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System Administration Toolkit: Process administration tricks
Discover how to get the information you want on UNIX(R) processes. Knowing what is running on your UNIX system is one of the most basic requirements of any system administrator. The standard process list is useful, but often the information that it provides is not in the right format or doesn't contain exactly the processes or information you need. In this article, you'll examine how to extend that process further to improve the readability of the information, or provide summaries and information that are not easily obtainable elsewhere. You'll also look at methods for standardizing how to obtain process information across different UNIX platforms.
Articles 21 Feb 2006  
 
System Administration Toolkit: Swap space management and tricks
Configure your swap space (including adding space in an emergency) to get the most out of your system. In this article, you'll learn how to monitor your system to determine an effective swap space figure as well as examine methods for using swap space for more than just secondary random access memory (RAM).
Articles 31 Oct 2006  
 
System Administration Toolkit: Standardizing your UNIX command-line tools
Examine methods for standardizing your interface to simplify movements between different UNIX(R) systems. If you manage multiple UNIX systems, particularly in a heterogeneous environment, then the hardest task can be switching between the different environments and performing the different tasks while having to consider all of the differences between the systems. This article does not cover specific differences, but you'll look at ways that can provide compatible layers, or wrappers, to support a consistent environment.
Articles 22 Aug 2006  
 
System Administration Toolkit: Backing up key information
Most UNIX(R) administrators have processes in place to back up the data and information on their UNIX machines, but what about the configuration files and other elements that provide the configuration data your machines need to operate? This article provides detailed information on techniques for achieving an effective and efficient backup system for these key files.
Articles 15 Aug 2006  
 
System Administration Toolkit: Managing NIS services for authorizations
Examine how to set up, configure, and update a Network Information System (NIS) installation for sharing information, and learn how NIS can be merged with other solutions, such as files and Domain Name System (DNS), to provide subnet, network, and worldwide data sharing facilities. In a large UNIX(R) network, the ability to share information among the many systems helps to alleviate many problems, such as sharing permissions across different systems with Network File System (NFS), or simply providing a single login for the entire network.
Articles 01 Aug 2006  
 
System Administration Toolkit: Migrating and moving UNIX directory trees
Occasionally, you need to copy around an entire UNIX(R) directory tree, either between areas on the same system or between different systems. There are many different methods of achieving this, but not all preserve the right amount of information or are compatible across different systems. This article discusses the various options available for UNIX and how best to make them work.
Articles 25 Jul 2006  
 
System Administration Toolkit: Migrating and moving UNIX filesystems
Learn how to transfer an entire file system on a live system, including how to create, copy, and re-enable the new file system. If you have a UNIX(R) disk or system failure or simply fill up your file system, then you need to create a new partition and file system and copy over the contents. You might even need to mount the new partition in place to preserve the location of vital files and components. To add further complications, you need to do this on a live system, where you'd need to preserve file permissions, ownership, and possibly named pipes and other components. Effectively transferring these components and retaining all of this information is a vital part of the migration process.
Articles 03 Jul 2006  
 
System Administration Toolkit: Monitoring a slow system
When your UNIX(R) system runs slow, it is vital that you discover what the problem is as quickly as possible so you can get your system back into the normal operating mode. There are many causes for a slow system, but actually identifying the problem can be exceedingly difficult. In this article, study examples of how to identify and diagnose the cause of your slow running UNIX system to get your machine running properly again.
Articles 07 Jun 2006  
 
System Administration Toolkit: Time and event management
Automating your administration tasks can save you a lot of time, and UNIX(R) incorporates systems to automate the process for you. In this article, you'll look at the best methods for using these systems, including how to monitor and track their execution and output and how to schedule complex events.
Articles 02 May 2006  
 
System Administration Toolkit: Problems and pitfalls
Avoid common pitfalls and traps to help keep your systems running smoothly. Knowing the right way of dealing with full disks, or a crippled system, is nearly as important as having tools in your arsenal to make sure you're prepared to react quickly to missing files or an insecure system. This article focuses on some of the most common problems and issues facing UNIX(R) administrators and ways to achieve a safe and effective resolution.
Articles 14 Nov 2006  
 
