Difference between "operator" and "system administrator"?

[Robert Felps]

In <680 at dynasys.UUCP> jessea at dynasys.UUCP (Jesse W. Asher) writes:

>A local company is going unix in a big way and one of the MIS Dept. 
>managers posed a question I was unable to answer.  They have AS400's and
>a couple of VAXs for which they have "operators".  The question was:  What
>is the difference between a system administrator and an operator?  They are
>trying to figure out the definition of system administrator in relation
>to what an operator does.  Can anyone give me an idea of how to answer this
>question?  I'm not familiar with what an "operator" does, so I couldn't
>answer the question.  Any suggestions would be welcome.

In my own words,

A UNIX Operator,

	"THE GRUNT", often answer this way.

	Performs the menial/mundane tasks of system administration.
	May also perform techinician type tasks.

	For example,
		Shutdown and booting
		Backups
		File System Checks
		User Account Administration
		Mail checks(from cron), the S.A. should automate!
		Terminal Connections/Setup
		Printer Connections/Setup
		Basic User Support(Optional)
		etc.

	In the mainframe world an operator is a "tape monkey" plus
	console request handler. Of if you will, a console monitor.

A UNIX System Administrator,

	"THE TRAIL BLAZER", often on fire him/herself.

	Should always carry a phillips & flat bladded screw driver,
	where mountain boots, have a spare ding-dong & twinkie, keep
	tinker bell in shirt pocket, carry a lamb and lumber in tool
	box, wire clippers in hip pocket, box of paper on sholder,
	reference manual under left arm, and resume in briefcase.

	Performs any tasks related to keeping the UNIX system operating
	smoothly. Usually performs the installation, setup and initial
	operation of all hardware and software.

	For example,
		Shutdown and booting
		Backups
		File System Checks
		User Account Administration
		Mail checks(from cron), the S.A. should automate!
		Terminal Connections/Setup
		Printer Connections/Setup
		-plus-
		Shell Programming(Optional but hard to survive without)
		C Programming(Optional but often helpful)
		Security Issues
		UUCP
		TCP/IP-Ethernet
		Advanced User Support
		Utilities Expert(Optional but VERY useful)
		System Recovery(Disk recoveries)
		Disaster Recovery
		Hardware Upgrades
		Software Upgrades
		Tuning and Performance
		Capacity Planning
		Keep contracts up-to-date
		Purchase New Equipment
		Local system configurations(sysgen)
		Local documentation
		etc.


The larger the shop the more likly it seems you have operator(s) and system
administrator(s) with separate job descriptions. But it is all up to the
company and boss.

I've been both!!!

Thanks,
Robert Felps                                felps at convex.com
Convex Computer Corp                        OS System Specialist
3000 Waterview Parkway                      Tech. Assistant Ctr
Richardson, Tx.  75083                      1(800) 952-0379