syslog

If we didn't already realize the importance of disaster recovery plans, recent events have surely brought to the forefront the need for carefully crafted, thoroughly tested, and effectively implemented plans. We are accepting articles from systems administrators involved in recovering data and restoring networks and generally solving the types of problems sys admins can uniquely solve in areas affected by disaster. What worked? What didn't? How did you fix it? If you wish to contribute an article sharing your solutions and experiences, you may submit your proposals to Rikki or me via email.

I'm not going to write about disaster recovery here, though. I'm going to talk about the future -- specifically, the future of Sys Admin. I'm the type of person who generally sees the future as one big opportunity for improvement and who, especially in times of stress, looks around to see what practical steps can be taken toward that end. (Some judicious system cleanup, for example, can do wonders to immediately improve one's outlook and calm frazzled nerves.)

I think Sys Admin magazine can both be improved and be an effective tool for improvement if we take advantage of some of its unique properties. The unofficial tag line of this magazine when it was founded was "by systems administrators, for systems administrators". To me, this means that the magazine is your vehicle to drive in the direction you need it to go.

Armed with the information that is typically provided in the magazine, administrators can increase system performance, strengthen system security, and ensure system reliability. And, because the magazine is distributed globally, solutions and practices presented here are applied around the world. By writing an article for Sys Admin, you are contributing to a body of information used to manage interconnected systems all over the map.

So, what information do you need? What problems need to be solved? What's going to be important in the future? We make our monthly themes fairly broad for a reason -- to encompass a wide range of topics that might be particularly timely or significant to you. What problems are you working on right now? I encourage you to share those problems and solutions with your peers. Through the magazine, we can advocate best practices in scripting, troubleshooting, backup and recovery, and a multitude of other topics. This not only drives the magazine but also creates an opportunity to improve the security, performance, and reliability of future as well as existing systems.

I'm reminded of that bumper sticker slogan that says, "think globally; act locally". We can do that with Sys Admin; solve a problem locally and share your experience for the benefit of systems around the world.

Sincerely yours,

Amber Ankerholz
Editor in Chief