IRIX™ Advanced Site and Server Administration Guide

Table of Contents

Introduction

Overview of This Guide

System Administration Resources

Note to Readers

Audience

Style Conventions

Product Support

Bibliography and Suggested Reading

1. System Administration Basics

Superuser Account

Administration Tools

The IRIX Reference Pages

2. Operating the System

Starting the System

Shutting Down the System

Using Regular Expressions and Metacharacters

Using Shell Shortcuts in the IRIX System

Creating a Custom Shell Window

Finding and Manipulating Files Automatically

Automating Tasks with at(1), batch(1), and cron(1M)

Checking System Configuration

General Operations

Operating Policies

Administrative Directories and Files

Operating Levels

Encapsulated PostScript File v.3.0 vs. PostScript File Format

3. User Services

System and Site Policies

Login Administration

The User's Environment

Communicating with Users

Anticipating User Requests

Creating Reference Pages

4. The Command (PROM) Monitor

How to Enter the Command (PROM) Monitor

Summary of Command Monitor Commands

Getting Help in the Command Monitor

Using Command Monitor Commands

Running the Command Monitor

Booting a Program from the Command Monitor

5. Tuning System Performance

Theory of System Tuning

Application Tuning

Monitoring the Operating System

Tuning The Operating System

6. Backing Up and Restoring Files

Types of Backup Media

Choosing a Backup Tool

Backup Procedure

Making Backups

Restoring Files and File Systems

Recovery after System Corruption

Changing the Default Backup Device

Copying the Software Distribution

Backup Strategies

Troubleshooting

7. Disks and Tape Drives

Identifying Devices to IRIX

Hard Disks under IRIX

Adding a Hard Disk

Formatting Disks Using fx

Repartitioning a Hard Disk

Swap Space

Logical Volumes and Disk Striping

The Bad-Block Handling Feature

Using Floppy Disks Under IRIX

Tape Devices

8. File System Administration

IRIX File System Overview

Maintaining File Systems

How the File System Works

File System Corruption

Insufficient Space on the root File System

9. Administering Printers

Adding a Printer

Removing Printers

Using the lp Spooler

Maintaining the lp System

Troubleshooting Your Printing System

lp Error Messages

Printer Cable Pin Signal Tables

Configuring and Troubleshooting the BSD LPR Spooler System

10. Terminals and Modems

Terms

Adding a Terminal or Modem

The TTY System

Serial Ports

11. Administering the CADMIN Object System

The cadmin Object System

Starting the cadmin Daemons

Stopping the cadmin Daemons

Troubleshooting the cadmin Object System

12. System Security

How Secure Is IRIX?

Security Guidelines

Logins and Passwords

Network Security

Set-UID and Set-GID Permissions

Universally Accessible Files and Directories

Accounts Shipped Without Passwords

13. Administering the System Audit Trail

Enabling Auditing

Default Auditing

Customizing Auditing

Understanding the Audit Data

How to Audit a Specific User

How to Audit a File

How to Audit a Label Under Trusted IRIX/B

Potential Security Violations

Archiving Audit Data

Removing Audit Data

Summary

14. System Accounting

Process (System) Accounting

15. Understanding Silicon Graphics' Networking Products

Networking Hardware

Networking Software

Optional Networking Products

Standard Software Configuration

Network Startup and Shutdown

16. Planning a Network

Planning the Physical Network

The Internet

Using Common Network Applications

Planning to Subnet Local Networks

Planning for Network Security

17. Setting Up a Network

Configuring an IRIS for a Network

Setting Up a Router

Subnetting a Network

Setting Up Anonymous ftp

Setting Up an InSight File Server

Modifying the Network Interface Configuration

Changing Network Parameters

Creating a Local Network Script

Turning On Remote Access Logging

18. Managing a Network

Network Management Tools

Interpreting Network Statistics

Factors Affecting Network Performance

Network Servers

Packet Size

Kernel Configuration

19. The BIND Name Server

The Domain Name Server

Organization of BIND

BIND Servers and Clients

The named Server Daemon

Registering Your BIND Domain Name

The BIND Database Files

Setting Up a BIND Configuration

Managing the BIND Environment

Debugging named

20. IRIX sendmail

The Mail System

An Overview of sendmail

How sendmail Works

The Aliases Database

sendmail Network Configurations

User Configurable Macros and Classes

A sendmail Planning Checklist

Configuring sendmail

Managing sendmail

Questions, Problems, and Troubleshooting

Notes to Current sendmail Users

21. UUCP

Choosing TCP/IP or UUCP

Networking Hardware

UUCP Commands

UUCP Daemons

Supporting Databases

UUCP Administrative Files

UUCP Error Messages

22. SLIP and PPP

SLIP Configuration Information

Configuring PPP

Connecting Two Systems with SLIP

Connecting Networks with SLIP

Demand Dialing SLIP

Debugging a SLIP Link

NFS Under SLIP

File Transfer Under SLIP

A. IRIX Kernel Tunable Parameters

Format of This Appendix

General Tunable Parameters

Spinlocks Tunable Parameters

System Limits Tunable Parameters

Resource Limits Tunable Parameters

Paging Tunable Parameters

IPC Tunable Parameters

IPC Messages Tunable Parameters

IPC Semaphores Tunable Parameters

IPC Shared Memory Tunable Parameters

Streams Tunable Parameters

Signal Parameters

Dispatch Parameters

EFS Parameters

Loadable Drivers Parameters

CPU Actions Parameters

Switch Parameters

Timer parameters

NFS Parameters

UDS Parameters

B. IRIX Device Files

C. IRIX Kernel Error Messages

NOTICE Messages

WARNING Messages

PANIC Messages

D. IRIX sendmail Reference

Overview

Basic Installation

Normal Operations

sendmail Command-Line Flags

Tuning

The Configuration File

Flags, Options, and Files

E. BIND Standard Resource Record Format

Standard Resource Record Format

Index