Overview

This course discusses the differences between AIX and Linux by comparing and contrasting the two operating systems. System administration is focus of this course, so typical tasks performed by a system administrator are covered. All comparisons are targeted towards the Red Hat Linux (RHEL) operating system (running on IBM Power servers). However, in many cases the concepts discussed here also apply to other Linux distributions (that run natively on IBM Power servers).

This is a jumpstart for Linux class for experienced AIX admins. The material is not intended as a complete replacement or substitute for more comprehensive Linux technical training provided by IBM and Linux vendors. At the end of the course students will have learned the foundation of many Linux administration tasks, enabling them to start their journey with Linux system administration and expand their skills moving forward. Students are then encouraged to attend further training to deepen their native Linux system administration skills.

Audience

This is course is designed to provide existing AIX admins with an introduction to and an understanding of the basics of Linux system administration. This course is a valuable tool for system administrators and other technical support personnel who are already well versed in AIX and must now deal with Linux operating systems running on IBM Power.

Prerequisites

Objective

• Describe the differences between AIX and Linux (RHEL) system administration

• Perform RHEL base operating system installation

• Manage physical and logical devices

• Perform logical volume and file system management

• Create and manage user and group accounts

• Utilize administrative subsystems, including cron to schedule system tasks, and security to implement customized access of files and directories

• Perform system startup and shutdown

• Create and restore backups

• Configure TCP/IP

• Examine various system management tools

Course Outline

• Unit 1: Getting started with Linux System Administration

• Exercise 1: Accessing the lab environment

• Unit 2: Linux installation options

• Exercise 2: Installing Linux on Power

• Unit 3: Managing storage devices

• Exercise 3: Working with storage devices

• Unit 4: Logical volume management

• Exercise 4: Working with logical volumes

• Unit 5: File system management

• Exercise 5: Working with file systems

• Unit 6: Managing swap

• Exercise 6: Working with swap devices

• Unit 7: Managing users

• Exercise 7: User administration

• Unit 8: Backup and recovery

• Exercise 8: File system backup and recovery

• Unit 9: Managing software installation

• Exercise 9: Installing software on Linux

• Unit 10: TCP/IP implementation

• Exercise 10: Implementing TCP/IP

• Unit 11: System management tools

• Exercise 11: Working with system management tools

• Appendix A. Quick reference: AIX to Linux