A repository of information technology questions and answers

Latest posts

A simple vagrant Cheat Sheet

Updated   Read time 2 min(s) 36 sec(s)   (748 visits).

Vagrant is a tool for building and managing virtual machine environments in a single workflow. With an easy-to-use workflow and focus on automation.

NetBackup Disaster Recovery

Published   Read time 2 min(s) 24 sec(s)   (852 visits).

The procedures in this article explain how to recover your data if the system disk fails on a NetBackup master server.

Solaris 10 and 11 differences for sysadmins

Updated   Read time 25 min(s) 10 sec(s)   (1912 visits).

Describes multiple topics for transitioning from the Solaris 10 operating system to an Oracle Solaris 11 release.

Solaris Raid Level and Array Type Primer

Updated   Read time 6 min(s) 37 sec(s)   (740 visits).

A simple article highligting the raid levels and arry types available for the Solaris operating system

Troubleshooting SEVM/VxVM 3.x

Updated   Read time 12 min(s) 16 sec(s)   (1126 visits).

This article is designed to walk you through common VxVM problems allowing you to troubleshoot them.

VxVM command line cheat sheet (part 2)

Updated   Read time 9 min(s) 6 sec(s)   (1753 visits).

This article is aimed at providing a list of basic and advanced command-line examples for Veritas Volume Manager.

SSH related commands

Updated   Read time 1 min 14 sec(s)   (1557 visits).

A short article which provides a brief description for ssh related commands

EMC Symmetrix Cheat Sheet

Updated   Read time 5 min(s) 57 sec(s)   (1042 visits).

This is a cheat sheet I have compiled as a reminder of the symcli usage that I rarely use but do pop up every now and ahain.

Sun Management Center - A Technical Overview

Updated   Read time 6 min(s) 10 sec(s)   (1259 visits).

Integrates and scales from single to thousands of servers and desktops, storage components and applications running on Solaris

Solaris to AIX - A Quick Reference guide

Published   Read time 8 min(s) 49 sec(s)   (1830 visits).

An updated quick reference quide for sysadmins to contrast the Solaris 8 and AIX 4.3.3 operating systems.

AWS Terminology

Updated   Read time 5 min(s) 26 sec(s)   (1027 visits).

Confused by Amazon Web Services? Learning all of the terminology is a great way to become acquainted with it.

beadm quick reference

Updated   Read time 1 min 3 sec(s)   (1064 visits).

The beadm command enables users to manage their boot environments. This article provides a snapshot of the more command beadm subcommands.

RPM cheat sheet

Updated   Read time 1 min 29 sec(s)   (3081 visits).

RPM is a command line package management utility used for installing, uninstalling, updating, querying and verifying software packages.

Basic VERITAS Volume Replicator Commands

Updated   Read time 2 min(s) 16 sec(s)   (2920 visits).

Veritas Volume Replicator aides in an effective maintain a consistent copy of application data at one or more remote locations via data-replication

Solaris tape device files and utilities

Updated   Read time 26 min(s) 11 sec(s)   (3224 visits).

There are a number of utilities and files that come into play with tape drives in Solaris, and it is helpful to know how all the pieces fit together.

Solaris NFS

Updated   Read time 4 min(s) 22 sec(s)   (3951 visits).

NFS is a protocol which allows file systems on one system to be made available on a remote system. NFS works on a server-client model.

Windows cheat sheet

Updated   Read time 4 min(s) 27 sec(s)   (3274 visits).

An assortment of miscellaneous Windows references and commands that are useful to both novice and experienced windows administrators alike.

Oracle Linux and Solaris command comparison

Published   Read time 2 min(s) 48 sec(s)   (3502 visits).

This document explains how to use Oracle Solaris to users who have experience operating systems in a Linux environment.

Oracle Linux and Solaris runlevels

Published   Read time 1 min 42 sec(s)   (2540 visits).

Like Oracle Enterprise Linux 6, Solaris has runlevels 0 through 6. However, the meanings are somewhat different. In OEL 7 runlevel is target.

