This guide describes the tasks you perform to administer the Tru64 UNIX
operating system running on an AlphaServer.
Audience
This guide is intended only for system administrators. As an administrator, you should have knowledge of the UNIX operating system concepts and commands, and the supported hardware and software configurations. You must be trained in the operational aspects of UNIX system administration and familiar with all the procedures necessary to maintain a UNIX system for high availability. This guide is not intended to train administrators or to plan the installation of a UNIX system.
Note
This guide describes only the administration of the operating system on an AlphaServer processor and devices that are local to the processor, such as single-spindle disks. For important information on storage configurations, including the configuration and maintenance of storage arrays, see your StorageWorks documentation. You use StorageWorks software applications, such as the StorageWorks Command Console (SWCC) in addition to the utilities provided by the operating system. See Related Documents for resources on the Web.
If you are updating your system from an older version of the UNIX operating system, you might want to review all the changes that were implemented in the intervening releases. You can find this information in the HTML files provided on the Software Documentation CD-ROM, especially New and Changed Features from Previous Releases. In addition, the following online resources are available:
You can review all documentation for all releases at the following web site:http://www.tru64unix.compaq.com/docs/
At the preceding web site, you can obtain technical updates for any information not included in the documentation provided with your media.
New features are added to many of the operating system's administrative commands and utilities. Command examples and procedures throughout the guide are verified to ensure that they are correct. In several cases, the related reference pages are revised completely. Some information is relocated to reference pages to eliminate redundancy and reduce the size of this guide.
The following administrative reference pages are updated with no impact on the content of this guide:
Kernel configuration -
dxkerneltuner(8),
sysconfig.(8),
and
sysconfigdb(8)
File systems -
fuser(8),
mount(8),
mountd(8),
ncheck(8),
and
hier(5)
Monitoring -
collect(8),
psradm(8),
ps(1),
psrinfo(1),
and
vmstat(1)
File formats -
proc(4),
processor_sets(4),
ffm(4),
fstab(4),
and
dvdfs(4).
Where reference page revisions have impact in this guide, New and Changed Features by Chapter identifies the revised commands and utilities with their related chapter. This table has the following key:
N (new) - Information added to the guide.
C (changed) - Information revised since the previous release.
R (removed) - Information deleted from the guide and possibly relocated in another source.
See
Organization
for a list of chapter titles and a
description of their content.
New and Changed Features by Chapter
| Chapter | Change | |
| 1 | N | Added nformation on new SysMan Menu options is added. |
| C | Revised the
sysman(8),
sysman_clone(8),
and
sysman_menu(8)
reference pages |
|
| 2 | C | Revised and verified examples and procedures. |
| R | Removed information on the optional command syntaxes. | |
| 3 | N | Added information on correcting an apparent lack of swap space. |
| N | Added the
armtech(5)
introductory reference page. |
|
| C | Revised information on the
cron
command
and there are changes to
cron(8). |
|
| C | Revised nformation on time zones and made changes to
zic(8),
timezone(8), and
settz(8). |
|
| C | Revised the following class scheduler API reference
pages:
class_configure(3),
class_create(3),
class_delete(3),
class_load_database(3),
class_open(3), and
class_restore_database(3). |
|
| 5 | N | Added nformation on shared devices and the redirect operation is added. |
| C | Revised and reorganized
hwmgr(8)
by moving
information to four new pages:
hwmgr_get(8),
hwmgr_ops(8),
hwmgr_show(8),
and
hwmgr_view(8).
|
|
| C | Revised the syntax of all
hwmgr
command
options.
Examples and procedures are updated to reflect the syntax changes.
(The previous syntax is still supported). |
|
| N | Added information on new options for CPU hot swap (OLAR)
to
hwmgr_ops(8).
Information on CPU hot swap procedures is provided in the
new
Managing Online Addition and Removal
guide. |
|
| C | Revised information on device naming to reflect updates
to
dsfmgr(8)
and
disklabel(8). |
|
| R | Revised and relocated to Chapter 9 information on restoring the root disk. Similar information is provided for AdvFS in the AdvFS Administration guide. | |
| 8 | N | Added information on new supported printers is added
to
lprsetup.dat(4). |
| C | Added information on new options for print symbols and
printer types is added.
There are related revisions to the following reference
pages:
printcap(4), and
lpr(1). |
|
| 9 | N | Added information on new procedure for restoring a UFS root disk. |
| N | Added information on new options for bootable tape, including support for a custom pre-restore. | |
| C | Revised
btcreate(8)
and
btextract(8). |
|
| C | Revised the section on recovering files. | |
| C | Revised examples and procedures to reflect changes in
hardware management commands;
hwmgr(8),
dsfmgr(8)
and
disklabel(8). |
|
| C | Revised
dxarchiver(8)
and
vrestore(8). |
|
| 11 | N | Added information on a new API for monitoring the status
of vital processes:
cfg_psm_catops(3),
cfg_psm_memops(3),
and
psm.h(4). |
| R | Removed information on the command syntax for system exercisers snd revised the examples. | |
| R | Moved information on the memory troller to the newManaging Online Addition and Removal guide. | |
| N | Added a new
memory_trolling(5)
introductory
reference.
|
|
| 12 | C | Revised
binlogd(8),
syslogd(8), and
syslog.conf(4)
and updated the chapter with this information.
Revised examples and procedures. |
| C | Revised information on log files. | |
| R | Removed information on class codes. See the reference pages. | |
| 13 | C | Added information on new command options.
Revised examples
and procedures.
Information on
binlogd
events is revised. |
| C | Revised information on the logger and log files.
