2nd edition delayed at the factory

A number of people have reported that their pre-orders have been canceled on Amazon and other book sites. Our publisher says that usually doesn't happen unless the delay is 6 months, which is not the case here. The publisher's liaisons to Amazon.com has been contacted and is going to find out what is wrong. In the meanwhile, please resubmit your order and accept our apologies.

We're told, "The Amazon order is being packed today [July 10] and should ship later today or tomorrow. It should hit their warehouses by the end of the week."

As far as why the book is delayed, we have an update. It seems that the factory put off our book to make room for a higher-priority book that is coming out. I won't say what the book is, but it has something to do with hallows that are deathly.

Posted by tal at July 10, 2007 10:01 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

2nd Edition of TPOSANA Announced at SAGE-AU, Strata Chalup joins the team

PRESS RELEASE

Title: 2nd Edition of TPOSANA Announced at SAGE-AU, Strata Chalup joins the team

During his keynote during SAGE-AU 2006, Tom Limoncelli announced that a second edition of The Practice of System and Network Administration is in the works.

The new edition:

  • Adds Strata Rose Chalup as a new co-author
  • Planned released in December 2006
  • Community Involvement is requested

The award winning Practice of System and Network Administration (Addison-Wesley) was originally released in 2001 and has become the industry standard for best practices in system administration. Many IT organizations consider it their "bible", some even buying copies in bulk to distribute to all new IT workers.

Strata R. Chalup joins as the book's third co-author. Strata brings her expertise in best practices and process-oriented system administration to the project.

The second edition is a combination of updates and several new chapters, and is currently in development. The current schedule has the book being available the first week of December 2006.

Tom and Christine started the original TPOSANA in a spirit of giving back to the community, and that spirit is very much alive in the second edition process. We're eager for community feedback on what you feel is important in a second edition. Pick a specific chapter near and dear to your heart, and tell us all about how it could meet your needs better! We're interested in having volunteers assist in proofreading and suggesting content for the updated chapters. New chapters will be available in early September for review as well.

Community members interested in helping with the project should contact Tom and Strata at ed2@everythingsysadmin.com

Chapters in the first edition are:

THE PRINCIPLES: 1. Desktops / 2. Servers / 3. Services / 4. Debugging / 5. Fixing Things Once / 6. Namespaces / 7. Security Policy / 8. Disaster Recovery and Data Integrity / 9. Ethics

THE PROCESSES: 10. Change Management and Revision Control / 11. Server Upgrades / 12. Maintenance Windows / 13. Service Conversions / 14. Centralization and Decentralization

THE PRACTICE: 15. Helpdesks / 16. Customer Care / 17. Data Centers / 18. Networks / 19. Email Service / 20. Print service / 21. Backup and Restore / 22. Remote Access Service / 23. Software Depot Service / 24. Service Monitoring / 25. Organization Structures / 26. Perception and Visibility / 27. Being Happy / 28. A Guide for Technical Managers / 29. A Guide for Nontechnical Managers / 30. Hiring System Administrators / 31. Firing System Administrators

END MATTER: Epilogue / Appendix A. The Many Roles of a System Administrator / Appendix B. What to Do When... / Appendix C. Acronyms / Bibliography / Index

For more information, please refer to our website http://www.EverythingSysadmin.com

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Posted by tal at July 26, 2006 08:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

SAGE/LOPSA Outstanding Achievement Award

Today at the Opening Plenary of the USENIX LISA2005 conference, Christine and I were presented the 2005 Outstanding Achievement Award for our book, The Practice of System and Network Administration. I accepted the award on Christine's behalf, as she is in Switzerland and couldn't attend the conference.

Here is the transcript of our acceptance speech:

Christine wishes she could be here, but this is a hectic time of year; all the aerodynamic components for next year's car have to be finalized very soon.

We do have three things we'd like to say.

First:
Christine and I thank you for this award. We are profoundly, profoundly humbled. Sociologists say that communities pass knowledge from generation to generation by telling their stories. We didn't set out to win an award. We just wanted to pass on our stories.

Second:
The book emphasizes the importance of building repeatable processes. Thus, I'd like to explain my formula for success so that others can replicate it. First, be an average guy from New Joisey with an "pretty good" idea to fill a gap in the existing literature. Next, find a co-author that is immensely smarter than you, like Christine Hogan. Then, work with an editor that believes in your vision and promises to hold your hand through the long, dark, scary process of publishing a 700-page book. Someone like Karen Gettman at Addison-Wesley. Lastly, have a support network made up of friends, proofreaders, significant others, and other people that are the best.
Do these things and writing a book is easy.

Third:
This book is a reflection of SAGE and LOPSA. We wrote what we know, and what we know we learned from people that are all members of SAGE/LOPSA. Every time I open the book, every time I turn the page, I am instantly reminded of the good lessons learned from a mentor, co-worker or friend. All of whom are part of SAGE and LOPSA. Thus, if this book is any kind of an outstanding achievement, it is simply because SAGE/LOPSA is an outstanding achievement.

We look forward to the future of both organizations.

Thank you.

Posted by tal at December 07, 2005 12:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Speaking tour to promote Time Management for System Administrators

I'll be speaking at User Groups in your area about my new book, Time Management for System Administrators. The talk covers the most important tips from the book.

More soon! If you want me to speak at your user group, please drop me a note!

Posted by tal at November 01, 2005 05:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack