UniVerse Administration
The UniVerse Administration course is intended for users of the UniVerse
database involved in system administration. It includes practical exercises
to explore the topics presented and is accompanied by a detailed student
manual which will be a useful book for later reference.
The main topics covered are:
The UniVerse data model. This module discusses the general relational
database model and the extensions to provide the multi-valued fields that make
UniVerse so powerful and easy to use. Although System Administrators do not
usually need a detailed understanding of the data model, it is useful
background material.
System Administrator Interfaces. This module looks at the various
UniVerse interfaces available for system administration; system startup, the
UniAdmin tool, the Unix system administration menus and the command line
interfaces.
Configuration Parameters. UniVerse has many parameters that affect the
operation of the system. This module discusses the more important ones and
explains how they can be adjusted and the effect it will have on the system.
Setting up Users and Accounts. Administrators are usually responsible
for adding new users to the system and creating accounts for new applications.
This module discusses the tools provided to perform these tasks and explores
the major features of a UniVerse account that administrators may need to be
familiar with.
Monitoring the System A System Administrator needs to be able to
identify what is going on in the system and to handle cases where processes
are apparently stuck. A variety of monitoring tools are discussed in this
module with emphasis on explaining what can be deduced from the output from
these tools.
Lock Management. Applications frequently suffer from locking problems.
A thorough understanding of locks is essential if the problems are to be
resolved without compromising data integrity.
Tuning the File System. System Administrators can spend a large
proportion of their time trying to get the best performance out of the system.
This module explains the causes of performance problems and examines the tools
available to help resolve the issues.
Shared Memory Programs. Large multi-user installations can gain
significant performance by correct use of the shared memory program system.
This module discusses the mechanism itself and how to use it to best effect.
Security and Backup Policies. This module covers two inter-related
topics; preventing unauthorised access to the system and securing data against
loss through user error, software faults or harware failure. Issues relating
to maintaining data integrity are also discussed.
Managing Printers and Other Devices. UniVerse can be configured to
drive printers, tapes amd other devices. This module explores the way in which
devices are configured and looks in detail at the UniVerse Unix spooler
system.