Help me be a system admin

January 21, 2009 11:12 AM

I'm looking to switch careers into a more IT based role. I'm very well versed with troubleshooting windows and mac systems, however don't know much about the aspects of corporate IT work, ie. managing user groups, Microsoft Exchange or virtual directory. Are there any great learning guides/tools the hive can recommend?

I'm a very quick hands-on learner, so if it could be some sort of virtual environment that would be perfect. If it matters, I live in LA and wouldn't be adverse to a training course, however I prefer to do things on my own. I feel like I could get a grasp on everything quickly, I just want to use the best tools for the job.

Thanks!

posted by razzamatazm to education (2 answers total)

I think you mean Active Directory.

Do you have any friends who would be willing to share their setup with you, as well as why they made particular decisions? Any setup you do will be highly dependent on the particular business you're working with. Some want highly compartmentalized and restricted groups and permissions, others want more open permissions. It's important to know how to achieve each, but there is not going to be a single answer to the "best way" to manage groups.
posted by odinsdream at 11:26 AM on January 21, 2009

You can download a trial version of Windows server 2008 or 2003. If I were you, I'd start by setting up my own little lab with a server and some client computers- be it through physical machines or using Microsoft Virtual PC.

A couple basic things I'd research and learn (technet is a great resource):
-What is a domain, what is its purpose, and how to bind computers to a domain? How are user objects relevant to to domains.
-Active Directory- specifically users and computers. Learn to love it, and what it does. Of interest are the different objects you can create, what they actually do, and Group Policy Objects (aka GPO).
-Home directories.
-NTFS permissions. This is huge. Learn to use groups, and why where you'd use domain local, global, and universal to assign permissions. This includes creating and managing shares.

For reading, I'd recommend a Server 2003 admin book. The one I linked to isn't one I'd just go and read, but rather it's useful for looking up specific topics and what they do and how to use them.
There is training material that will start you from the groundup- Install Server, set up AD & DNS, Create objects, etc. Barnes and Noble tends to have a decent reference section so you can see for yourself.
posted by jmd82 at 11:40 AM on January 21, 2009