Difference between revisions of "Sysadmin Todo List"

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This is an unordered set of tasks.  Detailed information on any of the tasks typically goes in related topics' pages, although usually not until the task has been filed under [[Sysadmin Todo List#Completed|Completed]].
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This is the new Sysadmin Todo List as of 05/27/2010. The previous list was moved to [[Old Sysadmin Todo List]]. This list list is incomplete, and needs updating.
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== Important ==
 
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=== Einstein Upgrade ===
 
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[http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/enterprise/RHEL-5-manual/Deployment_Guide-en-US/index.html Massive amount of deployment documentation for RHEL 5]
 
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# Pick a date within the next week '''Monday, 7/23/2007'''
 
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# Send an e-mail to Aaron, warning him of the future takedown of tomato '''Done'''
 
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# Update Tomato to RHEL5 '''Installed w/ basic configuration (auth, autofs, etc)'''
 
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# Check all services einstein currently provides.  Locate as many custom scripts, etc. as is reasonable and label/copy them.
 
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## [[DNS]] '''Set up w/ einstein's configuration files'''
 
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## [[LDAP]] '''Installed programs, trying to figure out how to configure and set up some fake users for testing[http://www.openldap.org/doc/admin23/quickstart.html] before copying einstein's setup''' Need to figure out TLS certificates, too. '''User passwords are stored encrypted in the LDAP database. We need the key that einstein uses or it won't work for authentication when we transfer the db to tomato.'''  There are several keys and certificates in ''/usr/share/ssl/certs'', but what each of them is for is not totally obvious. '''Can add users with luseradd and lgroupadd, and those programs refuse duplicate entries, but doing an ldapsearch does not return added users/groups.'''  Groups and users added via something like Luma or JXplorer show up in ldapsearch, but not groups/users added by l*add!  Are they using different databases?
 
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## [[Postfix]]
 
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## [[AMaViS]]
 
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## [[ClamAV]]
 
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## [[SpamAssassin]]
 
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## [[Cyrus Imap|IMAP]]
 
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## [[automount|/home]]
 
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## [[Samba]]
 
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## [[Web Servers|Web]]?
 
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## Fortran compilers and things like that?
 
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# Clone those services to tomato
 
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# Switch einstein <-> tomato, and then upgrade what was originally einstein
 
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# Look into making an einstein, tomato failsafe setup.
 
