Preface
Be sure to understand the policy for changing your exam date and time in case you need to reschedule your exam. Also be sure you understand any time limitations regarding the starting time for your exam. If you are late, you might not be able to take your exam. Restrictions and penalties for cancellations and/or late arrivals may apply. Carefully read all of the terms and conditions printed on your exam confirmation.
Notes and warnings are enclosed in boxes so that they will stand out.
Why Certification?
What is all the commotion about technical certifications? Is it just hype-or is there really something to it? What is the true value of a certification? In the quest for competitive advantage among IT professionals, certification is rapidly becoming a key distinguishing characteristic for those able to attain it. Here is what industry analysts are saying:
- Certification in leading technologies (such as Solaris) is a key to higher pay. This reflects a trend where companies are paying more for knowledge, rather than just experience.
- Certification is becoming the new standard for professionalism in business. Although the college degree is still very important, the technical certification is evidence of proficiency with a particular technology or product. Certification is an independent, objective verification of knowledge.
- Having a certification may make the difference between getting invited to the interview-or not. Technologists need differentiators-not just accomplishments, but objective measures of technical proficiency-in order to stay competitive and stand out from the crowd of "wanna-bes."
- Managers value certification because it increases quality and productivity of work. Solaris is the market leader in the UNIX space. UNIX is the leader in the server OS space. Solaris does the heavy lifting on Wall Street, in compute-intensive engineering and biotechnology, and in E-commerce.
- You need a certification if you want to stay ahead of the competition. This book will guide you to Solaris certification.
Intended Audience
Solaris 8 Certification is intended for experienced UNIX network administrators who wish to prepare for the Sun Certified Network Administrator for the Solaris 8 Operating Environment exam.
If you wish to take the exam but feel that you need to learn more, contact Sun Education at http://suned.sun.com/. There you can find out about training materials and classes in your area. You can also contact Sun Education at:
Sun Education
UBRM12-175
500 Eldorado Blvd.
Broomfield, CO 80021
Phone: (800) 422-8020, or (303) 464-4097
Fax: (303) 464-4490
Registering for the Exam
Follow these steps to register for the exam:
1. Purchase a Certification Voucher by calling Sun Education at 1-800-422-8020. Outside the U.S., contact your local Sun Education office. If you do not know the location of your local Sun Education office, you can find it here:
http://suned.sun.com/USA/certification/global_contacts/index.html
- The exam costs US $150.00.
- You will be given a voucher number, which will be the letters "SE" followed by eight digits, for example, SE01470053. Save this number-you will need it to schedule the examination.
2. Schedule your examination by visiting the Prometric Services Web site at http://2test.com
- Select Information Technology Certifications. You'll then be taken to a login page; you must log in to continue (you will have an opportunity create a login if this is your first visit to the site).
- After logging in, you will see the Certification Program page; select Sun Education from the pull-down menu.
- Select the country where you will take your exam.
- Select 310-043 SUN CERTIFIED NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR FOR SOLARIS 8 OPERATING ENVIRONMENT from the pull-down menu. Select the state or province if this option appears on your screen.
- The exam is available only in English.
- Select the exam location and schedule most suitable for you.
- You'll be given a confirmation, which includes more numbers that you will need in order to take the exam. For U.S. locations, you can also print a map showing the exam location.
Taking the Exam
Allow plenty of time to travel to the exam site, including time for finding a parking space and the location of the exam building and room. It is advisable to call in advance if you are not familiar with the exam site.
No food or beverages are allowed in the exam room. You must check in any computer, laptop, PDA, calculator, recorder, or cell phone you bring in with you. The exam center will supply pencils and one sheet of paper for you to make calculations, draw diagrams, etc., and you will have to surrender that piece of paper at the end of the exam. You are not allowed to take any written notes with you out of the exam.
You will have 120 minutes to take the exam. That's about 2 minutes per question, as there are 58 questions in the exam. The amount of time remaining is always visible on the screen. You may take a restroom break if you wish
(according to rules at the testing center), but the time clock will continue counting.
Exam Questions
The exam contains 58 questions, which are a combination of multiple choice and free response. There is more than one version of this exam. Each version has questions that were carefully selected from a much larger pool of questions, so that each version of the exam covers the same subject area and has an equivalent degree of difficulty.
