UNIX for Advanced & Expert Users

Hi vbe, about the commercial unix, I found server HP 9000 A500 Server UNIX SERVER and it's empty (no OS), so do we need to buy solaris separately ? like yours (solaris 8) how much?

With a A500 You will need HPUX11i v1 (Its a PA-RISC box...), that costs quite a lot but I suppose someone can give you some CDs /DVD to install a basic configuration, It cant be worth much without OS...but its a nice little server (blade type) Does it have a DAT drive with it? If you are looking at SUN, a little ultra10 would be fine for you. Remember to look also for DAT drive installed ( backup/restore exercice...) About HP, in the worst case I will look and see if I can help...(but I have a A400 and sure its not the same processor in mine is serie 7XXX while I bet A500 is PA-8000 (64bit...))

Hi vbe,

would you mind to tell me how you become unix admin at first time? or it's just simply luck opportunity from company , they like you and give you training.

peac3,

Please see comments below on your queries

If I install linux mandriva at home as I have got it now,
would it be much different to admin other more popular flavour like (redhat, fedora) and unix.

functionality wise it is almost the same as Mandriva. Mandriva was derive from redhat. Im suggesting that you try the Fedora. Every new Rehdat technologies are incorporated at fedora core.let us say that it is a (staging RHEL in some ways).

Or would be the best if I spend some money to buy Redhat and install at home.

No need you just need the fedora download and thats it.

Actually, can I buy Solaris 10 Unix and install at home or unix require specific hardware and we need to buy from sun as the package (hardware and OS)?
Because we all know unix is most popular in the world.

Opensolaris will do. Just like fedora it Sun microsystems also incorporate new technologies at opensolaris.

If you can buy HW that will be a plus/ good point for your learning. Its means that your passionate on doing this unix admin thing.

Goodluck and cheers!

Well peac3, I was luck enough to start when unix sysadmin were difficult to find:
I was a programmer-analyst, and got frightened when the employer at the time realised I was better in COBOL then the COBOL team (I was very happy with mantisse and VB3...) and after a successfull attempt of revers engineering was chown a wallside of COBOL program in spagetti format ( 2nd line goto etc.. ) and the fact that GCOS7 was on the end, I looked for something in UNIX. I started my UNIX life as UNIX/oracle developper but the office really needed a sysadmin, so I slowly got into unix / Novell administration while officially being a developper...
I suppose you could do the same by having a very good web knowledge and developping wwww software using plone/zope/wiki etc... on apache... Once you are a website admin you fatally have to at some become sysadmin (In order to solve performance issues...)

csorhand/vbe,

Is fedora has GUI interface as well like GNOME/KDE,

I used to install mandrake and if I need to install any software based on linux, I can install them via GUI eventho more complicated than windows.

And I was just wondering in commercial industry, if sysadmin is asked to install subversion or veritas or tivoli. Did they install via GUI or via console (like extract the file into specific directory manually)?

If Linux is good to learn then I will download fedora and buy old box and install it, buy a book and play around. Any recommended book for fedora?

Thanks heaps guys,

Im at the moment installing a TSM server on aix - command line...