SPARC: Installing With WAN Boot (Examples)

Sample Site Setup

This sample site has the following characteristics.

• The server wanserver-1 is to be configured as a WAN boot server and an install server.
• The IP address of wanserver-1 is 192.168.198.2.
• The domain name of wanserver-1 is www.example.com.
• wanserver-1 is running the current Solaris release.
• wanserver-1 is running the Apache web server. The Apache software on wanserver-1 is configured to support HTTPS.
• The client to be installed is named wanclient-1.
• wanclient-1 is an UltraSPARCII system.
• The client ID for wanclient-1 is 010003BA152A42.
• The IP address of wanclient-1 is 192.168.198.210.
• The IP address of the client’s subnet is 192.168.198.0.
• The client system wanclient-1 has Internet access, but is not directly connected to the network that includes wanserver-1.
• wanclient-1 is a new system that is to be installed with the current Solaris release software.

Create the Document Root Directory

To store the installation files and data, set up the following directories in the document root directory (/opt/apache/htdocs) on wanserver-1.

• Solaris Flash directory
  

  wanserver-1# mkdir -p /opt/apache/htdocs/flash/

• WAN boot miniroot directory
  

  wanserver-1# mkdir -p /opt/apache/htdocs/miniroot/

• wanboot program directory
  

  wanserver-1# mkdir -p /opt/apache/htdocs/wanboot/

Create the WAN Boot Miniroot

Use the setup_install_server(1M) with the -w option to copy the WAN boot miniroot and the Solaris software image to the /export/install/Solaris_10 directory of wanserver-1.

Insert the Solaris Software media in the media drive that is attached to wanserver-1. Type the following commands.

wanserver-1# mkdir -p /export/install/cdrom0 wanserver-1# cd /cdrom/cdrom0/s0/Solaris_10/Tools wanserver-1# ./setup_install_server -w /export/install/cdrom0/miniroot \ /export/install/cdrom0

Move the WAN boot miniroot to the document root directory (/opt/apache/htdocs/) of the WAN boot server.

wanserver-1# mv /export/install/cdrom0/miniroot/miniroot \ /opt/apache/htdocs/miniroot/miniroot.s10_sparc

Check the Client OBP for WAN Boot Support

Determine that the client OBP supports WAN boot by typing the following command on the client system.

# eeprom | grep network-boot-arguments network-boot-arguments: data not available

In the previous example, the network-boot-arguments: data not available output indicates that the client OBP supports WAN boot.

Install the wanboot Program on the WAN Boot Server

To install the wanboot program on the WAN boot server, copy the program from the Solaris Software media to the WAN boot server’s document root directory.

Insert the Solaris DVD or the Solaris Software – 1 CD in the media drive that is attached to wanserver-1 and type the following commands.

wanserver-1# cd /cdrom/cdrom0/s0/Solaris_10/Tools/Boot/platform/sun4u/ wanserver-1# cp wanboot /opt/apache/htdocs/wanboot/wanboot.s10_sparc

Create the /etc/netboot Hierarchy

Create the wanclient-1 subdirectories of the /etc/netboot directory on the WAN boot server. The WAN boot installation programs retrieve configuration and security information from this directory during the installation.

wanclient-1 is located on the subnet 192.168.198.0, and has a client ID of 010003BA152A42. To create the appropriate subdirectory of /etc/netboot for wanclient-1, perform the following tasks.

• Create the /etc/netboot directory.
• Change the permissions of the /etc/netboot directory to 700.
• Change the ownership of the /etc/netboot directory to the owner of the web server process.
• Assume the same user role as the web server user.
• Create a subdirectory of /etc/netboot that is named after the subnet (192.168.198.0).
• Create a subdirectory of the subnet directory that is named after the client ID.
• Change the permissions of the /etc/netboot subdirectories to 700.

wanserver-1# cd / wanserver-1# mkdir /etc/netboot/ wanserver-1# chmod 700 /etc/netboot wanserver-1# chown nobody:admin /etc/netboot wanserver-1# exit wanserver-1# su nobody Password: nobody# mkdir -p /etc/netboot/192.168.198.0/010003BA152A42 nobody# chmod 700 /etc/netboot/192.168.198.0 nobody# chmod 700 /etc/netboot/192.168.198.0/010003BA152A42

Copy the wanboot-cgi Program to the WAN Boot Server

On systems that are running the current Solaris release, the wanboot-cgi program is located in the /usr/lib/inet/wanboot/ directory. To enable the WAN boot server to transmit the installation data, copy the wanboot-cgi program to the cgi-bin directory in the web server software directory.

wanserver-1# cp /usr/lib/inet/wanboot/wanboot-cgi \ /opt/apache/cgi-bin/wanboot-cgi wanserver-1# chmod 755 /opt/apache/cgi-bin/wanboot-cgi

(Optional) Configure the WAN Boot Server as a Logging Server

By default, all WAN boot logging messages are displayed on the client system. This default behavior enables you to quickly debug any installation issues.

