Can you install your own software when being an IT system admin

[kronoSX]

I am busy studying linux, its been 4 months 2 hours a day or 6 hours over 2 weeks.yes i know its slow paced but i am trying to follow a dream of becoming a junior sys admin.I dont care about money as i said in a previous post i made a while back.Just wanna follow a dream late in my life,I was wondering in the study guides and videos they sometimes install software to help them likeTOP in linux is ok but i see a guy installing HTOP and was wondering is this allowed in the work place cause servers need as much resources as possible with no load.So if there is software via repos that will make your job easier is it allowed to install it.I mean i see alot of cli software that can make it easier t0 administer most task.Can someone explain what can be done and what cant please.Dont want to hog resources .Its another thing to do it on your homlab but in the real world how is it.
Thanks and sorry for the grammer and no new para.

 

[DapperDanMan]

no new para.

When did the last girlfriend leave?

 

[Sinbad]

Depends entirely on the company's policies.

 

[kronoSX]

When did the last girlfriend leave?

she died 5 years ago,hijack her car and shot her twice..if you must know.since then had standby ones .Is this the answer you looking for.I nogal miss her, but its ok i got over the grief.It took years but i am ok now

 

[kronoSX]

Depends entirely on the company's policies.

ok so i was thinking if something could be better why would they deny it.

 

[Sinbad]

ok so i was thinking if something could be better why would they deny it.

Because of policies.
There may be approved software lists... And processes for getting new software onto the list for good enough reasons.

 

[kronoSX]

Because of policies.
There may be approved software lists... And processes for getting new software onto the list for good enough reasons.

Ok i get you.So the company decides and not you.

 

[kolaval]

ok so i was thinking if something could be better why would they deny it.

You'd have to motivate why it's better.
Corporate generally want software that has support in work environments.

 

[Johnatan56]

Ok i get you.So the company decides and not you.

The company decides and you motivate why you need certain software on the list.

 

[schuits]

Reminds me of when we ran a MUD server on one of the varsity servers, it only used 95% of the CPU, dunno what they were griping about.

But yeah. It depends on the company and its policies. Also your level of influence etc.

 

[Priapus]

she died 5 years ago,hijack her car and shot her twice..if you must know.since then had standby ones .Is this the answer you looking for.I nogal miss her, but its ok i got over the grief.It took years but i am ok now

Sorry to hear.

People are so quick to take jabs at family members and SOs - without thinking.

I hope @“D” has apologiezed at least.

 

[InvisibleJim]

Ok i get you.So the company decides and not you.

If you are in a company with less policies or formal governance like many SME's, as the sysadmin you may be a person who largely influences what software is or isn't allowed and you may have some leeway with the tools that you employ.

With great power comes great responsibility - you have to understand the potential impact of your choices. Is the software trustworthy, legally licensed for its use case, will it conflict with other applications etc.

 

[kronoSX]

Sorry to hear.

People are so quick to take jabs at family members and SOs - without thinking.

I hope @“D” has apologiezed at least.

Its fine, was just honest,he asked. and i answered.

 

[kronoSX]

If you are in a company with less policies or formal governance like many SME's, as the sysadmin you may be a person who largely influences what software is or isn't allowed and you may have some leeway with the tools that you employ.

With great power comes great responsibility - you have to understand the potential impact of your choices. Is the software trustworthy, legally licensed for its use case, will it conflict with other applications etc.

I was mostly talking about cli applications that work with bash if its not available via updates or upgrades..I would like to do linux admin ,wanna go in that direction,i think another 2 years of intense study will make me linux ready.

 

[kolaval]

I was mostly talking about cli applications that work with bash if its not available via updates or upgrades..I would like to do linux admin ,wanna go in that direction,i think another 2 years of intense study will make me linux ready.

Do you have any opportunity to admin someones server now?
Nothing makes you learn like having that pressure.
I myself have had to cross this bridge both at corporate and sideline.
Herrr, you've not done admin if you haven't been almost puking in the toilet with stress after you rm'd in the wrong folder (Which was actually kek management thinking about it now, who sends a freshman to the clients server whilst telling them the commands over the phone?).

The other interesting thing I've observed is a gap between the server admins vs developers.
You setup a server to run something, so someone has to figure out how to install that something and run it properly.
So in my experience the server admins will manage vmware, numa nodes, physical servers, luns, volumes etc but when I need a server with apache + flask to run python webservices, I have to setup that myself.

 

[Insint]

ok so i was thinking if something could be better why would they deny it.

Other hopefully smart people probably already chose tools.

You have the ability to make suggestions and show the pros and cons of different solutions.

Based on that new software may or may not be used.

 

[Crowley]

Get yourself a cheap second hand server and install what you want on it at home while you are learning.

Also, you are going to need to work on your punctuation especially if you are going to be using CLI. A space or full stop in the wrong place will give you hours of headaches.

 

[gregmcc]

Installing your own software on any device especially servers is a big no no. It could end up getting you fired depending on the company policies.

You as a IT admin should abide by the same policies as other users. There is normally a section in the policies for exclusions of certain software that you need for your job. Like for example no users may install network montoring tools like wireshark, but if you are a network admin there will be a exclusion for you to be allowed to install this. (Provided it's all signed off by managment)

Think about this. Worst case scenario, you install some software that is not company approved on the server. The software is vulnerable and contains a RCE vulneribility. Bad actors eventually find the weakness and exfil all your data.

What do you think the company will do when they do the audit and discover who installed it.

 

[RonSwanson]

Is the software trustworthy, legally licensed for its use case,

@kronoSX this mostly, and the only way you will know the former is if there has been a recent code audit or at least a peer review. How would you feel if you installed a utility that contained a trojan that backdoored your client's ERP system, and you only found out about it a year later? Or if you installed unlicensed software that caused the client to get a fine?

 

[marbro]

she died 5 years ago,hijack her car and shot her twice..if you must know.since then had standby ones .Is this the answer you looking for.I nogal miss her, but its ok i got over the grief.It took years but i am ok now

Wow, we got Captain Buzzkillington over here

as for your original question, Ask?
Hey bosses, I wanna us Htop instead of xyz. can i?