Overview

This book provides real world case studies of methods to run a 24x7 global distributed computing enviroment. The techniques presented in the case studies reflect state of the art, industry standard approaches to systems administration, database administration, and production batch cycles at various Wall Street investment banks. Contains collections of articles contributed by the leadng industry specialist. Though the case studies are UNIX specific, the general concepts apply equally well to PC networks.

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9780132402927

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Reviews

The following are unsolicited reviews of Mission Critical Systems Management By Yuval Lirov. Dr. Benjamin Melamed, a Bell Laboratories Fellow, Professor at Rutgers University, and IEEE Fellow: Set a new standard in systems management This book explores the monumental task of supporting today's heterogeneous distributed computer systems. The new methodology introduced in the book is based on accountability and automation and has been key to effecting spectacular improvements in both support quality and personnel productivity at Lehman Brothers. The production of this seminal text involved a team-oriented approach. Written with colleagues from leading investment, industry, and academic institutions such as Salomon Brothers, Sun Microsystems and MIT, the work's subject reflects its team-oriented authorship. The book's uniqueness lies in its lucid treatment of a subject which is inherently behind-the-scenes. In a brilliant foreword, Kevin McGilloway, CIO of Lehman Brothers, articulatesthe fundamental reality of systems support where no news is good news , and yet no modern trading can be conducted without the computer. In what he describes as the change culture of Wall Street, where profit depends on market dynamics, computer systems must enable traders to capitalize on the continuous evolution of markets. This dynamic marketplace tolerates nothing less than zero downtime. The book shows how to meet the ultimate challenge of balancing change with perfect availability of the computer/communications infrastructure. Boris Tiomkin, Vice President, Salomon Brothers October 23, 1997: Expert advice on how to double support quality and productivity Tired of continued turnover of skilled systems personnel? Confused by the haphazard introduction of new technologies, such as Windows NT? In this new extraordinary book you can learn both the practical skills and cultural context needed to deal with growing complexity of systems support in a rapidly evolving marketplace. Specific to distributed computing systems, this first-of-its-kind idea book divulges knowledge accumulated over years of practical experience in the arena of performance, availability and cost reduction. Like a modern-day Frederick W. Taylor, Lirov believes that systems support can be rigorously quantified and improved through disciplined planning and execution. He pulled together a team of experts first to elevate systems support at Lehman Brothers to the best service on Wall Street, and then to share the acquired grasp of this tremendously difficult subject with the readers. Abandoning the traditional approach of focusing on a single support discipline, Lirov paints a panoramic view of an all-inclusive support process. In his lucid foreword to the book, Kevin McGilloway, CIO at Lehman Brothers, emphasizes the criticality of matching technical solutions with cultural change. The topics span the entire gamut of support disciplines encompassing all aspects of systems, database, and batch administration, including contributions from experts at such leading edge institutions as Hewlett-Packard and Cray. The ideas, described in comprehensive detail, transcend the Intranet and apply to systems management on the Internet. These ideas also encompass multiple systems platforms, especially, UNIX and Windows NT. The book's only drawback is that it stops short of offering more detail on cross-platform systems management. With dozens of practical examples, this is an advanced level text, geared towards IT managers, systems and database administrators, and graduate students. If youare in the trenches, battling to manage distributed systems of unprecedented complexity, this book can save your career -- and your sanity.

The following are unsolicited reviews of Mission Critical Systems Management By Yuval Lirov. Dr. Benjamin Melamed, a Bell Laboratories Fellow, Professor at Rutgers University, and IEEE Fellow: Set a new standard in systems management This book explores the monumental task of supporting today's heterogeneous distributed computer systems. The new methodology introduced in the book is based on accountability and automation and has been key to effecting spectacular improvements in both support quality and personnel productivity at Lehman Brothers. The production of this seminal text involved a team-oriented approach. Written with colleagues from leading investment, industry, and academic institutions such as Salomon Brothers, Sun Microsystems and MIT, the work's subject reflects its team-oriented authorship. The book's uniqueness lies in its lucid treatment of a subject which is inherently behind-the-scenes. In a brilliant foreword, Kevin McGilloway, CIO of Lehman Brothers, articulatesthe fundamental reality of systems support where no news is good news , and yet no modern trading can be conducted without the computer. In what he describes as the change culture of Wall Street, where profit depends on market dynamics, computer systems must enable traders to capitalize on the continuous evolution of markets. This dynamic marketplace tolerates nothing less than zero downtime. The book shows how to meet the ultimate challenge of balancing change with perfect availability of the computer/communications infrastructure. Boris Tiomkin, Vice President, Salomon Brothers October 23, 1997: Expert advice on how to double support quality and productivity Tired of continued turnover of skilled systems personnel? Confused by the haphazard introduction of new technologies, such as Windows NT? In this new extraordinary book you can learn both the practical skills and cultural context needed to deal with growing complexity of systems support in a rapidly evolving marketplace. Specific to distributed computing systems, this first-of-its-kind idea book divulges knowledge accumulated over years of practical experience in the arena of performance, availability and cost reduction. Like a modern-day Frederick W. Taylor, Lirov believes that systems support can be rigorously quantified and improved through disciplined planning and execution. He pulled together a team of experts first to elevate systems support at Lehman Brothers to the best service on Wall Street, and then to share the acquired grasp of this tremendously difficult subject with the readers. Abandoning the traditional approach of focusing on a single support discipline, Lirov paints a panoramic view of an all-inclusive support process. In his lucid foreword to the book, Kevin McGilloway, CIO at Lehman Brothers, emphasizes the criticality of matching technical solutions with cultural change. The topics span the entire gamut of support disciplines encompassing all aspects of systems, database, and batch administration, including contributions from experts at such leading edge institutions as Hewlett-Packard and Cray. The ideas, described in comprehensive detail, transcend the Intranet and apply to systems management on the Internet. These ideas also encompass multiple systems platforms, especially, UNIX and Windows NT. The book's only drawback is that it stops short of offering more detail on cross-platform systems management. With dozens of practical examples, this is an advanced level text, geared towards IT managers, systems and database administrators, and graduate students. If youare in the trenches, battling to manage distributed systems of unprecedented complexity, this book can save your career -- and your sanity.

Author Information

"Yuval Lirov is a Senior Vice President at Lehman Brothers. He specializes in improving systems reliability and reducing support costs through economies of scale. His four years of managing 24x7 systems support for 3,300 hosts, 360 database servers, and 150 mission critical applications have resulted in efficiency improvements of greater than 100%. User satisfaction, determined through polls, has been sustained at 98%. Prior to joining Lehman Brothers, Dr. Lirov held management and development positions at Salomon Brothers and Bell Laboratories. He earned his doctorate in Systems Science under the guidance of Professor E. Y. Rodin at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Lirov is an author of ""Mission Critical Systems Management"" (Prentice Hall, 1997) and over 100 technical publications and patents in distributed systems management, troubleshooting, and resource allocation."

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