Free Unix resources for Administrators and Developers

I’m a member of a local Linux users group. Most of the members have Linux installed at home, and are happily learning how to use it, develop for it, or deploy it in a corporate environment. The reality of today’s computing environment is that there are still many Unix (AIX/HPUX/Solaris, etc) machines installed or scheduled to be installed, that require administration. Unix big iron pays the bills in may enterprise shops, and while Linux may get you in the door, Unix will keep the paychecks coming.

The barrier to entry for large Unix environments has the potential to be very high. Contemporary hardware is expensive, and the operating system and software are equally expensive. New System Administrators need access to the Unix OS to at least gain some knowledge about it’s quirks and capabilities. HPUX admins need to know SAM, AIX admins need to know SMIT. Everyone needs to know how to partition logical and physical volumes on their Unix systems.

Luckily, most of the large Unix vendors have test drive programs that allow access to many of their products over the internet, or even in the comfort of your own home. These are usually just a registration form away, and can provide access to OS, compilers, configuration, web servers and a host of other software. Below find links and capabilities of the programs offered by the large Unix vendors.

IBM

WebSite

Virtual Loaner Program

Environments

Details

System p Power6 (AIX 5.3, AIX 6 open Beta, RHEL 5, Novell SLES10 )

System p Power5 (AIX 5.3, AIX 6 Open Beta, RHEL 3, RHEL 4, RHEL 5, Novell SLES 9, Novell SLES10 )

System p Power4 (AIX 5.1, AIX 5.2, RHAS 3, Novell SLES 8 )

System i Power5 (i5/OS V5R3, i5/OS V5R4, AIX 5.3, RHEL 3, RHEL 4, Novell SLES 9, Novell SLES10 )

System x (x86) (RHEL 4, Novell SLES 9, Novell SLES10 – 64 bit versions available also )

IBM has a wide array of offerings in the virtual loaner program. Each machine may be reserved up to 14 days, and they’ll save your partition and reload it so you can have access to a machine for a much longer amount of time.

All of the systems come with root access, and ample amounts of CPU, RAM, and disk (20gb). This is the easiest program to use by far.

Hewlett Packard (Compaq too)

Website

Test Drive

Machines

ProLiant (i386)

Integrity (Itanium)

PA-RISC

Operating Systems

FreeBSD – (Integrity and ProLiant systems)

HP-UX

Linux (Debian, Mandriva, Red Hat, SuSE)

OpenVMS

Tru64 Unix

Windows

Software

C/C++ Compilers (Intel, gcc and others)

Fortran Compilers

Oracle

HP is one of the few vendors that provides access to both Windows and Unix servers. It takes a while to get configured,
but the machines are well worth it. PA-Risc boxes can be especially hard to come by. The author once shipped code to a client that was compile on an HPUX test drive box. Our PA-Risc box was much too old, and we couldn’t wait for the vendor to ship us our new box. Test Drive can come in veryhandy.

Sun Microsystems

Sun doesn’t provide an Internet connected trial program. Sun would rather ship the equipment to you so that you can have your way with it. I’m very impressed with the system they sent (New, fully loaded, etc). Sun doesn’t provide all of the compilers and databases that the other vendors supply, though.

WebSite

Try and Buy

Hardware

Sun Fire T2000 Server

Sun Fire T1000 Server

Sun Fire X4600 M2 Server

Sun Fire X4500 Server

Sun Fire X4200 M2 Server

Sun Fire X4100 M2 Server

Sun Fire X2200 M2 Server

Sun Fire X2100 M2 Server

Netra T2000 Server

Netra X4200 M2 Server

Sun Blade 6000 Modular System

Sun Ultra 40 M2 Workstation

Sun Ultra 20 M2 Workstation

Sun Ultra 45 Workstation

Sun Ultra 25 Workstation

Sun Storage Tek 6140 Array

Sun StorageTek 2500 Array

Sun Storage Tek 5320 NAS Appliance

Sun Storage Tek 5220 NAS Appliance

Sun StorageTek SL24 Tape Autoloader

Sun StorageTek SL48 Tape Library

Sun Dual 10GbE XFP PCI Express Card

Sun Dual 10GbE XFP PCIe ExpressModule

Software

Base OS, or whatever you want to load

It takes a bit of time for them to get your order through the system, but the 60 day trial period doesn’t start until you take delivery of the system. You can load any OS you want onto the boxes, or write one yourself. Just send the box back after 60 days (on their nickel) and you don’t owe a thing. You’ll need to give them a credit card number, but the representative said that they won’t automatically draft your card after 60 days. They’ll send you a bill. That’s nice, because I always forget when these things are due back

Summary

So, there’s a wide variety of hardware out there, and it’s free for the using. Any budding System Administrator should be able to find a system in this list that will help him fill out those last few holes in his resume. If I’ve missed something, or a vendors program, leave a comment. I’m always looking for a new system to learn.

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