English for system administrators

Светлана Алексеевна Губарева

Данный самоучитель предназначен для начинающих и практикующих системных администраторов, инженеров облачных сервисов и девопс-инженеров с языковым уровнем А2. С ним вы повторите необходимые грамматические конструкции и устойчивые выражения для ведения делового разговора, написания резюме и прохождения интервью, а также основные технические термины, которые используются каждый день.

Unit 4. Servers

1. Look at the word below and complete the scheme with the information that you know:

2. Discuss the questions:

1) How important are severs to companies?

2) What kind of data do servers store?

3) Can you name any characteristics that a server might have?

4) What security measures do you think a company need to take when dealing with servers?

5) What problems may occur if a server doesn’t work correctly?

3. Read the dialogue and put the words in brackets into correct order:

Kathrine — office worker

Jack — system administrator

K.: Hi, Jack. 1._____ (you/sorry/bother/to), but Leon said that only you could help me. 2._____ (5 minutes/I/may/of your time/you/ask/for)?

J.: Ok.

K.: Thanks! 3._____ (you/I/ ask/wanted to/about) servers we’re using at work.

J: Well, we have one physical server on-premise and also we use OpenStack VMs for some applications.

K.: 4._____ (I/wondering/was/if you/me/could/to/help) explain the difference between a physical server and an OpenStack VM.

J.: Sure. A physical server is a sort of hardware that can be touched and seen, you know. It processes data, RAM and disk space. Moreover, this server hosts virtual machines. In our company all VMs were created by OpenStack software. Such virtual machines we call instances.

K.: That’s interesting. 5._____ (understand/If/correctly/I), we can create a lot of instances with the use of OpenStack to run various applications?

J.: Exactly. Furthermore, each instance can be allocated its own resources like CPU, memory, and storage. We can even assign them to specific VLANs.

K.: Pardon? 6._____ (I/catch/didn’t) what VLANs are.

J.: A VLAN is a Virtual Local Area Network. It’s used to separate networks or network segments logically without needing two physical networks. This helps in efficient utilization of resources within an organization’s network infrastructure. So, it’s like having different groups of logical switches so we can control LAN traffic depending upon users or applications you wish to provide connectivity to.

K.: I see. You also mentioned RAM. How can it affect server’s performance?

J.: The amount of RAM will determine how many programs you can run simultaneously and how fast it could be. If there isn’t enough RAM, the system will slow down or crash because it doesn’t have enough available memory to handle all the requests.

K.: 7._____ (got/I/it). And what about security?

J.: Don’t worry. We use firewalls, encryption methods, antivirus software, and regular maintenance updates to keep our servers secure.

K.: 8._____ (now,/That’s/you/clear/thanks). I have one more question: how do we ensure that our server is always operating efficiently?

J.: It’s easy. We monitor its performance regularly, analyse usage patterns, and make adjustments which are needed to optimise its speed and reliability.

K. All right. 9._____ (Thanks/all this/ for explaining).

J.: No problem. See you!

4. Read the text once again and answer the questions:

— What information does Kate want to know?

— What is the difference between a physical server and an OpenStack VM?

— How does RAM affect server performance?

— What other security measures can be used to protect servers?

5. Write the missing letters to complete the words:

server _n-pr_m_se — a physical server which is located in company’s building or data center.

appl_ca_ion — a program which performs exact functions for users.

to _o_t — to be somewhere e.g., in cloud

vir_ual ma_h_ne — a resource that uses software instead of a physical computer to run programs and deploy apps.

In_t_n_e — another name for VM used for clouds

to _ll_cate — to divide

_L_N — a network that groups together devices that share a physical LAN, isolating the traffic for each group.

ut_l_za_ion — using something

network infrastructure — a set of hardware and software to maintain a network.

to _ff_ct — to influence on something

p_rfo_m_nce — how well something works

to slo_ do_n — to move slower

to _rash — to fall, to break

to h_n_le — to deal with something

r_q_est — a message with the task

_ncr_pt_on — a changing of data into a secret code to protect an information from stealing

m_inten_nc_ upd_te — a new release of software without new functions for fixing bugs

to mon_tor — to check

to anal_se — to study in detail

adjus_me_t — a small change

to opt_mise — to make something better

6. Complete the situations with the words from the ex.5:

affect monitor VM slow down network infrastructure allocate application server on-premise host optimise

1.Stanley: «Can you please create a new ______ for testing?»

Dave: «Ok, but firstly I need to know if we ______ enough resources to do it.»

2.Jenny: «Do we need to install the ______?»

David: «Why not? It’s more secure that way.»

3.Ann: «Does the new software ______ the current system?»

Oliver: «Yes, it does. We need to test it before implementing.»

4. Elena: «What ______ did you install yesterday?»

Martha: «Spotify. I finally decided to try it.»

5.Nora: «Can a network infrastructure ______ over time?»

