lab? what do you need?

[@hauby121]

Using powershell on linux is actually really nice

[@cu806]

Have you used on Putty?

[@hauby121]

@@cu806 Why when power shell does SSH?

[@MurangShaBu_MahalNaBiGas]

I even Command prompt lolz

[@fatihakbas8529]

I have Electronics Engineering background but last 5 years I have been working as a software developer (backend). Recently I decided to change my career. Now I am doing my masters in Cybersecurity and studying for comptia Network+ and CCNA to apply junior Network admin jobs. I feel like I have good plan but I think I need to create my own home lab to practice. Do you guys have any suggestions?

[@kapiyacharlesmukupa9270]

Build a lab guys, even in a VM, play with it, build, break, fix, advance.

[@JHendo247]

Build a lab how? Where can I find the tools to do so?

[@melaninatedbyforce7746]

@@JHendo247 look up on KZbin how to build a virtual lab.

[@AvianceSade]

What would be a good starting point for a home lab?

[@Migueloofficialpr]

I want to learn more about system administrator and can you find a job as admin from IT Hep Desk?

[@jetforcegemknight2539]

So much to take in! I'm curious though, as someone new to this, (I'm starting with a clean slate) where's the best place to start??

[@scottp7729]

Choose a cloud service provider Azure, Aws etc. Then do the fundamentals for Azure its the AZ-900

[@ritooraj]

Nice suggestions!

[@KingJCJ]

I’d say don’t get stuck in the environment. Find what you need.

[@CondeEdison]

Question, I currently do desktop support for a hospital for the past 4-5 years. Looking to switch to System Administration. Would you take a pay cut to active this goal by working for a MSP? Thank you

[@lunchlump]

Great video! Thank you so much!

[@CloudGod88]

Thanks for sharing

[@collinsenechukwu1100]

A big thanks ❤

[@quizkallie]

Great advice

[@neo22501]

I get confused, if everything is going to the cloud, what's the point of learning all these hardware and building your own labs when all of that will be handled by the provider?

[@MurangShaBu_MahalNaBiGas]

You don't use 100% could, but it's important to have the cloud it's safer faster and cost efficient for start up companies or seasonal sales like Black Fridays, new years sales and Christmas and so on.

[@eman0828]

You still need a solid foundation in On-Prem Server Administration before leaning the cloud. The cloud is some one else's infrastructure but the same principals still applies the same to a In-house infrastructure. You are still going to be administering Windows Server in the cloud, active Directory and so on.

[@BT-jm3ww]

Thank you!

[@jbzeigler]

Great video. Thank you.

[@johnsmith-qe2fd]

What about age? Im a retired veteran but I stopped my schooling for IT because I figured im too old? I saw one guy do a vid on KZbin that said if you’re not in your 20s or in your 40s my chances would be zero?

[@liamcrowder7760]

john smith - Mate, if you’re still capable of learning new information then who cares what some nobody from KZbin thinks. Thanks for your service, I hope you do well.

[@Itcareerquestions]

Pretty much exactly what Liam said John. Age isn't really too much of a barrier. As long as your skills are relevant you being older is actually a benefit to many companies seeing as how you've seen many things in your life, you bring a lot to the table that some youngin can't bring to the table.

[@patmurphy7266]

I'm a retired veteran with zero real world hard skills via my MOS. 36 years old career change never knew about comptia or IT past dns cache flush for gaming lol. I found this channel a year ago. 9 months now professionally as a sysadmin in first The Bay and now Irvine. Im looking at architect or out of ops and into front end dev. Take your leadership, your professionalism, and succeed. the very best and most successful I admire all told me - you're a veteran, soft skills, leadership, integrity... the hard stuff to find. teaching the hard skills is easy

[@agentorange4999]

@@liamcrowder7760 I love the response. Great feedbacks.

[@koolkidz9193]

what about experience? like where I can get real tangible experience I can use for interviews I have been side line for too long

[@jimmybrown2040]

it's easy to say do your own home labs nd leave it at that... that but explain how to do your own home lab would be great... so we can actually build a home lab.. remember you talking to so.e people who completely lost... I'll pay but where is the actual info in how to do any of this... nd you not even replying to people why should we take your info forreal...

[@d-lethal7077]

First, appreciate your videos. I am new to the IT field. I have an AS, 4 months helpdesk experience, where I am presently gaining experience. I got my Microsoft 98-366 Networking Fundamentals cert 01/2020. I would like to be in a security role in the future, after putting in work to get there. I am enrolling in a management information systems bachelor degree plan this summer 2020. But what cert do I get next, what else do I need to do to make sure I'm successful like you gurus?