System Administration Toolkit: Monitoring disk space and usage
Look at methods for determining disk usage across multiple UNIX(R) systems and how to create a simple warning system to alert you of potential problems. Keeping an eye on your file systems and ensuring they don't fill up is a trivial, but vital, process in the day-to-day management of your UNIX systems. In this article, you'll look at methods for keeping an eye on disk space, discovering which files, users, or applications are using up the most space, and how to make use of quotas and other solutions to find the information you need.
Articles 13 Jun 2006  
 
Systems Administration Toolkit: Using SNMP data
The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is built in to many devices, but often the tools and software that can read and parse this information are too large and complicated when you only want to check a quick statistic or track a particular device or issue. This article looks at some simplified methods for getting SNMP information from your devices and how to integrate this information into the rest of your network's data map.
Articles 15 Apr 2008  
 
Systems Administration Toolkit: Understanding DNS
The Domain Name System (DNS) is the service that converts hostnames and domain details into the IP addresses required for application to communicate. Under UNIX, the primary DNS service is based on BIND, and DNS itself is a key part of most UNIX installations. This article looks at the basics of DNS setup, how servers and requests are distributed and exchanged, and how to set up and keep a DNS environment running smoothly.
Articles 04 Mar 2008  
 
Systems Administration Toolkit: Log file basics
A typical UNIX or Linux machine creates many log files during the course of its operation. Some of these contain useful information; others can be used to help you with capacity and resource planning. This article looks at the fundamental information recorded within the different log files, their location, and how that information can be used to your benefit to work out what is going on within your system.
Articles 26 Feb 2008  
 
Systems Administration Toolkit: Spam and virus filtering for e-mail
Look beyond tools like SpamAssassin and Amavis to see how you can extend them and provide additional filtering facilities to lower the amount of spam hitting the e-mail boxes of your users. Most companies use spam and virus filtering services on their UNIX(R) platforms, but there are some methods that you can use that help improve your filtering scores and might even eliminate spam reaching inboxes.
Articles 22 Jan 2008  
 
Systems Administration Toolkit: Monitoring mail usage
Examine methods for reporting on e-mail usage and getting detailed statistics on mailbox use. E-mail logs can provide a wealth of information about your users and their e-mail habits, including how often and frequently they use their e-mail. Depending on your UNIX(R) systems, you might even be able to glean more detailed information, such as identifying which users are using their folders effectively and who could benefit from further training and advice.
Articles 18 Dec 2007  
 
Systems Administration Toolkit: Network scanning
Discover how to scan your network for services and how to regularly monitor your services to keep uptimes to a maximum. A key way of ensuring the security of your network is to know what is on your network and what services individual machines are at risk of exposure. Unauthorized services, such as Web servers or file sharing solutions, not only degrade performance, but others can use these services as routes into your network. In this article, learn how to use these same techniques to ensure that genuine services remain available.
Articles 04 Dec 2007  
 
Systems Administration Toolkit: Monitor user usage
Explore new ways to record UNIX(R) logins and other system activities in a number of different logs, and take advantage of this information to monitor user usage. This can be helpful from a number of perspectives, either to use for chargeback reporting or just to get an idea of how busy and active individual users are on the system to help when planning and allocating resources.
Articles 23 Oct 2007  
 
Systems Administration Toolkit: Testing system validity
Examine methods of storing and later checking the validity of your configuration files. Despite all the security systems you have in place, it is still possible that somebody has accessed your system and changed your configuration or security settings.
Articles 11 Sep 2007  
 
System Administration Toolkit: Distributed administration using SSH
Use Secure Shell (SSH) to run commands on remote UNIX(R) systems and, with some simple scripts, put together a system that enables you to manage many systems simultaneously from one machine without having to log in directly to the machines themselves. Also examine the basics of a distributed management system and some scripts and solutions using the technique.
Articles 14 Aug 2007  
 
