Product Description

Primarily Written for those who want to earn the Sun Certified System Administrator (SCSA) certification for Solaris 10, this guide presents full coverage of the official objectives for both the required exams: CX-310-200 and CX-310-202. In spite of the laser sharp focus on the exam objectives, this is not a cram style book. Written in a classroom-based teaching style, this book presents material in a sequential fashion: topics and chapters build upon the previously covered topics and chapters. There is no hopping from topic to topic. An introductory chapter for beginners and a cohesive, concise, yet comprehensive presentation of the material makes it a self contained book that requires no prior experience in Solaris or UNIX. Even after passing the exam, you will find yourself coming back to use this book as an on-the-job reference.

Full coverage of exam topics includes:

• Basic and advanced Solaris 10 installation
• Managing file systems and core dumps
• Performing user and security administration
• Managing network printers and system processes
• Performing system backups and restores and managing storage volumes
• Managing naming services
• Managing role based access control and system messaging
• Understanding fundamentals of TCP/IP networking and managing network services

The book features complete details on all exam objectives, 250+ practice questions, step-by-step exercises, on-the-job elements, a two-minute drill at the end of each chapter that reviews the key points in the chapter, and chapter self-tests. The CD contains MasterExam practice exam software with all new questions, a Searchable electronic book, and a second practice exam (with free online registration).

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #269535 in Books
• Published on: 2005-12-31
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 864 pages

From the Back Cover

Get the book that shows you not only what—but how—to study

• 100% complete coverage of all official objectives for Sun Solaris exams CX-310-200 and CX-310-202
• Exam Readiness Checklist at the front of the book--you're ready for the exam when all objectives on the list are checked off
• Real-world exercises--Step-by-step instruction modeled after the hands-on exam questions
• Exam Watch and Inside the Exam sections in every chapter highlight key exam topics covered
• Simulated exam questions match the format, tone, topics, and difficulty of the real exam

Covers all exam CX-310-200 and CX-310-202 topics, including: Installation * System Boot Procedures * File System Administration * Disk Management * User Administration * Security * Managing Network Printers and System Processes * Backups and Restores * The Solaris Network Environment * Virtual File Systems and Core Dumps * Storage Volumes * Access Control and System Messaging * Naming Services * Advanced Installation Procedures

The best fully integrated study system available. CD-ROM includes:

• Complete MasterExam practice testing engine, featuring:
• One CX-310-200 practice exam
• Detailed answers with explanations
• Score Report performance assessment tool
• Electronic book for studying on the go
• Bonus downloadable CX-310-202 MasterExam practice test (with free online registration)

About the Author
Dr. Paul Sanghera (San Jose, CA) Linux+, Network+, CAN, SCP, SCSA, is a technologist, educator, and entrepreneur based in the Silicon Valley, California. With a Ph.D. in Physics, and a Master’s in Computer Science from Cornell University, Dr. Sanghera is an expert in Computer Networking, TCP/IP protocols, Java Technologies, and peer to peer distributed communication systems. He has more than 15 years experience working with the UNIX system environment, including work at research laboratories such as CERN and the Wilson Nuclear Synchrotron Laboratory at Cornell University, and in the computer industry. He has taught technology courses in the Bay Area at CSU Hayward, San Jose State University, Golden Gate University, and Brooks College.

Paul was a founding member and Director of Engineering at an e-commerce company, weborder, that was sold to Netopia. He has also been at the ground floor of several other technology startups such as Dream Logic, and MP3.com. DR. Sanghera has also worked as Senior Software Engineer at Novell, and Netscape, and have contributed to technologies such as Netscape Communicator, NDS, and sellerXpert. Author and co-author of more than 150 research papers published in American and European research journals, Dr. Sanghera has made professional presentations by invitation at several International conferences.

Customer Reviews

Solaris 9 SCSA guide NOT a Solaris 10 guide
I'd say this book, is one of the worse SCSA study guides I've read.

*So, far I've corrected a good amount of the selftest questions/answers.

*VERY limited information about SMF. There's TONS of information that's 9 related. Statements about starting SSHD via /etc/init.d/sshd SORRY Solaris 10 uses 'svcadm -v enable ssh' NOT an init script. Coverage on settng up rlogin/rsh tools with no password. However, NO mention of SSH doing the same over an encrypted line. Talk about misleading! The covering of inetd implies that you can use the 'standard' /etc/inet/inetd.conf script. NO mention of the inetconv only the inetadm. There's also NO mention of the '-r' flag that starts everything that a service needs. Hence, 'svcadm -v enable -r nfs/server'.

*What's with 'how to setup NIS'? NIS is DEAD that's POOR material for Solaris 10 (maybe 7/8), how about LDAP setup coverage? Even Sun has dropped support of NIS. They don't provide the ldap client SMF mention in the book. They suggest the client is started with the 'ldapclient' command where it's 'ldap.client'. MOST things he implies are standard init scripts where MOST are wrappers for SMF. This SHOULD be mentioned since most newbies will probably miss it.

*SVM coverage doesn't really explain 'how' to create volumes. The tools they mention in a setup (how to do it) use SMC MOST people or seasoned SAs will use the command line tools. There's NO mention to the fact two disk mirror of the root doesn't work right in Solaris 10 (known bug and waiting patch for).