Cluster Cheat Sheet

Published   Read time 1 min 4 sec(s)   (3100 visits).

This cheat sheet contains common commands and resources for Sun Cluster, Veritas VCS, IBM HACMP, Redhat-HA and HP ServiceGuard cluster environments.

Common SQL queries

Updated   Read time 1 min 24 sec(s)   (3034 visits).

A short article which provides sysadmins ands DBAs alike with common sql statements for generic information across multiple database environments.

WMIC Quick Reference Guide

Updated   Read time 1 min 17 sec(s)   (3332 visits).

The WMI command-line (WMIC) utility provides a command-line interface for WMI. WMIC is compatible with existing shells and utility commands.

Solaris UFS file system overview

Published   Read time 6 min(s) 15 sec(s)   (2727 visits).

UFS is the primary file system for the Solaris OS. UFS is extremely mature, very stable, and for most applications, is the file system of choice.

ACSLS Quick Reference Guide

Updated   Read time 9 min(s) 13 sec(s)   (3288 visits).

Automated Cartridge System Library Software (ACSLS) is Sun StorageTek's UNIX server software that controls an Automated Cartridge System (ACS).

A5x00 (photon) Cheat Sheet

Updated   Read time 2 min(s) 42 sec(s)   (2345 visits).

This article provides a quick reference guide to the supported disk configuration on a Sun StorEdge A5x00 storage array.

Oracle background processes

Published   Read time 6 min(s) 43 sec(s)   (2955 visits).

An oracle database is run as an instance. A database server can run multiple instances and each instance is made up of different components.

ZFS versions in Solaris 10

Published   Read time 1 min 22 sec(s)   (2493 visits).

This article describes available ZFS versions, features of each version, and the Solaris release that provides the ZFS version and feature

Cloud Computing in a nutshell

Published   Read time 5 min(s) 19 sec(s)   (2524 visits).

A practice of using a network of remote servers on the Internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or personal computer.

emacs Quick Reference Guide

Published   Read time 1 min 22 sec(s)   (2481 visits).

Emacs commands are accompanied either by simultaneously holding down the control key or by first hitting the escape key.

vi Quick Reference Guide

Published   Read time 2 min(s) 44 sec(s)   (3038 visits).

All commands in vi are preceded by pressing the escape key. Each time a different command is to be entered, the escape key needs to be used.

NetWorker License Overview

Updated   Read time 17 min(s) 44 sec(s)   (4497 visits).

The aim of this document is to shed some light on the types of licenses (enabler codes) available within Legato NetWorker.

Solstice Disksuite (SDS) Cheat Sheet

Published   Read time 4 min(s) 12 sec(s)   (2961 visits).

Solstice DiskSuite is a software product that enables you to manage large numbers of disks and the data on those disks.

SunOS 4.1x and 5.x Administrative File differences

Published   Read time 1 min 13 sec(s)   (3022 visits).

This article provides a list of the important files that have changed between SunOS 4.1.x and Solaris 2.x (SunOS 5.x) based systems

SunOS 4.1x and 5.x Administrative Command differences

Published   Read time 3 min(s) 33 sec(s)   (2475 visits).

This article provides a summary of the SunOS administrative command differences between SunOS 4.1.x and Solaris 2.x (SunOS 5.x) based systems

Quick start on Oracle 8i and Solaris

Published   Read time 6 min(s) 22 sec(s)   (3014 visits).

This page assumes you want an oracle install on a single disk, with minimum memory, to just play around with oracle and learn the basics.

Solaris vs RHEL differences

Published   Read time 41 sec(s)   (2478 visits).

The purpose of this document series is to introduce the system and network administration features of Red Hat Linux for Solaris Administrators.

Solaris vs RHEL - NetAdmin differences

Published   Read time 5 min(s) 46 sec(s)   (2588 visits).

The following sections detail the differences between the Solaris 9 OS and Red Hat Linux with respect to network administration tasks

Solaris vs RHEL - Advanced SysAdmin differences

Published   Read time 7 min(s) 11 sec(s)   (2594 visits).