The process for developing the exam questions is not trivial. Exam questions are carefully written according to a strict set of guidelines and then tested. There is a whole field of study called psychometrics that is used to measure and evaluate each question. Only after passing careful scrutiny will an exam question ultimately find its way onto the exam.
Questions will appear one at a time on the screen. You will be able to see each question and, in the case of multiple-choice questions, you will be able to see all of the possible answers. In some longer questions, you can scroll down to see these.
If you are not sure of the answer, you may skip the question and return to it later. You can also "mark" any exam question that you wish to review later.
Multiple-Choice Questions
The exam contains two types of multiple-choice questions: some with one correct answer, and some with two or more correct answers. Multiple-choice questions with one correct answer will present radio buttons for selecting your answer, allowing you to select only one answer. If two answers appear to be similar, be very careful because only one answer is correct.
Multiple-choice questions with more than one correct answer will specify the number of correct answers. You must select all of the correct answers in order to get credit for the question. These questions will present checkboxes, allowing you to select more than one answer.
Here are two sample multiple-choice questions-one with one correct answer and one with multiple answers.
1. What is the default main DNS server configuration file called?
A. /etc/resolv.conf
B. /etc/named.root
C. /etc/named.cache
D. /etc/named.conf
E. /etc/nsswitch.conf
2. Which of the following DNS clients/servers usually ask recursive questions? Choose two.
A. root level servers
B. master servers
C. slave servers
D. forwarding servers
E. clients
Free-Response Questions
Free-response questions require that you type the correct answer into a blank text field. You must be very careful that you get the answer exactly right. But what about the order of options in a command? The exam is smart enough to figure this out-the exam knows about all possible variations. For instance, netstat -rn, netstat -r -n, and netstat -n -r are all correct answers and will be accepted.
Here is an example of a free-response question:
If a DNS slave server fails to synchronize with the DNS master, what is the most likely reason?
Reviewing Test Answers
After you have answered all of the questions, you will be able to see a list of all the exam questions and the answers you selected (or filled in). Each question will have a special marking if you marked it for later review.
You may start at the beginning and review each question, you may review questions you marked earlier, or you may just skip around and check questions in any order you wish. You may unmark questions you marked, and you may mark other questions. You are free to review questions, change answers, and mark and unmark questions until time runs out or you finish the exam early.
Scoring the Exam
Once you have finished the exam, it will be scored immediately. You must answer at least 67 percent of the questions correctly to pass the exam.
You will receive a temporary certificate that will show whether you passed or failed the exam. The certificate will include your name and the number of questions you answered correctly. A chart on the lower half of the certificate will indicate how you scored on each subject area. You will not know how you did on any individual question.
Retaking the Exam
If you failed the exam, you may take it again as soon as two weeks later, but you cannot take the exam more than three times in a calendar year. You will have to register and pay for another examination. You can be assured that the version of the exam will not be the same one you took previously.
Conduct
You may not discuss the details of the exam with any other individual. You may not offer or accept help of any kind.
How This Book Is Organized
Each chapter begins with a list of exam objectives. These objectives were developed by Sun Microsystems; they define the subject matter covered by the certification exam and this book. Here is an example exam objective:
Describe IP address, broadcast address, netmask, datagram, and IP fragment.
All of the certification objectives appear in Appendix C, along with the chapter number associated with each objective. This will allow you to quickly find the technical information behind each objective.
Throughout the book, at the end of every section are Key Learning Points, which I strongly recommend you read and learn. They list the most important points made in the section and should be understood.
Each chapter ends with a Summary and a Test Yourself section where there are ten multiple-choice and two free-answer questions. Because the exam contains few drag-and-drop questions, no sample drag-and-drop questions appear in this book.
The answers for test questions from all of the book's chapters are found in Appendixes A and B.
Feedback
Despite the presence of reviews and controls at every level, from executive direction to copy editing, some mistakes are bound to slip through. That or an unannounced change in behavior or functionality in Solaris itself, is bound to create a discrepancy between this book, the exam, and reality.
If a mistake is found in this book, all is not lost. Changes in the way books are published these days lead to the fact that this book will undergo several printing runs, each of which represents an opportunity to fix a mistake here and there.
Please send us feedback about any mistakes you find in this book, or about any ideas or comments you may have for future editions of this book.
Prentice Hall PTR
Attn: Eileen Clark
One Lake Street
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
E-mail: ptr_feedback@phptr.com