[@hamzasehavdic]

D-Lethal bump

[@JoseConQueso94]

Hey loved the video but could you do a video on how to be a Solutions Architect? I'm trying to switch into the IT field from a financial background. Currently, I'm studying to get my AWS certifications (CSAA hopefully by this month), but I also would love to know what other steps I can take in order to land my first job as a Solutions Architect in the next few months. Thank you.

[@ibrahimabdeltawab6418]

Awesome! Thanks so much

[@ag307davibesandrew]

Can you make a video of making a home lab?

[@rdchronically4689]

cool love the info you been uploading

[@MohammedIrfan-bh2dg]

Really helpful!!! Thanks for sharing

[@eyrahhhed9857]

yess i wanna be assistant admin at micronet. i hope i can get that job ❤

[@djactivator]

Great video Zack!

[@HussainA-m7e]

THANK YOU

[@taiquangong9912]

What would be the fundamentals of Windows??

[@holgerd5242]

To know how to reboot the computer...

[@ritamdey6262]

Is it necessary to have dedicated server for building a homelab?

[@MurangShaBu_MahalNaBiGas]

Yes but start with VM is cheaper and you can tinker it as much as you want and remote ssh the VM too

[@saintsdgessus8823]

It's good and stuff, but in my country to get a system administrator job you need experience at this job. And to get the experience you need to find a job. And they all require experience at job. You get the point

[@tstv205]

Thank you for this video

[@ImmaBeast713]

Yeah I originally wanted to become a Network Admin but now I'm looking into AWS,Azure then Google cloud certs instead

[@robbirobson7330]

what about windows 3.11 and nt 3.51 does it still make sense to learn in 2020?

[@johnwalley8997]

That's funny! I actually used to work on those systems. I wonder if I could even find the 3.11 install floppy disks.

[@robbirobson7330]

@@johnwalley8997 maybe its a good time to put those systems into the cloud. you know floppies aren't that reliable :)

[@RONLEO24]

Hey man i have a question.. should i go for bachelor of networking or cybersecurity?

[@crab_seeker_42]

both are great. and you should know about both eventually. depends what you like more and with you want to deal with more. networking is also related to network engineering (a whole proffession of itself). i also got a job recently as a junior sysadmin.

[@m_rod9562]

Bachelor's of science in Information Technology covers those two and more. Perhaps that's the better option.

[@RONLEO24]

@@crab_seeker_42 thank you

[@RONLEO24]

@@m_rod9562 thanks man

[@johnwalley8997]

Go with an IT route that you are interested in. Experience is so much more critical in cyber. There are a lot of people out there with cyber degrees that got ripped off. You can't learn what you need to in 4 years. There just isn't enough time across all the fields you need to be good at cyber. You have to specialize. The only way to do it is to eat, drink, and sleep in your lab when not in class.

[@shakerabara]

network and Windows Skills are important i think .

[@OLDMAN_ARCH]

Work on obtaining Certifications towards System Administration

[@Djr2699]

Like what?

[@OLDMAN_ARCH]

@@Djr2699 Just meant Certs over Degrees

[@Djr2699]

@@OLDMAN_ARCH I meant which certs

[@OLDMAN_ARCH]

@@Djr2699 it varies right... for me as a Cleared Linux SA3, I have Sec+, Linux+, Net+, A+, Server+ and C|EH

[@pramodhah5634]

Hi All, I love SysAdmin Jobs and I like to become both Linux & windows sys admin... but I am weak in scripting/programming... Is it compulsory to learn both Bash & Powershell... or is it ok if I learn only Python and apply in both Linux and windows? Thanks in advance..

[@MurangShaBu_MahalNaBiGas]

Focus in linux first specially the red hat entrerpise because the bash shell is faster and also cloud system is built on linux.

[@pramodhah5634]

@@MurangShaBu_MahalNaBiGas thanks👍

[@marekAureliuszo]

Can I be a good sysadmin without programming skills? I hate learning this, programming...

[@JJFlores197]

Most likely yes. Most IT jobs don't require any programming. However, you will need to understand scripting languages like PowerShell or Python or BASH if you want to be a good systems admin. Its a bit like programming, but for very specific use cases. There are a lot of utilities that you can run via scripts to automate workflows.

[@avivpk]

watching now (2024) . still relevant ?

[@madueke]

Real-time work examples would make more sense with your title?