If you want to view the boot and installation messages on the WAN boot server, copy the bootlog-cgi script to the cgi-bin directory on wanserver-1.

wanserver-1# cp /usr/lib/inet/wanboot/bootlog-cgi /opt/apache/cgi-bin/ wanserver-1# chmod 755 /opt/apache/cgi-bin/bootlog-cgi

Configure the WAN Boot Server to Use HTTPS

To use HTTPS in your WAN boot installation, you must enable SSL support in the web server software. You must also install a digital certificate on the WAN boot server. This example assumes that the Apache web server on wanserver-1 is configured to use SSL. This example also assumes that a digital certificate and a certificate authority that establish the identity of wanserver-1 are already installed on wanserver-1.

For examples about how to configure your web server software to use SSL, see you web server documentation.

Provide the Trusted Certificate to the Client

By requiring the server to authenticate itself to the client, you protect the data that is transmitted from the server to the client over HTTPS. To enable server authentication, you provide a trusted certificate to the client. The trusted certificate enables the client to verify the identity of the server during the installation.

To provide the trusted certificate to the client, assume the same user role as the web server user. Then, split the certificate to extract a trusted certificate. Then, insert the trusted certificate in the client’s truststore file in the /etc/netboot hierarchy.

In this example, you assume the web server user role of nobody. Then, you split the server PKCS#12 certificate that is named cert.p12, and insert the trusted certificate in /etc/netboot directory for wanclient-1.

wanserver-1# su nobody Password: wanserver-1# wanbootutil p12split -i cert.p12 -t \ /etc/netboot/192.168.198.0/010003BA152A42/truststore

(Optional) Use Private Key and Certificate for Client Authentication

To further protect your data during the installation, you might want to require wanclient-1 to authenticate itself to wanserver-1. To enable client authentication in your WAN boot installation, insert a client certificate and private key in the client subdirectory of the /etc/netboot hierarchy.

To provide a private key and certificate to the client, perform the following tasks.

• Assume the same user role as the web server user
• Split the PKCS#12 file into a private key and a client certificate
• Insert the certificate in the client’s certstore file
• Insert the private key in the client’s keystore file

In this example, you assume the web server user role of nobody. Then, you split the server PKCS#12 certificate that is named cert.p12. You insert certificate in the /etc/netboot hierarchy for wanclient-1. You then insert the private key that you named wanclient.key in the client’s keystore file.

wanserver-1# su nobody Password: wanserver-1# wanbootutil p12split -i cert.p12 -c \ /etc/netboot/192.168.198.0/010003BA152A42/certstore -k wanclient.key wanserver-1# wanbootutil keymgmt -i -k wanclient.key \ -s /etc/netboot/192.168.198.0/010003BA152A42/keystore \ -o type=rsa

Create the Keys for the Server and the Client

To protect the data transmitted between the server and client, you create a hashing key and an encryption key. The server uses the hashing key to protect the integrity of the wanboot program. The server uses the encryption key to encrypt the configuration and installation data. The client uses the hashing key to check the integrity of the downloaded wanboot program. The client uses the encryption key to decrypt the data during the installation.

First, you assume the same user role as the web server user. In this example, the web server user role is nobody.

wanserver-1# su nobody Password:

Then, you use the wanbootutil keygen command to create a master HMAC SHA1 key for wanserver-1.

wanserver-1# wanbootutil keygen -m

Then, create a hashing key and an encryption key for wanclient-1.

wanserver-1# wanbootutil keygen -c -o net=192.168.198.0,cid=010003BA152A42,type=sha1 wanserver-1# wanbootutil keygen -c -o net=192.168.198.0,cid=010003BA152A42,type=3des

The previous command creates a HMAC SHA1 hashing key and a 3DES encryption key for wanclient-1. 192.168.198.0 specifies the subnet of wanclient-1, and 010003BA152A42 specifies the client ID of wanclient-1.

Create the Solaris Flash Archive

In this example, you create your Solaris Flash archive by cloning the wanserver-1 master system. The archive is named sol_10_sparc, and is copied exactly from the master system. The archive is an exact duplicate of the master system. The archive is stored in sol_10_sparc.flar. You save the archive in the flash/archives subdirectory of the document root directory on the WAN boot server.

wanserver-1# flarcreate -n sol_10_sparc \ /opt/apache/htdocs/flash/archives/sol_10_sparc.flar

Create the sysidcfg File

To preconfigure the wanclient-1 system, specify keywords and values in the sysidcfg file. Save this file in the appropriate subdirectory of the document root directory of wanserver-1.

---

Example 13–1 sysidcfg File for client-1 System

The following is an example of a sysidcfg file for wanclient-1. The host name, IP address, and netmask of these systems have been preconfigured by editing the naming service. This file is located in the /opt/apache/htdocs/flash/ directory.

network_interface=primary {hostname=wanclient-1
                           default_route=192.168.198.1
                           ip_address=192.168.198.210
                           netmask=255.255.255.0
                           protocol_ipv6=no}
timezone=US/Central
system_locale=C
terminal=xterm
timeserver=localhost
name_service=NIS {name_server=matter(192.168.254.254)
                  domain_name=leti.example.com
                  }
security_policy=none

---

Create the Client’s Profile

For the wanclient-1 system, create a profile that is named wanclient_1_prof. The wanclient_1_prof file contains the following entries, which define the current Solaris release software to be installed on the wanclient-1 system.