System Administration Toolkit: Build intelligent, unattended scripts
Look at how to create scripts that are able to record their output, trap and identify errors, and recover from errors and problems so that they either run correctly or fail with a suitable error message and report. Building scripts and running them automatically is a task that every good administrator has to handle, but how do you handle the error output and make intelligent decisions about how the script should handle these errors? This article addresses these issues.
Articles 03 Jul 2007  
 
System Administration Toolkit: Set up remote access in UNIX through OpenSSH
Use OpenSSH to provide a secure environment for running a remote terminal. The basics of OpenSSH and terminal usage are quite simple but, in this article, examine additional elements that allow automatic login to remote hosts, methods for running remote applications, and how to securely copy files between hosts.
Articles 13 Feb 2007  
 
System Administration Toolkit: Get the most out of zsh
Examine key parts of the Z shell (zsh) and how to use it's features to ease your UNIX(R) system administration tasks. zsh is a popular alternative to the original Bourne and Korn shells. It provides an impressive range of additional functionality, including improvements for completing different commands, files, and paths automatically, and for binding keys to functions and operations.
Articles 19 Dec 2006  
 
System Administration Toolkit: Get the most out of bash
Ease your system administration tasks by taking advantage of key parts of the Bourne-again shell (bash) and its features. Bash is a popular alternative to the original Bourne and Korn shells. It provides an impressive range of additional functionality that includes improvements to the scripting environment, extensive aliasing techniques, and improved methods for automatically completing different commands, files, and paths.
Articles 12 Dec 2006  
 
10 tips for sensible systems administration
Benjamin Franklin: scientist, scholar, statesman, and . . . systems administrator? Yes, 200 years or so before the birth of UNIX, Franklin scribed sage advice to keep systems humming. Here are 10 of Franklin's more notable tips.
Articles 10 Mar 2009  
 
Training
Start here to find the tutorials and courses you need to stay up-to-date with AIX and UNIX application development and system administration.
03 Jan 2007  
 
Introducing SMIT
Get an introduction to SMIT and how it's used. The System Management Interface Tool (SMIT) is an interactive application that simplifies virtually every aspect of AIX(R) system administration. By the end of this article, you'll agree that SMIT is the AIX systems administrator's best friend.
Articles 26 Sep 2006  
 
Use alternative methods to manage and monitor your UNIX servers
Make your systems and environment easier to use and administer by using tools, such as a Weblog, wiki, and Subversion, to record and track information and changes to your IT infrastructure. During the course of your UNIX(R) administration, you need to store and retain many different types of information and data. There are many ways of doing this, but one of the more radical solutions is to use a variety of free tools for the storage and retention of configuration data, configuration and administration change, and administration events.
Tutorials 12 Sep 2006  
 
IBM Cluster Systems Management: Installing the Webmin tool for Web access
Learn to install and use the Webmin UNIX(R) system administration tool so you can use a standard Web interface to remotely manage a clustered environment This article is an update to the 2005 developerWorks article about the IBM Cluster Systems Management tool.
Articles 22 Dec 2006  
 
Sharing system files in AIX -- a primer
Learn two ways to update and manage system administration files in an AIX network: using distribution by file copying, and using Network Information Service (NIS). Find out how to choose between the two methods and get expert information on how to use both.
Articles 13 Mar 2003  
 
Automating Linux cloud installations
A simplified process for installing operating systems can reduce the amount of time you spend on administration of your cloud computing environment. This article describes how you can automate the installation of SUSE Linux on a new IBM Power System or System p LPAR. You can also use the same techniques to install Red Hat Linux or AIX.
Articles 11 Nov 2008  
 
Resolving problems unmounting partitions
To cleanly shut down or hot swap storage hardware on a UNIX or UNIX-like system, you must be able to unmount any file system that uses storage on that device. However, you can't unmount a file system if files or directories in that file system are in use. The lsof and fuser commands can help you identify and terminate the processes that are using files on or executing from the storage devices that your system is using. Using these commands simplifies the traditional detective work associated with finding the processes that are preventing you from unmounting storage devices, decreasing frustration, and helping you proceed with critical system administration tasks.
Articles 27 Oct 2009  
 
