Data Center Administrator Essentials: Key Skills and Responsibilities

When it comes to data center job titles, words matter. Case in point: the role of data center administrator. 

You might assume that being a data center administrator is the equivalent of data center technician, or perhaps sysadmin, since the terms sound similar enough. But if you dive into the details, you'll find some important distinctions between data center admin and other data center roles. 

What Is a Data Center Administrator? 

A data center administrator is an IT professional responsible for ongoing management of all resources inside a data center. 

The exact responsibilities of a data center admin can vary from one facility to the next. But in general, the role typically includes responsibilities such as: 

These responsibilities require a mastery of a diverse set of skills – ranging from IT hardware and software management, to building science, to physical security and beyond. This means that data center admins must be able to draw on a broad range of expertise to do their jobs well. 

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What Do Data Center Administrators Not Do? 

While data center administrators play a key role in the day-to-day operations of a data center, it's important not to conflate them with other staff who may also work inside data centers, but who focus on different areas of responsibility. 

Data Center Admin vs. Data Center Technician 

Although the line between data center admin and data center technician can be a bit blurry, the latter tends to focus more on the minutiae of data center operations. 

For example, a technician might be tasked with running new networking cables, whereas a data center admin is responsible for ensuring that the facility's overall network infrastructure operates optimally. Likewise, a technician may be responsible for responding to lower-priority alerts about a potential issue with equipment inside a data center, whereas data center admins take the lead in coordinating response to major incidents. 

Because data center admins usually focus on higher-level tasks, admin roles tend to carry a bit more prestige than technician roles. If you're pursuing a data center career, you may earn more by working to position yourself as a data center admin rather than a data center technician. 

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Data Center Admin vs. Sysadmin 

Sysadmin is a generic term that refers to anyone who administers a server or computer. Sysadmins may work inside data centers, but they can work in a variety of other places, too. (The sysadmin title is also increasingly outdated, with many businesses having shifted to alternative titles like "DevOps engineer" or "ITOps engineer.") 

Compared to data center admins, sysadmins have a narrower role. They focus on provisioning and managing software systems, not the physical systems that keep a data center running. 

That said, in some cases the responsibilities of data center admins and sysadmins may overlap. This occurs in cases where data center admins are expected to play a hands-on role in managing the software that runs on top of servers inside a data center. For example, in a coalition facility that offers "white glove" services, data center admins may be called on to help support the software of customers that have deployed servers inside the data center. 

How to Become a Data Center Admin 

Given the broad set of skills required of data center admins, becoming one is more challenging than landing other roles that focus on narrower sets of responsibilities. 

For that reason, the best way to become a data center admin is, arguably, to start in an adjacent role, like data center technician. From there, aspiring admins can expand their skills, focusing in particular on mastering higher-level concepts and best practices – as opposed to the implementational work that technicians usually perform. 

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Alternatively, anyone with a background or degree in IT can potentially become a data center admin. But it's important to gain fluency in aspects of data center management that extend beyond IT. You'll also need to understand, again, domains like HVAC and power systems, and physical security. If you go to a data center admin job interview expecting to talk only about IT, it's not likely to go well.