Network and system administration usually refers to the
skill of keeping computers and networks running properly. But
in truth, the skill needed is that of managing
complexity. This book describes the science behind
these complex systems, independent of the actual operating systems
they work on.
It provides a theoretical approach to systems administration
that:
* saves time in performing common system administration
tasks.
* allows safe utilization of untrained and trained help in
maintaining mission-critical systems.
* allows efficient and safe centralized network
administration.
Managing Human-Computer Networks:
* Will show how to make informed analyses and decisions about
systems, how to diagnose faults and weaknesses
* Gives advice/guidance as to how to determine optimal policies
for system management
* Includes exercises that illustrate the key points of the
book
The book provides a unique approach to an old problem
and will become a classic for researchers and graduate
students in Networking and Computer Science, as well as practicing
system managers and system administrators.
Autorentext
Mark Burgess is an Associate Professor at University College in Oslo, Norway,
Zusammenfassung
Network and system administration usually refers to the skill of keeping computers and networks running properly. But in truth, the skill needed is that of managing complexity. This book describes the science behind these complex systems, independent of the actual operating systems they work on.
It provides a theoretical approach to systems administration that:
- saves time in performing common system administration tasks.
- allows safe utilization of untrained and trained help in maintaining mission-critical systems.
- allows efficient and safe centralized network administration.
Managing Human-Computer Networks:
- Will show how to make informed analyses and decisions about systems, how to diagnose faults and weaknesses
- Gives advice/guidance as to how to determine optimal policies for system management
- Includes exercises that illustrate the key points of the book
The book provides a unique approach to an old problem and will become a classic for researchers and graduate students in Networking and Computer Science, as well as practicing system managers and system administrators.
Inhalt
Foreword xi
Preface xiv
1 Introduction 1
1.1 What is system administration? 1
1.2 What is a system? 2
1.3 What is administration? 2
1.4 Studying systems 3
1.5 What's in a theory? 6
1.6 How to use the text 10
1.7 Some notation used 10
2 Science and its methods 13
2.1 The aim of science 13
2.2 Causality, superposition and dependency 16
2.3 Controversies and philosophies of science 17
2.4 Technology 20
2.5 Hypotheses 20
2.6 The science of technology 21
2.7 Evaluating a system-dependencies 22
2.8 Abuses of science 22
3 Experiment and observation 25
3.1 Data plots and time series 26
3.2 Constancy of environment during measurement 27
3.3 Experimental design 28
3.4 Stochastic (random) variables 29
3.5 Actual values or characteristic values 30
3.6 Observational errors 30
3.7 The mean and standard deviation 31
3.8 Probability distributions and measurement 32
3.8.1 Scatter and jitter 35
3.8.2 The 'normal' distribution 35
3.8.3 Standard error of the mean 36
3.8.4 Other distributions 37
3.9 Uncertainty in general formulae 38
3.10 Fourier analysis and periodic behaviour 39
3.11 Local averaging procedures 41
3.12 Reminder 43
4 Simple systems 45
4.1 The concept of a system 45
4.2 Data structures and processes 46
4.3 Representation of variables 47
4.4 The simplest dynamical systems 48
4.5 More complex systems 49
4.6 Freedoms and constraints 50
4.7 Symmetries 51
4.8 Algorithms, protocols and standard 'methods' 52
4.9 Currencies and value systems 53
4.9.1 Energy and power 53
4.9.2 Money 54
4.9.3 Social currency and the notion of responsibility 54
4.10 Open and closed systems: the environment 56
4.11 Reliable and unreliable systems 58
5 Sets, states and logic 59
5.1 Sets 59
5.2 A system as a set of sets 61
5.3 Addresses and mappings 61
5.4 Chains and states 62
5.5 Configurations and macrostates 64
5.6 Continuum approximation 65
5.7 Theory of computation and machine language 65
5.7.1 Automata or State Machines 66
5.7.2 Operators and operands 68
5.7.3 Pattern matching and operational grammars 69
5.7.4 Pathway analysis and distributed algorithms 70
5.8 A policy-defined state 71
6 Diagrammatical representations 73
6.1 Diagrams as systems 73
6.2 The concept of a graph 74
6.3 Connectivity 77
6.4 Centrality: maxima and minima in graphs 77
6.5 Ranking in directed graphs 80
6.6 Applied diagrammatical methods 84
7 System variables 91
7.1 Information systems 91
7.2 Addresses, labels, keys and other resource locators 92
7.3 Continuous relationships 94
7.4 Digital comparison 94
8 Change in systems 97
8.1 Renditions of change 97
8.2 Determinism and predictability 98
8.3 Oscillations and fluctuations 99
8.4 Rate of change 102
8.5 Applications of the continuum approximation 103
8.6 Uncertainty in the continuum approximation 105
9 Information 109
9.1 What is information? 109
9.2 Transmission 110
9.3 Informationandcontrol 111
9.4 Classification and resolution 111
9.5 Statistical uncertainty and entropy 114
9.6 Propertiesoftheentropy 118
9.7 Uncertainty in communication 119
9.8 A geometrical interpretation of information 123
9.9 Compressibility and size of information 127
9.10 Information and state 128
9.11 Maximum entropy principle 129
9.12 Fluctuation spectra. 133
10 Stability 135
10.1 Basic notions 135
10.2 Types of stability 135
10.3 Constancy 136
10.4 Convergence of behaviour 137
10.5 Maxima and minima 138
10.6 Regions of stability in a graph 139
10.7 Graph stability under random node removal 141
10.8 Dynamical equilibria: compromise 142
10.9 Statistical stability 143
10.10 Scaling stability 145
10.11 Maximum entropy distributions 148
10.12 Eigenstates 148
10.13 Fixed points of maps 151
10.14 Metastable alternatives and adaptability 155
10.15 Final remarks 156
11 Resource networks 159
11.1 What is a system resource? 159
11.2 Representation of resources 160
11.3 Resource currency relationships 161
11.4 Resource allocation, consumption and conservation 162
11.5 Where to attach resources? 163
11.6 Access to resources 165
11.7 Methods of resource allocation 167
11.7.1 Logical regions of systems 167
11.7.2 Using centrality to identify resource bottlenecks 168
11.8 Directed resources: flow asymmetries 170
12 Task management and services 173
12.1 Task list scheduling 173
12.2 Deterministic and non-deterministic schedules 174
12.3 Human-computer scheduling 176
12.4 Service provision and policy 176
12.5 Queue processing 177
12.6 Model…