10 points to increase troubleshooting skills and become a good Server Admin

1) Be clear with the concepts

You will be learning lot of things in random in your day-to-day work, but essentially what you need to remember are the basic concepts of each technology you have come across, starting from basic commands, services associated, the applications related, tools etc. Before you enter the system admin scenario, join the popular discussion boards, mailing lists relating to your domain. Believe me, a lot of quick tips can be gathered just by reading what others in the business have to say.

2) Build your knowledgebase

Its always good habit to write down somewhere whatever you have learned new in your days work. It would definitely come in handy in the future, cos you might have got it after rigorous research and you need not do it a second time. My notes that I always keep have saved me plenty of time for many of the issues that creep up. Also be willing to ask your peers or seniors or in the forums when you find yourself stuck, cos experience is one thing you can never garner in a little time. Remember, you can revert the favor when they look for you.

3) Try to relate with the technologies

In my early days I have wasted plenty of hours trying to find a fix without understanding the cause, but that has changed. You have to keep in mind that there will be some relation with services or applications you are working with. So if something not working it might be that of some other service that is related to it. Knowing which is causing the problem is the measure of your troubleshooting skill. So think cleverly and identify the possible causes. Read more…

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