About This Guide

This manual describes the tasks you perform to administer the operating system running on a workstation or server.

Audience

This guide is intended for system administrators. Administrators should have knowledge of the UNIX operating system concepts and commands, and the supported hardware and software configurations. Administrators should 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 manual is not intended to train administrators or to plan the installation of a UNIX system.

New and Changed Features

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.unix.digital.com/faqs/publications/pub_page/pubs_page.html

You can view the Technical Updates for any information not included in the documentation provided with your media. Access the Technical Updates from the following web site: http://www.unix.digital.com/faqs/publications/pub_page/update_list.html

New Information

This manual includes the following new information:

Chapter 6 includes information on a new feature enabling you to extend UFS file systems.

Chapter 7 includes information on new features for filtering and finding user accounts.

Chapter 11 includes information on the new Memory Troller feature.

Changed Information

The following chapters were revised to document changed features:

Chapter 3 was revised to include changed timezone information.

Chapter 5 was revised to update the procedure for cloning and restoring a root disk.

Chapter 7 was revised to update the procedures for creating and managing accounts. Some information has been reorganized.

Chapter 9 was revised to reflect new features supported by the standalone kernel creation procedure (btcreate).

Chapter 13 is significantly revised to add more usage examples and to document new command options that simplify event management when using the command line.

Removed Information

Information has been removed from the following chapters:

Chapter 1 was revised to remove most of the set up information for Compaq Insight Manager, which has moved to online help and reference pages.

Chapter 3 was revised to remove information on automated log file cleaning.

Unchanged Information

Chapter 2, Chapter 4, Chapter 8, Chapter 10, and Chapter 12 are unchanged in this release.

Chapter 14 includes some minor error corrections.

The appendices are unchanged in this release.

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.

Related Documents

The following documents provide important information that supplements the information in certain chapters of this volume:

The Release Notes provide important information such as restrictions on using certain operating system features. Consult the Software Product Description (SPD) for information on system features and limitations.

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 manual 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 in this book 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 the device, or required to manage the device.

You will also 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 Books

The printed version of the Tru64 UNIX documentation uses letter icons on the spines of the books to help specific audiences quickly find the books that meet their needs. (You can order the printed documentation from Compaq.) The following list describes this convention:

G	Books for general users
S	Books for system and network administrators
P	Books for programmers
D	Books for device driver writers
R	Books for reference page users

Some books in the documentation 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 provides information on all of the books 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
```

Mail:
Compaq Computer Corporation
UBPG Publications Manager
ZKO3-3/Y32
110 Spit Brook Road
Nashua, NH 03062-2698

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 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:

MB1, MB2, MB3: MBN refers to the mouse button that you must press when selecting an item or initiating 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.
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.
. . .: 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.
[Ctrl/x]: 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] ).
[Return]: In an example, a key name enclosed in a box indicates that you press that key.