J.63SAM00.001.2
Gathering User Requirements
Description: The process of interviewing stakeholders, analyzing business workflows, and determining exactly what the IT system needs to achieve to support the organization.
Key Concept: This bridges the gap between IT and business. It involves defining metrics like Expected Uptime (SLA), Storage Capacity needs, and Concurrent User counts.
J.63SAM00.002.2
Identifying System Environment
Description: Selecting the appropriate hardware, software, and cloud technologies that fulfill the user requirements gathered in the previous step.
Key Concept: Sizing and Compatibility. Choosing between Linux vs. Windows, On-Premise vs. Cloud (AWS/Azure), and calculating necessary CPU/RAM/Disk resources.
J.63SAM00.003.2
Designing Server Architecture
Description: Creating the technical blueprint of how servers, databases, and networks will connect and interact with each other.
Key Concept: Designing for High Availability (HA) and Redundancy. E.g., placing Web Servers behind a Load Balancer and separating the Database into a protected backend tier.
J.63SAM00.004.2
Designing Security System
Description: Planning the defense mechanisms for the infrastructure to protect against unauthorized access, data breaches, and service disruptions.
Key Concept: Defense in Depth. Planning network firewalls, Identity and Access Management (IAM), encryption at rest/transit, and VPN access policies.
J.63SAM00.005.1
Designing Testing Scenarios
Description: Formulating a plan to stress-test and validate the server environment before it goes live to the public or enterprise.
Key Concept: Includes Load Testing (simulating heavy traffic) and Failover Testing (purposely crashing a primary server to see if the backup takes over).
J.63SAM00.006.1
Installing Server Operating System
Description: The deployment of the base OS on physical bare-metal hardware or virtual machines.
Key Concept: Involves disk partitioning (LVM), setting root/admin credentials, and choosing installation types (e.g., GUI vs. Server Core/Headless for better performance).
J.63SAM00.010.1
Installing Virtual Server
Description: Setting up hypervisors and creating Virtual Machines (VMs) or containerized environments.
Key Concept: Utilizing Type-1 Hypervisors (VMware ESXi, Proxmox, Hyper-V) to maximize physical hardware efficiency by running multiple isolated servers on one machine.
J.63SAM00.007.2
Installing Shared Resources
Description: Setting up centralized storage or hardware that multiple servers or users can access simultaneously.
Key Concept: Technologies include NAS (Network Attached Storage), SAN (Storage Area Network), NFS (Network File System) for Linux, and SMB/CIFS for Windows.
J.63SAM00.011.2
Installing Common Network Services
Description: Deploying the foundational services that allow devices on a network to communicate and find each other.
Key Concept: Core infrastructure services like DNS (domain name resolution), DHCP (automatic IP assignment), and NTP (time synchronization).
J.63SAM00.012.2
Installing Common Application Services
Description: Installing the software that actually serves the end-users or clients.
Key Concept: Web Servers (Apache, Nginx, IIS), Database Servers (MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server), and Mail Servers (Postfix, Exchange).
J.63SAM00.013.1
Configuring Server OS
Description: Tuning the operating system post-installation to meet specific performance and policy requirements.
Key Concept: Setting static IP addresses, modifying kernel parameters (sysctl), managing local user groups, and setting up log rotation.
J.63SAM00.016.1
Configuring Virtual Server
Description: Allocating hardware resources and virtual networks to VMs.
Key Concept: Modifying vCPUs, dynamically allocating RAM, creating virtual switches, and taking VM snapshots.
J.63SAM00.014.2
Configuring Network Services
Description: Editing the configuration files of network services to dictate how they behave on the network.
Key Concept: Creating DNS Forward/Reverse lookup zones, defining DHCP IP address pools and lease times, and setting NTP stratum servers.
J.63SAM00.015.2
Configuring Application Services
Description: Optimizing databases and web servers to handle data securely and efficiently.
Key Concept: Setting up Virtual Hosts in Nginx/Apache, configuring SSL/TLS certificates, and tweaking database memory buffers.
J.63SAM00.017.2
Creating Program Code (Scripting)
Description: Writing code to automate repetitive administrative tasks and system management.
Key Concept: Using Bash or Python in Linux, and PowerShell in Windows to automate backups, bulk user creation, or log parsing.
J.63SAM00.018.2
Implementing System Security
Description: Applying the security designs (from Phase 1) directly to the servers.
Key Concept: Server Hardening. Disabling root SSH login, configuring host-based firewalls (UFW/firewalld), implementing Fail2Ban, and applying SELinux/AppArmor policies.
J.63SAM00.008.1
Upgrading Server
Description: Keeping the server's software and hardware current to ensure features and security are up to date.
Key Concept: Patch Management. Safely applying OS updates and security patches without causing application downtime.
J.63SAM00.009.1
Migrating Server
Description: Moving data, applications, or entire operating systems from one environment to another.
Key Concept: Physical-to-Virtual (P2V) migrations, moving from local data centers to the Cloud, and ensuring zero data loss during transit.
J.63SAM00.019.1
Monitoring System Availability
Description: Ensuring that servers and services are online and responding to requests.
Key Concept: Measuring Uptime. Using tools like Ping, HTTP checks, and software like Uptime Kuma or Nagios to alert admins if a server goes offline.
J.63SAM00.020.1
Monitoring System Performance
Description: Tracking resource utilization to ensure the system is running efficiently, not just merely "online."
Key Concept: Monitoring CPU load, RAM usage, and Disk I/O bottlenecks using modern stack tools like Prometheus and Grafana.
J.63SAM00.021.2
Monitoring System Security
Description: Actively watching for unauthorized access attempts, malware, or unusual network traffic.
Key Concept: Log Analysis & SIEM. Collecting authentication logs (/var/log/auth.log) and using tools like Wazuh or Splunk to detect anomalies.
J.63SAM00.022.1
Investigating System Faults
Description: The troubleshooting process used to determine exactly *why* a system failed or degraded.
Key Concept: Root Cause Analysis (RCA). Tracing errors through system logs (journalctl, Event Viewer) to find the core issue rather than just treating the symptom.
J.63SAM00.023.1
Repairing System Faults
Description: Taking corrective action to restore normal service operation after a fault is identified.
Key Concept: Can range from simple service restarts (systemctl restart nginx), to restoring corrupted configuration files, or replacing failed hard drives.
J.63SAM00.024.1
Evaluating System for Future Dev
Description: Analyzing current system trends to plan for future hardware purchases or architecture redesigns.
Key Concept: Capacity Planning. Recognizing that storage will run out in 6 months based on current data growth, and budgeting for upgrades in advance.
J.63SAM00.025.2
Performing System Restore
Description: Recovering data, configurations, or entire servers from backup archives following a catastrophic failure.
Key Concept: Disaster Recovery (DR). Meeting RTO (Recovery Time Objective) and RPO (Recovery Point Objective) by restoring database dumps or full VM snapshots.