Oracle Solaris 11 Certification Study Tips

For the past year and a half (beginning in Dec 2011), I have been working as a SME with Oracle on the development the Solaris 11 Certification exams. My role has been to assist in writing exam questions for the OCA and OCP exams as well as technical editing for other members of the team. At the same time, I have been working on my next book, “Oracle Solaris 11 System Administration” and providing Solaris training to administrators around the world.

Many of you have used my books in the past to prepare for the Solaris certification exams. You know that I do not write Exam Cram style books. I have never seen much value in providing a book that only provides answers to exam questions. Typically, these exams are updated periodically and the Exam Prep book quickly falls out of date. I have been approached by other publishers to write such books and I have declined their offer. In some respects, these books devalue the certification process. What is the value in passing the certification exam if you do not really know the material? I have interviewed hundreds of system administrators for my clients and one of the first things we look for on an application is the candidate’s certifications (Human Resource people like to see this). However, certification is only part of the picture; we also look at education and work history. A certification will generally get you noticed and usually an interview.

During the interview process, you’ll be asked questions, much tougher than you were asked on the exam. Typically, multiple senior level administrators will be involved. If you don’t really know the material, you’re wasting everyone’s time.

I have been teaching Solaris and working as a senior level administrator for over 20 years. I write my books to teach readers around the world, how to administer Solaris systems. It helps that I also assist Oracle in the development of the certification exams, so that I can ensure that the material covered on the exams is also covered in my book. I won’t give you actual exam questions and I won’t provide exam answers. It’s my goal to teach you the art of administering a Solaris 11 system so that you are knowledgeable and can answer questions on the topics, regardless of how the question is phrased. This book has 750 pages which will prepare you for the certification exam, but more importantly, it prepares you for the interview and ultimately the job.

Use this book to learn about administering Solaris 11 and to also prepare for the Oracle Solaris 11 System Administrator Exam. There are two levels of certification that you can achieve; OCA and OCP, both are described below:

Oracle Certified Associate (OCA), Oracle Solaris 11 System Administrator – 1Z0-821
This is the first level certification for Solaris 11 and is described on Oracle’s website.
On the Oracle webpage, click on the “Exam Topics” tab to view the current exam objectives.
Completing this exam is step 1. You should also consider the OCP certification.

Oracle Certified Professional (OCP), Oracle Solaris 11 System Administrator – 1Z0-822
This is the next, and highest, level of certification for the Solaris 11 OS and is described on Oracle’s website. On the Oracle webpage, click on the “Exam Topics” tab to view the current exam objectives. You must pass the 1Z0-821 OCA exam in addition to this exam to receive your OCP certification.
This is the certification that most employers are looking for.

Save money and take the 1Z0-822 beta exam before it ends on June 29, 2013. It’s only $50!
(discounted from $300)

For more information, visit the Oracle Certification blog.

Oracle Certified Professional (OCP), Oracle Solaris 11 System Administrator – 1Z0-820 (Upgrade Exam)

If you are already certified on any previous version of Solaris, you’ll only need to take the upgrade exam to get your OCP certification. This exam is for any previous version Oracle Certified Professional, Oracle Solaris System Administrator or any previous version Sun Certified System Administrator. This exam gives existing certified professionals the highest level of certification for the Solaris 11 OS and is described on Oracle’s website.
On the Oracle webpage, click on the “Exam Topics” tab to view the current exam objectives.
When you complete this exam, you have the same level of certification as those who have taken both the 1Z0-821 and the 1Z0-822 exam.

Oracle Solaris 11 Installation and Configuration Certified Implementation Specialist– 1Z0-580
This certification is for Oracle Partners, not the general public. All of the topics on this exam are covered in this book. Details for this exam are described on Oracle’s website.
On the Oracle webpage, click on the “Exam Topics” tab to view the current exam objectives.

1Z0-821 Study Tips

The following are study tips for the Oracle Certified Associate (OCA), Oracle Solaris 11 System Administrator – 1Z0-821 exam.

