Role of the UNIX system administrator

The UNIX system administrator performs tasks that require root privileges.

Before you begin the InterChange Server installation, it is important to understand the role of the UNIX system administrator in this installation process. Some of the installation steps for third-party software require root privileges; that is, they must be performed by the root user account.

Table 11 lists the UNIX commands required for the root-privilege steps of the installation process.

Table 11. UNIX commands for the root-privilege tasks

Task UNIX command
Change group ownership of a file (or directory). chgrp
Change ownership of a file (or directory). The -R option changes the ownership recursively; that is, for the file (or directory) and all its contents. chown -R
Display the availability of space in each of the file systems in KB (kilobytes). df -k
Search a file for a particular string pattern. grep
Add a new group to the system. The groupadd command makes entries in the /etc/group file. Use SMIT for AIX
Use groupadd for Solaris
Use SAM for HP-UX
Use groupadd for Linux
Stop an operating-system process. kill
Create a symbolic link. ln -s
Assign the password to a user account. passwd
List all processes currently running on the system. ps -ef
Remove a file. rm
Remove a directory. rmdir
List installed system patches. instfix -a (AIX)

showrev -p (Solaris)

swlist | grep patch (HP-UX)

uname -r (Linux)

Change the current user to a superuser:

  • Become root user: su
  • Become root user for another user account:
    su -user_name

Unless you are already root, the su command asks you for the account password before allowing you to become that user.

su
Mount a CD. mount
Decompress a zip (.zip) file. unzip

Add a new user account to the system. Options include:

  • -d home_directory
  • -g account_group
  • -s account_shell

The useradd command and the SMIT and SAM tools add entries to the /etc/passwd file.

Use SMIT for AIX

Use useradd for Solaris

Use SAM for HP-UX

Use useradd for Linux

The vi editor is an editor that is available as part of the UNIX operating system. vi filename

In addition to the commands in Table 11, you should also understand the use of the general UNIX commands in Table 20..

Attention:
If you are not already familiar with these UNIX commands, do not continue with the installation. Consult with IBM Technical Support for the best way to proceed.

Copyright IBM Corp. 1997, 2004