Nikita: «Yes, if it’s not maintained properly.»

6.Noah: «How can we ______ the network speed?»

Ivan: «We can try allocating more bandwidth to the critical applications.»

7. Rob: «We need to find a place to ______ our website.»

Brian: «I heard Bluehost is a good option.»

8.Lucas: «We need to ______ the ______ closely.»

Dan: «Yes, any issues can affect all the connected devices.»

7. Read the text from the ex.3 once again and complete the table with the phrases from the text and the additional section:

Additional phrases:

a. That’s clear, thank you.

b. I appreciate your explanation.

c. I need some assistance, please.

d. Could you please clarify…?

e. I think we are not on the same page.

f. Could you do me a favor?

g. I’m terribly sorry but…

8. Fill in the gaps with the missing phrases from ex.7:

Alex — systems engineer

Sergei — service team manager

Sergei: Good morning, _______? (apology)

Alex: Hello, yes.

Sergei: I _____ (ask for help) invite you to an unplanned meeting in 10 minutes time, because you will be engaged in one more project.

Alex: ______ (apology). I don’t have any time for it today.

Sergei: Why? We’re going to discuss an important issue about working at the weekend.

Alex: But today is Monday. You can reschedule the meeting for Thursday or Friday, for instance.

Sergei: ______ (clarification)

Alex: _____ (apology) I need to finish the configuration of 10 servers in few hours time. So I can’t participate in a meeting.

Sergei: _____ (misunderstanding). You can do it right after our call.

Alex: No, it’s my high priority task for now. If I do something wrong, that can lead to crash, or don’t meet a deadline, there will be problems with the client. Are you ready to take these risks?

Sergei: No, I suppose. _____ (appreciation for explanations), so take your time. Maybe I’ll transfer our meeting for tomorrow because this new project is connected with our new customer and we need to start it as soon as possible.

Alex: Ok, _____ (understanding).

Sergei: In this case I’m looking forward to seeing you tomorrow.

Alex: Deal with it.

9. Read the sentences and choose the functions of grammar tenses in them:

10. Study the rules:

Future Simple and be going to

We use Future Simple:

— to talk about predictions based on our opinion (I think it will be better to upgrade it as soon as possible.);

— to make spontaneous decisions (Ok, we will try to call them.);

— to make promises (I will do everything to prevent a server crash.).

We use be going to:

— to talk about our plans (I am going to do 3 tasks today);

— to talk about predictions based on facts (We noticed some problems with VM’s resources, so we are going to optimize it.).

11. Put the verbs into the correct future grammar forms:

1. (our company optimise) the website as we planned?

2. The overall operation of services reduces the Internet speed, so we _ (expand) the Internet channels.

3. I think we _ (monitor) the progress of the project closely.

4. Tomorrow, I _ (have a meeting) with my boss to discuss my KPI.

5. The CEO _ (not allocate) additional money for IT department.

6. Ok, so I _ (analyse) the data and present my findings at the meeting.

7. What _ (you do) if the server crashes?

8. I (not have) any days-off, because I need to finish my project.

12. Complete the sentences with Future Simple and be going to:

a. Maybe I _____ (do) this task tomorrow.

b. _____ (you conduct) regular checks this week?

c. I think that she _____ (not help) you with it.

d. I _____ (collaborate) with the support team on Friday.

e. Ok, I _____ (try) to fix this issue.

f. They _____ (implement) security measures, but I’m not sure.

j. _____ (Mike set up) firewall tomorrow morning?

13. Look at the diary and complete the text about Chang:

07/07/2023

08:00 — wake up (maybe)

08:50 — check emails

09:30 — upgrade servers

12:45 — be praised by the team lead (I think)

13:00 — have lunch in an office or in a cafe?

14:00 — work with the development team

17:00 — take part in a daily meeting

17:55 — don’t take an umbrella (according to a weather podcast)

18:00 — go home or go to the gym?

Chang _____ wake up at 8 o’clock. Chang _____ check emails at 8:50. Chang _____ upgrade servers at 9:30. Chang _____ be praised by the team lead after it. Chang _____ have lunch in an office or in a cafe. At 2 p.m. Chang and the development team _____ work together. Then he _____ take part in a daily meeting. At 5:55 p.m. he _____ take an umbrella. After work he _____ go home or to the gym.

14. Look at the situation below and make up your own dialogue. Don’t forget to use words and phrases from ex.7:

Today is 15.05. Max, chief technology officer (CTO), wants to give you a task to migrate services from on-premise server (on-prem.) into the cloud server with saving all data. Deadline — 17.05. You understand that you will not have enough time for it. You need to make a plan on what you are going to do and talk to CTO to prove that you need to have more time.

Now you know:

— how to talk about future plans and predictions;

— words connected with servers;

— how to apologize, ask for help and clarification, express your understanding and misunderstanding, appreciate for explanations.

Vocabulary: