Test 000-089: System x Technical Fundamentals V11

These are the objectives of the System x Technical Fundamentals.  The examples shown for test objectives are not totally inclusive, but samples of the entire family of skills or products.

Section 1 - Evaluate and Establish Customer Environment and Plans

1. A. Evaluate and document current customer environment (i.e. equipment, software, staff usage, satisfaction, need for change and growth, system management) including power, network, storage, SAN, back up, and rack space
2. B. Describe System x family features, architectural advantages relevant to customer environment and plans. Contrast with current customer environment and competitive offerings at a level consistent with the customer audience. These features include:
1. a. Current and commonly occurring previous versions of System x
2. b. Related software and middleware.
3. c. Energy efficiency (i.e. power consumption, cooling)
4. d. Consolidation and virtualization
5. e. eX5 unique capability
3. C. Describe storage and networking products and management options including
1. a. Basic storage and network product features
2. b. backup concepts
3. c. I/O options for standalone and BladeCenter servers
4. d. Interoperation with third party products
5. e. Basic customer network and SAN options and requirements (i.e. - ethernet, iSCSI, SAS, Converged, Fibre, Infiniband)
4. D. Position specific servers to specific role (e.g., file server, mail, database, network infrastructure, virtualization)
5. E. Compare eX5 and M4 System x family with competitive and typical older System x servers.
6. F. Discuss PureFlex and other related products.
7. G. Solve customer business problems using tools, methods, resources and processes including: configuration tools, workload estimating tools, industry benchmarks, capacity planning tools, financial modeling tools, Techline, and physical planning tools

Section 2 - Apply Information / Installation Planning / Migration Considerations

1. A. Create an accurate solution including servers, networking, storage, software, and services based upon the needs and expectations of the customer in typical situations.
2. B. Understand TDA requirements and options or Business Partner equivalent
3. C. Create a basic implementation plan with the customer considering:
1. 1. Server consolidation tools
2. 2. Operating system installation
3. 3. Chassis management tools
4. 4. Network and storage switch management tools
5. 5. Team members and TDA issues (i.e. HVAC, Security, Networking, Operations, Storage, etc.)
6. 6. RAID level
7. 7. High availability
8. 8. System management (i.e. Blade Open Fabric Manager (BOFM), Systems Director, Tivoli, VMware, etc.): Data or SAN migration, Physical site requirements (i.e. space, power and cooling), Change and configuration management, and Skills assessment and education.
4. D. Discuss power layout to provide power redundancy and UPS capabilities

Section 3 - Installation and Post Install Support

1. A. Select the appropriate installation method for a customer environment and configure the server to meet or exceed the requirements.
2. B. Locally update UEFI, firmware level, and diagnostic version level and hard drive firmware using latest information.
3. C. Implement system deployment tools used to install server OS and software updates (ToolsCenter and Systems Director).
4. D. Describe the functions and options of System Director and ToolsCenter
5. E. Configure IBM's hardware management solutions (AMM, IMM, RSA II).
6. F. Use a centrally managed IBM System x tool to verify BIOS/ UEFI, firmware level, and diagnostic version level and update if necessary.
7. G. Perform troubleshooting on installation and configuration related problems.
8. H. Design and employ customer support plan and problem escalation procedures
9. I. Describe the diagnostic features available on System x and Blade servers.