  
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=== Miscellaneous ===
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== Projects ==
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* Backup stuff: We need exclude filters on the backups. We need to plan and execute extensive tests before modifying the production backup program. Also, see if we can implement some sort of NFS user access. '''I've set up both filters and read-only snapshot access to backups at home. Uses what essentially amounts to a bash script version of the fancy perl thing we use now, only far less sophisticated. However, the filtering and user access uses a standard rsync exclude file (syntax in man page) and the user access is fairly obvious NFS read-only hosting.''' <font color="green"> I am wondering if this is needed. The current scheme (ie the perl script) uses excludes by having a .rsync-filter is each of the directories where you want excluded contents. This has worked well. See ~maurik/tmp/.rsync-filter . The current script takes care of some important issues, like incomplete backups.</font> Ah. So we need to get users to somehow keep that .rsync-filter file fairly updated. And to get them to use data to hold things, not home. Also, I wasn't suggesting we get rid of the perl script, I was saying that I've become familiar with a number of the things it does. [http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/enterprise/RHEL-5-manual/Deployment_Guide-en-US/ch-acls.html#s2-acls-mounting-nfs]
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*Convert physical and VMs to CentOS 6 for compute servers ([[taro]],[[endeavour]]) and all others to either 6 or 7.  
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* Learn how to use [[cacti]] on okra. Seems like a nice tool, mostly set up for us already. '''Find out why lentil and okra (and tomato?) aren't being read by [[cacti]]. Could be related to the warnings that repeat in ''okra:/var/www/cacti/log/cacti.log''.''' Not related to the warnings; those are for other machines that are otherwise being monitored. <font color="blue">Try adding cacti to the exclude exclude list in access.conf</font>  Nevermind, lentil doesn't have any restrictions. Need to find out the requirements for a machine to be monitored by cacti/rrdtools.  The documentaion makes it sound like only the cacti host needs any configuration, but I'm dubious. '''Ahh, it looks like every client has a file snmpd.conf, which affects what can be graphed.''' Tried configuring things on improv as in the Cacti HowTo, but no go.  Must be some other settings as well.
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**VMs: Einstein
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* Set up a few VM's to play with for settings, scripts, etc. Either xen or qemu should work fine.
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**Physical: [[endeavour]], [[taro]], and [[gourd]]
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* Figure out how to change log levels for snmpd on jalapeno.  It's logging every time okra makes a connection. '''/etc/sysconfig/snmpd.options ?'''  Changing it to be like einstein's didn't work.
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*Mailman: Clean up mailman and make sure all the groups and users are in order.
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* Install the right SNMP stuff on tomato so that it can be graphed
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*CUPS: Look into getting CUPS authenticating users through LDAP instead of using Samba.
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* Look at sensors on jalapeno, so that cacti can monitor the temp. The crashing probably isn't the splunk beta, since it runs entirely in userspace.
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*Printer: Get printtracker.py working and see if you can get a driver to properly recognize page number count instead of just giving the value as a number of 1 which corresponds to a job submission not the number of pages.
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* Improv reinstall: LDAP works. System takes FOREVER starting system-message-bus (just like tomato), and takes just as long logging in a user. Why?
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*Check /etc/apcupsd/shutdown2 script on Gourd to make sure all the keys are correctly implemented so the machines go down properly during a power outage.
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*Do a check on Lentil to see if there is any unneccessary data being backed up.
  
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== Ongoing ==
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==Daily Tasks==
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=== Documentation ===
 
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* '''<font color="red" size="+1">Maintain the Documentation of all systems!</font>'''
 
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** Main function
 
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** Hardware
 
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** OS
 
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** Network
 
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* Continue homogenizing the configurations of the machines.
 
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* Improve documentation of [[Software Issues#Mail Chain Dependencies|mail software]], specifically SpamAssassin, Cyrus, etc.
 
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=== Maintenance ===
 
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* Check e-mails to root every morning
 
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* Resize/clean up partitions as necessary. Seems to be a running trend that a computer gets 0 free space and problems crop up. Symanzik, bohr seem imminent.
 
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* Check up on security [http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/enterprise/RHEL-5-manual/Deployment_Guide-en-US/ch-sec-network.html#ch-wstation]
 
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=== Cleaning ===
 
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* Test unknown equipment:
 
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** UPS '''I need a known good battery to play with. I'll probably get a surplus one cheap and bring it in. Seems like both UPSes I've looked at so far had bad batteries, since they were swollen and misshapen.'''
 
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* Printer in 323 is '''not''' hooked up to a dead network port. Actually managed to ping it. One person reportedly got it to print, nobody else has, and that user has been unable ever since. Is this printer dead? We need to find out. '''Matt votes it's dead.'''
 
  
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=== On-the-Side ===
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These are things that should be done every day when you come into work.
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* Certain settings are similar or identical for all machines, such as resolv.conf.  It would be beneficial to write a program to do remote configuration.  This would also simplify the process of adding/upgrading machines.  '''Since resolv.conf was mentioned, I made a [[Script Prototypes#setres|prototype]] that seems to work.''' Another idea that was tossed around was a program that periodically compared such files against master copies, to see if the settings somehow got changed.
 
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* Learn how to use ssh-agent for most of these tasks
 
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* Price server hardware and see if we can beat the microway quote.
 
