Frequently Asked Questions

What is this course about? This course gives you the skills and knowledge you need to administer a UNIX system. It provides an organised look at administering standalone and networked UNIX workstations-a very difficult topic to master without some expert guidance. We take a "compressed real-time" approach, beginning with an empty machine, loading UNIX from scratch and configuring it for local and network services. Then we consider the day-to-day running of a machine that is working well, and how to cope when it isn't. Who will benefit from this course? This course is designed for individuals responsible for supporting and administering UNIX systems, mostly professional systems administrators but also some UNIX power users who maintain their own machines. My shop uses XYZ flavor of UNIX. Is this course for me? Absolutely. This course is intended to broadly cover the principles of system administration that apply to most modern flavors of UNIX. AIX is an exception and we do not focus on it at all, since its administration via SMIT is significantly different from other UNIX implementations. However, if AIX is one of several versions of UNIX at your site, then this course is definitely helpful to you. What background do I need? This course is for people who already know how to use UNIX. We assume that you: Have experience with user-level UNIX commands such as login, ls, rm, more/pg, grep Are familiar with pipelines and regular expressions Can read UNIX Bourne/KornShell scripts, even if you have never generated one yourself Can use vi to edit files Have some understanding of general TCP/IP and workstation terminology, such as IP addressing, Network Interface Card (NIC), TTY, etc. Are familiar with the X Window System and UNIX networking commands, such as telnet, rsh, etc. If you do not have the prerequisite knowledge, Course 428, UNIX®: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction, will give you the background you need. No previous system administration experience with UNIX or any other system is expected. What hardware and software do you use in the classroom? The course is taught using Pentium-based PCs running SunSoft's Solaris version of UNIX- an implementation of System V release 4. (The machines are almost indistinguishable from Sun workstations when being used.) However, the course is not targeted to Sun or Solaris. In fact, we discuss items that are derived from BSD flavors as well, and our independence from any major UNIX supplier makes this course suitable as cross-platform UNIX administration training. How much time is spent on each topic? Content Hours Defining the UNIX administrator's role 4.0 Installing UNIX 4.0 UNIX user accounts 3.0 Local system services 3.0 Adding software backups 2.0 Providing workstation security 3.0 Monitoring system performance 2.0 UNIX networking 2.0 Times, including the workshops, are estimates; exact times may vary according to the needs of each class. What kinds of hands-on exercises are included in the course? About 35 percent of the course is hands-on exercises designed to cover the range of typical tasks which UNIX system and network administrators face. These include: Installing UNIX Making file systems Setting up users Configuring a local printer Installing a package Backing up the file system Monitoring system performance Configuring NFS How does this course relate to other Learning Tree courses? Systems administrators might continue their training with the following: 433, UNIX® and Linux® Security: Hands-On outlines areas of vulnerability for UNIX systems, and explores strategies for improving UNIX system security Those interested in building further skills working with the operating system might try: 396, UNIX® and Linux® Tools and Utilities: Hands-On provides a valuable overview of the many tools and utilities available to UNIX users Learning Tree also offers an administrative course: 144, Linux® Administration and Support: Hands-On provides the knowledge and skills to install and configure Linux servers for reliability, functionality and performance If you require detailed information on IP addressing, Internet connectivity, SNMP, networking with non-UNIX systems and network hardware, please see: 367, TCP/IP: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction  364, Switches and Routers: A Comprehensive Introduction

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