Interactive Installation

DVD Image (3.5Gb)

Single installation media. No Live Media capability. Additional software available on additional DVDs or on the web.

Interactive Text Installer (~500Mb)
Live Media Installer (~800Mb)

Each installation option has a fixed software selection for different environments - server or developer/desktop. Additional software available in package repositories.

Automated Installation

Network Installation Manager (NIM)
Input file:
- Text based configuration file

The configuration file can be generated by doing an initial install and then is edited for use withev the command line or SMIT
Commands: smit, nim















IBM Systems Director
IBM Systems Director automates the management of data center operations by implementing cloud-ready virtual infrastructures.

Automated Installer
Input files:
- XML based configuration file called an AI manifest specifies disk layout, software packages and virtual environments
- XML based system configuration profiles specify hostname, users, networking, timezone and locale. Can be generated using command line, sysconfig


In order to install clients, an automated install service is required to be created using an administrative utility. This utility can be used to manage several installation profiles for different types of systems, including comprehensive selection criteria based on hostname, IP, MAC address, platform, architecture, CPU and memory sizes.
Commands: installadm

Oracle Enterprise Manager Ops Center, included in all Oracle Premier Support agreements, can be used to manage multiple clients at a greater scale through a web interface, along with other capabilities.

Custom Media Creation

Create a system backup and clone it.
Commands: mksysb

Distribution Constructor
Input file:
- XML based file called a manifest (separate to AI manifest)

The Distribution Constructor uses a command line utility distro_const to create customized installation media, taking Oracle Solaris ZFS snapshots along the way allowing administrators to continue the construction process from various checkpoints.

Packaging

Updates
There are a variety of methods to handle installation of scheduled or interim updates to keep AIX fiesets up-to-date. The operating system is divided into filesets, each of which has several types of updates. Patches can be applied individually, as part of a technology update or as part of a recommended maintanence set update.
Commands: smit suma, suma, instfix, oslevel, geninstall

Image Packaging System (IPS)
Command line pkg and graphical Package Manager allows install, uninstall, query, etc...
Other commands available for creating and publishing packages and repositories
Commands: pkgsend, pkgrecv, pkgsign, pkgdiff, pkgfmt, pkgmogrify, pkgrepo

Behind each IPS package is a text based manifest which outlines some basic meta-information about the package, package dependencies, what contents the package has, and any SMF services it needs to restart during package installation. Unlike RPMs, IPS packages typically include binaries for multiple architectures (SPARC and x86), debug or optimized binaries, man pages, developer documentation and any localization. Through IPS 'facets' and 'variants' the client system filters the parts of the package they are interested in.

Services

System Resource Controller
The System Resource Controller (SRC) creates and controls programs and processes.
Commands: startsrc, stopsrc, refresh
Run Level Scripts
Start and stop applications based on run level transitions.
File locations: /etc/rc.d/rc<run level>.d

General System Configuration

Change Locale: smit lang
Change Timezone: smit chtz_user
Change Hostname: smit hostname, hostname, mkdev

Locale: svc:/system/environment:init
Timezone: svc:/system/environment:init
Hostname: svc:/system/identity:node

Users

Commands: smit user, smit group
User and group locations: /etc/passwd, /etc/security/user, /etc/group/, /etc/security/group

AIX provides role-based access control (RBAC) and Trusted AIX which controls which users can run commands or modify files.

Commands: useradd, userdel, usermod, users, groupadd, groupdel, groupmod, groups, roleadd, roledel, rolemod, roles, auths, sudo
User and group locations: /etc/passwd, /etc/shadow, /etc/group

Oracle Solaris 11 also uses extended attributes in conjunction with typical user accounts - these provide additional privileges (authorizations, roles and profiles) to individual users of the system. For example, a user or set of users may be given the ability to install new software or create new virtual environments. By default, the traditional UNIX root account has been converted into a role - this ensures proper accountability and auditing as the system is modified. These commands can also be used to store user and role information in remote LDAP directories.

Administrators can use additional utilities to execute a command (or set of commands) within a privileged context

Privileged shells: pfexec, pfbash, pfcsh, pfksh93, pfsh, pfzsh, pftcsh
 

Basic Network Configuration
(Automatic vs Manual)

Automatic
None


















Manual
Manual networking can be set up in a variety of methods, but it typically done through smit or as part of installation through NIM.
Commands: smit commodev, ifconfig

Automatic
Automatic networking in Oracle Solaris 11 is managed through a series of network profiles (configuration profiles and location profiles). Two network configuration profiles are provided by default, DefaultFixed (ie. manual networking) and Automatic (providing automatic detection of network interfaces and an attempt to obtain an IP address through DHCP). Location profiles manage configuration like naming service or IPfilter. Only one network configuration profile and one location profile can be enabled at any one time.
Commands: netadm, netcfg

Manual
Manual configuration is handled primarily by two commands - dladm which handles the data-link layer, and ipadm which handles the IP layer. While ifconfig is still provided for compatibility, this utility will only configure interfaces temporarily and will not be persistent across a system reboot. Administrators also have the ability to rename data-links to aid network configuration migration across the data center.

Commands: dladm, ipadm
IP configuration (private): /etc/ipadm
Data-link configuration (private): /etc/dladm
Network profiles (private): /etc/nwam

Network Virtualization

None

Link Aggregation

IPMP
Supported since AIX 5.3.
Commands: route












Link Aggregation
AIX supports both Etherchannel and IEEE 802.3ad Link Aggregation at the link layer.
Commands: smitty etherchannel

IBM AIX supports generic routing encapsulation (GRE) tunnel for IPv6 over IPv4 and IPv4 over IPv6 tunnel (GIF tunnel)
Commands: smit ctinet6, autoconf6

Oracle Solaris 11 supports IPv4 (IPv4/6 over IPv4 encapsulation), IPv6 (IPv4/6 over IPv6 encapsulation) and 6to4 tunnels (IPv6 over IPv4 encapsulation, as a preferred way of transitioning from IPv4 to IPv6 addressing for networks that don't yet support IPv6).
Commands: dladm

Virtualization

WPARs
Workload partitions (WPARs) are virtualized operating system environments within a single instance of the AIX operating system. WPARs secure and isolate the environment for the processes and signals that are used by enterprise applications, as well as providing resource management control over each WPAR. Versioned WPARs are available to support AIX 5.2 and 5.3 in addition to AIX 7.
Commands: mkwpar, chwpar, startwpar, wparexec

LPARs Logical partitions (LPARS) allow you to assign processors, memory, and input/output devices to logical partitions. You can run AIX, IBM i, Linux, and the Virtual I/O Server in logical partitions.
Commands: installios, mktcpip, cfgassist, cfgdev, mkvdev, lsmap

Oracle Solaris Zones
Oracle Solaris Zones provide native low overhead OS virtualization, with high application isolation and resource management. Oracle Solaris 11 also supports Oracle Solaris 10 Zones, the ability to run applications that require an Oracle Solaris 10 environment within a non-global zone running on Oracle Solaris 11.
Commands: zoneadm, zonecfg, zonestat, zonename, zone2pvhck

Oracle VM Server
Oracle VM Server for SPARC (previously called Sun Logical Domains) provides highly efficient, enterprise-class virtualization by taking advantage of built-in virtualization capabilties on the SPARC T series processor. Each domain is a full virtual machine that can be started or stopped independently. Domains can take on different roles - control, service, I/O or guest.
Commands: ldm, ldm2v

Dynamic Domains
Dynamic domains provide electrically isolated hard partitioning for SPARC Enterprise M-Series servers. Each domain executes a unique instance of Oracle Solaris. Since isolation is instantiated all the way to the hardware, configurations can be created in which software changes, reboots, and potential faults in one domain do not impact applications running in another domain.
Commands: showhardconf, showboards, setupfru, setdcl, addboard, addfru

File Systems

JFS2
Default journaling file system. Maximum file size of 32TB (recommended).
Commands: smit chfs, smit vg, lsvg, extendvg, smit fs, mkvg, mklv, reorgvg, lslv, lsfs, lspv, migratepv, exportvg, importvg, smit mklvcopy, mirrorvg 

Oracle Solaris ZFS
Default file system on Oracle Solaris 11. Maximum file size of 16EB, maximum volume size of 16EB. Oracle Solaris ZFS has integrated data services - deduplication, encryption, compression, shadow migration, and RAID.
Commands: zfs, zpool

Mandatory Access Control, Role Based Acess and Multi-Level Security

RBAC
RBAC allows the creation of roles for system administration and the delegation of administrative tasks across a set of trusted system users. In AIX, RBAC provides a mechanism through which the administrative functions typically reserved for the root user can be assigned to regular system users.
Commands: ckauth, chauth, lsauth, mkauth, rmauth, chrole, lsrole, mkrole, rmrole, rolelist, swrole, lssecattr, rmsecattr, setsecattr, lskst, setkst, lspriv, tracepriv, pvi, rbactoldif, setsecconf

Privileges
The privileged command database implement the least privilege principle for processes. Privileges can be granted to a command and the execution of the command can be governed by an authorization. Commands are included in the RBAC list above.





