Standard

 

CIS 2551 – Solaris Operating Environment for System Administrators I

Course Description:

Provides a study of the Solaris[tm] 8 Operating Environment essential tasks of standalone installation, file system management, backup procedures, process control, user administration, and device management. Prepares student for System Administration Level I certification.

 

Competency Areas:

Hours

 

Introduction to Solaris 8 Operating Environment Administration

Class

4

Adding Users

D. Lab

4

System Security

P. Lab/O.B.I.

0

The Directory Hierarchy

Credit

6

Device Configuration

 

 

Disks, Slices, and Format

 

 

Solaris ufs File Systems

 

 

Mounting File Systems

 

 

Maintaining File Systems

 

 

Scheduled Process Control

 

 

The Print Service

 

 

The Boot PROM

 

 

System Initialization of the boot process

 

 

Installing the Solaris 8 Operating Environment on a Standalone System

 

 

Installation of Software Packages

 

 

Administration of Software Patches

 

 

Backup and Recovery

 

 

 

 

 

Prerequisite:

CIS 2550

Corequisite:

 

 

Course Guide

 

COMPETENCY

After completing this section, the student will:

Hours

Class

D.Lab

P.Lab/

O.B.I.

INTRODUCTION TO SOLARIS 8 OPERATING ENVIRONMENT ADMINISTRATION

3

3

0

 

Identify the roles of the system administrator

 

 

 

 

List the components of the Solaris 8 Operating Environment

 

 

 

 

Match the three parts of an operating system (kernel, shell, and file system) to their definitions

 

 

 

 

Identify the three most common shells in the Solaris environment

 

 

 

 

Distinguish between multitasking and multiuser

 

 

 

 

Describe the client-server relationship

 

 

 

 

Define the following basic system terms: host, network, IP (Internet Protocol) address, client, and server

 

 

 

 

Describe the purpose of NFS, DNS, NIS, and NIS+

 

 

 

 

Identify the new features of Solaris 8

 

 

 

ADDING USERS

3

3

0

 

Use AdminTool and the command line to create a new group and a new user account

 

 

 

 

Use the appropriate default environment files from /etc/skel to set up a user environment

 

 

 

 

Maintain the /etc/profile file

 

 

 

 

Change a password

 

 

 

 

Set up password aging on an existing user account from AdminTool and the command line

 

 

 

 

Lock a user account using AdminTool and the command line

 

 

 

 

Delete a user account using AdminTool and the command line

 

 

 

SYSTEM SECURITY

3

3

0

 

Use the id command to determine your UID (user identification) and GID (group identification) numbers

 

 

 

 

Describe the superuser account and its importance to system administration

 

 

 

 

Describe the purpose of the sysadmin group

 

 

 

 

Change user ownership of files and directories

 

 

 

 

Change group ownership of files and directories

 

 

 

 

Describe how the who and last commands relate to system security

 

 

 

 

Describe the format of the /etc/passwd, /etc/shadow, and /etc/group files and explain their importance to system security

 

 

 

 

Modify several system default files that enable the system administrator to control and monitor superuser access to the system

 

 

 

 

Restrict access to the root account

 

 

 

 

Describe how to monitor root logins

 

 

 

 

Set up remote access privileges

 

 

 

 

Configure access permissions using umask and access control lists

 

 

 

THE DIRECTORY HIERARCHY

2

2

0

 

Identify file types and creation methods

 

 

 

 

Create symbolic links

 

 

 

 

List the contents of the root directory

 

 

 

 

Define the function of subdirectories under the root directory

 

 

 

 

Describe the function of the /usr file system

 

 

 

DEVICE CONFIGURATION

2

3

0

 

Describe the structure that the kernel uses to identify devices connected to the system

 

 

 

 

Describe the physical device names that are used to identify a system's devices

 

 

 

 

Identify the logical device name used by system administrators to reference disk devices

 

 

 

 

Define disk slices

 

 

 

 

Reconfigure devices using the devfsadm command

 

 

 

DISKS, SLICES, AND FORMAT

2

2

0

 

Define a disk label

 

 

 

 

Define disk slices

 

 

 

 

Display a disk volume's table of contents with the prtvtoc command

 

 

 

 

Use the format utility to partition a disk

 

 

 

 

Use the format utility to create and save a customized partition table

 

 

 

 

Use common fsck command options

 

 

 

SOLARIS UFS FILE SYSTEMS

3

2

0

 

Define the term file system

 

 

 

 

Describe the contents of each of the standard Solaris 8 file systems

 

 

 

 

Identify the purpose of the key disk-based, RAM (random access memory)-based, and network-based file systems used in the Solaris Operating Environment

 

 

 

 

Describe the components of the Solaris ufs file systems

 

 

 

 

Introduce the concept of shadow inodes

 

 

 

 

Create a ufs file system using the newfs command

 

 

 

MOUNTING FILE SYSTEMS

3

3

0

 

Mount and unmount local file systems

 

 

 

 

Mount a file system of a specified file system type

 

 

 

 

Mount a file system that disables the default largefiles option

 

 

 

 

Set up your system to mount a local file system automatically at boot time

 

 

 

 

Perform a forced unmount of a file system that is in use

 

 

 

 

Add a swap file and add a swap file system

 

 

 

 

Use hsfs to access CD-ROM devices

 

 

 

 

Use pcfs to access PC disk devices

 

