I B M C E R T I F I C A T I O N
S2113000 IBM AIX v7.3 Administrator Specialty Practice Exam
Exam Number: 4307 | Last updated April 17, 2026 | 346+ questions across 5 vendor-aligned objectives
Crafted for UNIX administrators who maintain IBM Power estates, the AIX v7.3 Administrator Specialty exam tests the core skills needed to install, patch, troubleshoot, and harden AIX v7.3 in production. Candidates should be fluent at the AIX command line, comfortable with LVM and JFS2, experienced with NIM-based installation, and practiced with PowerVM partitioning and virtual device administration.
Anchoring the blueprint at 25%, Installation and Maintenance covers Network Install Manager (NIM), service pack and technology-level maintenance, alternate disk installation, and multibos. Storage and File Systems commands 22% of the blueprint, covering Logical Volume Manager, JFS2, mirrored rootvg, and the Encrypted File System. Expect about 20% of exam content to cover PowerVM and Virtualization, covering LPAR configuration, VIOS, Shared Storage Pools, and Live Partition Mobility.
Wrapping up the blueprint, Networking and Communications accounts for 18% and spans Etherchannel, VLAN tagging, TCP/IP tuning, and name resolution. Security and Performance Tuning rounds out the blueprint at 15% and spans RBAC, Trusted Execution, AIX auditing, and vmstat/nmon-based performance analysis. Many scenario questions cross domain boundaries — a disk-growth question often turns on LVM, JFS2, and concurrent VIO server behavior together.
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Question #1 - Installation and Maintenance
An AIX administrator at a media company must install a new service pack on a production server while retaining a quick rollback path that does not disturb the current rootvg should the new level misbehave.
Which method best fits the requirement?
A) Direct in-place update of rootvg with no rollback plan
B) Alternate Disk Installation (alt_disk_install) to a spare disk, then boot-list swap
C) multibos to create a second BOS image in the same rootvg
D) Reinstall from scratch via NIM and restore user data
Show solution
Correct answers: B – Explanation:
alt_disk_install creates an independent, bootable copy on a spare disk, so a boot-list swap provides a clean rollback without touching the original rootvg. An in-place update with no rollback plan violates the requirement. multibos creates a parallel BOS image but in the same rootvg, so a rootvg-level problem still affects both BOS images. Reinstalling from scratch is far more invasive than needed. Source: Check Source
Question #2 - Storage and File Systems
A database administrator reports that a JFS2 filesystem backing a production database is running out of space. The logical volume is on a volume group that still has free physical partitions available.
Which command sequence grows the filesystem online?
A) umount /db; mklv -u; mount /db
B) chfs -a size= 10G /db
C) rmfs /db; mkfs /db
D) migratepv hdisk1 hdisk2
Show solution
Correct answers: B – Explanation:
chfs with -a size= 10G extends JFS2 online without unmount, which is the correct approach when the volume group has free partitions. Unmounting the database filesystem causes an outage that is unnecessary. rmfs destroys the filesystem. migratepv moves data between physical volumes and does not grow a filesystem. Source: Check Source
Question #3 - PowerVM and Virtualization
An admin needs to relocate a running AIX LPAR from a source Power10 system to a destination Power10 system without taking the application offline, preserving storage continuity through a VIO Server fabric.
Which PowerVM capability relocates the running LPAR without application outage?
A) A cold save/restore through mksysb and NIM
B) Live Partition Mobility with compatible VIO servers on source and target
C) HMC rebuild of the LPAR profile on the target
D) A reboot of the LPAR in place
Show solution
Correct answers: B – Explanation:
Live Partition Mobility relocates a running LPAR across PowerVM hosts while preserving application availability when compatible VIO servers are in place on both ends. Cold save/restore requires an outage. HMC profile rebuild on the target does not relocate state. An in-place reboot keeps the LPAR on its current host. Source: Check Source
Question #4 - Networking and Communications
An AIX host must bond two network adapters for throughput and failover into a single logical interface, negotiating with a switch that supports IEEE 802.3ad link aggregation.
Which AIX capability should the admin use?
A) Two unrelated IP aliases on one interface
B) A single adapter with higher MTU
C) Etherchannel configured in IEEE 802.3ad (LACP) mode
D) A dedicated VLAN per adapter without aggregation
Show solution
Correct answers: C – Explanation:
AIX Etherchannel supports IEEE 802.3ad (LACP) mode for negotiated link aggregation with the switch, which is what the scenario requires. A single adapter with higher MTU does not provide bonding. IP aliases on one interface share a single physical link. Per-adapter VLANs do not aggregate. Source: Check Source
Question #5 - Installation and Maintenance
A NIM master is provisioning a fresh BOS install for several new LPARs. The admin must assemble the resources NIM will consume for a push install.
Which combination of NIM resource types is correct?
A) A bootable USB image per LPAR
B) A single ISO mounted over NFS
C) lpp_source, SPOT, mksysb (optional), and bosinst_data
D) A flat shell script that copies files
Show solution
Correct answers: C – Explanation:
A standard NIM push install uses lpp_source for install images, SPOT for the bootable network install kernel, an optional mksysb when restoring a known system, and bosinst_data to automate responses. A single NFS ISO is not a NIM resource set. USB images are not the NIM push mechanism. A shell script does not provide the NIM boot path. Source: Check Source
Question #6 - Storage and File Systems
The admin wants to mirror rootvg so that the failure of either internal disk does not bring down the LPAR, and wants the change persistent across reboots.
Which command sequence is correct?
A) ln -s /dev/hdisk1 /dev/hdisk0
B) Only mirrorvg rootvg with no bootlist update
C) chfs -a size= 100% / to expand the filesystem onto the second disk
D) extendvg rootvg hdisk1; mirrorvg rootvg; bosboot on all rootvg disks; bootlist -m normal updated
Show solution
Correct answers: D – Explanation:
Mirroring rootvg requires extending it to the second disk, mirroring, updating bosboot on each disk, and updating the bootlist so the system can boot from either disk. mirrorvg alone leaves the bootlist pointing only at the original disk. chfs expands a filesystem, not a rootvg mirror. A symlink between device nodes does not mirror storage. Source: Check Source
Question #7 - PowerVM and Virtualization
A VIO Server administrator wants to share a pool of backend storage across multiple LPARs with consistent performance and zoning, rather than mapping individual LUNs per LPAR.
Which VIOS feature fits the requirement?
A) NIM resource sharing
B) Dedicated LUN mapping per LPAR
C) Local JFS2 filesystems on the VIOS
D) Shared Storage Pools
Show solution
Correct answers: D – Explanation:
Shared Storage Pools aggregate backend storage and present virtual disks to client LPARs with consistent policy, exactly matching the scenario. Dedicated LUN mapping is the alternative the admin is trying to avoid. Local JFS2 on the VIOS is not a supported client-backing path. NIM is unrelated to VIOS storage presentation. Source: Check Source
Question #8 - Security and Performance Tuning
A security architect requires that privileged actions on AIX are delegated to a specific role without giving full root to the operator, and wants the change auditable.
Which AIX feature should be used?
A) Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) with the appropriate authorizations and the AIX auditing subsystem
B) Share the root password with the operator
C) Put the operator in the system group and give 777 on /etc
D) Disable sudo and rely on direct root login
Show solution
Correct answers: A – Explanation:
RBAC grants specific authorizations to roles so operators do privileged work without full root, and AIX auditing produces the event trail the architect needs. Sharing root destroys accountability. 777 on /etc is a catastrophic permissions change. Disabling sudo and using root login is the opposite of least-privilege. Source: Check Source
Question #9 - Installation and Maintenance
A team is moving from AIX 7.2 TL5 to AIX 7.3 on a fleet of LPARs and wants a phased approach that allows production workloads to continue during the upgrade windows.
