RMG3@psuvm.psu.edu (10/09/90)
The question is - 'Is maintenence-free UNIX an oxymoron?' I have a very serious reason for asking the question, humorous though it may seem at first glance. I and another person have been the system administrators for a set of SUNs here running the SUN OS derivative of BSD. A faculty member recently left on sabbatical, taking a SUN 386i (also running unix) with him. The problem is that he is not a computer person, much less a unix guru. Several things have happened on the system which appear to have been avoidable by a knowledgeable unix user, but probably not otherwise (system crashes and devices not being recognized, for example). So can we set up _something_ on the system so that the system will run without being touched by the hands of an administrator? It needs to be able to print, make tape backups, and support an ethernet connection. The user can change tapes (or disks) when told, but shouldn't have to know the commands to issue. We have come to the conclusion that unix as an operating system is something like a Lambourghini (sp?) -- very powerful in the hands of a skilled user, but it needs frequent retuning, also by a skilled person. It seems (vaguely) that BSD is more 'touchy' than SYSV. The HP-UX version (based on system 5)(what is the word for 'been the administrator of'?) I had administered^ a couple years ago would run about 4 months between bouts of serious intervention. The SUN-OS system seems to require serious intervention at least monthly. Is it a common observation that BSD requires a more active administrator than SYSV? Thanks, If response warrants, I'll summarize to the group. Bob Grumbine a.k.a. rmg3@psuvm.psu.edu
dkeisen@Gang-of-Four.Stanford.EDU (Dave Eisen) (10/10/90)
In article <90282.125053RMG3@psuvm.psu.edu> RMG3@psuvm.psu.edu writes: > > The question is - 'Is maintenence-free UNIX an oxymoron?' > I have a very serious reason for asking the question, humorous >though it may seem at first glance. I don't think it's a humorous question at all, it's a serious issue for my company. We sell point of sales systems (we wrote a device driver that allows a cash register to talk to a Xenix box and software to do price lookup, inventory control, accounting, etc.) running on Xenix to people who are incapable of using (or unwilling to learn) vi, let alone administer a Unix system. The current policy of our major contract is to let their distributors decide whether or not to even give anyone on site the root password! This forces us to make the system run by itself. It is no small task to make a UNIX system maintenance-free. I wouldn't try to pretend that we've succeeded. -- Dave Eisen Home: (415) 323-9757 dkeisen@Gang-of-Four.Stanford.EDU Office: (415) 967-5644 1447 N. Shoreline Blvd. Mountain View, CA 94043
gentry@kcdev.UUCP (Art Gentry) (10/11/90)
>In article <90282.125053RMG3@psuvm.psu.edu> RMG3@psuvm.psu.edu writes: > > The question is - 'Is maintenence-free UNIX an oxymoron?' > I have a very serious reason for asking the question, humorous >though it may seem at first glance. That is a very reasonable question, with a very unreasonable answer. It's damn tough, if not impossible to make unix totally maintenance free. That's why my company offers a service that make a unix system maintenance free, as far as the users are concerned. We do remote system admin/mgmt. For a set fee per month (depends on the size of the installation), we take care of all the mundane (and not so mundane) tasks in keeping a unix box well fed and happy. That way all the users have to worry about is running thier applications. There are just too many things that still need a human interface to be able to totally automate it. --- | R. Arthur Gentry Gentry and Associates Excelsior Springs, MO 64024 | | Email: gentry@genco.uucp ATTMail: attmail!kc4rtm!gentry | | The UNIX BBS: 816-221-0475 The Bedroom BBS: 816-637-4183 | | $include {std_disclaimer.h} "I will make a guess" - Spock - STIV |
jmm@eci386.uucp (John Macdonald) (10/11/90)
In article <1990Oct10.161242.3423@Neon.Stanford.EDU> dkeisen@Gang-of-Four.Stanford.EDU (Dave Eisen) writes: |In article <90282.125053RMG3@psuvm.psu.edu> RMG3@psuvm.psu.edu writes: |> |> The question is - 'Is maintenence-free UNIX an oxymoron?' |> I have a very serious reason for asking the question, humorous |>though it may seem at first glance. | | |I don't think it's a humorous question at all, it's a serious issue for |my company. We sell point of sales systems (we wrote a device driver |that allows a cash register to talk to a Xenix box and software to |do price lookup, inventory control, accounting, etc.) running on Xenix |to people who are incapable of using (or unwilling to learn) vi, let |alone administer a Unix system. The current policy of our major contract |is to let their distributors decide whether or not to even give anyone on |site the root password! This forces us to make the system run by itself. | |It is no small task to make a UNIX system maintenance-free. I wouldn't |try to pretend that we've succeeded. Warning: commercial service description to follow... Our company has a service offering called ERSA - Expert Remote Systems Assurance (announced in comp.newprod in August, check your archives or send me email for a copy). It provides remote systems maintainence for ANY type of Unix (Xenix System III, version 7, Sys V, BSD, split universe, etc.). It is highly extensible for local control, or for adding customized support modules. We mostly try to deal with computer service providers - system manufacturers, VARs, etc. rather than end users. If requested, I can discuss technical aspects further in this forum. If you have business questions, try email, snail mail or phone. mail Elegant Communications Inc. 602 - 481 University Ave. Toronto, Ont., Canada, M5G 2E9 phone +1 416 595-5425 fax +1 416 595-5439 (working hours only - the line is attached to a modem at night) -- Cure the common code... | John Macdonald ...Ban Basic - Christine Linge | jmm@eci386