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* Get the old public keys for pauli2 and 4 from einstein or whatever and replace the new ones on pauli2 and 4 with the old ones
 
  
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== Waiting ==
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#Do a physical walk-through/visual inspection of the server room
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* That guy's computer has a BIOS checksum error. Flashing the BIOS to the newest version succeeds, but doesn't fix the problem. No obvious mobo damage either. What happen?  '''Who was that guy, anyhow?''' (Silviu Covrig, probably) The machine is gluon, according to him. '''Waiting on ASUS tech support for warranty info'''  Aaron said it might be power-supply-related. '''Nope. Definitely not. Used a known good PSU and still got error, reflashed bios with it and still got error. '''Got RMA, sending out on wed.''' Waiting on ASUS to send us a working one!''' Called ASUS on 8/6, they said it's getting repaired right now.
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#Verify that all systems are running and all necessary services are functioning properly
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* Printer queue for Copier: Konica Minolta Bizhub 750. IP=pita.unh.edu '''Seems like we need info from the Konica guy to get it set up on Red Hat. The installation documentation for the driver doesn't mention things like the passcode, because those are machine-specific. Katie says that if he doesn't come on Monday, she'll make an inquiry.''' <font color="green">Mac OS X now working,  IT guy should be here week of June 26th</font> '''Did he ever come?''' No, he didn't, and did not respond to a voice message left. Will call again.
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#*For a quick look at which systems are up you can use /usr/local/bin/[[serversup.py]]
 +
#*[[Gourd]]: Make sure that home folders are accessible, all virtual machines are running
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#*[[Einstein]]: Make sure that [[LDAP]] and all [[e-mail]] services (dovecot, spamassassain, postfix, mailman) are running
 +
#*[[Roentgen]]: Make sure website/MySQL are available
 +
#*[[Jalapeno]]: Named and Cups
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#*[[Lentil]]: Verify that backups ran successfully overnight. Check space on backup drives, and add new drives as needed.
 +
#Check [[Splunk]]: [https://pumpkin.farm.physics.unh.edu:8000 click here if you're in the server room], or open localhost:8000 (use https) from [[Pumpkin]]
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#*Check logs for errors, keep an eye out for other irregularities.
 +
#Check [[Cacti]]: [http://roentgen.unh.edu/cacti http://roentgen.unh.edu/cacti]
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#*Verify that temperatures are acceptable.
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#*Monitor other graphs/indicators for any unusual activity.
  
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== Completed ==
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==Weekly Tasks==
  
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== Previous Months Completed ==
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These are things that should be done once every 7 days or so.
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[[Completed in June 2007|June 2007]]
 
  
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[[Completed in July 2007|July 2007]]
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#Check physical interface connections
 +
#*Verify that all devices are connected appropriately, that cables are labeled properly, and that all devices (including RAID and IPMI cards) are accessible on the network.
 +
#Check Areca RAID interfaces
 +
#*The RAID interfaces on each machine are configured to send e-mail to the administrators if an error occurs. It may still be a good idea to login and check them manually on occasion as well, just for the sake of caution.
 +
#Clean up the server room, sweep the floors.
 +
 
 +
==Monthly Tasks==
 +
 
 +
#Perform [[Enviromental_Control_Info#Scheduled_Maintenance|scheduled maintenance]] on the server room air conditioning units.
 +
#Check S.M.A.R.T. information on all server hard drives
 +
#*Make a record of any drives which are reporting errors or nearing failure.
 +
 
 +
==Annual Tasks==
 +
 
 +
These are tasks that are necessary but not critical, or that might require some amount of downtime. These should be done during semester breaks (probably mostly in the summer) when we're likely to have more time, and when downtime won't have as detrimental of an impact on users.
 +
 
 +
#Server software upgrades
 +
#*Kernel updates, or updates for any software related to critical services, should only be performed during breaks to minimize the inconvenience caused by reboots, or unexpected problems and downtime.
 +
#Run fsck on data volumes
 +
#Clean/Dust out systems
 +
#Rotate old disks out of RAID arrays
 +
#Take an inventory of our server room / computing equipment
 +
 
