Complex systems fail for reasons that system architects never anticipate. Technologists obsess about the machinery of e-business, but most unhealthy system behavior isn't caused by your technology choices. Nope, it's not the Web server engine you choose, the database you select or the slick management console you install that matters most. It's the people and processes behind all those moving parts that maintain your Web pulse. Administrative errors are the No. 1 cause of Web flatlining.
Operational failures have many causes, but most often they stem from garden-variety stupidity.
Major outages are still caused by bonehead moves like putting the wrong content online, botching DNS and route-table configurations, failing to keep up with system patches or improperly testing upgrades. Often, harried administrators lack solid understanding of the technology they're supporting and fail to realize what they need to know until an emergency occurs. So, while the patient flops around during the coronary, tech support is scrambling to find the manual on the defibrillator. Operations support teams must be able to perform triage, mapping system and application dependencies quickly while forwarding the right information to the appropriate contacts when critical components go south.