Is IT infrastructure a black Pandora's box?

Everyone knows that there are such people in the IT field - Administrators. But not everyone thinks about who they are, what they are, and most importantly - where they come from. In fact, administrators call a variety of specialties related to the management of very different systems - from a web server and Internet cafes to Internet providers and corporate IT infrastructures. Under the cut, it’s about the administrators of the IT infrastructures of enterprises and where they come from ...

For a start, let's deal with the concept of IT infrastructure of the enterprise. Considering that all information technologies (hereinafter referred to as IT) in an enterprise are designed exclusively for automating the actions of the employees of the enterprise, it is not difficult to define the content of this term: the IT infrastructure of an enterprise is a combination of hardware and software that allows all functions used effectively Enterprise IT systems. By IT systems we mean servers and workstations, operating systems and software of computers, network devices and communications connecting them, acquired IT services from third-party providers and all the elements of control, monitoring and control of all of the above. Those. all that is necessary so that every PC user in an enterprise can perform the tasks assigned to it.


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In order for a personal computer (hereinafter the PC) of an employee of an enterprise to work effectively with, for example, a warehouse program, it is necessary that the computer not only installs the appropriate software, but also that the computer itself meets many requirements - clearly defined access for specific users, the ability to run programs and access to information under strict control, protection against malicious programs (viruses, Trojans, spyware, worms, etc.), regular backup copies of the configuration and the user human data, etc. etc. ... To perform each of these tasks, an appropriate system is deployed in the enterprise, using multiple servers and network devices, based on operating systems (hereinafter referred to as OS) and software (hereinafter referred to as software). Yes, and the warehouse program itself is usually just a client of the system, which includes the server, the database (hereinafter the database), the database management system (DBMS) and many other functional elements.

Well, if you try to imagine that all of the above should perform uninterrupted work, for which the enterprise deploys entire monitoring and monitoring systems, as well as creating archival copies of configurations and data, then it becomes clear that the IT infrastructure administrator is an expert with considerable stock of knowledge and skills. Moreover, the IT infrastructure of an enterprise is often served by a whole team of specialists, in which each Administrator performs only a part of the tasks of servicing those or other systems, working closely with other administrators, technical support specialists, system architects and users.

Of course, the IT infrastructure of enterprises in terms of their size and complexity often correspond to the size of the enterprises themselves. While in many small companies, it is not uncommon for a visiting administrator or services of a third-party company, in large enterprises, hundreds or even thousands of professionals can serve the IT infrastructure, many of whom work in narrow, but related to other, competency profiles. However, regardless of the size and complexity of the IT infrastructure, its main administrators always face similar tasks, differing only in scale.

Without admins and not there and not here

Even if a small company with several employees begins to use computers (and where is it now without them?), Already after a short time, the owners and managers of such a company are faced with the questions: “How to ensure the safety of all corporate correspondence / workflow / accounting / ...?” “How to differentiate access to company documents in order to protect themselves from information leakage or loss?”, “How to limit the capabilities of working PCs, so that employees could only work on them, not play, climb social networks and look et movies? "... And this is not an exhaustive list of them.

Administrators who create basic elements of IT infrastructures solve such issues: servers with corporate information resources storages and access control systems / configurations / communications, etc. Already at this stage, in the overwhelming majority of cases, it turns out that PCs have been for decades more often in total, they use Windows and a set of office software from Microsoft, and for providing storage and monitoring systems use servers with Windows Server OS whose components allow you to configure all the necessary functions. And this is not advertising at all ... Microsoft has been dominating the corporate market for so long

IT infrastructures that companies whose infrastructure is not used by Windows or almost no Windows Server.
Of course, specialists in other operating systems and server products may well build an enterprise's IT infrastructure based on alternative solutions. But ... there are so many factors and features, incl. economic, influencing the choice of platforms and elements of IT infrastructures. This article is not about that. For the time being, we confine ourselves to the fact that in the vast majority of modern office IT infrastructures platforms, Microsoft products still dominate. And already on the platform of the products of this company are often used software and hardware solutions from other brands.

So, at the initial stage of development, the office IT infrastructure of a small enterprise is often a kind of document (file) storage and access control and configuration management system built on the basis of Active Directory technology, which has undoubtedly been a proprietary engine of success in this field of Microsoft since 2000. In order not to burden the article with unnecessary technical details, let us just say that at this stage the IT infrastructure administrators are beginning to use the technologies of Windows and Windows Server, File Services, Active Directory Directory Services, Group Policy, etc. ... Also at this stage it may appear the need for MS SQL DBMS, various business applications (warehouse, accounting, store, ...), remote access systems, information exchange services and e-mail.

What characterizes the initial stage of the development of the IT infrastructure is that after its completion, the company begins to be vitally dependent on the infrastructure, its quality and stability, and the development speed of the IT infrastructure itself is gaining momentum. That entails a more active use of IT in the enterprise on the one hand, but also increases the cost of maintaining the IT infrastructure at the required level of resiliency and availability, on the other. It is at this stage that a growing and growing company most often cannot do without a high-quality, professional and full-fledged Administrator, or even a few. Although it is still possible to use an external service provider, consciously accepting the risks of not having our own control over the IT infrastructure.

Further more. Once discovering the delights of information technology, the company can not stop. Dependence of the company's business on the quality of the IT infrastructure is growing with each turn of its evolution. A structural IT division is being formed and growing, and the expenditure part of the budget is growing by leaps and bounds ... It turns out that Pandora's box ... Growing up, the IT infrastructure begins to set much bigger tasks for administrators and managers. The variety of equipment and systems, the complexity of the solutions used and the complexity of management grow almost exponentially ...



