Introduction

I think, therefore I am.
—René Descartes

The primary purpose of this book is to help you pass the Sun Certified System Administrator for Solaris 10 Exams CX-310-200 and CX-310-202. Since the book has a laser-sharp focus on the exam objectives, expert system administrators who want to pass the exam can use this book to ensure that they do not miss any objective. Yet, it is not an exam cram book. The chapters and the sections within each chapter are presented in a logical learning sequence: every new chapter builds upon knowledge acquired in previous chapters, and there is no hopping from topic to topic. The concepts and topics, both simple and complex, are clearly explained. This facilitates stepwise learning and prevents confusion, making this book useful also for beginners who want to get up to speed quickly to get certified, even if they are new to system administration. Furthermore, Chapter 1 bridges the gap for beginners, and experts can choose to skip it. Regardless if you are a beginner or an expert, you will find yourself returning to this book as a handy reference even after you have taken and passed the exam.

In This Book

This book tells the story of Solaris system administration in a cohesive, concise, yet comprehensive fashion. Although it's not an exam cram, each section of each chapter is directly associated with a specific exam objective clearly spelled out in the beginning, and each chapter ends with two exam-focused features: Two-Minute Drill and Inside the Exam.

At the time of this book's publication, all the exam objectives were final and posted on the Sun Web site and the final exams had been released. Sun announced its commitment to measuring real-world skills. This book is designed with that premise in mind: The author has practical experience in the field, using the Solaris operating environment in hands-on situations, and has followed the development of the product since early beta versions. Furthermore, the author has contributed to the development of the exam by participating in the blueprint survey phase of the exam development.

The exam assumes that you have a minimum of 6 to 12 months of experience as a system administrator and that you have an in-depth knowledge of basic UNIX and Solaris OS commands. Therefore, it is essential that you work with the operating environment to gain and enhance your proficiency. Toward that end, this book includes practical step-by-step exercises in each chapter that are designed to give you hands-on experience as well as guide you in learning the Solaris 10 operating environment itself, and not just learning about it.

Part I of the book covers the CX-310-200 exam, which is a prerequisite for the CX-310-202 exam covered in Part II of the book.