RE: Need examples of system documentation

["Daniel Ng" <kjng -at- gprotechnologies -dot- com>]

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I've got just the book for you about this. I keep a copy of this

The Practice of System and Network Administration: Thomas A. Limoncelli,
Christina J. Hogan: Books.
http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration/dp/0201702711

Easy to understand, and filled with system administration best practices,
from terribly experienced people...the people who administer the thousands
of PCs in the Google server megafarms. Its not platform specific so there
are portions that apply to you regardless if its unix, or Win Server
environs.

>From time managamenent, stress management, hiring people, to handling
migration projects, using bug tracking systems, to using wikis, providing
training and support, communication, and documenting IT policies/disaster
recovery plans...good case studies and anecdotes...recommended for anyone
writing system admin guides - base it on a good resource like
this...Practical and tested..

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Janice Gelb [mailto:Janice -dot- Gelb -at- Sun -dot- COM] 
Sent: Sunday, September 28, 2008 6:12 PM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Re: Need examples of system documentation

deltaskye wrote:
> I am returning to IT system tech writing after an absence of four years.
My client wants me to document a system that is already in place; the
engineer who designed it did not write anything down! 
> 
> I will be working with a new engineer to try to document the system (not
for end-users, for the company's internal/engineering use). The engineer
will be the technical SME and I will be the scribe and desktop publisher.
The system is used by staff to register new customers for a service,
document customer service calls, and transmit each day's activities to
another system.
> 
> The engineer has asked me to provide him some examples of what the
documentation might look like. I have all kinds of stuff generated when
other customers followed an organized SDLC as they were designing a system.
I'm looking for ideas on how to frame the documentation as the engineer and
I try to document a system that someone else designed (and who is no longer
available).
> 
> I don't know if the following is helpful, but here are some of the topics
the engineer has suggested:
> 
> External data interfaces
> Oracle database management system
> BEA configuration
> System backup/restore
> 

Funny you should ask... I've been combing the web lately for system
administration documentation for a paper I'm giving at the Usenix LISA
conference (called "WTFM: Documentation and the System Administrator").
It's the most nervous I've ever been about presenting at a conference
because my audience won't be tech writers and I haven't actually worked in a
sys admin environment.
(If anyone has examples of bad internal sys admin docs.
please let me know - I promise to remove all company identification :-> )

But enough about me. Try searching for:

system administrator internal documentation documentation system
documentation server

I've also found that http://techrepublic.com is a great source of
information. I'm not sure how useful it will be, but they link to a set of
templates for some aspects of system administration docs at
http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-5027838.html?tag=rbxccnbt
r1

Best of luck!

-- Janice

***********************************************************
Janice Gelb          | The only connection Sun has with
janice -dot- gelb -at- sun -dot- com  | this message is the return address



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