# profile keywords         profile values
# ----------------         -------------------
install_type               flash_install
archive_location           https://192.168.198.2/flash/archives/cdrom0.flar
partitioning               explicit
filesys                    c0t1d0s0 4000 /
filesys                    c0t1d0s1 512 swap
filesys                    c0t1d0s7 free /export/home

The following list describes some of the keywords and values from this example.

install_type

The profile installs a Solaris Flash archive on the clone system. All files are overwritten as in an initial installation.

archive_location

The compressed Solaris Flash archive is retrieved from wanserver-1.

partitioning

The file system slices are determined by the filesys keywords, value explicit. The size of root (/) is based on the size of the Solaris Flash archive. The size of swap is set to the necessary size and is installed on c0t1d0s1. /export/home is based on the remaining disk space. /export/home is installed on c0t1d0s7.

Create and Validate the rules File

The custom JumpStart programs use the rules file to select the correct installation profile for the wanclient-1 system. Create a text file that is named rules. Then, add keywords and values to this file.

The IP address of the wanclient-1 system is 192.168.198.210, and the netmask is 255.255.255.0. Use the network rule keyword to specify the profile that the custom JumpStart programs should use to install wanclient-1.

network 192.168.198.0 - wanclient_1_prof -

This rules file instructs the custom JumpStart programs to use the wanclient_1_prof to install the current Solaris release software on wanclient-1.

Name this rule file wanclient_rule.

After you create the profile and the rules file, you run the check script to verify that the files are valid.

wanserver-1# ./check -r wanclient_rule

If the check script does not find any errors, the script creates the rules.ok file.

Save the rules.ok file in the /opt/apache/htdocs/flash/ directory.

Create the System Configuration File

Create a system configuration file that lists the locations of the sysidcfg file and the custom JumpStart files on the install server. Save this file in a directory that is accessible to the WAN boot server.

In the following example, the wanboot-cgi program looks for the sysidcfg and custom JumpStart files in the document root directory of the WAN boot server. The domain name of the WAN boot server is https://www.example.com. The WAN boot server is configured to use secure HTTP, so the data and files are protected during the installation.

In this example, the system configuration file is named sys-conf.s10–sparc, and the file is saved in the /etc/netboot hierarchy on the WAN boot server. The sysidcfg and custom JumpStart files are located in the flash subdirectory of the document root directory.

SsysidCF=https://www.example.com/flash/
SjumpsCF=https://www.example.com/flash/

Create the wanboot.conf File

WAN boot uses the configuration information that is included in the wanboot.conf file to install the client machine. Create the wanboot.conf file in a text editor. Save the file to the appropriate client subdirectory in the /etc/netboot hierarchy on the WAN boot server.

The following wanboot.conf file for wanclient-1 includes configuration information for a WAN installation that uses secure HTTP. This file also instructs WAN boot to use a HMAC SHA1 hashing key and a 3DES encryption key to protect data.

boot_file=/wanboot/wanboot.s10_sparc
root_server=https://www.example.com/cgi-bin/wanboot-cgi
root_file=/miniroot/miniroot.s10_sparc
signature_type=sha1
encryption_type=3des
server_authentication=yes
client_authentication=no
resolve_hosts=
boot_logger=
system_conf=sys-conf.s10–sparc

This wanboot.conf file specifies the following configuration.

boot_file=/wanboot/wanboot.s10_sparc

The wanboot program is named wanboot.s10_sparc. This program is located in the wanboot directory in the document root directory on wanserver-1.

root_server=https://www.example.com/cgi-bin/wanboot-cgi

The location of the wanboot-cgi program on wanserver-1 is https://www.example.com/cgi-bin/wanboot-cgi. The https portion of the URL indicates that this WAN boot installation uses secure HTTP.

root_file=/miniroot/miniroot.s10_sparc

The WAN boot miniroot is named miniroot.s10_sparc. The miniroot is located in the miniroot directory in the document root directory on wanserver-1.

signature_type=sha1

The wanboot program and the WAN boot file system are signed by using a HMAC SHA1 hashing key.

encryption_type=3des

The wanboot program and the WAN boot file system are encrypted with a 3DES key.

server_authentication=yes

The server is authenticated during the installation.

client_authentication=no

The client is not authenticated during the installation.

---

Note – If you performed the tasks in (Optional) Use Private Key and Certificate for Client Authentication, set this parameter as client_authentication=yes

---

resolve_hosts=

No additional host names are needed to perform the WAN installation. All the host names that are required by the wanboot-cgi program are specified in the wanboot.conf file and the client certificate.

boot_logger=

Booting and installation log messages are displayed on the system console. If you configured the logging server in (Optional) Configure the WAN Boot Server as a Logging Server, and you want WAN boot messages to appear on the WAN boot server as well, set this parameter to boot_logger=https://www.example.com/cgi-bin/bootlog-cgi.

system_conf=sys-conf.s10–sparc

The system configuration file that specifies the locations of the sysidcfg and JumpStart files is located in the sys-conf.s10–sparc file in the /etc/netboot hierarchy on wanserver-1.

In this example, you save the wanboot.conf file in the /etc/netboot/192.168.198.0/010003BA152A42 directory on wanserver-1.