See
also
EVM(5)
for updates to related reference pages. |
|
| C | Revised information on DECEvent, Compaq Analyze and
the
uerf
command is revised. |
|
| 14 | N | Added Information on new dump kernel attributes. |
| N | Added Information on dumping to exempt memory. | |
| N | Added Information on controlling the number of dumps. | |
| C | Revised the
savecore(8)
and
vmzcore(7)
reference
pages are revised. |
|
| A | N | Added information on new SysMan Menu options. |
| R | Removed information on retired interfaces. | |
Except for the correction of errors, there are no changes to the technical
content of
Chapter 4,
Chapter 6,
Chapter 7,
Appendix B,
Appendix C,
and
Appendix D.
Organization
This guide consists of the following chapters and appendixes:
| Chapter 1 | Describes the methods and tools that you use to perform system administration tasks. |
| Chapter 2 | Explains how to start up and shut down the operating system. Additionally, explains how to recover from an unexpected shutdown. |
| Chapter 3 | Describes how to customize operating system files and operating system components to tailor the operating system environment. |
| Chapter 4 | Describes how to dynamically and statically configure an operating system kernel. |
| Chapter 5 | Describes hardware and device administration and device naming, how you administer storage devices (principally disk devices), and tasks such as adding swap space. |
| Chapter 6 | Explains how to administer the UFS file system. |
| Chapter 7 | Explains how to administer accounts for operating system users and groups of users. |
| Chapter 8 | Explains how to administer the print services system and configure printers. |
| Chapter 9 | Explains how to administer the archiving services of the operating system in order to back up and restore mass storage devices. |
| Chapter 10 | Explains how to administer the resource accounting services of the operating system. |
| Chapter 11 | Describes the monitoring and testing utilities. |
| Chapter 12 | Explains how to set up and administer the basic event logging services of the operating system. |
| Chapter 13 | Explains how to set up and administer EVM, the advanced event management and logging mechanism. |
| Chapter 14 | Explains how to set up and administer crash dumps. |
| Appendix A | Lists the administration utilities. |
| Appendix B | Lists the device mnemonics. |
| Appendix C | Contains information about the CI bus and the Hierarchical Storage Controller (HSC) configuration. |
| Appendix D | Contains information on specific hardware devices. |
The following documents provide important information that supplements the information in certain chapters:
The Release Notes provide important information such as restrictions on using certain operating system features.
The Installation Guide and Installation Guide -- Advanced Topics describe how to install your operating system. Several important administrative tasks are described in detail in theses guides, such as installing software and installation cloning.
The Network Administration: Services and Network Administration: Connections guides describes how to set up, configure, and troubleshoot your network.
The Advanced Server for UNIX (ASU) Concepts and Planning Guide and Installation and Administration Guide provide information on administering Windows domain accounts and sharing printers with PC users. These documents are supplied with the ASU software on the Associated Products CD-ROM, Volume 2.
The Security guide provides information on security that affects account management and file system sharing.
The AdvFS Administration and Logical Storage Manager guides provide information on advanced file systems and storage management.
The System Configuration and Tuning guide provides information on system performance tuning and advanced kernel configuration.
Many procedures described in this guide concern the administration of system hardware and peripherals such as storage devices. Consult the owner's manual for any hardware device, particularly if you need information on using software that is supplied with, or required to manage the device.
You use the console commands for your processor, which are documented in the owner's manual. The Release Notes provide information on device-specific restrictions. The following online resources are available:
You can find hardware documentation at the Alpha Systems Technology web site, located at the following URL: http://www.compaq.com/alphaserver/technology/index.html
You can find software and drivers, including Alpha firmware downloads at the following URL: http://www.compaq.com/support/files
You can find general resources on AlphaServers at the following URL: http://www.compaq.com/alphaserver/index.html
Icons on Tru64 UNIX Printed Manuals
The printed version of the Tru64 UNIX documentation uses letter icons on the spines of the manuals to help specific audiences quickly find the manuals that meet their needs. (You can order the printed documentation from Compaq.) The following list describes this convention:
| G | Manuals for general users |
| S | Manuals for system and network administrators |
| P | Manuals for programmers |
| R | Manuals for reference page users |
Some manuals in the documentation help meet the needs of several audiences. For example, the information in some system manuals is also used by programmers. Keep this in mind when searching for information on specific topics.
The
Documentation Overview
provides
information on all of the manuals in the Tru64 UNIX documentation set.
Reader's Comments
Compaq welcomes any comments and suggestions you have on this and other Tru64 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
Please include the following information along with your comments:
The full title of the manual and the order number. (The order number appears on the title page of printed and PDF versions of a manual.)
The section numbers and page numbers of the information on which you are commenting.
The version of Tru64 UNIX that you are using.
If known, the type of processor that is running the Tru64 UNIX software.
The Tru64 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 Compaq technical support office.
Information provided with the software media explains how to send problem
reports to Compaq.
Conventions
This guide uses the following conventions:
MBN refers to the mouse button that you must press to select an item or initiate an action.
%$A percent sign represents the C shell system prompt. A dollar sign represents the system prompt for the Bourne, Korn, and POSIX shells.
#A number sign represents the superuser prompt.
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.
coloredtext
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.
In syntax definitions, a horizontal ellipsis indicates that the preceding item can be repeated one or more times.
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.
This symbol indicates that you hold down the first named key while pressing the key or mouse button that follows the slash. In examples, this key combination is enclosed in a box (for example, [Ctrl/C] ).
In an example, a key name enclosed in a box indicates that you press that key.