Logical volume management
Volume management is not new in the -ix world (UNIX, AIX, and so forth). And logical volume management (LVM) has been around since Linux kernel 2.4v1 and 2.6.9v2. This article reveals the most useful features of LVM2--a relatively new userspace toolset that provides logical volume management facilities--and suggests several ways to simplify your system administration tasks. Based on reader feedback, the author has updated Listings 10, 14, 15, and 16. -Ed.
Articles 20 Sep 2007  
 
Install and configure NIS+
Ease your system administration tasks and use Network Information Service plus (NIS+) to quickly handle maintenance and security issues for information. NIS+ is a network-wide naming and administration service that works on a client-server model. The server maintains all the details of the users and clients in a central database. In this article, get step-by-step instructions on how to install, configure, and administer NIS+.
Articles 28 Aug 2007  
 
Introduction to extending SMIT
The AIX(R) System Management Interface Tool (SMIT) is a menu application to aid you in performing various system administration tasks. This article is intended for experienced AIX administrators, familiar with shell programming, smit(1), and smitty(1), who wish to add to or otherwise modify SMIT. The ability to use a UNIX(R) text editor is assumed.
Articles 23 Jan 2007  
 
AIX tips for RHEL4 administrators
Are you broadening your skills as a Linux systems administrator into various flavors of UNIX? Have you found yourself in charge of IBM UNIX servers on short notice? Get a rundown of the differences and similarities between Red Hat Enterprise Linux and IBM AIX so that you can perform day-to-day activities with ease.
Articles 17 Nov 2009  
 
Run commands sequentially across a cluster from a UNIX server, Part 2: Remote shell (rsh)
Find out how to configure remote shell (rsh) on IBM System p(TM) and System x(TM) computers so that the UNIX(R) server can access a remote server without a password.
Articles 20 Sep 2006  
 
Get started with GAWK: AWK language fundamentals
Discover the basic concepts of the AWK text-processing and pattern-scanning language. This tutorial gets you started programming in AWK: You'll learn how AWK reads and sorts its input data, run AWK programs, manipulate data, and perform complex pattern matching. When you're finished, you'll also understand GNU AWK (GAWK).
Tutorials 19 Sep 2006  
 
Run commands sequentially across a cluster from a UNIX server, Part 1: Secure Shell (SSH)
Configure Secure Shell (SSH) on IBM System p(TM) and System x(TM) computers so the UNIX(R) server can access a remote server without a password.
Articles 21 Sep 2006  
 
AIX system identification
The generation of unique system identifiers is important in today’s multisystem, multipartition IT environments. A license key manager is just one example in which a unique system identifier is used to calculate a license key. With the introduction of servers based on the IBM POWER4 and POWER5 processors from IBM Systems, the high number of maximum partitions, dedicated and shared, is a welcomed feature.
Articles 11 Jul 2006  
 
Top ten AIX and UNIX articles and tutorials—April 2007
See what AIX(R) and UNIX(R) content your peers found most valuable.
20 Jun 2007  
 
AIX 5L Version 5.3: What's in it for you?
Learn what features you can benefit from in AIX 5L(TM) Version 5.3. With guaranteed binary compatibility with the previous releases on the one hand and support for advanced technologies such as Virtual SCSI, Virtual Ethernet, Micro-Partitioning(TM), and Simultaneous Multi-Threading (SMT) on the other, AIX 5L continues to empower users and developers with flexible, reliable, and powerful tools to interoperate smoothly across different IT environments.
Articles 22 Nov 2006  
 
Securing the Hardware Management Console
Get step-by-step instructions for things you should do during installation of the Hardware Management Console (HMC), measures you can take after installation, and maintenance guidelines to ensure that a secure system stays secure. The HMC, which plays a central role in the IBM virtualization strategy, controls hardware, configures logical partitions (LPAR), and assigns both physical and virtual devices. It is vital to systems management in a virtualized environment.
Articles 06 Feb 2007  
 
