Data center administrator vs storage administrator

The differences between data center administrators and storage administrators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a data center administrator and a storage administrator. Additionally, a storage administrator has an average salary of $92,434, which is higher than the $49,854 average annual salary of a data center administrator.

The top three skills for a data center administrator include customer service, linux and vmware. The most important skills for a storage administrator are linux, switches, and NAS.

Data center administrator vs storage administrator overview

	Data Center Administrator	Storage Administrator
Yearly salary	$49,854	$92,434
Hourly rate	$23.97	$44.44
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	172,212	71,753
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 49%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	2	2

What does a data center administrator do?

A data center administrator is in charge of overseeing the daily operations of an organization's data center. Their job focuses on maintaining and updating data storage systems, managing hardware and software, implementing data protection and recovery plans, performing installations and repairs, and providing technical support to staff as needed. They also conduct research and analyses to establish the ideal practices and center layouts, escalating complex issues to the assigned department, maintaining records, and conducting assessments and evaluations to ensure procedures adhere to company standards and project timelines.

What does a storage administrator do?

A storage administrator is typically in charge of managing and storing company data, ensuring its safety and accuracy. Their responsibilities typically revolve around devising strategies for data storage, developing and installing storage systems and back-ups, identifying errors and inconsistencies, troubleshooting, and performing regular maintenance checks to ensure the efficiency and security of storage systems. Furthermore, as a storage administrator, it is essential to produce progress reports and maintain records of all transactions, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

Data center administrator vs storage administrator salary

Data center administrators and storage administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Data Center Administrator	Storage Administrator
Average salary	$49,854	$92,434
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $89,000	Between $65,000 And $130,000
Highest paying City	Palo Alto, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	NETSCOUT	The Citadel
Best paying industry	Technology	Health Care

Differences between data center administrator and storage administrator education

There are a few differences between a data center administrator and a storage administrator in terms of educational background:

	Data Center Administrator	Storage Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 49%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common major	Computer Science	Computer Science
Most common college	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	-

Data center administrator vs storage administrator demographics

Here are the differences between data center administrators' and storage administrators' demographics:

	Data Center Administrator	Storage Administrator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 82.6% Female, 17.4%	Male, 89.3% Female, 10.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 13.0% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.7% Asian, 14.0% White, 61.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between data center administrator and storage administrator duties and responsibilities

Data center administrator example responsibilities.

Manage Cisco UCS systems that host the organization's VMware environment running critical clinical applications.
Work with USAMITC to manage DNS and with DISA tiger team to manage mail.mil email system.
Manage integrated network connectivity, reporting, and troubleshooting including switch, router, and firewall connectivity to increase system stability.
Work with SQL database developer to create the VMware view database and importing require tables.
Move content to new SQL server.
Use of EMC centera base file archival management system.

Storage administrator example responsibilities.

Accomplish using mediums such as: FICON, SNA, ESCON, IP, FC, & ISCSI.
Manage, and deploy LUNS from EMC storage frames to multiple servers using the UNISHERE for VNX and VMAX.
Support teams which manage CentOS.
Manage and support SRDF replications between DR data centers.
Create CIFS, setting up permissions as per customer requirements and manage DFS.
Manage users and groups on a large scale in NIS and LDAP environments.

Data center administrator vs storage administrator skills

Common data center administrator skills

Customer Service, 7%
Linux, 6%
VMware, 5%
Vmware Esxi, 5%
Windows Server, 5%
HVAC, 4%

Common storage administrator skills

Linux, 7%
Switches, 6%
NAS, 5%
Troubleshoot, 5%
Isilon, 4%
VNX, 4%

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Data Center Administrator vs Storage Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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