Check the net Device Alias in OBP

To boot the client from the WAN with the boot net, the net device alias must be set to the client’s primary network device. At the client ok prompt, type the devalias command to verify that the net alias is set to the primary network device /pci@1f,0/pci@1,1/network@c,1.

ok devalias screen /pci@1f,0/pci@1,1/SUNW,m64B@2 net /pci@1f,0/pci@1,1/network@c,1 net2 /pci@1f,0/pci@1,1/network@5,1 disk /pci@1f,0/pci@1/scsi@8/disk@0,0 cdrom /pci@1f,0/pci@1,1/ide@d/cdrom@0,0:f keyboard /pci@1f,0/pci@1,1/ebus@1/su@14,3083f8 mouse /pci@1f,0/pci@1,1/ebus@1/su@14,3062f8

In the previous output example, the primary network device /pci@1f,0/pci@1,1/network@c,1 is assigned to the net alias. You do not need to reset the alias.

Install Keys on the Client

In Create the Keys for the Server and the Client, you created the hashing key and encryption key to protect your data during the installation. To enable the client to decrypt the data transmitted from wanserver-1 during the installation, install these keys on wanclient-1.

On wanserver-1, display the key values.

wanserver-1# wanbootutil keygen -d -c -o net=192.168.198.0,cid=010003BA152A42,type=sha1 b482aaab82cb8d5631e16d51478c90079cc1d463 wanserver-1# wanbootutil keygen -d -c -o net=192.168.198.0,cid=010003BA152A42,type=3des 9ebc7a57f240e97c9b9401e9d3ae9b292943d3c143d07f04

The previous example uses the following information.

net=192.168.198.0

Specifies the IP address of the client’s subnet

cid=010003BA152A42

Specifies the client’s ID

b482aaab82cb8d5631e16d51478c90079cc1d463

Specifies the value of the client’s HMAC SHA1 hashing key

9ebc7a57f240e97c9b9401e9d3ae9b292943d3c143d07f04

Specifies the value of the client’s 3DES encryption key

If you use an AES encryption key in your installation, change type=3des to type=aes to display the encryption key value.

At the ok prompt on wanclient-1, install the keys.

ok set-security-key wanboot-hmac-sha1 b482aaab82cb8d5631e16d51478c90079cc1d463 ok set-security-key wanboot-3des 9ebc7a57f240e97c9b9401e9d3ae9b292943d3c143d07f04

The previous commands perform the following tasks.

• Installs the HMAC SHA1 hashing key with a value of b482aaab82cb8d5631e16d51478c90079cc1d463 on wanclient-1
• Installs the 3DES encryption key with a value of 9ebc7a57f240e97c9b9401e9d3ae9b292943d3c143d07f04 on wanclient-1

Install the Client

You can perform an unattended installation by setting network boot argument variables for wanclient-1 at the ok prompt, and then booting the client.

ok setenv network-boot-arguments host-ip=192.168.198.210, router-ip=192.168.198.1,subnet-mask=255.255.255.0,hostname=wanclient-1, file=http://192.168.198.2/cgi-bin/wanboot-cgi ok boot net - install Resetting ... Sun Blade 100 (UltraSPARC-IIe), No Keyboard Copyright 1998-2003 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved. OpenBoot 4.x.build_28, 512 MB memory installed, Serial #50335475. Ethernet address 0:3:ba:e:f3:75, Host ID: 83000ef3. Rebooting with command: boot net - install Boot device: /pci@1f,0/network@c,1 File and args: - install <time unavailable> wanboot progress: wanbootfs: Read 68 of 68 kB (100%) <time unavailable> wanboot info: wanbootfs: Download complete Fri Jun 20 09:16:06 wanboot progress: miniroot: Read 166067 of 166067 kB (100%) Fri Jun 20Tue Apr 15 09:16:06 wanboot info: miniroot: Download complete SunOS Release 5.10 Version WANboot10:04/11/03 64-bit Copyright 1983-2003 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved. Use is subject to license terms. Configuring devices.

The following variables are set.

• The client IP address is set to 192.168.198.210.
• The client’s router IP address is set to 192.168.198.1
• The client’s subnet mask is set to 255.255.255.0
• The client’s host name is set to wanclient-1
• The wanboot-cgi program is located at http://192.168.198.2/cgi-bin/wanboot-cgi

The client installs over the WAN. If the wanboot program does not find all the necessary installation information, you might be prompted to provide the missing information at the command line.

This material is taken from >sun.com

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Civil Services Introduction A country as vast and thickly populated as India needs a well organised government machinery for proper governance. There are two facets to the administration of a country. One is security for which the country has its defence services and the other is the non-military part, which is taken care of by the Civil Services.

The origin of the IAS can be traced back to the year of India’s independence, 1947. The IAS operates at three levels -central, district and divisional. Work at the central level involves the framing and implementation of policies. The functions of the IAS at the district level encompass all district affairs with special emphasis on development. General administration and development work is the responsibility of the IAS at the divisional level. The post of an IAS officer carries a lot of responsibility. The work definition of an IAS officer would encompass framing, modifying and interpreting policy matters in consultation with the concerned Minister. Implementation of policies calls for supervision and also travelling to the places where the decisions taken are being implemented. Implementation entails disbursement of funds, which calls for personal supervision. The officers are answerable to the Parliament for any irregularities that may occur. At the top of the hierarchy of IAS officers is the Cabinet Secretary followed by Secretary/ Additional Secretary, Joint Secretary, Director, Under Secretary and then the Junior Scale Officers. These posts are filled according to seniority.