I have listed the current exam objectives followed by each chapter in my book that covers these objectives. The chapter listed covers each exam objective in detail providing everything that you need to know to answer the questions that may be encountered on the exam. In most cases, each chapter goes above and beyond what you need to know for the exam. Throughout each chapter, you’ll see step by step examples. Perform these examples until you can perform them from memory.

The exam will not simply ask you simple questions like, “Which command is used to create a ZFS file system?” Instead, it will be more like, “The following output illustrates the ZFS file system structure on another server. Choose the option which duplicate this file system on the current server?”

The question may require more than one correct answer, like this: “Choose the steps required to migrate a Solaris 10 server to a solaris10 brand zone?” Multiple correct answers will need to be selected. If you get one answer wrong, the entire question is wrong.

Therefore, you need to not only know the material in the book, but you need to be able to interpret a scenario and understand the best practice for resolving a particular system issue. I try to point these out throughout the book. There will be multiple methods for performing a task in Solaris, but some are better than others and considered “best practice.”

The following numbered items are exam objectives for the 1Z0-821 exam. Each exam objective has sub-objectives which are prefixed with a bullet (•). For each, I have specified the chapter(s) that you need to study to prepare for the questions that you may encounter.

1. Installing Oracle Solaris 11 using an Interactive Installer

Plan for an Oracle Solaris 11 operating system installation
Install the Oracle Solaris 11 operating system by using an interactive installer
Verify the operating system installation
Troubleshoot installation issues
Access Open Boot PROM

Chapter 1 covers the methods of installing the OS.
Chapter 3, beginning on pg 124 covers OpenBoot including accessing the OpenBoot PROM

2. Updating and Managing Software Packages

Explain the image packaging system (IPS)
Update the Oracle Solaris 11 operating system by using IPS
Manage software packages by using Package Manager and the command line interface
Administer boot environments using Package Manager and the command line interface
Troubleshoot software update issues

Chapter 2 covers IPS, installing software, updating the software, managing and administering IPS from the command line, Boot Environments (BEs), and troubleshooting updates (fixing , verifying and reinstalling packages)

3. Administering Services

Explain the role of the Service Management Facility (SMF)
Administer SMF services
Boot and shut down a system
Troubleshoot service and boot issues

Chapter 3 booting, rebooting, and shutting down the system (including fast reboot and milestones). Openboot and SMF are described including administering SMF.
Chapter 3 also covers boot and shutdown procedures including configuring the OpenBoot PROM. Troubleshooting boot issues and setting up the notification service are also covered in this chapter.

4. Setting Up and Administering Data Storage

Describe ZFS
Administer ZFS Storage Pools
Administer ZFS File Systems
Administer ZFS Snapshots and Clones
Troubleshoot file systems and storage issues

Chapter 5 describes ZFS concepts, administration of ZFS storage pools and file systems, administering ZFS Snapshots and Clones, and troubleshooting ZFS problems.
Chapter 4 covers administering Storage Devices.

5. Administering Oracle Solaris Zones

Explain Oracle Solaris Zones
Determine the current zones configuration and resource utilization on the system
Administer an Oracle Solaris zone
Troubleshoot zone and resource utilization issues

Chapter 6 describes Solaris zones: Complete description of immutable zones, creating and administering zones, containing resources, and troubleshooting zones.

6. Administering a Physical Network

Explain basic networking concepts
Configure a network interface
Administer a network interface
Verify network operation
Determine datalink availability
Troubleshoot network issues

Chapter 9 describes how to setup networking in Solaris 11, it provides a description of virtual networking and the components that make up a VNET including how to setup a virtual network between non-global zones.

7. Setting Up and Administering User Accounts

Explain key user management concepts
Set up user accounts
Manage user accounts
Manage user initialization files
Use shell metacharacters
Configure user disk quotas
Troubleshoot user account and quota issues

Chapter 7, User and Security Administration, covers these seven objectives.

8. Controlling Access to Systems and Files

Control access to systems
Control access to files
Use authentication
Troubleshoot access and authentication issues

Chapter 7, User and Security Administration, covers these four objectives.

