Starting a new UNIX system

[David Parsons]

I work for Uncle Sam, and my organization is on the brink of purchasing
a brand new UNIX minicomputer to act as a database server for an NFS
network of PC's, about 60 to start.

The people in Sodom on the Potomac are being EXTREMELY casual about
planning for this... installation is in 6 weeks, and as of today there
has been no training for our current operators and only vague plans for
hiring a contract systems administrator.

I fear that they think they'll be able to run the whole show from remote-
control... they've been doing that with our IVPhase, which is still 
more-or-less creaking along, with only marginal success, and UNIX is 
just a tad more complicated than JCL.

I am way down in the decision-making ladder, and I need some compelling
arguements as to why such a system needs more than just training by 
rote for our operators.  

I would VERY MUCH appreciate hearing from anyone who has started a 
similar system from scratch about the first ten disasters they encountered,
or what vital functions they served and what procedures they established
that spelled the difference between a working system and a disaster.

Dave Parsons

Big Electric Cat Public UNIX
..!cmcl2!{ccnysci,cucard,hombre}!dasys1!parsnips

P.S. I know this all sounds silly, but we're routinely stranger than fiction...
-- 
David Parsons
Big Electric Cat Public UNIX
..!cmcl2!{ccnysci,cucard,hombre}!dasys1!parsnips