The Indian Police Service (IPS) As the name suggests, the main responsibility of the IPS is public safety and security. The Indian Police Service is divided into various departments like the Crime Branch, the Criminal Investigation Department, Home Guards and the Traffic Bureau. The area of functioning for the IPS can be broadly divided into: maintenance of law and order, crime prevention and detection, traffic control and accident prevention and management. The IPS also has several policing agencies like the Intelligence Bureau, the Central Bureau of Investigation, Cabinet Secretariat Security, Border Security Force and the Central Reserve Police Force. After the initial probation of two years, an IPS officer is given charge as an Additional Superintendent of Police of a district. This post is usually held for two years and then comes the next appointment, that of the Superintendent of Police and then the post of the Deputy Inspector General (DIG). The hierarchy in the IPS cadre is like this – the Director General of Police (DG) is the head of the entire Police force of a state. Special divisions of the Police force like the Border Security Force, the CBI, etc., have a Director General at the helm.

The Indian Forest Service (IFS) The maintenance of the natural resources of the country is very essential for a balanced all round development of the country. Maintenance of forests is so important for maintaining the ecological balance that the Indian Forest Service has been set up for this very purpose. The All India Forest Service came into being in 1966. The areas of functioning for the Indian Forest Service include protection and conservation of forests, wildlife and forest produce.

What does it take to opt for civil service? Mental alertness; interest in a variety of subjects; good intellect in order to be able to tackle any subject or situation; an ability to sift, weigh and apply differing opinions from various people; leadership qualities; the ability to inspire others and to channelise available talent; tact and diplomacy; and, integrity. These are some personality traits that you should look for in yourself when you consciously make a decision to opt for civil service.

What is the Cadre System in civil services ? The Civil Services has been divided into various grades to facilitate functioning. The grade determines the area of work. Junior scale officers work in the states that they are allotted to. Senior scale officers work as Under Secretaries in the State. Officers in the Junior Administrative Grade, which is reached after nine years of service, hold the position of a Deputy Secretary. When officers make it to the Selection Grade, which is reached after fourteen years of service they hold the position of Directors or Deputy Secretary. The next scale is known as the Super Time Scale or the Senior Administrative Grade and the officers in this grade hold the post of a Joint Secretary, Additional Secretary, Secretary or Cabinet Secretary. The Civil Services can be broadly classified as All India Services and Central Services.

What is the Selection Process ?

Eligibility for the Civil Services Preliminary Examination The minimum age requirement for appearing for the Civil Services Preliminary Examination is 21 and the upper age limit is 30 years. The minimum academic requirement is graduation in any discipline from a recognised Indian University or an equivalent academic qualification. All candidates are allowed four attempts. There is a relaxation for SC/ST candidates on the number of attempts, if they are otherwise eligible.

For entry to the civil service, there’s a multi-step examination process. The entire process takes a full calendar year. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) first conducts an objective type preliminary examination for screening candidates.

The Preliminary Examination:

There are two papers for the preliminary round. There is one on general studies and another on an optional subject. The question papers are set in both Hindi and English. Each paper is for a duration of two hours. General study covers history, geography, economics and so on. The question papers have objective type multiple choice questions. The general studies paper carries 150 marks.

The syllabus for the optional subject is the same as that for graduation level. The question paper for the optional subject carries 300 marks. The optional subject for the second paper may be chosen from the following :

1. Agriculture
2. Animal Husbandry and veterinary science
3. Botany
4. Chemistry
5. Civil Engineering
6. Commerce
7. Economics
8. Electrical Engineering
9. Geography
10. Geology
11. Indian History
12. Law
13. Mathematics
14. Mechanical Engineering
15. Philosophy
16. Physics
17. Political Science
18. Psychology
19. Public Administration
20. Sociology
21. Statistics
22. Zoology

The Main Examination:

The preliminary round is basically a screening round. The marks obtained are not counted for in the final stage of the examination. For candidates who clear the preliminary round, there is the main round. The second stage is the main examination that includes written tests and an interview. The written test consists of nine papers (essay type answers to be written)

Paper I: One Indian language

That is included in the Eighth schedule of the Indian Constitution. These languages are

1. Assamese
2. Bengali
3. Gujarati
4. Hindi
5. Kannada
6. Kashmiri
7. Malayalam
8. Marathi
9. Oriya
10. Pali
11. Punjabi
12. Sanskrit
13. Sindhi
14. Tamil
15. Telugu
16. Urdu.

This paper is of a qualifying nature and the marks obtained are not counted for ranking. This paper is not compulsory for candidates from the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim. Paper II: English. The English language paper is also of a qualifying nature and the marks obtained are not counted for ranking.