[@sahidaakter1662]

Anline

[@tonycerviver2123]

OK Just purchased ACER Aspire /T TC-895 - UA92 Tower Computer - and Loaded the Loaded The Windows 10 that came with it. Now my question is? Why is Computer, during normal operation, suddenly shutting down into Black Mode? I have to continually use my mouse to keep operating. Then when I go to my device Manager to try and remedy the problem - I get - This app has been blocked by your system administrator - Contact your system administrator for more info - Copy to clipboard and close - Why would an operating system react like this?

[@jacksonalencar5406]

Thank you!!!!

[@heliogoncalves6968]

Thank you for you advice and I will trying to be professional in IT...

[@lianacurry-desalas2565]

Thanks for making these videos :)

[@michaelotu9723]

Do you have a learning path for a system admin (linux system)

[@mattcrouch9348]

I have a path: Learn bash. Skip the "cloud services" junk; it just makes you dependent on companies and machines you don't control. Set up an ownCloud server and learn rsync if you want to play with that functionality. Then spend a month on security. Make a local network of 2 or 3 machines and lock it down. Tight. Fail2ban, squid, etc.

[@michaelotu9723]

@@mattcrouch9348 thanks for your response. Could you tell me more about the security or what you meant by security. I am really new to this. I am learning bash.. I took Bobby Lievs bash course on yt. I am yet to read his book

[@mattcrouch9348]

@@michaelotu9723 Sure. You need to know what servers you're likely to use. "Server" here means a piece of software, not a whole computer. SSH server is what lets you connect to the machine via a terminal. Web servers, database servers, anything that provides responses to requests coming in from a network will be points of vulnerability. Learn what ports all of these use, and how to configure a firewall to allow/deny requests by port. On Linux, openSSH will provide remote terminal access (port 80). Apache will usually be the webserver. Databases should usually *not* be remotely accessible. (You connect via SSH then use the local database client in your terminal). UFW is the firewall, and/or iptables. Get a few (real or virtual) machines set up to do something useful when they talk to each other, and practice locking them down pretty tight. Fail2Ban is another piece of this puzzle..

[@kamilo1175]

@@mattcrouch9348 How important would networking prove to be? Im in second year of IT Management. Everything is a okay, though I despise networking, especially since we went 100% digital.

[@mattcrouch9348]

@@kamilo1175 Do you mean networking with people, or do you mean learning about computer networks? I haven't had to do much of the former, but probably I'm lucky. Also I'm just trying to pay the bills, not get rich. If you want to make more than $110k you probably have to chat a lot of people up, or climb the ladder in some big company.

[@deadmusik9969]

@2:07 i see the GEMINI tat... thank you for the video I think I want to become a sys admin

[@tesla1377]

thanks man you cool

[@jontnoneya3404]

Everyone says "Automate", "Learn to automate" and then they skip to the next topic. Automate WHAT? And before you say "Any repetitive task" fuck off. BE SPECIFIC - WHAT repetitive tasks need to be automated and why? People just barely touch on it like you did - "Check for updates" was one and everyone knows to automate backups. But that's only two tasks. GO DEEP by answering this question - "What specific system admin tasks (from a daily, weekly, monthly) perspective need to be automated?" Then explain WHY you would want to automate them and then HOW you can do that." That gives WAY more practical information that people can actually use other than "Automate"

[@radovansukic]

You are right about that, so did you maybe find your answer on another place?

[@jontnoneya3404]

@@radovansukic Nope - not that I recall

[@stowgood]

RUN CMD love that name it just clicked...

[@viirose8341]

Microsoft offers $200 free account for 30 days.

[@djangohermoso7171]

i like your shirt

[@keeponkeepkeepingon8376]

🖥💻 *ICQ* I have a question 🖥💻

[@atlfan3131]

I just saw the shirt...

[@laboose6598]

Its an ad video

[@jinorenz07]

You should know how to Google stuff :D

[@innerbliss108]

This guy’s phenomenal

[@tonyd6853]

step4 spend your own money. all of it.

[@rmp5640]

Classpert is not free, why lying?

[@ThaoNguyen-fp5xd]

Hay quá

[@TanukiSack]

cool hat

[@fraterrr6560]

I need a real face to face in real life human to teach me so I can ask questions, and they can see what I don’t understand and help me with that.

[@tupiz]

learn to automate everything so you do not have to work yay! xD

[@madueke]

I hate all these how to videos they never show any examples how to! Just talking

[@benjaminhudsondesign]

I do not like his hat. No one should be running as root, if needed for the task, one can use sudo.

[@gheorghetufeanu8807]

Bulsheat

[@ΓρηγόριοςΤσελεπης]

Administration is rubbish

[@NghiaNguyen-wg2zg]

Hay quá