The following sections detail the differences between the Solaris 9 OS and Red Hat Linux with respect to advanced system administration tasks

Solaris vs RHEL - SysAdmin differences

Published   Read time 7 min(s) 30 sec(s)   (2706 visits).

The following sections detail the differences between the Solaris 9 OS and Red Hat Linux with respect to system administration tasks.

Solaris vs RHEL - UNIX Essential differences

Published   Read time 3 min(s) 4 sec(s)   (2417 visits).

The following sections detail the differences between the Solaris 9 OS and Red Hat Linux with respect to basic tasks and component

SNDR (Remote Mirror) cheat sheet

Published   Read time 1 min 48 sec(s)   (2452 visits).

Remote Mirror(SNDR/RDC), creates a network based mirror between two raw devices.

Instant Image Cheat Sheet

Updated   Read time 2 min(s) 16 sec(s)   (2720 visits).

Simply put, the software takes a picture, and then tracks any changes made since the copy is made through the use of a bitmap.

Veritas File System (VxFS) Cheat Sheet

Published   Read time 3 min(s) 33 sec(s)   (2891 visits).

This article is aimed a providing a list of basic commands for Veritas File System (VxFS).

Veritas Volume Manager (VxVM) cheat sheet

Updated   Read time 3 min(s) 54 sec(s)   (2533 visits).

This article is aimed a providing a list of basic and advanced commands and common information for Veritas Volume Manager

Sun Cluster 3.x Cheat Sheet

Published   Read time 9 min(s) 40 sec(s)   (3642 visits).

This cheat sheet contains common commands and information for Sun Cluster versions 3.0, 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3.

Veritas Cluster (VCS) CLI reference guide

Published   Read time 1 min 33 sec(s)   (2738 visits).

In VCS configuration, each cluster contains systems, service groups and resources. Service Groups contain a list of systems belonging to that group.

Veritas Cluster Server (VCS) cheat sheet

Published   Read time 8 min(s) 15 sec(s)   (2889 visits).

In VCS configuration, each Cluster contains systems, Service Groups and Resources. Service Groups contain a list of systems belonging to that group.

NIS and NIS+ cheat sheet

Published   Read time 5 min(s) 48 sec(s)   (2832 visits).

This quick reference guide provides a crib sheet style listing for administrating NIS and NIS+ environments.

Veritas Volume Manager state flowchart

Updated   Read time 1 min 44 sec(s)   (3643 visits).

This diagram is derived from the Veritas Volume Manager (VxVM) Performance and Tuning course notes. Additional state paths have been added.

Simple RAID cheat sheet

Published   Read time 3 min(s) 2 sec(s)   (3142 visits).

RAID is a method of combining several hard drives into one unit. Offering fault tolerance and higher throughput levels than a group of drives.

Veritas NetBackup cheat sheet

Published   Read time 5 min(s) 18 sec(s)   (2789 visits).

This a quick cheat sheet of the commands that can be used when using Veritas NetBackup

xargs examples

Published   Read time 5 min(s) 11 sec(s)   (2680 visits).

xargs command are unlike most other Unix commands in that its function is not so much to do something on its own, but to construct other commands

NetWorker Index Hints

Published   Read time 1 min 25 sec(s)   (2678 visits).

There's a few common questions we get asked from time to time about NetWorker indices. Here are the answers to some FAQs

CRONTAB Quick Reference Guide

Published   Read time 3 min(s) 59 sec(s)   (2529 visits).

A Solaris utility that allows tasks to be scheduled at regular intervals via the cron daemon. The crontab is the file containing the scheduled tasks.

NetWorker 9.0 Media database changes

Published   Read time 2 min(s) 12 sec(s)   (2670 visits).

In 9.0, SQLlite replaces WiSS as the media database providing advantages for object caching, parallel and bootstrap compatibility.

NetWorker 9.0 Licensing changes

Published   Read time 2 min(s) 50 sec(s)   (2482 visits).

NetWorker 9.0 introduces the EMC Licensing Solution, which uses a license file on the License server and the NetWorker host

NetWorker 9.0 Server supported platforms

Published   Read time 1 min 24 sec(s)   (2909 visits).

