Hi all,

Before I start, I just wanted to mention that I did check in the "I'm new to Unix, what books should I read" sub-forum but didn't find anything that I thought was useful (or maybe I don't know what I'm looking for!).

I'm a Windows Admin, have been for quite a few years, all the way from NT4 and upwards. In my new job, we are about to take on 60+ new Solaris 10 servers and already have quite a few in place. With the current state the world is in financially there are talk of job cuts and I have been advised by my boss to make myself as indispensible as possible by combining Unix/Solaris experience alongside my Windows experience.

My problem is that I have literally no idea where to even begin learning. Learning Windows in its various guises was easy since I had people to help me along the way (and also I was a lot younger, learning came easier!!). I've bought two books on Unix already that I thought would help me (Unix for Dummies, and Unix in a Nutshell) but unfortunately one assumes I have no knowledge of anything computer related, and the other looks like an extremely useful resource, but a bit beyond my scope at the moment.

Bear in mind that I know basically nothing, but am extremely keen to learn, can anyone advise on where I should start? I have access to Solaris 10 on my laptop, so I will have a working system to play with.

Any help is massively appreciated, thank you.

all you need for solaris 10 is at:
http://docs.sun.com

but the best start would be to forget all about windows and do a clean start... most people look for things they know from an other os and thats the problem. solaris is all about editing files... so a good start is learning "vi". next is installing and patching a solaris installation. learn how to add new software (pkgadd...). setup and manage network interfaces (ifconfig...). learn how to access the mashine via "ssh" and how to transfer files between boxes (scp, nfs, samba).

hth,
DN2

All these... basic administration

Duke is exactly right... forget what you know about windows and don't compare the os's. you'll hate everything about unix if you do this. you'll only get more frustrated. you need to look beyond the window wizards/point and click stuff. there is a book that is really pretty good called "Essential System Administration" published by O-Reilly. Covers many sysadmin roles/responsibilities in the unix world. however, it does not cover any one specific flavor. its a generic approach... so showing active process stats in linux might use "top" and solaris might use "prstat". and if your environment is a single unix flavor... god you're in luck

you can also grab another box called "Solaris 10 - Sun Certified System Administrator for Solaris 10" Its basically a study guide for the SCSA test. however, its pretty good from the ground up. what i suggest you do is grab the box and a sparc or x86 solaris box. make it into your sandbox and practice. read through the books/articles and practice what they are talking about. make zones, use ldoms, make swap files, back up a full version of the os, configure a network! once you get a hang of it all, you'll be amazed at the speed in which you can move through the environment on a command line.

good luck!

I partially disagree with this statement:
Ultimately, there are some fundamental similarities that you are likely already aware of.
1. The operating system manages the hardware.
2. The operating system provides an environment for applications to run in/on
3. File management and directory structures behave in a similar fashion
4. Scripts are written to manage mundane tasks
5. etc...

The uniqueness of the operating systems (whether Windows vs. UNIX vs. Linux vs. VAX vs. HP Calculator vs. whatever) are in how you manage various components as well as in how feature-rich your tools are.

Configuration in the UNIX world generally happens via the command line, rather than the extensive use of dialog boxes. In Solaris, you will be called upon to edit text configuration files. In Solaris, you have a 'cron' to manage scheduled tasks. In Solaris, your operating system is broken out into several directories (/var, /usr, /opt, /etc)

Any time that you expect to build a new host, you likely make a list of the services that you expect a host to provide - ie: account management, disk mirroring, secure file transfer, apache, etc. Do the same thing with your Solaris laptop. Focus on one area at a time, and play with configuring these on your laptop. Don't be afraid to get in and mangle stuff on your laptop. You can always reload the OS and try again.

If you are looking for a specific command, but don't know where to start (or what it might be called), you can check out the UNIX Rosetta Stone to get you started. Select "Solaris" from the list in the top left, then click "Draw Table". It has a bunch of commands grouped together by topic. Find one that looks related, and then go to your laptop and type "man <command>" (without the <>). 'man' is your friend - get used to it. It is our "clippy"

Once you are comfortable with some of the concepts - you don't need to know everything - then you can start asking some questions, and the nutshell book will help with clarity.

Hi

should I suggest you to track the Unix like as MSCE.

First, the basic Unix FS and environment
Then Solaris Administration material like a Solaris Basics Tracks
and then troubleshooting issues..

So also the differences Solaris environment Processors Sparc vs X86, there are similar but not identical..

i don't want to deviate too far from the OP but,
avronius - you are right on these examples. an os is an os. however, i've found the window admin side to be well... extremely window oriented. i've found unix side to lack this feature. this can be very intimidating for someone who is not comfortable on a command line.

i worked with a guy who came from hp-ux. we hired him on as a solaris admin... all he did was compare the two OS's and say "well in hp-ux it was this... and in hp-ux it was that." i've since left that place but have talked to several others that say he can't grasp solaris and they aren't too happy with him.

i'm currently working on a project that is built off rhel4. initially i was struggling because 1) i don't know linux and 2) i was comparing solaris to linux. i found as soon as i gave this practice of comparing OS's up and began to find the proper commands easier (with the help of understanding basics of an OS).