Which plan is correct?
A) Use NIM to deploy a bosinst migration to a test LPAR, validate, then roll waves across the fleet with alternate disk installs for quick rollback
B) Upgrade every LPAR simultaneously over one weekend
C) Skip AIX 7.3 and redeploy all workloads on Linux
D) Upgrade in place without any test LPAR
Show solution
Correct answers: A – Explanation:
Validating on a test LPAR, rolling waves, and using alt_disk_install for rollback is the canonical phased upgrade pattern. Upgrading every LPAR simultaneously removes the ability to validate and recover. Wholesale replatforming is out of scope for an AIX upgrade. Upgrading without a test LPAR is unsafe for production. Source: Check Source
Question #10 - Networking and Communications
An application team complains of intermittent DNS resolution failures on several AIX LPARs at peak load. The admin suspects a misconfiguration in name-resolution order.
Which file controls name-resolution order and should be checked first?
A) /etc/netsvc.conf (or NSORDER environment), with /etc/resolv.conf for DNS servers
B) /etc/hosts.equiv
C) /etc/inetd.conf
D) /etc/environment with PATH only
Show solution
Correct answers: A – Explanation:
On AIX, /etc/netsvc.conf (or the NSORDER environment variable) defines name-resolution order and /etc/resolv.conf names DNS servers, so both are the first stop for intermittent resolution issues. /etc/hosts.equiv governs rlogin trust, not DNS. /etc/inetd.conf controls inetd-launched services. /etc/environment PATH has nothing to do with name resolution. Source: Check Source
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Exam mode & learn mode · Score by objective · Updated April 17, 2026
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What the S2113000 aix v7 admin exam measures
- Install and patch NIM services, service packs, technology levels, and alternate disk installs to deliver reliable, repeatable AIX deployments across large Power estates
- Provision and grow Logical Volume Manager, JFS2, mirrored rootvg, and the Encrypted File System to deliver durable, performant storage for AIX workloads with minimal downtime
- Partition and move LPARs, VIOS, Shared Storage Pools, and Live Partition Mobility to maximize Power hardware utilization while preserving application availability
- Connect and tune Etherchannel, VLAN tagging, TCP/IP parameters, and name resolution to deliver low-latency, resilient network services to AIX applications
- Harden and measure RBAC, Trusted Execution, AIX auditing, and vmstat/nmon performance data to enforce enterprise security policy while keeping Power workloads within SLA
How to prepare for this exam
- Review the official exam guide to understand every objective and domain weight before you begin studying
- Work through the relevant IBM Training learning path — ibm aix v7 3 administrator specialty S2113000 — to cover vendor-authored material end-to-end
- Get hands-on inside IBM TechZone or a comparable sandbox so you can practice the console tasks, CLI commands, and APIs the exam expects
- Tackle a real-world project at your workplace, a volunteer role, or an open-source repository where the technology under test is actually in use
- Drill one exam objective at a time, starting with the highest-weighted domain and only moving on once you can teach it to someone else
- Study by objective in PowerKram learn mode, where every explanation links back to authoritative IBM documentation
- Switch to PowerKram exam mode to rehearse under timed conditions and confirm you consistently score above the pass mark
Career paths and salary outlook
Seasoned AIX administrators remain highly compensated despite the wider industry shift toward Linux:
- AIX System Administrator — $90,000–$125,000 per year, operating AIX estates for banks, insurers, and manufacturers (Glassdoor salary data)
- Senior UNIX Engineer — $115,000–$150,000 per year, leading AIX and PowerVM upgrade and migration projects (Indeed salary data)
- IBM Power Systems Consultant — $120,000–$160,000 per year, advising enterprises on AIX modernization (Glassdoor salary data)
Official resources
Work through the official IBM Training learning path for this certification, which bundles videos, labs, and skill tasks aligned to every objective. The official exam page lists the full objective breakdown, prerequisite knowledge, and scheduling details.