With the advent of computers in private offices and government organizations, a need arose for a very specific (at that time) employee - a system administrator, who would serve these same electronic machines and the Internet at the same time. And as befits any respected profession, there is a professional holiday for these computer specialists - System Administrator's Day.
Fighters of the invisible front
Without them, computers do not work, printers do not print, the computer does not connect to the network, emails are not sent, servers do not work, sites fall, and software flies. They are system administrators. Usually they are rarely seen outside the office, and if you see them, you can be sure that this specialist in his field is running to the aid of another employee in the organization. Well, or is going to dial a kettle, since the working day of the system administrator can be full of both work and idleness. Very often they are compared with doctors. They are never remembered while everything works like a clock. But it is worth some gear in these same hours to fail, whether it be a computer or a program, a printer, Internet connections or something else, they immediately remember about it and immediately run to call and call for help.
Our system administrators
It is clear that in Russia the profession "system administrator" is also popular and such specialists are in demand. But there is a small but. Unlike our foreign colleagues, our system administrators can do everything: install Windows, repair a computer, create a website, set up a server, write a report, download a lecture or a term paper for the boss, periodically photograph the team, unload something (especially if the remaining team is female). These are unique people who are used to talking more with computers than with real people, work exclusively from the energy of coffee (rare models - from tea), hate stupid questions and stupid users. And with such stressful work, they just need a holiday like System Administrator's Day.
It is interesting that many such specialists have a special tool - the sysadmin's shamanic tambourine, with the help of which half of all breakdowns is repaired (this is, of course, a joke, but many really have one).
System Admin Day
One day, Ted Kekatos, an American system administrator, saw a Hewlett-Packard ad article in a magazine that described how happy users thanked the system administrator for fruits and flowers for installing several printers. Inspired by this note, as well as the fact that Ted himself recently installed several of these printers, he decided to organize a special System Administrator Day. The choice fell on the last Friday of July, or rather July 28, 2000. That day it was just a small picnic in nature with colleagues from the software company. As expected, the rest of the world learned about this event. And since then, all sysadmins of the world accept congratulations on System Administrator's Day on the last Friday of July. Of course, if on this day none of the equipment breaks, they will not be remembered again.
As you can see, there is no fixed date for this holiday, since every year the date of the last Friday of July changes. So, the Day of System Administrator 2015 was held on July 31. However, it has long passed, so it is better to think about the future event of the system administrators, which will be celebrated on July 29, 2016. Therefore, if there is a great desire to congratulate a computer doctor, it is worth remembering, and it is better to write down this date.
Festival
However, perhaps the system administrator will not be able to congratulate on this day. The fact is that on the last Friday and weekend of the same July, the All-Russian rally of system administrators is held - the festival near Kaluga, dedicated to the Day of the computer man, in the open. Participants from more than 150 settlements of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan are involved in various exciting competitions, such as throwing a keyboard and mouse at a range and accuracy, a lottery by the participant number, and a competition for laying out a network over the area. Also organized discos, rock concerts, fireworks and a large "sysadminsky" bonfire - the participants set fire to the stuffed lamers from last year's rally. A similar rally also takes place in Novosibirsk.
Official Computer Day
In addition to the above holiday (System Administrator's Day), there is also World Telecommunication and Information Society Day. Unlike the first, this holiday was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 2006 and is celebrated on May 17. So we can assume that system administrators have two professional holidays.
What to give?
As you know, the holidays are supposed to give gifts. But what to give the system administrator for the System Administrator's Day 2015 and in subsequent years? The first thing that comes to mind is a flash drive. But why should he give what he himself has in bulk. A mug? It’s not worth it, if, of course, it’s not super cool. Trinkets, towels and all sorts of commonplace things, too, will not work. Something is needed. For example, the same tambourine, an external hard drive will be a good present, a subscription somewhere. A day off on this day would also be nice or some kind of creative that would be appropriate (a birthday cake, for example). In the same way, you can congratulate the system administrator on his birthday.
In general, in no case should you ignore this holiday, since system administrators are also people, they will be pleased to receive a present on their professional holiday and see that they are loved and appreciated in the office. In addition, a lot depends on them, namely the technical organization of the normal work of the office, which without them simply would not exist.