AIX System Administration - Part 1

AUDIENCE: This course is for experienced support staff or users who have some hands-on experience with a UNIX based system, or who have supported another type of system and have attended suitable pre-training. The course is suitable for AIX Version 5.x and 6.x
PREREQUISITES: Delegates should have a basic understanding of UNIX, ideally gained by attendance at our UNIX Essentials course or an equivalent. Some practical experience with UNIX in the workplace prior to attending is also highly recommended. Knowledge of a standard UNIX editor (e.g. vi) is required.
DURATION: 3 days. Hands on.
OBJECTIVES: To provide delegates with the self-sufficiency and confidence to manage and provide first line support of an AIX based system. To satisfactorily cope with the day to day administration of a multi-user AIX site and provide support to both system and users. This course will also provide a firm base on which more advanced system administration techniques can be based. The course is highly interactive and consists of theory with plenty of hands on practical content. A dedicated server will be used so that the more complex commands and administration utilities can be practised in the security of a classroom environment.
COURSE CONTENT:
Introduction and Review
Review of UNIX Concepts
Review of the history of AIX

AIX Documentation
Manual Pages
Browsable Manual Pages (AIX v5.x)
AIX Information Center (AIX 5.3 on)
AIX Message Center
Hardware Documentation

Administration Interface
Using SMIT
SMIT Screen Types
SMIT and CDE
Web Based System Manager (WebSM)

Starting and Stopping the System
General Overview
Operator Panel (older & newer systems)
Power On Switch
Key Mode (Physical) Switch - (older systems)
Three Digit (LED) Display - (older systems)
LCD Display (16*2-rows-characters) - PCI Systems
Problem Determination
Normal IPL
System Management Services
Normal IPL And init
Run Levels
The /etc/inittab File
Multi-User State
The /etc/rc File
Commands associated with /etc/inittab
System Shutdown
The Sync Command
The Shutdown Command

System Configuration
Objectives
Setting the Timezone
Setting the System Time & date
Changing the System Name
Viewing System ID Information
Establishing Basic Network Settings

User Registration
User Login Account
Adding a User
The /etc/passwd file
The /etc/group file
mkuser Command
Sample /etc/security/user File
Sample /etc/security/login.cfg File
Sample /etc/security/passwd File
Change User Characteristics
Removing a User From the System
rmuser Command
The User Environment
Communicating with Users
News Items
SMIT and User Management

Disk Management
The disk
Logical Volume Manager (LVM)
Physical Volume
Listing Physical Volumes
Volume Group (VG)
Listing Volume Groups
Logical Volume
Listing Logical Volumes
Make Logical Volume
Extend a Logical Volume
Mirror a Logical Volume
SMIT and Logical Volume Manager

File System
File Systems
Journaled File System - The jfs and jfs2 Filesystem
File System Components
File Allocation
File System Creation
Sample /etc/filesystems File
Change File System Characteristics
Listing a File System
Mount the Filesystem
Unmount the Filesystem
Removing the File System
File System creation using SMIT
Special Files
FIFO Special Files
Block Device Files
Character Device Files
Disk Usage Commands
File System Check (fsck)
File System Identification
Standard File Tree
Paging Space Recommendations
Monitoring Disk Usage

Devices
Object Data Manager
Device Dependencies
Device States
Device Location Codes
Device File Creation
List Devices
Change Device Characteristics
Remove Devices
Adding a Device Using SMIT

Printer Administration
Print Queues
Queue Set-up
The /etc/qconfig File
Make Queue
Make Queue Device
Virtual Printers
Using Enq Command For Queue Management
Using Enq Command For Requests
Printer Related Commands
Line Printer Status
Printing Files
Cancel Print Request
Enable Printer
Disable Printer
Printer Management Using SMIT
The SystemV Print Subsystem

Processes and Task Scheduling
Processes
Report Process Status
Allocating Priority
Changing Priority
Kill a Process
The Nohup Command
Scheduling Tasks
Files and Directories used by Cron
The Crontab Command
Format of the Crontab File
The at Command
The batch Command

Basic Performance Monitoring
The Dimensions of System Performance
Virtual Memory
Paging
Adding Paging Space
Monitoring memory Usage
CPU Usage
I/O Usage
Processes

Archiving and Securing the System
Backups
Pathname Considerations
CPIO
Tar Command
Backup Command
Restore Command
SMIT and System Storage Management
The savevg and restvg Commands
Backup a Volume Group
Restore a Volume Group
Back Up the System - mksysb
Restore the System from a mksysb

Software Installation & Emergency Recovery
General Overview
Preparing for Installation
Software Installation
AIX Packaging
Software Product Identification
Methods of Installation
Accessing a System That will Not Boot from Hard disk
System recovery using mksys tape
Installation Concepts