Twenty years ago the first edition of The Practice of System and Network Administration shipped! Since then there has been a 2nd and 3rd edition (2006 and 2014), plus a sequel book The Practice of Cloud System Administration, and many printings. (see the timeline here)

When we started the project we had no idea if it would be a success. There was a real chance it could be a flop. Many people told us that our proposal was illogical: How could you have a book about system administration that is vendor agnostic and talks about process and people instead of specific tools and operating systems? Well, to be honest, we took a deep breath and started writing anyway. It took 2+ years but in Sept/Oct 2001 the book finally shipped!

Instead of a flop, the reaction we got was very positive! It has sold tens of thousands of copies. Many universities have used the book and its future editions as text books. It received the Usenix LISA Outstanding Achievement Award. One DevOps pundit told me she considers it to be "the first devops book" which was quite humbling.

When I visited Google in 2004 (a year before I considered joining) I was told everyone in the "systems operations" team was given a copy on their first day. The person giving me a tour then took me to a supply closet with 30 copies awaiting to be distributed to new hires.

However the real satisfaction comes from how it has helped others. Fans have related many heartwarming stories. Many fans have told us they felt like reading the book was a turning point in their life, that the book "turned me into a professional system administrator".

To thank our readers, our publisher is offering a special deal: 45% off the latest editions now until Oct 31, 2021 What? You still have the 2nd edition and haven't seen the dozens of chapters of new material in the 3rd edition? Or maybe you haven't heard of our Cloud book? Now is your chance to get the 3rd edition or the cloud sequel!

• Use this link: https://informit.com/tposa
• Use this coupon code: TPOSA

Thank you to everyone that gave us feedback on the early drafts! Thank you to all our readers! This book changed our lives and we hope it changed yours too!

P.S. We would love to hear from you! Please post a comment with reflections on the book.

The Usenix LISA conference is no more. After 35 years, I have a lot of good (and some not good) memories of the conference. It was a big part of my career and I'm sad to see it go. However I'm proud of what LISA accomplished.

I wrote my personal reflections on the conference in a new article published on the Usenix website. Warning: this article includes some over-sharing.

Read it here: LISA made LISA obsolete (That's a compliment!)

After a 2-year break, my column in ACM Queue magazine returns! It has a new name "Operations and Life".

For many years I wrote a column in ACM Queue Magazine. It was called "Everything Sysadmin" and covered devops, IT, and basically anything I felt like. I stopped writing in 2020 due to the pandemic and a general lack of motivation. My last column was published Nov 2020. Two years later I finally feel like writing again.

The new column is called "Operations and Life". I'm going to write about the intersection of devops and personal life. I believe that most techniques we use at work can apply in our personal life and vice-versa.

These columns will be shorter and more to the point. While my old column would often be 10 or more pages long, my goal now is to keep things to about 2000-3000 words. This will make them easier to read and digest. This format is more web-friendly.

The first article in this new format is out!

Read it here: Split Your Overwhelmed Teams: Two teams of five is not the same as one team of ten

A hearty noodle bowl recipe. Whole grain noodles and asparagus are tossed with a creamy, walnut-miso dressing plus a dollop of chile paste.

Continue reading Walnut Miso Noodles on 101 Cookbooks

A hearty wild rice soup loaded with mushrooms, flecked with fresh thyme, and bolstered with Gruyere cheese and cream. The perfect winter warmer.

Continue reading Creamy Wild Rice Soup on 101 Cookbooks

Classic, buttery, whole wheat shortbread cookies. They're fragrant with rosewater, flecked with toasted nuts, and dried rose petals.

Continue reading Rose Shortbread Cookies on 101 Cookbooks

Wintery spring rolls were the perfect lunch on a recent flight. Self-contained and slathered with a bold ginger-onion paste, filled with brown sugar tofu, mushrooms, lettuce, and herbs. The best kind of BYO plane food.

Continue reading Wintery Spring Rolls on 101 Cookbooks

A wonderful farro and roasted butternut squash recipe. Balsamic roasted butternut squash, deeply toasted walnuts, and nutty farro come together in this delicious recipe.

Continue reading Farro with Roasted Butternut Squash on 101 Cookbooks

The tomato soup to make if you have a good blender and a haul of tomatoes. Tomatoes, onions, garlic, and a red pepper are roasted, then seasoned with a touch of smoky paprika. Couldn't be more simple or flavorful.

Continue reading Roasted Tomato Soup on 101 Cookbooks

These lime scones are something special. Made with fragrant Rangpur lime zest and juice, they’re tender and rustic with golden craggy edges and a zest-flecked icing shell on top.

