About This Manual

This manual contains information about configuring systems for high performance and high availability. It describes how to determine the needs of your environment, including performance and availability requirements, and how to configure a system that will meet your current and future needs. This manual also describes how to tune systems to improve performance.

For DIGITAL UNIX Version 4.0D and higher, DIGITAL recommends that you use the graphical user interface (GUI) to system administration. This GUI is presented by SysMan, an application that is loaded by default when the Common Desktop Environment (CDE) software is loaded on your system. If your system is a workstation or a server with the CDE software, the SysMan applications are available in the Application Manager. You can access the Application Manager from the CDE Front Panel by clicking on its icon. The SysMan applications are organized into five groups within the System_Admin group. Double click on the System_Admin group to access the SysMan Configuration Checklist, the Welcome to SysMan online help volume, and the five application groups. See the System Administration manual for more information about accessing SysMan.

Audience

This manual is intended for system administrators who are responsible for managing a DIGITAL UNIX operating system. Administrators should have an in-depth knowledge of operating system concepts, commands, and utilities. It is also important for administrators to understand how their systems are being used. Such an understanding is crucial to successfully tuning a system for better performance.

Organization

This manual consists of six chapters, two appendixes, and a glossary:

Related Documents

The System Administration manual provides information on managing and monitoring your system. The Programmer's Guide provides information on the tools for programming on the DIGITAL UNIX operating system. It also provides information on how to optimize the code used to create an application program, and how to optimize the results of the build process. The Asynchronous Transfer Mode manual contains information about tuning Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM).

The following manuals also provide useful, relevant information:

• Technical Overview

• Network Administration

• Logical Storage Manager

• AdvFS Guide to File Administration

• DIGITAL Systems & Options Catalog

The printed version of the DIGITAL UNIX documentation set is color coded to help specific audiences quickly find the books that meet their needs. (You can order the printed documentation from DIGITAL.) This color coding is reinforced with the use of an icon on the spines of books. The following list describes this convention:

Some books in the documentation set help meet the needs of several audiences. For example, the information in some system books is also used by programmers. Keep this in mind when searching for information on specific topics.

The Documentation Overview, Glossary, and Master Index provides information on all of the books in the DIGITAL UNIX documentation set.

Reader's Comments

DIGITAL welcomes any comments and suggestions you have on this and other DIGITAL UNIX manuals.

You can send your comments in the following ways:

• Fax: 603-884-0120 Attn: UBPG Publications, ZKO3-3/Y32

• Internet electronic mail: readers_comment@zk3.dec.com

  A Reader's Comment form is located on your system in the following location:

  /usr/doc/readers_comment.txt
  

• Mail:

  Digital Equipment Corporation
  UBPG Publications Manager
  ZKO3-3/Y32
  110 Spit Brook Road
  Nashua, NH 03062-9987
  

  A Reader's Comment form is located in the back of each printed manual. The form is postage paid if you mail it in the United States.

Please include the following information along with your comments:

• The full title of the book and the order number. (The order number is printed on the title page of this book and on its back cover.)

• The section numbers and page numbers of the information on which you are commenting.

• The version of DIGITAL UNIX that you are using.

• If known, the type of processor that is running the DIGITAL UNIX software.

The DIGITAL UNIX Publications group cannot respond to system problems or technical support inquiries. Please address technical questions to your local system vendor or to the appropriate DIGITAL technical support office. Information provided with the software media explains how to send problem reports to DIGITAL.

Conventions

The following conventions are used in this manual:

#

A number sign represents the superuser prompt.

% cat

Boldface type in interactive examples indicates typed user input.

file

Italic (slanted) type indicates variable values, placeholders, and function argument names.

[ | ]
{ | }

In syntax definitions, brackets indicate items that are optional and braces indicate items that are required. Vertical bars separating items inside brackets or braces indicate that you choose one item from among those listed.

colored text

In syntax definitions, literal elements are colored green. Variable values, placeholders, and function argument names are colored red. No special colored text is used outside of syntax descriptions.

.
.
.

A vertical ellipsis indicates that a portion of an example that would normally be present is not shown.

cat(1)

A cross-reference to a reference page includes the appropriate section number in parentheses. For example, cat(1) indicates that you can find information on the cat command in Section 1 of the reference pages.