IBM AIX Training

Lesson 1 • Navigating the AIX Command Line

Introduces essential shell commands, directory navigation, and help resources. Competency here is prerequisite for every hands-on lab in the course.

Lesson 2 • Introduction to IBM AIX

Covers AIX history, versions, and its position among enterprise UNIX systems. Establishes context for all subsequent AIX administration topics.

Lesson 3 • AIX Installation and Boot Process

Walks through AIX installation methods and the boot sequence from firmware to login. Students gain hands-on confidence before tackling administration tasks.

Lesson 1 • Creating and Managing File Systems

Teaches crfs, chfs, and rmfs commands alongside smitty workflows. Directly applies LVM knowledge to create usable storage for applications.

Lesson 2 • Logical Volume Manager Concepts

Covers the LVM stack: physical volumes, volume groups, and logical volumes. Students understand how AIX abstracts hardware disks into flexible storage pools.

Lesson 3 • Storage Monitoring and Reporting

Introduces df, lsvg, lslv, and related commands for capacity reporting. Enables proactive storage management before space exhaustion occurs.

Lesson 4 • Disk and Volume Group Administration

Addresses adding disks, mirroring volume groups, and handling disk failures. Prepares students to maintain storage availability in enterprise environments.

Lesson 1 • Authentication and Security Policies

Configures PAM, LDAP integration, and AIX login controls for enterprise authentication. Prepares students to meet organisational identity management standards.

Lesson 2 • Group Management and Roles

Explains group creation, membership, and the AIX role-based access control model. Enables delegation of administrative tasks without granting full root access.

Lesson 3 • File Permissions and Ownership

Teaches chmod, chown, chgrp, and ACL management for fine-grained access control. Directly applies user and group concepts to protect files and directories.

Lesson 1 • System Tuning and Optimisation

Applies ioo, vmo, and schedo tuning commands to improve overall system throughput. Synthesises CPU, memory, and I/O knowledge into a holistic tuning strategy.

Lesson 2 • CPU and Memory Monitoring

Uses vmstat, topas, and nmon to measure CPU utilisation and memory pressure. Connects raw metrics to actionable tuning decisions.

Lesson 3 • Process Lifecycle and Control

Explains process states, priorities, and signals in AIX. Provides the process model needed before students can interpret performance data.

Lesson 4 • Disk I/O Performance Analysis

Applies iostat and filemon to identify disk bottlenecks and I/O patterns. Builds on storage knowledge from Chapter 2 to diagnose I/O-related slowdowns.

Lesson 1 • Network Interface Configuration

Covers ifconfig, smitty, and ODM-based network configuration for Ethernet adapters. Establishes the network foundation required for all remote administration tasks.

Lesson 2 • Network Troubleshooting Techniques

Applies ping, traceroute, tcpdump, and netstat to isolate connectivity faults. Synthesises all networking knowledge into a structured diagnostic workflow.

Lesson 3 • Network Services Configuration

Sets up NFS, NIS, and FTP services native to AIX. Directly applies networking fundamentals to provide shared resources across the enterprise.

Lesson 4 • EtherChannel and Link Aggregation

Configures EtherChannel for bandwidth aggregation and failover on AIX. Builds on single-interface knowledge to deliver high-availability network designs.

Lesson 1 • NIM-Based Backup and Restore

Leverages NIM to perform centralised backups and network-based restores across multiple AIX clients. Scales backup operations for enterprise environments.

Lesson 2 • Disaster Recovery Planning

Designs and tests AIX disaster recovery procedures including bare-metal restores. Ensures students can execute recovery plans under time pressure.

Lesson 3 • AIX Backup Strategy Fundamentals

Defines backup types, retention policies, and recovery objectives for AIX systems. Frames all subsequent backup tools within a risk-management context.

Lesson 4 • Data Backup with savevg and tar

Uses savevg, tar, and cpio to back up non-rootvg data volume groups and files. Complements mksysb by protecting application data separately.

Lesson 1 • System Hardening Techniques

Applies CIS benchmark controls: disabling unused services, restricting root login, and securing cron. Reduces the attack surface of a default AIX installation.

Lesson 2 • Encrypted Communications and Data

Configures OpenSSH, TLS, and AIX encrypted file systems for data protection. Applies encryption to both data in transit and data at rest.

Lesson 3 • Vulnerability Assessment and Compliance

Uses AIX Security Expert and third-party scanners to assess and remediate vulnerabilities. Closes the chapter by validating that hardening measures are effective.

Lesson 4 • AIX Audit and Logging

Configures the AIX audit subsystem and syslog to capture security-relevant events. Enables detection of unauthorised activity and supports compliance reporting.

Lesson 1 • PowerVM and LPAR Management

Configures logical partitions, shared processor pools, and virtual I/O on Power Systems. Extends AIX administration into the virtualisation layer that hosts most enterprise workloads.

Lesson 2 • AIX Workload Partitions (WPARs)

Creates and manages WPARs for application isolation within a single AIX instance. Provides a lightweight alternative to full LPARs for consolidation scenarios.

Lesson 3 • Virtual I/O Server Administration

Deploys and manages VIOS to provide virtual SCSI and Ethernet to client LPARs. Builds on storage and networking knowledge to deliver virtualised I/O infrastructure.

Lesson 4 • Advanced Diagnostics and Problem Determination

Uses errpt, snap, and AIX diagnostic tools to isolate hardware and software faults. Equips students to resolve complex incidents and engage IBM support effectively.