Trusted AIX
Trusted AIX enables Multi Level Security (MLS) capabilities in AIX, also referred to as label-based security. Once you choose this mode of installation, you will not be able to go back to a regular AIX environment without performing an overwrite install of regular AIX.
Commands: labck, getsecconf, setsecconf, getsyslab, setsyslab, getrunmode, setrunmode, pdlink, pdmkdir, pdmode, pdrmdir, pdset, bootauth, chuser, lsuser, chsec, lssec, trustchk, lstxattr, settxattr

RBAC
Also known as user rights management, RBAC allows administrators to distribute administrative duties. RBAC is integrated right across the operating system.
Commands: profiles, roleadd, roledel, rolemod, roles, auths








Privileges
Privileges are fine-grained, discrete rights on processes that are enforced in the kernel. Oracle Solaris defines over 80 privileges. Privileges can be granted to a command, a user, a role, or a system. Many Oracle Solaris commands and daemons run with only those privileges that are required to perform their task. The use of privileges is also called process rights management.
Commands: ppriv, profiles

Trusted Extensions
Trusted Extensions supports both traditional discretionary access control (DAC) policies based on ownership, as well as label-based mandatory access control (MAC) policies. Trusted Extensions is integrated into much of the operating system, including Oracle Solaris Zones.
Commands: tncfg, txzonemgr, setlabel, getlabel, plabel

VPN

IPsec
IP security (IPsec) protects IP packets by authenticating the packets, by encrypting the packets, or by doing both. Oracle Solaris supports IPsec for both IPv4 and IPv6. Because IPsec is implemented well below the application layer, Internet applications can take advantage of IPsec without requiring modifications to their code.
Commands: ipadm, ipsecconf, ipsecalgs, ipseckey
Configuration file: /etc/inet/ipsecinit.conf

Firewall

IPFilter
IPFilter is a software package that can be used to provide network address translation (NAT) or firewall services.
Commands: ipf, ipfs, ipfstat, ipmon, ipnat
Configuration files: /etc/ipf.conf

IPFilter
IPFilter provides packet filtering capabilities. IPFilter is integrated into SMF providing the ability for administrators to configure per service firewall rules.
Commands: ipf, ipnat
Configuration files: /etc/ipf/ipf.conf, svc:/network/ipfilter:default

Encryption

JFS2
AIX JFS2 supports the Encrypted File System (EFS) which allows users to encrypt data and control access through keyed protection.
Commands: efsenable, efsmgr, efskeymgr, crfs


AIX Public Key Cryptography
AIX provides two tools for managing cryptographic systems: the PKCS #11 Key Management Administration tools. There is also a programmatic interface.
Commands: p11km, p11admin

ZFS
Oracle Solaris ZFS supports full encryption of datasets during creation
Commands: zfs




Oracle Solaris Cryptographic Framework
The Cryptographic Framework provides a common store of algorithms and PKCS #11 libraries to handle cryptographic requirements.
Commands: cryptoadm, pktool

SMF & FMA
The Service Management Framework and Fault Management Architecture provide Oracle Solaris' self healing capability, monitoring the operating system for faults whether it's individual hardware components or system or application services, and silently works to isolate those faults or automatically restart services. State notifications have been added to Oracle Solaris 11 so administrators can send emails or SNMP traps for any important events they most are interested in.
Commands: svcadm, fmadm

Oracle Solaris Cluster is an additional offering that provides high levels of availability through clustering for enterprise applications and databases. Oracle Solaris Cluster is integrated with Oracle Solaris 11 features giving significant benefits in terms of detection and recovery from failure.

DTrace
The DTrace framework includes many providers that distribution thousands of probe points across the operating system. A list of providers cover different aspects of the system, the ability to observe individual processes, and a number of different networking protocols. Support for a number of runtimes (Java, Python, PHP, Ruby) is also provided.
Commands: dtrace

A large selection of other administrative tools provide monitoring capabilities, helping to aggregate and display much of the same information you can get from DTrace.
Network: flowstat, dlstat, netstat, acctadm
Oracle Solaris Zones: zonestat
SMF Services: svcs
Fault Management: fmstat
I/O: iostat
File system: fsstat, stat
Kernel: kstate
CPU: mpstat, pgstat
VM: vmstat
Process: prstat, truss, ptree
Resource Management: poolstat
System Latency: latencytop
Power Management: powertop



Oracle Enterprise Manager Ops Center, included with all Oracle Premier Support agreements, provides extensive monitoring at a greater scale.