ADMIN - Explore the new world of system administration! ADMIN is a smart, technical magazine for IT pros on heterogeneous networks. Each issue delivers technical solutions to the real-world problems you face every day. Learn the latest techniques for better:
network security
system management
troubleshooting
performance tuning
virtualization
cloud computing
on Windows, Linux, Solaris, and popular varieties of Unix.
To check on the health of a Linux system, administrators can turn to vmstat, iostat, netstat, and ifstat. Or, you can just use the versatile dstat, which combines the features of several tools in a single package.
Logfiles contain records of what happens on a Linux system and the services it runs. Tools like Logcheck and Logsurfer filter out the most important events for the administrator, and they can even trigger an appropriate reaction automatically.
Pacemaker
Automated monitoring with Pacemaker resource agents
Apr 24, 2012
When a cluster node fails, the Pacemaker high-availability tool launches the services on another node. A lesser known feature is Pacemaker’s ability to put failed services back on their feet in the cluster manager.
Keeping all the Linux clients in an enterprise environment up to date can be a major logistical challenge. Many harassed administrators appreciate a good software distribution system, especially if it is a free tool that doesn’t stress the IT budget.