Paper III: Essay

Paper IV &V: General Studies Optional Subject I (two papers)

Optional subject II (two papers). For papers VI, VII, VIII, and IX two subjects are to be chosen. The list of subjects from which the choice may be made is

1. Agriculture
2. Animal Husbandry and veterinary science
3. Anthropology
4. Botany
5. Chemistry
6. Civil Engineering
7. Commerce & Accountancy
8. Economics
9. Electrical Engineering
10. Geography
11. Geology
12. History
13. Law
14. Management
15. Mathematics
16. Mechanical Engineering
17. Philosophy
18. Physics
19. Political Science & International Relations
20. Psychology
21. Public Administration
22. Sociology
23. Statistics
24. Zoology

Literature in one of the following languages: Arabic, Assamese, Bengali, Chinese, English, French, German, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Marathi, Malayalam, Oriya, Pali, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu.Except English, the question papers are set in both Hindi and English.

The total marks secured in both the written tests and the personal interview determine the rank of a candidate. The Interview This is the last hurdle to be cleared. The interview carries 250 marks and there are no stipulated minimum qualifying marks. The main aim of the interview is to assess a candidate’s overall personality. The interview is conducted by a board. The board is fully informed about the candidate and they base their questions on a record of the candidate’s career, which is provided to them. The aspects that are generally looked into are the candidate’s grasp of academics and general awareness as in current affairs, social issues, etc. It is basically a test of the potential of a candidate. The board tries to assess whether he or she can rise to the demands of the job of a Civil Servant.

What are the Job Prospects ?
Depending upon his rank, a candidate is recruited to services such as the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and other departments including Finance, Post and Telegraph, Revenue, Secretariat and so on. The appointment offers executive power. Promotions are time bound and increase in privileges are automatic. Selected candidates are first put through a training session for a short period. He is usually sent to an academic staff college associated with the service to which he is allocated. The greatest thing about civil service is the job security. Special facilities include subsidised accommodation, telephone and transport facilities, medical benefits, leave travel concession, etc. After retirement, there are very good social welfare facilities. Last but not the least is the immense satisfaction one derives at being able to participate in the development process of the country.

What is the Remuneration?

The Government of India has fixed salary grades for Civil Servants. Approximately the range of salaries drawn at various levels is as follows:

1. Junior Officers: Rs. 8000-275-13500
2. Senior Officers: Rs. 10650-325-15200
3. Junior Administrative Grade: Rs. 12,750-375-16,500
4. Selection Grade: Rs. 15,100-400-18,300
5. Additional Secretary: Rs. 22400-525-24500

Secretary/Cabinet Secretary: Rs. 26,000/30,000 (The above scales only provide an idea of the pay scales. Different branches of the service have different scales of pay.)

In addition to the salary civil servants receive various allowances such as Dearness Allowance, City compensatory Allowance, Leave Travel Allowance, Medical and subsidised housing.

Dimensions

Hamirpur: While the Cricket and Hockey leagues introduced recently in the country have already given a new meaning to the two games, the game that originally introduced the concept in India seems to have lost its sheen over the years. But some spirited youths from the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Hamirpur, have taken up the challenge to popularise football, at least in Himachal Pradesh.
The Dimension Club at NIT Hamirpur has come up with the idea of a local football league to increase competitiveness in the game at the ground level. The inaugural game of the league was played on Friday. Around 100 players are participating in the tournament representing various teams like Titans, Juggernaut and Maniacs,
In the first match, Hornets defeated Juggernaut by 2-1.

HTTP Copier

Welcome

HTTrack is a free (GPL, libre/free software) and easy-to-use offline browser utility.

It allows you to download a World Wide Web site from the Internet to a local directory, building recursively all directories, getting HTML, images, and other files from the server to your computer. HTTrack arranges the original site’s relative link-structure. Simply open a page of the “mirrored” website in your browser, and you can browse the site from link to link, as if you were viewing it online. HTTrack can also update an existing mirrored site, and resume interrupted downloads. HTTrack is fully configurable, and has an integrated help system.

WinHTTrack is the Windows 9x/NT/2000/XP release of HTTrack, and WebHTTrack the site.

MICROSOFT 1

The paper had three sections(I am not sure about the names of the sections, but the times are correct, trust me!)

Verbal ability 25 qs 20 mts

Mental ability 25 qs 30 mts                    

Aptitude 20 qs 20 mts

 

If you just want to go thru the questions, just look at ‘à’

 

The first section had basic English qs like use of prepositions, articles and two passages (both windows related):

àThe first one was about RAM, and how Windows assigns a bit of RAM to each process and what happens in the case of multi-processing and all that.

àThe second one was about DLL (Dynamic Linked Library) files and how they get an operation done.

These passages were followed by a set of questions which were simple if you carefully read the passage. My advice is that you better read the passages first clearly and only then start to answer the questions that follow. If you try to jump off in the middle to answer, you’ll only end up confused(because the choices given are such). That wraps up this section.

 

The second section mainly had questions involving union and intersection, for example:

 

àThere are 2500 people in a club.  800 were drinkers, 1250 were smokers and 400 were both

drinkers and smokers. The number of teetotalers?

 

There was not much variation from question to question; I mean all were more or less of the same pattern.

And there were cube-based problems:

àA child was given to paint a cube with the following conditions:

White should face down.

Black and blue should be on the opposite faces.

Golden should be up.

..and some more like this. This was followed by a set of questions which were simple and direct.

The second one was a toughie.

àThe cube again, with some conditions for colours. It is cut into two halves parallel to the black faced plane. The first half is cut into 4 equal cubes. And the second part into 32 equal cubes.