Continue reading Rangpur Lime Scones on 101 Cookbooks

Hurra, Wochenende – und damit mehr Zeit zum Hören und Sehen! In unserer Wochenendausgabe präsentieren wir Euch eine Auswahl empfehlenswerter Filme und Podcasts mit Medienbezug. Dieses Mal wegen der am Dienstag anstehenden Wahl in den USA mit einem Fokus auf den Einfluss von Medien auf den Wahlausgang. Viel Spaß bei Erkenntnisgewinn und Unterhaltung! *** 1. […]

1. Wie die Öffentlich-Rechtlichen aus der Krise kommen sollen (taz.de, Ann-Kathrin Leclère) Ann-Kathrin Leclère hat die wichtigsten Fragen und Antworten zur Rundfunkreform zusammengestellt, beispielsweise: Warum braucht es Reformen? Wer kümmert sich darum? Was wurde beschlossen? Wer hat Angst vor welchen Änderungen? Und was ist mit dem Rundfunkbeitrag? 2. Wie das insolvente Kreml-Medium Ruptly unter neuem […]

1. “Wir müssen uns von der Vorstellung lösen, dass Journalismus gleichbedeutend mit Content ist” (journalist.de, Leif Kramp & Stephan Weichert) Bei journalist.de ist ein lesenswertes Interview mit dem US-amerikanischen Journalismus-Experten Jeff Jarvis erschienen, der gleich in der ersten Antwort ziemlich direkt wird: “Während wir die US-Wahlen durchlaufen, frage ich mich, ob es Zeit ist, den […]

1. Automatisierte Bots auf X greifen in den US-Wahlkampf ein (zeit.de, Eva Wolfangel) “Die Sorge, dass das Internet von Bots zersetzt wird, gibt es schon lange. Jetzt gibt es erstmals klare Belege für solche KI-Accounts – manche machen Stimmung für Trump.” Eva Wolfangel gibt einen Einblick in die derzeitige Forschung zu Bot-Netzwerken. Weiterer Lesetipp: Elon […]

1. RSF verurteilt israelische Nachrichtenblockade (reporter-ohne-grenzen.de) Die Organisation Reporter ohne Grenzen (RSF) verurteilt den Umgang der israelischen Armee mit Medienschaffenden. “Aus dem Norden des Gazastreifens dringen immer weniger Informationen heraus, und gerade deshalb wird Journalismus immer wichtiger”, so RSF-Geschäftsführerin Anja Osterhaus: “Die israelischen Streitkräfte verhindern zunehmend Bilder und Stimmen von der Realität des Krieges und […]

Hurra, Wochenende – und damit mehr Zeit zum Hören und Sehen! In unserer Wochenendausgabe präsentieren wir Euch eine Auswahl empfehlenswerter Filme und Podcasts mit Medienbezug. Viel Spaß bei Erkenntnisgewinn und Unterhaltung! *** 1. Welche Rolle haben Medien beim Ampel-Aus gespielt? (uebermedien.de, Holger Klein, Audio: 24:34 Minuten) Im “Übermedien”-Podcast hat sich Holger Klein mit Ann-Kathrin Büüsker […]

1. Wir produzieren keine Eiscreme (journalist.de, Jacob Goldmann (Pseudonym)) In seinem Essay “Wir produzieren keine Eiscreme” beschreibt Jacob Goldmann, ein Pseudonym eines Lokaljournalisten, wie wirtschaftliche Interessen zunehmend redaktionelle Entscheidungen beeinflussen. Als ein Beispiel nennt er die Berichterstattung über die Nosferatu-Spinne, die aufgrund der hohen Klickzahlen zu einer Überflutung des Nachrichtenangebots geführt habe. Goldmann argumentiert, dass […]

1. Euronews-Redaktionen protestieren gegen ihren neuen Chef Claus Strunz (uebermedien.de, Stefan Niggemeier) Stefan Niggemeier fasst die Diskussionen um den neuen Euronews-Chef Claus Strunz, Ex-Mitglied der “Bild”-Chefredaktion, zusammen. Mitarbeiterinnen, Mitarbeiter und Gewerkschaften in Lyon und Brüssel würfen Strunz vor, die Prinzipien der Neutralität und Unparteilichkeit zu verletzen, insbesondere durch öffentliche Pro-Trump-Äußerungen und politische Eingriffe in die […]

1. Bundestag will die Öffentlichkeitsarbeit der Fraktionen neu regeln (netzpolitik.org, Martin Schwarzbeck) Der Bundestag plane, noch vor der nächsten Wahl die Regeln für die Öffentlichkeitsarbeit der Fraktionen zu überarbeiten. Der Bundesrechnungshof habe festgestellt, dass viele Social-Media-Aktivitäten der Fraktionen, die eigentlich die parlamentarische Arbeit darstellen sollen, in der Vergangenheit parteipolitische Werbung enthielten. Eine breite Mehrheit der […]

If you’re facing criminal charges, the best thing you can do is look for opportunities …

The post 7 Tips for Getting Criminal Charges Reduced appeared first on Pink Is The New Blog.