*The coverage of Jumptart & Zones are fast and brief. It's more like a 'summary' then an actual insight of the two.


Page: 160

Question 2.)

Correct answer should be A, BUT the device name is incorrect it should be.

/dev/rdsk/c0d0s0 NOT /dev/rdsk/c0d0s3

Page: 161

Question 7.) Grammatical error: 'mountall' command should be 'umountall'

Page: 178

There is NO -D useradd default option for "shell" never has probably never will be.

useradd -D -s /bin/ksh does NOT work there IS NO -s command.

I'm using Solaris Express Nevada latest release and it doesn't have it either. Someone thinking Linux?

Page: 210

There is NO /etc/init.d/sshd for Solaris 10 EVER! It's always been

svcadm -v enable ssh

Someone was clearly thinking Solaris 9 on this.

Page: 229

Question 11: The "real" correct answer is B, head will report the 'first three' most recent reboot commands, last will report the 'first' from the creation date of the file.

Page: 498

Question 4.)

Should A,B,C be within /etc/security/ NOT just /etc/?

These are the 'quick' skim from the book of notes I made. When I got tired I said I'd go back and make more corrections, but haven't had the chance yet. Probably won't got what I needed out of the book which wasn't much.


I can go on and on.

Don't waste your time on this book. If you're a 'newbie' to Solaris, great. If you're a seasoned SA looking for "Real 10" material, read all the docs.sun.com Solaris 10 information. However, save your money and attempt the Bill Calkins release (still being delivered to me, hopefully better then this waste of money) or as mentioned docs at Sun. This is a total disappointment for anyone 'really' wanting to know the juice of Solaris 10. Coming for a guy who's wrote a lot of stuff for BigAdmin and what not this is a waste. Contact me if you want 'specifics' on this search for William Pool rotaecho@yahoo.com

Great System Admin Book
This is a great Solaris 10 system administration book. First, I used this book to prepare for the two exams to get my SCSA certification for Solaris 10, and yes, I passed the exams. Now, I'm using this book as a textbook for the Solaris 10 course that I treach to help others to learn basic Solaris 10 system administration. The nice thing about this book from my perspective is that I can teach the course without compromising my teaching style. I, like most of the teachers/trainers, would like to define concepts before diving into the thick of things, and I like to cover topics in a logical sequence. Students learn the most by making connections, to what they already know. The pieces should fit together nicely to build the big picture. This is exactly what this book does. Not only the chapters are in a perfect logical sequence, but so are the sections inside each chapter. I like it how the author starts each chapter by raising three points, the whole chapter revolves around those three points, the three points are concluded at the end of the chapter, and in the process you learn a topic with adequate depth without getting bored. I love the author's overall style: very refreshing. There are enough number of visuals/graphics that help understand a concept and make it stick.

Another thing that I like about this book is the commitment to the scope. Having involved in running some projects, I know the importance of scope management. Each course has a syllabus which is its scope like the scope of a project. Both the teacher and the project manager would fail to accomplish the objectives they were set out to accomplish, if they do not stick to the scope. For a basic course in Solaris system administration who can set the syllabus (scope) better than Sun itself? This book covers the Solaris 10 system administration within the scope set by Sun, that is, the exam objectives for the SCSA exams. You cannot teach everything in one course or in one book; if you try you will not be able to do justice with any topic. Because this book covers the scope set by the SCSA exam objectives, and presents the material in a classroom training fashion, that is why I use this book as a text book. After completing the course, the students can go out and take the SCSA exam if they wish: that's a bonus.

While preparing for the exam, I especially liked the following features: The Two-Minute Drill and From Inside the Exam that summarize the main points in the chapter from the exam view point, the Scenarios and Solutions that re-enforce important concepts in the form of an example or a short exercise, and the complete practice exams that come with the book.

This is a self contained book. So, if you have this book, you don't really need a teacher, but a book can never replace a teacher; we teachers always find ways to add value :-).

Overall a Great Book: Passed Both Exams
I've read the positive and the negative reviews about this book, and took the chance by buying the book. I do not regret because I have passed both the exams after preparing from this book. Here is my experience:
* Because I read the reviews about errors in the book, I downloaded the Errata (there is a link to Errata in Amazon Connect section of this page). I agree with some of the reviewers that mostly these errors are typos and there are in fact a very few factual errors.
* For the exam, it's important to remember the command options and file names given in the book.
* I like the author's style very much. Sounds like, he has the art of making difficult concepts simple and connecting different concepts to each other to help you make sense of the topic.
* There is a reasonable number of visuals/graphics in the book which sometimes explain simple things such as an entry in an important file, but mostly the complex things such as the lifecycle of a zone. These visuals on one hand explain an otherwise complex topic, and on the other hand make the material stick in your mind. Most system admin books (especially in UNIX) do not do such things.
* The practice exams that come with the book were very helpful. The answers are very explanatory: why the correct answer is correct and the incorrect answers are incorrect; all explained. These answers and explanations re-enforce the important concepts.
* I quickly went through the Two-minute drill and Inside the Exam sections just before the exam. It helped refresh the important concepts.

The presentation style of the book makes it a good Solaris 10 System Admin book even if you are not planning to take the exam.
Just ignore chapter 1 if you are an advanced admin and want to prepare for the exams.