 

 

 

Describe the functions of an NFS server and an NFS client

 

 

 

 

Determine what directories or file systems a server is sharing

 

 

 

 

Mount a remote resource on a client from the command line

 

 

 

MAINTAINING FILE SYSTEMS

1

1

0

 

Use the fsck utility to check file system consistency

 

 

 

 

Describe the advantage of ufs logging

 

 

 

 

Monitor file systems using the du, df, ff, and quot commands

 

 

 

 

Troubleshoot and repair disk problems using the fsck utility

 

 

 

SCHEDULED PROCESS CONTROL

3

3

0

 

Use the ps command to list processes running on the system

 

 

 

 

Use the kill command to terminate processes running on the system

 

 

 

 

Use the Process Manager to view and kill processes

 

 

 

 

Use the at command to execute a command at a future time

 

 

 

 

State the function of the cron daemon

 

 

 

 

Describe the format of the crontab file

 

 

 

 

Name the two files used to control crontab access

 

 

 

 

Edit the user's crontab file to schedule nightly backups of the user's home directory

 

 

 

THE PRINT SERVICE

3

3

0

 

Describe a print server and print client

 

 

 

 

Use the lpstat command to monitor print jobs

 

 

 

 

Use the cancel command to cancel print jobs

 

 

 

 

Use lpadmin to set up a printer

 

 

 

 

Describe the functions of the LP print service

 

 

 

 

Differentiate between local and remote printers

 

 

 

 

Submit a print request

 

 

 

 

Configure print services using the Solaris Print Manager

 

 

 

 

Use the Solaris Print Manager to add a local and remote printer to a system

 

 

 

 

Modify a printer's configuration using Solaris Print Manager

 

 

 

 

Delete a printer using the Solaris Print Manager

 

 

 

THE BOOT PROM

2

2

0

 

Differentiate between Boot PROM (programmable read-only memory) contents and NVRAM contents

 

 

 

 

Encode basic Boot PROM command strings to perform testing and configuration operations

 

 

 

 

Use OpenBoot PROM commands to record basic system configuration information

 

 

 

 

Create and remove a custom device

 

 

 

 

Boot the system from more than one device

 

 

 

 

Troubleshoot the boot process

 

 

 

SYSTEM INITIALIZATION OF THE BOOT PROCESS

3

3

0

 

Describe the functionality of the eight system run levels

 

 

 

 

List the phases of the boot process

 

 

 

 

Describe roles of the /sbin/init program

 

 

 

 

Describe the features of the autoconfiguration process

 

 

 

 

Describe how to add startup files for additional system services

 

 

 

 

Name kernel modules directories and the file used to customize the kernel configuration process

 

 

 

 

Describe the function of S* & K* scripts

 

 

 

 

Describe the /sbin, /etc/rc.d, and /etc/init.d directories

 

 

 

 

Use the shutdown command to safely shut down the Solaris 8 Operating Environment

 

 

 

 

Differentiate between the halt and poweroff commands

 

 

 

 

Use the reboot command to cycle Solaris through single-user and multi-user mode

 

 

 

INSTALLING THE SOLARIS 8 OPERATING ENVIRONMENT ON A STANDALONE SYSTEM

2

2

0

 

Define software configurations, clusters, and packages

 

 

 

 

Identify the hardware requirements for installing the Solaris Operating Environment on a standalone workstation

 

 

 

 

Prepare an existing system for a standalone installation

 

 

 

 

Install the Solaris operating Environment on a standalone workstation

 

 

 

 

Enable 64-bit Enable 64-bit capability

 

 

 

INSTALLATION OF SOFTWARE PACKAGES

2

2

0

 

Display software package information

 

 

 

 

Add a software package from a CD-ROM

 

 

 

 

Remove a software package

 

 

 

 

Add and remove software packages using the Admintool software program

 

 

 

 

Add a software package from a spooled directory

 

 

 

ADMINISTRATION OF SOFTWARE PATCHES

1

1

0

 

Obtain current patch information and patches

 

 

 

 

Verify the current patches installed on your system

 

 

 

 

Install patches

 

 

 

 

Back out patches

 

 

 

BACKUP AND RECOVERY

2

2

0

 

Define the importance of regular backups

 

 

 

 

Dump a file system to tape using the ufsdump utility

 

 

 

 

Restore files or a file system from tape using the ufsrestore utility

 

 

 

 

Recover the root (/) or /usr file systems

 

 

 

 

Describe some of the advantages and disadvantages of using the alternative backup utilities tar, cpio, and dd.

 

 

 

 

Position a tape to a selected data set using the mt utility

 

 

 

 

Determine the appropriate backup tools for specific scenarios

 

 

 

 

Perform remote backups

 

 

 

 

Suggested Resources

 

Books:.

 

Winsor, Janice, Solaris 8 System Administrator's Guide, 3rd Edition, ISBN 0-13-027702-9, Sun Microsystems, Inc

Winsor, Janice, Solaris[tm] 8 System Administrator's Reference Guide, September 2000, ISBN 0-13-027701-0, Sun Microsystems, Inc

Veeraraghavan, Sriranga and Watters, Paul, Solaris 8: The Complete Reference, June 28, 2000, ISBN: 0072121432, McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing

Sobell, Mark G. ,A Practical Guide to Solaris, ISBN: 020189548X, Addison-Wesley Pub Co