The questions were:

Number of cubes with at least one face coloured.

Number of cubes with no face coloured.

Number of cubes which have green on one of their faces.

And some more(this was the last question in the section so I couldn’t get to all).

 

 

 

 

And finally, the last section. It was a bit easy, comparitively.

It started off with 8 qs of the same type:

àThree set of words(or numbers) are given. If the first and second are exactly same opt for choice 1, if second and third are same, 2, and if first and third, choice3 and if none are same, then choice 4.

amarakbaraliKhan              amarakhbaraliKhan              amarakbaraliKhan

The answer here would be choice 3(All the choices were 3, by the way).

 

 

 

And then there were these set of questions(till the end, I think):

àSome qualification and conditions were given for a particular job( a bank job):

1. Age should be 25 or less as on Nov1, 2003

2. Should have passed X and XII with 60%.

3. Should have had Economics as a subject in 12^th.

4. Should be fit physically.

If the candidate doesn’t satisfy the 2 norm, he should take a aptitude test.

And some more(not in this order)

And the questions were : Raj passed X and XII with distinction and has ecomics as a subject.

Choices: a. He can be selected.

               b. He has to write the test.

               c. He will get rejected.

There were 3(?) more questions of this sort.

 

That wraps up the test. Phew!!! And if you did read till here, do let me know if this helped you in any way. I’d glad to know J 

   

 

 

 

 

Mozilla: Firefox 3.0 Beta 3 Release Candidate (RC) Available for Download

Mozilla has confirmed that the first Release Candidate builds of Firefox 3.0 Beta 3 are now available for download. In this manner, Mozilla is making yet another step further towards the delivery of the next generation of its open source browser. Firefox 3.0 is designed to replace Firefox 2.x, which was released back in October 2006, on the heels of Internet Explorer 7. Although it was initially planned for RTM and availability by the end of 2007, quality concerns have prolonged the development process for Firefox 3.0 into 2008. At this point in time, Mozilla has failed to indicate when the Firefox 3.0 will be finalized.

“The process of building and testing builds which will become Firefox 3 Beta 3 began on Monday at 7:20pm PST when development handed over control to the build team for branching and tagging. Things are moving along well, and release candidates are now being tested by the Quality Assurance team. Anyone who wishes to participate in this effort can join the Firefox 3 Beta 3 Test Day this Friday, February 8th. While we appreciate the attention and devotion of our users, we ask them to wait until we have completed testing. If all goes well during the testing, Firefox 3 Beta 3 will be released on February 12th in the evening, Pacific Standard Time,” Mozilla revealed.

Firefox 3.0 Beta 3 Release Candidate is only available for download via Mozilla FTP. But since the full Beta of the browser will drop on February 12, the company indicated that it would be better to skip the RC builds altogether, as they were designed for testing and the final touches. But at the same time, Mozilla has made available for download a security and stability update for Firefox 2.0. Firefox 2.0.0.12 is designed to resolve a total of 10 security vulnerabilities in the browser three of which labeled with a maximum severity rating of Critical, one High and three moderate.

“As part of Mozilla Corporation’s ongoing stability and security update process, Firefox 2.0.0.12 is now available for Windows, Mac, and Linux for free download. We strongly recommend that all Firefox users upgrade to this latest release. If you already have Firefox 2.x, you will receive an automated update notification within 24 to 48 hours. This update can also be applied manually by selecting ‘Check for Updates…’ from the Help menu,” Mozilla added.

first alpha version of Fedora 9 (codename Sulphur)

was released last night. “A funny thing happened on the way into the office today, an Alpha release of Fedora 9 happened!” Among the numerous new technologies, improvements and enhancements found in F9 we can mention:

• GNOME 2.21 with GVFS
• KDE 4.0
• Firefox 3 Beta 2
• PackageKit
• Kernel 2.6.24
• FreeIPA
• Fast X

Also, the Anaconda installer received the following improvements:

• Support for resizing ext2, ext3 and NTFS partitions.
• Support for creating and installing to encrypted filesystems.
• Improved Rescue Mode (FirstAidKit).
• Allow the user to set the install source during the second stage of installation.
• Use libblkid for filesystem probing.

Remember that this is an alpha release and it should NOT be installed on production machines. It is intended to be used for testing purposes only. Please report bugs to the Fedora Bug Tracker

Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Release Schedule:

5 Feburary 2008 – Alpha release
13 March 2008 – Beta release
10 April 2008 – Preview release
<22 April 2008 – Release Candidate 1 release
29 April 2008 – Fedora 9 Final release

About Fedora:

The Fedora Project is a Red-Hat-sponsored and community-supported open source project. It is also a proving ground for a new technology that may eventually make its way into Red Hat products. It is not a supported product of Red Hat, Inc.

The goal of The Fedora Project is to work with the Linux community in order to build a complete and general purpose operating system exclusively from free software. Development will be done in a public forum. The project will produce time-based releases of Fedora Core about 2-3 times a year with a public release schedule.