B3ta newsletter 927, out now "ASCII NEWSLETTER FLASHES SIDE-BOOB AND REVEALS PERKY URLS" This Week: * QUEEN RESPECTS - how your fave brands paid them * JUST OUT OF SHOT - image challenge * SHANNON MATTHEWS THE MUSICAL - on your telly

Goodbye Legless Sorry to share this news - from the email: "Hi B3ta. Bit of sad news, Joe Thompson aka Legless passed away last week. Thought you might want to post something, better coming from you instead of some random lurker. The funeral will be webcast. Whack it in /links for a suitably tasteless send off :)" If you want to leave a comment - stick it on the thread.

B3ta newsletter 928, out now "FRANKIE SAYS EX-LAX: SHART THE UNEMPLOYED" This Week: * ARE HOLIDAYS GOOD? - find out now * IMAGE CHALLENGE - sitcom monster mashup results * CONTROL PACMAN - with your own face, at last

Click for bigger (137 kb)

B3ta newsletter 929, out now "ONCE AGAIN THE HAM MARKETING BOARD REJECT OUR SLOGAN: SNORTY BUT SLICED" This Week: * LOST CONSONANTS - legendary B3ta challenge back * PRIME NUMBER PROJECT - can you count? Then count * OFFICIAL AMSTRAD NOSTALGIA SITE - thanks Alan

The hepatitis E virus protein ORF1 contains a region that scientists have struggled to characterize, making the structure and function of this region the subject of much debate. Now, Princeton scientists show that this region of the protein does not behave as a protease, as has been previously suggested, but instead serves as a molecular scaffold to stabilize the rest of the ORF1 protein.

Documenting climate change at the ends of the Earth.

Getting hit with one hurricane is bad enough, but new research from Princeton Engineering shows that back-to-back versions may become common for many areas in coming decades.

A Princeton-led team of astrophysicists has measured a surprising value for the “clumpiness” of the universe’s dark matter.

Princeton chemists used MacMillan's µMap, a molecular mapping technology, to watch tiny changes in a DNA-protein complex called chromatin — essentially, an architecture that allows for the compaction of DNA — in the presence of genetic mutations associated with cancer.

Research by Princeton scholars at the Atacama Cosmology Telescope collaboration has culminated in a significant breakthrough in understanding the evolution of the universe.

National survey highlights vibrancy and growth of campus research

Sugar gliders and bats are about as distantly related as any two mammals on Earth, but new Princeton research shows their wings are formed from the same genetic ingredients. 

The National Science Foundation has awarded a $52.66 million grant to fund a major infrastructure upgrade to the Simons Observatory in the Atacama Desert of Chile. Upgrades are expected to take about five years; the resulting facility will be known as the Advanced Simons Observatory (ASO).

Amichai Feit had known Seema Jayachandran as a Twitter-famous development economist.  She became Feit’s senior thesis advisor for a policy-analysis project that included economic field research in India.

The Princeton professor's research follows elephants, wolves and urban lizards. He hosts the new PBS series, "Human Footprint."

The landmark 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has committed nearly $400 billion to mitigating climate change. Nine research teams across the U.S, including a Princeton team led by Jesse Jenkins, have now modeled the law's effect on U.S. carbon emissions.

While we primarily think of viruses as targeting their attacks against us, they are also in constant competition with each other.

SPIA’s Andrew Guess and research colleagues used de-identified data from Facebook and Instagram to explore how changes in the way content was delivered affected people's attitudes and behavior.

Princeton's Jesse Jenkins on the new momentum in clean energy, and big challenges left to solve.

The world wastes enough food to feed a billion people. A collaboration between Princeton and Microsoft Research is engineering a 6G wireless sensor to be part of the solution.

Princeton's 'extremely supportive' environment for new ideas laid the foundation for an aha moment about a toggle switch in the fruit fly brain. Do humans have one, too? 

This is the second round of Princeton Alliance for Collaborative Research (PACRI) projects partnering HBCU and Princeton researchers.

Two NASA telescopes helped an international team of astrophysicists peer far enough back in time to gain new insight on how black holes form.

Scientists have long known that magnetic fields probably extract energy from spinning black holes — they just didn’t know how.

Research on a massive storm at Gorongosa National Park offers strategies for wildlife managers around the world.

The scientific feat is also "a breakthrough for practical applications because entangled molecules can be the building blocks for many future applications.” says physicist Lawrence Cheuk.

Professor Wendy Laura Belcher and a primarily Ethiopian team of researchers and translators have brought new insight and access to Marian miracle stories — all now available on a website.