With the release of 9.0, the NetWorker Server and Management Console will now run only on Linux 64-bit and Windows 64-bit systems.

LDOM cheat sheet

Published   Read time 3 min(s) 15 sec(s)   (4085 visits).

This document is designed to be a a quick platform specific cheat sheet to help engineers run important LDOM task on Sun SPARC systems

NetWorker version release changes

Published   Read time 35 sec(s)   (2411 visits).

Starting with EMC NetWorker 8.2 both NetWorker server/client and all EMC NetWorker modules will have matching version numbers.

NetWorker Backup Terminology

Published   Read time 1 min 16 sec(s)   (2650 visits).

To understand the backup process, you need to understand these backup terms associated with the NetWorker product.

Core NetWorker daemons

Published   Read time 3 min(s) 58 sec(s)   (3259 visits).

There are one or more NetWorker daemons to support each of the three NetWorker host functions

NetWorker Control Data

Published   Read time 2 min(s) 29 sec(s)   (3241 visits).

NetWorker control data is the collection of NetWorker configuration information and the backup tracking information stored on the NetWorker server

Using the apt-get command cheat sheet

Published   Read time 1 min 29 sec(s)   (2566 visits).

APT originally designed as a front-end for dpkg to work with debian packages, but it has since been modified to also work with the RPM via apt-rpm.

Components of a UFS file system

Updated   Read time 4 min(s) 32 sec(s)   (2450 visits).

When you create a UFS file system, the disk slice is divided into cylinder groups.

Sun Explorer Utility (SUNWexplo)

Published   Read time 58 sec(s)   (2838 visits).

The Sun Explorer utility gathers information and creates detailed snapshots of a systems architecture and configuration.

Oracle Import and Export utilities

Updated   Read time 5 min(s) 27 sec(s)   (888 visits).

imp and exp are Oracle utilities that allow us to make imports and exports of data objects.

Data domain cleaning phases overview

Published   Read time 4 min(s) 40 sec(s)   (3665 visits).

leaning is an important process on a data domain system. It is important because it is used to prevent over writing data.

DD Boost with EMC NetWorker

Published   Read time 58 sec(s)   (2519 visits).

Data Domain Boost software provides integration between Data Domain storage systems and NetWorker software.

CloudBoost System Requirements

Published   Read time 1 min 4 sec(s)   (2488 visits).

This article lists the system requirements for running CloudBoost, giving details of supported public and private clouds and NetWorker server versions

Equivalent UNIX and DOS commands

Published   Read time 3 min(s) 3 sec(s)   (3047 visits).

There are commands that do the same things in Windows DOS and from the command prompt as in UNIX, they just have a different syntax.

NetBackup Catalog overview

Published   Read time 1 min 6 sec(s)   (2902 visits).

The NetBackup catalog is the internal database that contains information about NetBackup backups and configuration.

ZFS command line examples

Published   Read time 4 min(s) 32 sec(s)   (2994 visits).

ZFS uses the concept of storage pools to manage physical storage. Historically, file systems were constructed on top of a single physical device.

Symantec NetBackup 7.5 New Features

Published   Read time 1 min 24 sec(s)   (3033 visits).

Symantec released NetBackup 7.5 on the 03/05/2012 which includes some new features and changes for physical and virtual environments.

NetWorker and Avamar Integration Overview

Published   Read time 4 min(s) 12 sec(s)   (2532 visits).

This new storage node is used for dedupe operations and leverages Avamar data de-duplication technology

Useful Sun OpenBoot PROM (obp) commands

Published   Read time 2 min(s) 53 sec(s)   (2870 visits).

All the following commands are to be run from the ok prompt of the SPARC OBP and not the Solaris operating system.

EMC ECS CLI Command Reference

Updated   Read time 5 min(s) 46 sec(s)   (5688 visits).

Managing EMC ECS resources is easy with the command line interface (ecscli). Using the -h flag lists options available for each command.

