UNIX Commands for DBAs

This article contains a brief list of commands that most UNIX DBAs will need on a regular basis.

• Basic File Navigation

• File Permissions
• OS User Management
• Process Management
• uname and hostname
• Error Lines in Files
• File Exists Check
• Remove Old Files
• Remove DOS CR/LFs (^M)
• Run Commands As Oracle User From Root
• Compress Files
• General Performance
o vmstat
• CPU Usage
o sar
o mpstat
o ps
• CRON
• Cluster Wide CRON Jobs On Tru64
• NFS Mount (Sun)
• NFS Mount (Tru64)
• PC XStation Configuration
• Useful Profile Settings
• Useful Files

Basic File Navigation

The "pwd" command displays the current directory:
root> pwd
/u01/app/oracle/product/9.2.0.1.0
The "ls" command lists all files and directories in the specified directory. If no location is defined it acts on the current
directory:
root> ls
root> ls /u01
root> ls -al
The "-a" flag lists hidden "." files. The "-l" flag lists file details.

The "cd" command is used to change directories:

root> cd /u01/app/oracle
The "touch" command is used to create a new empty file with the default permissions:
root> touch my.log
The "rm" command is used to delete files and directories:
root> rm my.log
root> rm -R /archive
The "-R" flag tells the command to recurse through subdirectories.

The "mv" command is used to move or rename files and directories:

root> mv [from] [to]
root> mv my.log my1.log
root> mv * /archive
root> mv /archive/* .
The "." represents the current directory

The "cp" command is used to copy files and directories:

root> cp [from] [to]
root> cp my.log my1.log
root> cp * /archive
root> cp /archive/* .
The "mkdir" command is used to create new directories:
root> mkdir archive
The "rmdir" command is used to delete directories:
root> rmdir archive
The "find" command can be used to find the location of specific files:
root> find / -name dbmspool.sql
root> find / -print | grep -i dbmspool.sql
The "/" flag represents the staring directory for the search. Wildcards such as "dbms*" can be used for the filename.

The "which" command can be used to find the location of an executable you are using:
oracle> which sqlplus
The "which" command searches your PATH setting for occurences of the specified executable.

File Permissions
The "umask" command can be used to read or set default file permissions for the current user:
root> umask 022
The umask value is subtracted from the default permissions (666) to give the final permission:
666 : Default permission
022 : - umask value
644 : final permission
The "chmod" command is used to alter file permissions after the file has been created:
root> chmod 777 *.log

Owner Group World Permission

========= ========= ========= ======================
7 (u+rwx) 7 (g+rwx) 7 (o+rwx) read + write + execute
6 (u+wx) 6 (g+wx) 6 (o+wx) write + execute
5 (u+Rx) 5 (g+Rx) 5 (o+Rx) read + execute
4 (u+r) 4 (g+r) 4 (o+r) read only
2 (u+w) 2 (g+w) 2 (o+w) write only
1 (u+x) 1 (g+x) 1 (o+x) execute only
Character eqivalents can be used in the chmod command:
root> chmod o+rwx *.log
 root> chmod g+r *.log
root> chmod -Rx *.log
The "chown" command is used to reset the ownership of files after creation:
root> chown -R oinstall.dba *
The "-R" flag causes the command ro recurse through any subdirectories.

chown [-R] newowner filenames

-R Change the permission on files that are in the subdirectories of the directory that you are
currently in.
newowner The alias/username of the new owner of the file.
filenames The file that you are changing the rights to.
EXAMPLES

chown chope file.txt - Give permissions as owner to user chope

OS Users Management
The "useradd" command is used to add OS users:
root> useradd -G oinstall -g dba -d /usr/users/my_user -m -s /bin/ksh my_user

• The "-G" flag specifies the primary group.

• The "-g" flag specifies the secondary group.
• The "-d" flag specifies the default directory.
• The "-m" flag creates the default directory.
• The "-s" flag specifies the default shell.

ABOUT USERADD

Enables a super user or root to create a new user or updates default new user information.

SYNTAX

useradd [-c comment] [-d home_dir] [-e expire_date] [-f inactive_time] [-g initial_group] [-G group[,...]] [-m
[-k skeleton_dir]] [-p passwd] [-s shell] [-u uid [ -o]] login
useradd -D [-g default_group] [-b default_home] [-f default_inactive] [-e default_expire_date] [-s
default_shell]
-c comment The new user's password file comment field.
-d home_dir The new user will be created using home_dir as the value for the user's
login directory. The default is to append the login name to
default_home and use that as the login directory name.
-e expire_date The date on which the user account will be disabled. The date is
specified in the format YYYY-MM-DD.
-f inactive_time The number of days after a password expires until the account is
permanently disabled. A value of 0 disables the account as soon as the
password has expired, and a value of -1 disables the feature. The
default value is -1.
-g initial_group The group name or number of the user's initial login group. The group
name must exist. A group number must refer to an already existing
group. The default group number is 1.
-G group,[,...] A list of supplementary groups which the user is also a member of.
Each group is separated from the next by a comma, with no intervening
whitespace. The groups are subject to the same restrictions as the
group given with the -g option. The default is for the user to belong
only to the initial group.
-m The user's home directory will be created if it does not exist. The files
contained in skeleton_dir will be copied to the home directory if the -k
option is used, otherwise the files contained in /etc/skel will be used
instead. Any directories contained in skeleton_dir or /etc/skel will be
created in the user's home directory as well. The -k option is only valid
in conjunction with the -m option. The default is to not create the
directory and to not copy any files.
-p passwd The encrypted password, as returned by crypt. The default is to disable
the account.
-s shell The name of the user's login shell. The default is to leave this field
blank, which causes the system to select the default login shell.
-u uid The numerical value of the user's ID. This value must be unique, unless
the -o option is used. The value must be non-negative. The default is
to use the smallest ID value greater than 99 and greater than every
other user. Values between 0 and 99 are typically reserved for system
accounts.
-b default_home The initial path prefix for a new user's home directory. The user's name
will be affixed to the end of default_home to create the new directory
name if the -d option is not used when creating a new account.
-e The date on which the user account is disabled.
default_expire_date
-f default_inactive The number of days after a password has expired before the account
will be disabled.
-g default_group The group name or ID for a new user's initial group. The named group
must exist, and a numerical group ID must have an existing entry.

If no options are