The goals for Fedora 9 are:

• Ongoing Bluetooth enhancements;
• Improve the support for multiple timezones/locations in the clock applet;
• Fix the proliferation of dictionaries in Fedora;
• Add ext4 filesystem support;
• Add built in encrypted file system support;
• Increase response time to 1 second from exec to accepting clients;
• Make fingerprint readers as easy as possible to use for authentication;
• Make Identity, Policy and Audit centrally and more easily managed;
• Update Fedora to gcc 4.3;
• Provide good support for Haskell development and use, with a high number of quality libraries and tools available;
• Integrate LTSP from K12LTSP project into Fedora and merge enhancements upstream;
• Replace KDE3.5 with 4.0 and upgrade modules;
• Expand the situations in which NetworkManager can be used and make it more robust;
• Provide alternative package management system;
• Partition resizing at install time;
• Allow users to depsolve and download only the pkgs they need to upgrade their distro while using the older version;
• Add Yum support for deltarpms;
• Move install selection to second stage of installer;
• Standardize server provides;
• Replace teTeX with TeXLive;
• Update X server to at least version 1.5;
• Replacement for SysVinit that allows service management and event-driven initialization;
• Extend remote authentication to use Kerberos and PAM;
• Enable virt-manager to run as a unprivileged user;
• Add the ability to list, create and delete storage volumes from a remote host using libvirt;
• Replacing the current forward-ported XenSource code on kernel-xen by a paravirt_ops based implementation, including dom0 support.

Comfort On-Screen Keyboard

Comfort On-Screen Keyboard v2.1.0.0

Virtual keyboard on the screen.
Ideal for using on Ultra-Mobile PC (UMPC), TabletPC and kiosk.
It has additional advantages as compared to the regular keyboard:
– Displaying the icons of shortcuts for Windows� and popular applications.
– Displaying characters actually typed in any language!
– Customizing the keyboard appearance: the position, size and number of keys, the color and the skin.

Comfort On-Screen Keyboard (Multilingual) is an application displaying a unique virtual keyboard on the screen and allowing you use the mouse pointer to type the way you do it with the regular keyboard.

Why do you particularly need Comfort On-Screen Keyboard?
Comfort On-Screen Keyboard supports all characteristics of the regular keyboard (for instance, repeated keystrokes when you hold down a key) and has additional advantages:

– Displaying the icons of shortcuts of Windows� and popular applications.
– Displaying characters actually typed in any language, which allows you to type text without a localized keyboard.
– Customizing the keyboard appearance (the position, size and number of keys, the color and the skin) with the possibility to select it from a large number of available templates (without having to buy a new keyboard )
– Color areas for fingers (if necessary) in case you learn to touch type. It is convenient because when you press a key, you can see it pressed on the on-screen keyboard!

Comfort On-Screen Keyboard will help you control the process of typing without moving your eyes from the keyboard to the monitor and back all the time. It will decrease the strain on your eyes and neck and, as a result, will help you avoid headaches.

Comfort On-Screen Keyboard is convenient to use as a shortcut reference for applications. Having a visual shortcut reference at hand, you will be able to use the keyboard more effectively and considerably speed up your work.

The reference includes the shortcut keys of the following applications:
* Adobe� Illustrator
* Adobe� ImageReady
* Adobe� InDesign
* Adobe� Photoshop
* CodeGear� Developer Studio for Microsoft� WindowsTM
* CorelDRAW�
* Corel PHOTO-PAINT�
* Macromedia� Dreamweaver
* Mozilla Firefox
* Mozilla Thunderbird
* Microsoft� Document Explorer
* Microsoft� Office Word
* Microsoft� Office Excel
* Microsoft� Office Outlook�
* Microsoft� Office Visio�
* Microsoft� Internet Explorer
* Microsoft� Windows Mail
* Microsoft� Media Player
* Windows� Movie Maker
* Microsoft� Notepad
* Microsoft� Outlook Express
* Microsoft� Paint
* Microsoft� WordPad
* Microsoft� Visual Studio
* Microsoft� SQL Server Management Studio
* OpenOffice
* Opera Internet Browser
* The Bat!

It is completely compatible with Microsoft� Windows Vista, XP and 2000

Homepage – http://www.comfort-software.com/

inc patch
http://rapidshare.com/files/87772876/2054COSK.v2.1.rar�

�

http://FastFreeFileHosting.com/file/1190/2054COSK-v2-1-rar.html

Pass Word memory 2008

Do you want to safely encrypt and store all your passwords and be able to locate and use them in a flash? Password Memory 2008 is the product your are looking for!

With almost 20 years of experience in the creation of Windows software, Code|Aero Technologies now present a product that should be used by anyone who want their passwords to themselves. Password Memory 2008 safely encrypts and manages your passwords and helps you login to websites in a fast and secure manner.

Quickly Secure Your Passwords
Your passwords are encrypted using several different algorithms for maximum security. You can also automatically generate random new passwords with ease.

One-Click Sort & Search
Sorting your database is as easy as clicking a button. When you search, the results are displayed as you type.

BlueVoda Website Builder

BlueVoda Website Builder Version 9.1.0 | 2.96 MB
Build your own website in 30 minutes, Have it live on the internet on Tomorrow Morning! In our image library where you will be able to download hundreds of FREE logos, templates, webpage backgrounds and website headers. You will also have access to dozens of video tutorials that will cover every aspect of building and publishing a FANTASTIC website!