[lug] upgrading from redhat-6.1

[Nate Duehr]

> No wonder my Dad (the "mainframe guy") is always trashing us "open systems
> guys" :-(

Thus begins a rant:

I don't see the relationship to what open systems and being a good system
admin have in common.  No offense, but I've met a few guys like your dad -- 
they equate open with low-quality.

Sure, if you hire low-quality or cheap or inexperienced or downright
reckless people to run the systems.

I think the difference here is, companies that ran mainframes "back in the
day" really knew what they wanted their computer systems to do and knew how
much (very much) it was going to cost to keep an appropriate level of
support for those systems -- and they knew what their return on investment
was going to be.  And those decisions were in place BEFORE the first
hardware was ever purchased.  Old-school solid business practices.

I doubt your dad ever had the scenario where a former admin got the systems
he worked on to a point where there were over 80 of them running, not
documented, seven different versions of Unix and no hard set-in-stone rules
about where user/production data is stored on the filesystems... and the
backups didn't cover everything... and maybe even a cultural resistance to
change that.  ;-)

Heh... but if he did, that'd be one seriously messed up bunch of mainframes!
:)

Mainframes being big, expensive and centralized helped keep down "system
bloat" where people will just slap in more and more and more production
boxes without thinking of the maintenance consequences.  "We need it now" is
still alive and well.  In the day of the mainframe one could say, "So do ten
other departments.  Get in line."  Now we trade quality for fast and slap an
underpowered linux box with no RAID, no backups, old questionable hardware,
and virtually no support in place to do the job that a real server-quality
hardware box with good documentation should be doing.

Mix in the current job market and most of us will GLADLY slap machines
togther for whatever purpose and hope to get some documentation done in the
process and hopefully later clean up the big mess.  If that's what the boss
wants.  Sure we'll try to talk some sense into him, but if it comes down to
it.... well, we all know how that goes.

It happens these days.  And no, it's not "right", but I honestly don't think
it's root cause is open systems -- its root cause is bad business practices
and "get rich quick" business owners.  Look at the magazine titles... "Fast
Company"... how about "Slow but well-funded, ain't gonna die anytime soon
Company"... where'd those go?  :-)  (Yeah, I know there are a few left.)

In the case of open systems and very small businesses, an $8/hour high
school kid working a temp job in the summer suddenly can find himself in
charge of a small IT department if he "builds something cool" with a cheap
linux box that seemingly helps the businessman... (and quite frankly that's
cool if the kid does that.. but...)

He's got no formal training, no budget, and usually not a single
businessperson above him/her with a clue about what the system he just built
them in his spare time will cost over the long-term, nor what the real
productivity gains are -- but it's shiny and new and looks "technological"
and the small businessman might like that sort of thing, forgeting that a
filing cabinet and some folders and paper documents might actually be more
efficient for his business type and size.  :-)

Sorry, got off on a rant here... no offense meant to any mainframe guys, but
I've never seen a mainframe that didn't garner a decent operating budget and
staffing just due to its sheer size.  Open software by default can be used
responsibly by those with OR without a clue, there's no virtually no barrier
to entry with a decent PC running about $500 these days... and sometimes
those without a clue are successful at using them.  Sometimes not.  :-)

They usually do better if they find a wolf pack of old Unix grumps who will
tell 'em "how to do it right" as they go along.    :-)  Heh...  BLUG
sometimes serves nicely for this purpose... and thus the full cirle...

Someone grumped that the person who was doing the upgrade was just NOW
getting around to backups!?  Ditto that sentimet!  (Harumph, harumph...)
Backup early, backup often!   :-)

(HUGE GRIN...)

Nate Duehr, nate at natetech.com