Software Do's And Don'ts; System Behavior - Silicon Graphics POWER CHALLENGE User Manual

Chapter 5: Having Trouble?

System Behavior

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• Ensure that all cables are plugged in completely.
• Ensure that the system has power surge protection.

Software Do's and Don'ts

When your system is up and running, follow these guidelines:
• Do not turn off power to a system that is currently started up and
running software.
• Do not use the root account unless you are performing administrative
tasks.
• Make regular backups (weekly for the whole system, nightly for
individual users) of all information.
• Keep two sets of backup tapes to ensure the integrity of one set while
doing the next backup.
• Protect the root account with a password:
– Check for root UID = 0 accounts (for example diag) and set
passwords for these accounts.
– Consider giving passwords to courtesy accounts such as guest and
lp.
– Look for empty password fields in the /etc/passwd file.
The behavior of a system that is not working correctly falls into three broad
categories:
Operational You can log in to the system, but it doesn't respond as usual.
For example, the text looks strange, or the monitor doesn't
respond to input from the keyboard.
Marginal You cannot start up the system fully, but you can reach the
System Maintenance menu or PROM Monitor.
Faulty The system has shut down and you cannot reach the System
Maintenance menu or PROM Monitor.