From the point of view of business owners and company executives, the risk of losing control over the IT infrastructure becomes critical. And it is here that the loyalty of the choice of platform manifests itself. The Microsoft platform dominates the office IT infrastructure market. What matters is not only in the OS itself and software products, of great importance is the large-scale information support of customers, professionals and users, as well as an extensive network of standardized training. Including training IT administrators.

You have probably heard more than once stories about the difficulties that have arisen after the departure of the IT infrastructure administrator hired by the company. Indeed, very often, trying to save money, managers of such companies do not bother themselves or administrators in documenting the existing IT infrastructure. And if suddenly in a dynamically developing business the IT infrastructure turns into an incomprehensible black box, then the company is either waiting for an expensive and painful process of complete processing of the infrastructure, or it turns into ... Pandora’s mad black box ...

And this is where Microsoft’s approach manifests itself in all its glory. The presence of a developed system of standards, both in products, and in training and information support, allows you to simplify the process even if all (God forbid!) Your IT infrastructure administrators disappeared at once. It is enough to have access to priority administrative accounts. Finding trained engineers and administrators of IT infrastructures built on the Microsoft platform is not difficult. To certify their competence recruiter helps certification system specialists Microsoft. In other words, using the Microsoft platform in IT infrastructures can make life much easier, reduce costs and reduce risks!

Where do IT infrastructure administrators come from?

Unfortunately, in the overwhelming majority of cases, enthusiastic professionals who independently study technologies and products are still becoming administrators of IT infrastructures. Most often, without interrupting production, moreover, not infrequently, through trial and error ... This is not at all programming, which is now taught in many educational institutions.

Today in the world there is practically no niche of educational institutions, purposefully training IT infrastructure specialists. At best, universities, commercial training centers (hereinafter referred to as TC) and representative offices of vendors such as Microsoft and Cisco manage to implement a program of commercial courses in the curriculum for students of IT-related faculties. But this practice is still rare.

The main training tool for such specialists for a long time has been, and still remains, certified courses from vendors such as Microsoft and Cisco in commercial training centers. For a full-fledged training of an IT infrastructure specialist, it is required to master the contents of at least five or even seven courses, the duration of each 5 days and the total cost amounts to tens of thousands of hryvnias. Moreover, each school day is at least 8 hours of intensive theoretical and practical training. In this case, usually, by the time students start learning, the listener should already have in mind all the technical basis of the technological foundations.

Of course, it can be argued that with the current level of information support for vendors, it is possible to study the necessary technologies and products independently, without interrupting production. Yes! Perhaps of course ... However, this way is very difficult and thorny, especially if the potential future administrator does not have basic knowledge of network technologies, basic IT infrastructures, basic skills and knowledge in managing Windows Server, Active Directory basics, and some other competencies, there is no complete picture of the available information sources and knowledge bases ...

Study, study and study again!

In the overwhelming number of cases, certified commercial CAs most often offer courses only to enhance the existing qualifications of administrators. Non-certified CAs that work with the population at much lower prices are often the other way around - they offer only the simplest courses in which the quality and volume of knowledge offered is not very high.

The author of this article has been training IT infrastructure specialists as a Microsoft Certified Trainer for more than 10 years, and has been developing, organizing and servicing IT infrastructures for more than 20 years directly. I have always enjoyed working with novice specialists. Especially with those who pay for their education themselves and come with real information hunger in their eyes ... At an early stage, these future specialists can be given not only adequate concentrated knowledge and skills, but also to inculcate a thinking model that helps to develop effectively independently using all available sources of knowledge . Previously, unfortunately, it was extremely difficult for students who wanted to become an IT infrastructure administrator but did not have basic knowledge, it was extremely difficult to select the appropriate course and conditions for training - the principle of forming Microsoft courses, as a tool only for advanced training, had an effect. However, now, thanks to a new line of Microsoft certified courses, such an opportunity has appeared.

In cooperation with the Training Center of the MUK Group of Companies, we decided to introduce a new product to the Ukrainian market for vocational training, which allows us to take the first step towards the development of such a popular profession as IT Infrastructure Administrator - Microsoft Certified Basic Courses - Basic Windows Infrastructure Basics and Active Directory based on Windows Server . Microsoft's certified educational materials that meet the needs of students, the conditions and format of training, the high-quality presentation of an experienced teacher-expert who complements and extends the course program specifically for beginner specialists, provide an excellent opportunity to prepare an entry-level specialist from scratch.

Further improvement of the level of knowledge, experience and qualification is possible, both at higher-level courses and independently - I always include in the basic courses a full review of the recommended sources of knowledge, documentation and methods of working with them. Once I myself went this way - from self-taught to a certified Microsoft trainer, and I am always happy to share my experience with students.

Vladimir Stepanets
expert teacher
Microsoft Certified Trainer

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The nearest courses on the topic of the article, TC MUK (Kiev)
November 16 - 20 - Installing and configuring Windows Server 2012 / Installing and configuring Windows Server 2012
November 30 - December 4 - Microsoft Administering Windows Server 2012 R2 / Administration of Windows Server 2012 R2
December 21 - 25 - Configuring Advanced Windows Server 2012 Services / Configuring additional services of Windows Server 2012

MUK-service - client and corporate IT repair, service contracts