Enterprise Computing ® with Oracle Solaris by Lawrence C. Miller, CISSP These materials are the copyright of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and any dissemination, distribution, or unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. Enterprise Computing with Oracle® Solaris For Dummies® Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River St. Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/ go/permissions. 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Contents at a Glance Introduction .................................................................. 1 About This Book ............................................................2 Icons Used in This Book ................................................2 Where to Go from Here .................................................3 Chapter 1: Your Operating System and Why You Should Care about It .................................. 5 Understanding What an OS Is .......................................5 Recognizing That All Operating Systems Are Not Created Equal ................................................7 Knowing Why Choosing the Right OS Matters — a Lot ...........................................................9 Chapter 2: Introducing Oracle Solaris ................... 15 Provisioning ..................................................................16 Reliability ......................................................................18 Performance .................................................................19 Security .........................................................................21 Observability ................................................................22 Platform Choice............................................................26 Chapter 3: Putting Oracle Solaris to Work............ 31 Seeing How Oracle Solaris Fits within Your Data Center .......................................................31 Planning Your OS Deployment ...................................34 Selecting a Partner .......................................................34 Getting Maintenance and Support .............................36 Chapter 4: Ten (Okay, Eight) Great Resources for Learning More about Oracle Solaris ............... 39 These materials are the copyright of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and any dissemination, distribution, or unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book and of the people who worked on it. For details on how to create a custom For Dummies book for your business or organization, contact [email protected] or visit www.wiley.com/go/custompub. For details on licensing the For Dummies brand for products or services, contact BrandedRights& [email protected]. Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions, Editorial, Composition Services and Vertical Websites Senior Project Coordinator: Senior Project Editor: Kristie Rees Zoë Wykes Layout and Graphics: Editorial Manager: Rev Mengle Brent Savage, Christin Swinford Acquisitions Editor: Proofreader: Susan Moritz Connie Santisteban Special Help from Oracle: Senior Business Development Larry Wake, Representative: Mary Jane Greenfield, Karen L. Hattan Sharon Gedney, Edgar Haren Custom Publishing Project Specialist: Michael Sullivan Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher Mary Bednarek, Executive Director, Acquisitions Mary C. Corder, Editorial Director Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies Kathleen Nebenhaus, Vice President and Executive Publisher Composition Services Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services Business Development Lisa Coleman, Director, New Market and Brand Development These materials are the copyright of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and any dissemination, distribution, or unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. Introduction uccessful IT organizations are deploying more effi- Scient infrastructures and processes and redirect- ing resources to focus on delivering the innovations that drive competitive advantage. By simplifying IT with the latest technologies, organizations can get max- imum value from application investments, streamline management, optimize resources, and increase produc- tivity across the enterprise. A hardware and operating system upgrade can deliver immediate and ongoing benefits, including ✓ Access to the latest technology advancements ✓ Improved application performance and availability ✓ Lower total cost of ownership ✓ Increased eco-efficiency for reduced power and cooling costs ✓ Flexibility and scalability to accommodate future growth Enterprise Computing with Oracle Solaris For Dummies explains why the right combination of an operating system and a hardware platform is so important for your mission-critical enterprise applications, how Oracle Solaris can help your enterprise realize the ben- efits of a hardware and operating system upgrade, and why Oracle Solaris has been the “go-to” operating system for enterprise computing environments for more than 20 years! These materials are the copyright of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and any dissemination, distribution, or unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. 2 About This Book This book contains volumes of information that rival the U.S. Congressional Record or the complete Encyclopedia Britannica, conveniently distilled into four short chapters chock-full of just the information you need! Here’s a brief look at what awaits you in the pages ahead. Chapter 1: Your Operating System and Why You Should Care about It. I start by explaining what exactly an operating system is. I also talk about some of the key differences between various operating systems and why choosing the right operating system is so impor- tant for your enterprise. Chapter 2: Introducing Oracle Solaris. Here, you get a broad overview of the Oracle Solaris operating system, its many features and functions, and how it adds value to your enterprise computing needs. Chapter 3: Putting Oracle Solaris to Work. Next, I help you roll up your sleeves and deploy Oracle Solaris in your enterprise data center. You also learn how to plan a deployment, select a partner, and maintain and sup- port your enterprise computing environment. Chapter 4: Ten (Okay, Eight) Great Resources for Learning More about Oracle Solaris. Finally, in that classic For Dummies style, I tell you about several other great resources to help you learn more about and maxi- mize the value of your investment in Oracle Solaris.