Python for system administrators
Adopt Python to manage UNIX(R) systems while incorporating concepts of good program design. Python is an easy-to-learn, open source scripting language that lets system administrators do their job more quickly. It can also make tasks more fun.
Articles 07 Sep 2007  
 
Forums and community
Get involved in the AIX(R) and UNIX(R) community by participating in the developerWorks blogs and forums.
20 Aug 2009  
 
Monitoring logs and command output
Monitoring system logs or the status of a command that produces file or directory output are common tasks for systems administrators. Two popular open source tools simplify these activities for modern systems administrators: the multitail and watch commands. Both are terminal-oriented commands, which means that they are easily ported to most UNIX or UNIX-like systems because they do not depend on any specific graphical desktop environment.
Articles 25 Aug 2009  
 
A comparison of security subsystems on AIX, Linux, and Solaris
Learn how to apply a strategy for implementing a single identification and authentication (I and A) framework across a heterogeneous, multi-platform environment. An I and A system provides a layer of abstraction between a user application and the implementation of any authentication or identification functions it needs to perform.
Articles 13 Oct 2005  
 
Deploying OpenSSH on AIX
Learn how to improve the security and integrity of your AIX(R) servers using network services provided by the OpenSSH implementation of the Secure Shell protocol.
Tutorials 12 Sep 2002  
 
Securing AIX Network Services
In this online course, you'll gain a better understanding of the network services in AIX(R) and the impact each one has on system security. Use the information in this tutorial to achieve the right balance between functionality and security.
Tutorials 12 Sep 2002  
 
Differentiating UNIX and Linux
Investigate the areas where UNIX(R) and Linux(R) converge in terms of functionality, environment, usability, and also those areas where UNIX and Linux differ. Many refer to Linux as a UNIX-like operating system. It is an open source operating system that has many of the same principles and ideals as UNIX, but it is not a true UNIX operating system like Solaris, AIX(R), HP-UX, and others. This article covers a range of aspects, from the core technical elements, such as kernel and filesystem support, to application tools, availability, and the differences in how to administer them.
Articles 14 Mar 2006  
 
Perform uniform mounting with generic NFS
To efficiently achieve uniform mounting in the presence of multiple, simultaneous NFS version exports, you need a generic NFS mount utility. Learn how a generic NFS mount utility can help reduce handling multiple NFS versions and simplify the management of those versions. The article describes the concept of the generic NFS mount, outlines the advantages and applications of the system, and gives some overall design details.
Articles 11 Feb 2009  
 
Ruby for systems administrators
Apart from its use as a powerful Web application development platform, in combination with the Rails framework Ruby has another less-heralded side of itself, which is as a powerful scripting language, such as Python or Perl. It has immense capabilities, owing to the availability of many built-in and external libraries, the power of which can be harnessed to solve a great deal of the scripting needs that come up in any typical systems administrative work environment. Also, it's fun to program in Ruby!
Articles 09 Dec 2008  
 
Configuration of AIX Fast Connect and SMBFS
Follow along with this quick reference guide to configure AIX(R) Fast Connect and SMBFS on AIX and Windows(R).
Articles 18 Dec 2007  
 
AIX 6.1 Workload Partitions
Workload Partitions (WPARs) are a new virtualization feature of AIX 6.1. This article helps you decide whether WPARs are right for your AIX workloads, and then gives you step-by-step guidance on how to learn more about WPARs and begin using them.
Articles 20 Nov 2007  
 
Top ten AIX and UNIX articles and tutorials—August 2007
See what AIX(R) and UNIX(R) content your peers found most valuable.
11 Sep 2007  
 
Top ten AIX and UNIX articles and tutorials—July 2007
See what AIX(R) and UNIX(R) content your peers found most valuable.
15 Jul 2007  
 
Expect plays a crucial role in network management
Expect is an indispensable tool for efficient system and network management, and it's also widely misunderstood. In this article, find out the benefits Expect provides in common use cases.
Articles 31 Jul 2007  
 
Top ten AIX and UNIX articles and tutorials—June 2007
See what AIX(R) and UNIX(R) content your peers found most valuable.
10 Jul 2007  
 
