HP/WORKS EVENTS : HP-UX SUMMER TRAINING MASTER CLASSES

HP-UX Summer Training Master Classes Bill Hassell 13 - 16 June 2000 HP/Works members, colleagues from member organisations, and non-members are most welcome to attend. Please book early to secure your place.

INTRODUCTION

We are pleased to offer a series of HP-UX Master Classes to be run by Bill Hassell from the HP Response Centre in Atlanta. Bill will need little introduction to most of you, having already run a number of training courses for HP/Works. Everyone leaves Bill's classes inspired and much better informed - see below for details of content - Bill has so much to offer, the only question is how much can we cram into his visit!

The Classes will run on 13, 14, 15, 16 June 2000 at HP Bristol, next to HP Labs - book the dates in your diary now and use this booking form to secure your place(s). Each day will stand alone (although days one and two follow on to form one course), and together, all four days will build into an unparalleled training opportunity. Each day will cost just £100 plus VAT to HP/Works members and we have arranged a special discount for those booking all four days as a package - save £50!!

Coffees and teas will be provided within the cost of the training and a heavily subsidised canteen will be available for lunches. It is envisaged that each day will run from 09.30 / 10.00 until 16.30 / 17.00.

Anyone wanting overnight accommodation can contact Business Travel Services on 01425 481481 (fax 01425 477328) for details of local accommodation at discounted prices. Bristol Airport can be contacted on 01275 474444.

PROVISIONAL CONTENTS TO BE COVERED EACH DAY:

Days 1 and 2: Tuesday 13 June and Wednesday 14 June 2000: FAQs and Answers: Advanced Sys Admin for HP-UX

Managing HP 9000 systems, whether servers or workstations can be easy with the right answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). In this seminar, we will look at sysadmin checklists, scripts to make managing the systems easier, performance issues and kernel tuning. We'll cover management issues for multiple systems, how to inventory them and keep changes under control along with tips on setting up centralized software depots for patches and updates.

Automating new user setups, preparing for crash dumps and how to read them, managing disk space and user resources and tips on inter-operating with other systems such as NT and Linux will be presented. This seminar will also connect live to many different systems to display some of ideas in realtime. You will see systems with small RAM problems, disk space issues, even look at multi-processor systems online. We'll look a small systems with hundreds of users for a glimpse into server management.

We will cover managing single and multiple systems, distributing software and patches and how to standardize/ inventory multiple systems. Common admin problems such as email, disk quotas and LVM will be discussed as well as an overview of performance tools and techniques used for kernel tuning. Even some information on sharing data through NFS and ftp with a smattering of PC integration will be part of the program and of course, how to give everyone access to the documentation. An overview of 11.0 is also included.

Day 3: Thursday 15 June 2000: Practical Scripting for Sys Admins

HP-UX SysAdmins can take it easy once they know the secrets of practical scripting. After all, computers should work for people, not the other way around. We'll look at many common tasks, and scripts that can accomplish these tasks. We'll also look at the techniques to debug and test the scripts. And along the way, develop some basic standards for all scripts to make them more reliable and easy to troubleshoot. Handouts will include working scripts to handle disk space, log files, core files and some script fragments for login control and tracking down a user's DISPLAY value.

Day 4: Everything Else!... Performance, kernel tuning, logfiles, security and printing

Performance Basics for HP-UX: Often, HP-UX systems may seem to run poorly with the reason somewhat obscured by the complexity of a multi-user, multi-process system. With knowledge about kernel tuning and the performance utilities available on HP-UX, system administrators can often determine the reason for the slow responses and take appropriate steps to fix these areas. This session will discuss the many tools and techniques that can improve system performance, and the handouts can aid the system administrator in solving performance and planning issues.

HP-UX Kernel Tuning Introduction: Kernel tuning sounds like some obscure artform so welcome to Bill's School of Kernel Magic. This session will go over the concept of HP-UX kernel parameters, how to change them and what the effect will be. A must-attend tutorial for anyone that has an HP-UX system that's growing in size and activity. This session discusses many of the common kernel values and their effects on the way processes run in the system. Values will be discussed relative to several possible environments such as a database server, a graphics-intensive design center, a program development group and a large scale application server.

HP-UX Logs and LumberJacks: Can't see your system for all the logs? Come to lumberjack school and we'll show you where they are, what they contain and most importantly how to trim them. Some logs always exist, others are filled only after being created and some are optional. There are both ASCII and binary logs so we'll use different chain saws to hack away at these disk fillers - without losing valuable data.

HP-UX Security Intro: With electronic information and access becoming easily available, security of this information is a major topic of discussion. This paper will discuss some of the basic considerations needed in any network-based computer system as well as details that the system administrator should know in managing these resources. And with the explosive growth of the Internet, connecting Unix computers directly to the Internet requires some careful planning to keep both the computer as well as internal systems protected. Some guidelines and suggestions will be presented.

HP-UX and Windows NT Printing: Interoperability between WinNT and HP-UX is not well documented but actually works fairly well in either direction. This paper will describe a bit about how remote printing works, the advantages and disadvantages of NT and HP-UX remote printing and some information on how to make it work. A discussion about customized printer scripts, PCL and Postscript languages and some basics on JetDirect printing will be given.

BIOGRAPHY

Bill Hassell is a SysAdmin Technology Engineer working at the HP Atlanta Response Center. In his current role, he does remote and onsite HP-UX technology projects for customers and provides assistance for internal HP engineers who manage more than 300 HP-9000 systems. Previously, he worked for Support Engineering Technology and also for the System Interrupt team. Bill has been with HP for more than 20 years and is a frequent contributor to the HP User's group conferences and publications. He is currently working on a book for HP-UX called the "HP-UX System Administrator's Survival Guide" which will be available from Prentice-Hall in the near future. Bill was elected to the Interex Board of Directors in 1998.

HOW TO BOOK