 +
<!--{| cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" border="1"
 +
! Time of Year !! Things to Do !! Misc.
 +
|-
 +
| Summer Break || ||
 +
|-
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|  || Major Kernel Upgrades ||
 +
|-
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|  || Run FDisk ||
 +
|-
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|  || Clean (Dust-off/Filters) while Systems are Shut down ||
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|-
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| Thanksgiving Break || ||
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|-
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| Winter Break || ||
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|-
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|  || Upgrade RAID disks || Upgrade only disks connected to a RAID card
 +
|--
 +
| Spring Break || ||
 +
|-
 +
|} -->

Latest revision as of 16:42, 15 February 2015

This is the new Sysadmin Todo List as of 05/27/2010. The previous list was moved to Old Sysadmin Todo List. This list list is incomplete, and needs updating.

Projects

  • Convert physical and VMs to CentOS 6 for compute servers (taro,endeavour) and all others to either 6 or 7.
  • Mailman: Clean up mailman and make sure all the groups and users are in order.
  • CUPS: Look into getting CUPS authenticating users through LDAP instead of using Samba.
  • Printer: Get printtracker.py working and see if you can get a driver to properly recognize page number count instead of just giving the value as a number of 1 which corresponds to a job submission not the number of pages.
  • Check /etc/apcupsd/shutdown2 script on Gourd to make sure all the keys are correctly implemented so the machines go down properly during a power outage.
  • Do a check on Lentil to see if there is any unneccessary data being backed up.

Daily Tasks

These are things that should be done every day when you come into work.

  1. Do a physical walk-through/visual inspection of the server room
  2. Verify that all systems are running and all necessary services are functioning properly
    • For a quick look at which systems are up you can use /usr/local/bin/serversup.py
    • Gourd: Make sure that home folders are accessible, all virtual machines are running
    • Einstein: Make sure that LDAP and all e-mail services (dovecot, spamassassain, postfix, mailman) are running
    • Roentgen: Make sure website/MySQL are available
    • Jalapeno: Named and Cups
    • Lentil: Verify that backups ran successfully overnight. Check space on backup drives, and add new drives as needed.
  3. Check Splunk: click here if you're in the server room, or open localhost:8000 (use https) from Pumpkin
    • Check logs for errors, keep an eye out for other irregularities.
  4. Check Cacti: http://roentgen.unh.edu/cacti
    • Verify that temperatures are acceptable.
    • Monitor other graphs/indicators for any unusual activity.

Weekly Tasks

These are things that should be done once every 7 days or so.

  1. Check physical interface connections
    • Verify that all devices are connected appropriately, that cables are labeled properly, and that all devices (including RAID and IPMI cards) are accessible on the network.
  2. Check Areca RAID interfaces
    • The RAID interfaces on each machine are configured to send e-mail to the administrators if an error occurs. It may still be a good idea to login and check them manually on occasion as well, just for the sake of caution.
  3. Clean up the server room, sweep the floors.

Monthly Tasks

  1. Perform scheduled maintenance on the server room air conditioning units.
  2. Check S.M.A.R.T. information on all server hard drives
    • Make a record of any drives which are reporting errors or nearing failure.

Annual Tasks

These are tasks that are necessary but not critical, or that might require some amount of downtime. These should be done during semester breaks (probably mostly in the summer) when we're likely to have more time, and when downtime won't have as detrimental of an impact on users.

  1. Server software upgrades
    • Kernel updates, or updates for any software related to critical services, should only be performed during breaks to minimize the inconvenience caused by reboots, or unexpected problems and downtime.
  2. Run fsck on data volumes
  3. Clean/Dust out systems
  4. Rotate old disks out of RAID arrays
  5. Take an inventory of our server room / computing equipment


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