Top ten AIX and UNIX articles and tutorials—May 2007
See what AIX(R) and UNIX(R) content your peers found most valuable.
20 Jun 2007  
 
Optimizing AIX 5L performance: Monitoring your CPU, Part 3
Part 3 of this series focuses on arguably the least understood area of Central Processing Unit (CPU) performance tuning: controlling thread usage and CPU binding. This article addresses key tools and utilities you can use to analyze threads and administrate your processes.
Articles 15 May 2007  
 
Top ten AIX and UNIX articles and tutorials -- March 2007
See what AIX(R) and UNIX(R) content your peers found most valuable.
26 Apr 2007  
 
Optimizing AIX 5L performance: Monitoring your CPU, Part 2
Identify which AIX(R) tools to use to monitor your Central Processing Unit (CPU) for a given situation and find out why some tools might be better than others. Part 1 of this series discussed the tuning methodology and the importance of having procedures for CPU performance tuning. It also briefly introduced some performance tools to use as a part of your tuning repertories, gave an overview of the POWER CPU, and discussed how the architectural improvements of the evolution of the POWER Chip have contributed to the hardware improvements of the System p(TM) product line.
Articles 24 Apr 2007  
 
Configure IBM LDAP netgroups with Windows Active Directory server
Netgroups create network-wide groups, and you can use them to provide special permissions to those groups. Users configured under netgroups can have different privileges compared to other users. This article explains how to configure netgroups on the IBM Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) client (AIX(R)) with Microsoft Active Directory server.
Articles 10 Apr 2007  
 
Top ten AIX and UNIX articles and tutorials -- January 2007
See what AIX(R) and UNIX(R) content your peers find interesting.
14 Mar 2007  
 
Back up and restore your AIX system, Part 2: Implementing your backup strategy and restoration processes
Explore different recovery options to restore your data. Part 2 of this two-part series shows you how to implement the backup strategy discussed in Part 1. Part 1 covered the importance of backing up your system, the methods available to you through the command line, how to use the System Management Interface Tool (SMIT) to perform backups, and the difference between system data and user data.
Tutorials 27 Mar 2007  
 
Process priority and control on AIX
Managing processes is quite straightforward with tools like kill and nice, but what happens when you want to provide even finer management control over your processes? You can assign processes and threads to specific processors in a multi-processor system using AIX(R), but how do you chose the right applications and organize a larger system in order to optimize the applications appropriately? In this article, discover the tools available to you for organizing your processes, and take a look at the theory behind organizing and choosing processes and how to prioritize effectively.
Articles 20 Mar 2007  
 
Back up and restore your AIX system, Part 1: The when, why, and how of backing up
Take a look at some of the reasons, methods, and tools for backing up your AIX(R) system. As business and data changes at the speed of light, your systems are at an even greater risk of system corruption and lost data. To protect your company's data, you need to have a solid backup strategy, multiple backups, offsite storage of data, and a fully tested and proven plan of restoring data to your systems. Having a solid backup strategy decreases company downtime.
Tutorials 13 Mar 2007  
 
Remote kernel debugging in FreeBSD using serial communication
Explore how to remotely debug a FreeBSD kernel that is running on a target machine without affecting system performance. In this article, examine setting up the debug environment using serial communication port, compiling modified kernel code, debugging, and troubleshooting tips.
Articles 06 Mar 2007  
 
Transition from Solaris to AIX
So you've been the UNIX(R) guru on your team for years now and senior management has determined, without your input, to migrate to IBM from Sun Microsystems. Other than updating your resume, what do you need to do? Can you make the transition to AIX(R)? What does IBM offer as an alternative to either VERITAS or Solaris Volume Manager (SVM)? In this article, use the filesystem management and tools available to you on AIX to make your transition easier.
Articles 06 Mar 2007  
 
Using AIX accounting
Accounting has been a part of the UNIX(R) operating system since the very early days. Most variants of UNIX have process and connect-time accounting available. As such, it's possible to merge accounting records in a heterogeneous environment for billing or monitoring purposes.
Tutorials 28 Feb 2007  
 
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