SGI Altix System Administration II (SLES based) Exam

Subject Matter Topics and Objectives

Topic:  Network Installation and Boot

Objectives:

• List SGI Altix server software components
• Set up a server for network installations
• List several methods for providing network installations
• Install SLES, SGI Foundation, and SGI ProPack on an SGI Altix server or supercomputer
• Use VNC to remotely manage installation
• Specify installation boot options
• Create required partitions
• Customize software selections
• Describe AutoYaST
• Locate the default AutoYaST configuration file
• Transfer configuration files to the installation server
• Configure the DHCP server to provide host details
• Configure the TFTP server to transfer the installation program files to the remote client
• Transfer files from the SLES installation DVD ISO to the TFTP server directory
• Edit the TFTP elilo.conf file
• Start a remote installation without DVD/CD
• Interrupt an autoyast installation
• Modify the DHCP server
• Replace TFTP served files
• Delete and add boot options
• Boot the SGI Altix off a server

Topic:  MD

Objectives:

• Set up system disk mirroring by using md
• Display mirror status
• Use mdadm create, add, and remove options

Topic:  LVM

Objectives:

• Partition a drive with YaST2
• Setup a Volume Group
• Create a Logical Volume
• Make an LVM/XFS filesystem

Topic:  PAM and Limits

Objectives:

• Configure Pluggable Authentication Modules (PAM)
• Use ulimit or limit to control default process/user limits
• Use the /etc/security/limits.conf PAM module to control process user limits
• Use XFS disk quotas to control disk space consumption

Topic:  SSH

Objectives:

• Describe the purpose of ssh
• Configure and implement ssh
• Configure your environment to use ssh

Topic:  iptables

Objectives:

• Understand the general concepts of netfilter
• Use the iptables command to modify netfilter

Topic:  Memory and Processes

Objectives:

• Interpret process listings
• Describe interprocess communication techniques
• signals, pipes, shared memory, semaphores, messages
• Send signals to processes (to kill them, or otherwise)
• Change the priority of a process
• Use ps, top to monitor running processes
• Use strace to track system calls
• Interpret memory statistics
• Provide and enable virtual memory swapping areas
• Get information from the /proc filesystem
• Update some kernel settings via the /proc filesystem using

Topic:  Auditing

Objectives:

• Describe system auditing
• Configure auditing
• Inspect audit logs

Topic:  CSA

Objectives: 

• Install needed packages
• Configure CSA crontab entries
• Configure CSA files
• Know CSA commands
• Follow the flow of csarun daily processing
• List the filesystem tree for CSA
• Use the jstat command
• Use the csacom command
• Use the ja command