System Administration Unix system administration explained
From "Migration (sidebar)",  Access to Wang, August 1993
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Ask anyone considering a switch from the Wang VS to Unix what their biggest concern is and they're likely to mention system administration first. Unix has a poor reputation for tools on the administration side - deservedly so, in most cases. When Unix vendors talk about "meeting the needs of commercial users" they usually mention their own enhancements to Unix administration tools as proof of their intent.

Unix administration demands are conceptually similar to any other computer system: the administrator must grapple with system and file integrity checks, adding and removing users, backup, security, and setting up new terminals, modems, printers, and networks. One difference is that the tools are simultaneously primitive and very powerful, requiring careful attention by skilled, knowledgeable users. Unix environments can also be radically different from one site to another, making universal tools unlikely.

The "traditional" approach to Unix system administration usually dictates a set of carefully crafted script files that perform the most difficult and important tasks. This "roll your own" approach is favored by the iconoclastic personality of technical Unix users, and by some vendors (Sun, for one) that apparently do not feel that system administration tools are a requirement of the operating system.

Most vendors (Hewlett-Packard, IBM) include at least one tool for general administration but rely on the end user to supply their own tools for site-specific requirements, such as setting up a network address for a device. On the top of the scale are third- party software packages for system administration such as Computer Associates's UNICENTER and Unison-Tymlabs's Data Center series - products that were derived from the mainframe world and intended to control most aspects of system administration and operation.

Most VS users would find the traditional script approach too dangerous and data center products too costly, and are likely to rely on vendor products for most needs, supplemented by script files for other aspects. It is important to understand that all of these approaches have Unix commands as their foundation and that it will be necessary to understand how these commands work even if you don't ever have to key them in.