9. Managing System Processes and Scheduling System Tasks

Manage system processes
Schedule system administration tasks
Troubleshoot process issues
Monitor system logs
Explain the use of core files, core dump files and crash dump files

Chapter 8, Managing System Processes

1Z0-820 (Upgrade Exam) Study Tips

The following are study tips for the Oracle Certified Professional (OCP) Upgrade Exam, Oracle Solaris 11 System Administrator – 1Z0-820 exam.

1. Transitioning to Oracle Solaris 11

Describe key considerations for transitioning from Oracle Solaris 10 to Oracle Solaris 11

My book’s Preface describes “What’s New In Solaris 11” and chapter 1 describes the requirements for installing Solaris 11 including supported hardware platforms.

2. Managing Software Packages in Oracle Solaris 11

Describe the Image Packaging System (IPS)
Plan for moving to IPS
Configure a local package repository
Configure network client systems to use IPS
Manage packages using IPS
Manage signed packages and package properties
Update the OS image by using IPS
Publish a software package by using IPS
Manage boot environments

3. Installing the Oracle Solaris 11 Operating System

Describe Oracle Solaris 11 installation options
Plan for an Oracle Solaris 11 installation
Perform Attended and Unattended Installations
Configure an AI server
Configure an AI client
Install Oracle Solaris 11 by using AI
Compare a JumpStart OS installation to an AI OS installation
Convert a JumpStart configuration to an AI configuration
Describe the distribution constructor

Chapter 1 covers the methods of installing the OS.
Refer to my blog entry on AI for information related to the information on the Automated Installer that you will need to know.

4. Administering Oracle Solaris 11 Zones

Describe the new zone features and enhancements
Create a Solaris 11 zone
Log on and off, start up, shut down, and halt zones
Describe other RMAN improvements
Allocate system resources to a Solaris zone
Identify current zone configuration and zone resource allocations on the system
Configure a Solaris 10 zone
Perform a virtual-to-virtual migration of zones present in the source system (V2V)
Migrate a physical Solaris 10 system to a Solaris 10 zone (P2V)
Configure a non-global zone by using AI
Monitor zone resource consumption
Delegate zone administration
Manage the Scheduling Class of a zone
Monitor the FSS
Configure the FSS

Chapter 6 describes Solaris zones: Complete description of immutable zones, creating and administering zones, containing resources, and troubleshooting zones.

5. Oracle Solaris 11 Network

Configure systems on a local network using the new facilities and commands
Manage the network using new Solaris 11 management utilities
Configure NFS server and clients and administer NFS services
Configure Network Auto-Magic (NWAM)
Configure IPMP
Configure network virtualization
Configure a network bridge
Monitor the network using the new Solaris 11 network monitoring utilities

Chapter 9 describes how to setup networking in Solaris 11, it provides a description of virtual networking and the components that make up a Virtual Network including how to setup a virtual network between non-global zones.

6. Oracle Solaris 11 Storage

Create, destroy and query a ZFS storage pool
Create, destroy and query a ZFS file system
Create, destroy and query a ZFS snapshot
Create and destroy a ZFS clone
Configure data backup and restore
Manage ZFS properties
Describe the new storage features and enhancements
Split a mirrored ZFS storage pool
Identify ZFS snapshot differences
Configure ZFS deduplication
Configure COMSTAR
Perform Shadow Migration

7. Oracle Solaris 11 Security

Describe the new security features and enhancements
Describe the Oracle Solaris cryptographic framework
Encrypt ZFS data
Use the Basic Audit Reporting Tool (BART) to audit system files
Configure Solaris Auditing
Configure and Use RBAC
Configure and manage privileges

Chapter 7, User and Security Administration, covers these objectives.
Chapter 5 covers ZFS encryption.

8. Services and Processes

Configure SMF Services
Manage process scheduling priority

Chapter 8, Managing System Processes covers these objectives.

9. Monitoring and Troubleshooting

Monitor system resources
Configure system crash facilities
Configure dump facilities for business application failure

Chapter 8 (beginning on pg 581) describes how to configure core files and crash dumps.
Chapter 3 (beginning on page 237) describes how to configure syslog and rsyslog.