System Administration I

Course Content

Module 1: Introducing the Solaris 8 Operating Environment Administration

• Define the roles of a Solaris Operating Environment system administrator
• Define common system administration terms

Module 2: Adding Users

• Create and manage user accounts on the local system using the admintool utility
• Describe the format of the files /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow for securing login access
• Describe the format of the /etc/group file for maintaining shared and restricted access to files and directories
• Add, modify, and delete user accounts on the local system with the commands useradd, usermod, and userdel
• Add, modify, and delete group accounts for the local system with the commands groupadd, groupmod, and groupdel
• Define the two different types of shell initialization files
• Describe the shell startup activities during login for the three main Solaris Operating Environment shells
• List the shell initialization files used to set up a user's work environment at login
• Describe the purpose of the /etc/skel directory
• Modify the initialization files to customize a user's work environment

Module 3: System Security

• Create the /var/adm/loginlog file to save failed login attempts
• Monitor system usage with the commands finger, last, and rusers
• Use the su command to become the root user or another user on the system
• Modify the /etc/default/login file to restrict root access
• Use the commands id and groups to identify users and their group memberships
  
• Change a file's owner or a file's group using the commands chown and chgrp, respectively
  
• Explain how the special permissions setuid, setgid, and the Sticky Bit can affect system security
  
• Create, modify, and delete ACLs on files
• Control remote login access by maintaining three basic files: /etc/host.equiv, $HOME/.rhosts, and /etc/ftpusers

Module 4: The Directory Hierarchy

• Identify the four main file types in the Solaris Operating Environment
• Describe the functions provided by regular files, directories, symbolic links, device files, and hard links
• Define the function of each subdirectory found directly within the root directory

Module 5: Device Configuration

• Describe the disk components: sectors, tracks, and cylinders
• Define the term disk slice
• Identify a disk device by its logical device name, physical device name, and instance name
• Describe the purpose of the /etc/path_to_inst file
• List a system's device configuration information using the prtconf command
  
• Display the system's current disk configuration using the format command
• Show how to invoke a reconfiguration boot after adding a peripheral device to the system
• Describe how devices are reconfigured using the devfsadm command

Module 6: Disks, Slices, and Format

• Explain the term disk slice
  
• Describe and create a disk label
  
• Define and modify a partition table using the format utility
  
• Describe the purpose of the /etc/format.dat file
  
• Use the format utility to save and retrieve customized partition tables
  
• Demonstrate how to view the disk's volume table of contents (VTOC) using two different commands: verify and prtvtoc
  
• Use the fmthard command to update the VTOC on a disk

Module 7: Mounting File Systems

• Define the term mount point
  
• Identify mounted and unmounted file systems
  
• Mount file systems using the commands mount and mountall
  
• Describe some of the commonly used options of the mount command: noatime, nolargefiles, and logging
  
• Describe the purpose and format of the /etc/mnttab and /etc/vfstab files
  
• Define the procedure for mounting different types of file systems
  
• List the system files used to determine a file system's type
  
• Unmount local and remote file systems using the commands umount and umountall
  
• Forcibly unmount a busy file system
  
• Describe how to mount and access file systems residing on removable media devices, such as diskettes and CD-ROMs

Module 8: Maintaining File Systems

• Describe why fsck is necessary
  
• Describe how to check and repair a file system
  
• Display disk space usage by file systems
  
• Display disk usage of a directory
  
• Display disk usage by user name
  

Module 9: The Solaris Operating Environment LP Print Service

• Describe the basic functions of the Solaris Operating Environment LP print service
  
• Define the important LP print service directories, files, and daemons
  
• Describe the function of a print server and a print client
  
• Define the terms local printer, network printer, and remote printer
  
• Use the Solaris 8 Print Manager to configure a network printer
  
• List the resources used by the print service to locate the destination printer
  
• Discuss the differences between the local printing process and a remote printing process
  
• Use the print service administration commands: accept, reject, enable, disable, and lpmove
  
• Configure the LP print services from the command line using lpadmin

Module 10: The Boot PROM

• Describe the main functions of the boot programmable read-only memory (PROM) chip and the nonvolatile random access memory (NVRAM) chip
  
• Explain the basic elements of the power-on self-test (POST) and the purpose of the Stop key to control the POST
  
• Invoke some common boot PROM commands from the ok prompt to customize how the system boots
  
• Use boot command options to boot a system in different situations
  
• Demonstrate how to display the device tree to list all the configured devices using the show-devs command
  
• Use the probe- commands to identify what peripheral devices (disks, tape drives, or CD-ROMs) are currently connected to the system
  
• Determine a system's default boot device using the devalias command
  
• Create a custom device alias name for a new boot device using the nvalias or nvedit commands
  
• Delete a custom device alias name with the nvunalias command.
  
• Use the eeprom command within the Solaris Operating Environment to view or change the values of NVRAM parameters
  
• Demonstrate the steps to interrupt an unresponsive system

Module 11: The System Boot Process

• Describe the four phases of the boot process
  
• Identify the directories that contain the kernel and its loadable modules
  
• Modify the kernel's configuration file
  
• Describe the eight Solaris Operating Environment run levels
  
• Define a system's current run level using the who -r command
  
• Explain the purpose of the /etc/inittab file
  
• Describe the steps in the init process to bring a system to multiuser mode
  
• List the directories that hold the run control scripts used to stop and start system processes and services
  
• Describe the steps to add a new run control script
  
• Use the following commands to shut down the system: init, shutdown, halt, poweroff, and reboot

Module 12: Installing the Solaris 8 Operating Environment on a Standalone System

• State the different installation methods available for the Solaris 8 Operating Environment software
  
• Explain the hardware requirements for a Solaris 8 Operating Environment installation
  
• Identify the different Solaris 8 Operating Environment software CD-ROM editions
  
• List the five Solaris Software Groups
  
• Demonstrate how to install the Solaris 8 Operating Environment software on a networked, standalone system using Solaris Web Start

Module 13: Administering Software Packages

• Describe a software package
  
• View software package information using the pkginfo command
  Add a software package from the Solaris Software CD-ROM using the pkgadd command
  
• Verify the attributes and contents of a software package using the pkgchk command
  
• Remove a software package installed on the disk using the pkgrm command
  
• View, add, and remove software packages using admintool
  
• Add and remove a software package from a spool directory using pkg add and pkgrm

Module 14: Managing Software Patches

• List the locations to access patches
  
• Explain how to access patches from the World Wide Web and anonymous ftp
  
• Describe the different patch formats
  
• Prepare a patch for installation
  
• Install a patch using the patchadd command
  
• Demonstrate how to verify what patches are currently installed
  
• Remove a patch using the patchrm command

Module 15: Backup and Recovery

• Identify the logical device names for tape drives
  
• Define the two different types of file system backups
  
• Back up a file system to tape using the ufsdump command
  
• Describe how to backup a file system to a remote tape drive
  
• Explain the purpose of the /etc/dumpdates file
  
• Restore a file system from tape using the ufsrestore command
  
• Describe the procedure for recovering file systems
  
• Use the tar command to manage multiple archives
  
• Use the mt command to control the actions of the tape drive
  
• Use the fssnap command to create a ufs snapshot of a mounted file system for backup purposes.