We are going to study Unix System Administration. This should not be confused with studying topics such as "the Unix Operating System" or "the installation of a Unix Operating System". We are going to assume the operating system is already installed, although some aspects of its installation will be considered. We are going to assume that you understand the basics of an operating system, or will learn whatever else you need to know as you encounter the need for that understanding in attempting to administer the system.

What administration is mostly about is figuring out what your users will need based upon their perceived needs and the policies of the organization on whose behalf you are admininstering the machine. You will generally not be administering a single machine, but in many cases dozens or hundreds of machines in accordance with generally applicable configurations. You may need to set up, and possibly create, tools that allow users to perform the administration of individual machines, especially as far as customizing matters such as screen layout that do not affect data, and you may need to work with or even be the administrator of systems such as databases or webservers.