Raid Manager (RM6) cheat sheet

Published   Read time 3 min(s) 17 sec(s)   (2724 visits).

Raid Manager (RM6) is the software product the enables you to manipulate the disks in an A1000, RSM2000 or an A3x00(fc).

Introduction to NetWorker with CloudBoost

Published   Read time 3 min(s) 8 sec(s)   (3847 visits).

The CloudBoost virtual appliance presents itself as a NetWorker AFTD. The enabled workflow is a clone operation to the cloud.

CloudBoost Dashboard Overview

Published   Read time 6 min(s) 25 sec(s)   (3056 visits).

You can monitor the health of the systems and obtain basic statistics such as the amount of de-duplicated data, number of users, etc.

DiskShadow examples

Published   Read time 1 min 17 sec(s)   (152 visits).

A DiskShadow example is provided for reference when using a VSS hardware provider.

NetBackup 7.6.1 Maintenance Release 1 now available

Published   Read time 37 sec(s)   (2651 visits).

This release contains over 300 fixes including resolutions for commonly downloaded EEBs, customer escalations, and critical internally found defects.

Miscellaneous Solaris Commands

Published   Read time 2 min(s) 0 sec(s)   (3209 visits).

An assortment of miscellaneous Solaris commands that are useful to both novice and experienced Solaris administrators

What is Data Domain deduplication?

Published   Read time 3 min(s) 3 sec(s)   (2612 visits).

The basics is that we are eliminating redundant data, storing only one instance of each segment and using pointers to take the place of duplicates.

NetWorker Module Information

Published   Read time 52 sec(s)   (2685 visits).

There are NetWorker modules for databases, email servers, enterprise applications and snapshot management.

NSRJB Quick Reference Guide

Published   Read time 2 min(s) 13 sec(s)   (2660 visits).

The nsrjb program manages resources in two broad classes of jukeboxes. Remotely managed jukeboxes and locally managed jukeboxes.

MMRECOV Quick Reference Guide

Published   Read time 2 min(s) 10 sec(s)   (2465 visits).

mmrecov is used in recovering from the loss of a NetWorker servers critical files. mmrecov restores the media index and the resource files

MMINFO Quick Reference Guide

Published   Read time 2 min(s) 45 sec(s)   (2873 visits).

The mminfo command reports information about NetWorker media and save sets and can produce several different reports depending on the flags specified.

ZFS Raid Levels

Published   Read time 24 sec(s)   (2685 visits).

ZFS filesystems automatically stripe across all top-level disk devices. (Mirrors and RAID-Z devices are considered to be top-level devices)

openSUSE Quick Reference Guide

Updated   Read time 2 min(s) 0 sec(s)   (767 visits).

This article provides a quick reference guide for the open SuSE operating system

Avamar System default passwords

Updated   Read time 48 sec(s)   (7943 visits).

This article provides a list of default passwords for an Avamar grid. If you have not already, consider changing the defaults for security reasons.

Basic VxVM Commands

Published   Read time 10 min(s) 15 sec(s)   (3134 visits).

This post provides a list of basic Veritas Volume Manager (VxVM) commands

Solaris Volume Manager Overview

Published   Read time 4 min(s) 2 sec(s)   (2763 visits).

A full discussion is beyond the scope of this article, so we will focus on the most common cases, how to set them up, manage them and maintain them.

ZFS Quick Reference Guide

Published   Read time 2 min(s) 38 sec(s)   (2535 visits).

ZFS uses the concept of storage pools to manage physical storage. Historically, file systems were constructed on top of a single physical device.

EMC PowerPath References

Published   Read time 25 sec(s)   (2713 visits).

This document provides a quick and simple reference guide to various EMC PowerPath commands

PowerPath command examples

Updated   Read time 16 min(s) 58 sec(s)   (2678 visits).

In this post we discuss how to use powermt command with practical examples.

Common Solaris and AIX sysadmin tasks

Updated   Read time 3 min(s) 1 sec   (3103 visits).

A short article providing common troubleshooting reference between Solaris 8 and AIX 4.3.3 operating systems.