Mac Osx 10.6 Exam

Front 1

What are the utilities available on the Mac OS X Install DVD?

Back 1

Startup Disk, Reset Password, Firmware Password Utility, Disk Utility,Terminal, System Profiler, Network Utility and Restore System from Backup

Front 2

What are the minimum hardware requirements for installing Mac OS X v10.6?

Back 2

Mac OS X v10.6 requires:
A Mac computer with an Intel processor
1 GB of memory
5 GB of available disk space
DVD drive for installation (Installation on a MacBook Air requires either an external
DVD drive or another computer with a DVD drive.)
A built-in display or a display connected to an Apple-supplied video card supported
by your computer

Front 3

What four preparation steps must you take before installing Mac OS X?

Back 3

-Check for Firmware Updates (Boot ROM)
-Verify Application Compatibility
-Back Up Important Files and Folders
-Document Critical Settings

Front 4

"What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a single-partition drive with
Mac OS X? Multiple partition drives?"

Back 4

Single-partition drives are easier to set up initially, but they aren’t as flexible for
administration and maintenance. Multiple-partition drives require repartitioning
during setup but provide several separate volumes, which can be used to segregate
user data and host multiple operating systems.

Front 5

Which packages are installed by default when installing Mac OS X?

Back 5

Items installed by default include the essential system software, printer drivers for
currently used printers, additional fonts, language translations, and X11. Optional
items include more printer drivers, Rosetta, and QuickTime .

Front 6

"Where can you locate the system version number, build number, and serial number?
What is the significance of these numbers?"

Back 6

The system version, build number, and hardware serial number are located in the
About This Mac dialog or the login screen. The system version number defines the
specific version of Mac OS X currently installed. The system build number is an even
more specific identifier used primarily by developers. Finally, the hardware serial
number is a unique number used to identify your specific Mac.

Front 7

How do the four default System Preferences categories differ?

Back 7

Generally, Personal preferences affect only a single user, Hardware preferences adjust
hardware and peripheral settings, Internet & Wireless preferences affect personal and
system network settings, and System preferences affect all users and often require
administrative access.

Front 8

How do you ensure that you have the latest Apple software?

Back 8

The Software Update application checks for Apple software updates via the Internet.
You can adjust automatic update settings or manually open the Software Update
application from the Software Update preferences.

Front 9

What are the five types of user accounts in Mac OS X? How are they different?

Back 9

Standard is the default account type; administrative users can make changes to the
system; a guest user does not require a password; sharing only users can access only
shared files; and the root user has unlimited access.

Front 10

What are account attributes?

Back 10

Account attributes are the individual pieces of information that are used to define a
user account. Examples include full name, account name, user ID, unique user ID,
group, and home directory.

Front 11

How can you limit a user account?

Back 11

Parental controls can be used to further limit a user account. Examples include
enforcing a simple Finder, limiting applications and widgets, setting time limits, and
content filtering.

Front 12

What are some security risks associated with each type of user account?

Back 12

Standard user accounts are very secure, assuming they have good passwords.
Administrative users can make changes that may negatively affect the system or
other user accounts. A guest user could potentially fill your system drive with
unwanted files. Sharing only users are generally very secure as long as you don’t give
them too much access to your items. The potential for mayhem with root user access
is nearly unlimited.

Front 13

What default folders make up a user’s home folder?

Back 13

The default folders in a user’s home folder are Desktop, Documents, Downloads,
Library, Movies, Music, Pictures, Public, and Sites.

Front 14

What three types of resource contention issues can occur when fast user switching
is enabled?

Back 14

Resource contention occurs when fast user switching is enabled and a user tries to
access an item that another user already has open in the background. Document
contention occurs when a user attempts to open a document that another user has
already opened. Peripheral contention occurs when a user attempts to access a peripheral
that is already in use by another user’s open application. Application contention
occurs when the second user attempts to access an application that is designed to run
only once on a system.

Front 15

What security risk can occur when fast user switching is enabled?

Back 15

When fast user switching is enabled, all users are allowed to see other users’ locally
connected volumes.

Front 16

What does a keychain do?

Back 16

A keychain is an encrypted file that is used to securely save passwords, certificates,
or notes. By default, every user has a login keychain that has the same password as
his account.

Front 17

How does FileVault secure a user’s data?

Back 17

FileVault stores the user’s home folder in an encrypted disk image. This disk image is
accessible only by the FileVault user.

Front 18

How does resetting the master password affect existing FileVault user accounts?

Back 18

If a known master password is reset using the Security preferences, previous FileVault
accounts will not be negatively affected. On the other hand, if a master password is
reset because it was lost, preexisting FileVault accounts cannot be reset by the new
master password until all the old FileVault passwords are reset.

Front 19

How does resetting a user’s password as an administrative user affect that user’s keychains?

Back 19

If an administrative user resets another user’s account or FileVault password, this process
will not change any keychain passwords. Therefore, the user’s keychains will not
automatically open when the user logs in with her new password. The user will have
to manually change her keychain passwords using the Keychain Access utility.

Front 20

How does the Firmware Password utility help prevent users from making unauthorized
password changes?

Back 20

The Firmware Password utility prevents users from booting off other devices. This in
turn prevents them from using the Mac OS X Install DVD to reset local passwords
without authorization.

Front 21

Where do you create, manage and delete users?

Back 21

Creating, managing, and deleting users is accomplished from within the Accounts
preferences.

Front 22

How can you move or restore a user's home folder?

Back 22

A user’s home folder can be moved or restored using either the Migration Assistant or
by manually moving it to the /Users folder and creating a new account with the same
account name.

Front 23

What are the five types of passwords?

Back 23

There are five types of passwords, each with its own specific use: account passwords, the
firmware password, the master password, resource passwords, and keychain passwords.

Front 24

What are two technologies for user security?

Back 24

File Vault and Keychains

Front 25

What is the Migration Assistant for?

Back 25

The Migration Assistant can be used to easily transfer user accounts, settings, and
data from a previous system.

Front 26

What 3 techniques can be combined to automate nearly any task?

Back 26

All three automation techniques, Automator, AppleScript, and command-line scripts,
can be combined to automate nearly any task.

Front 27

What are six reasons for using the command-line environment?

Back 27

Six reasons for using the command line are: it gives you access options not available
in the graphical interface; it lets you bypass Finder restrictions; administrators can
act as root at the command line; remote SSH access is invisible to the user; it makes
automation easy using scripting; and you can combine the command line with ARD
to send administrative commands remotely to multiple Macs at the same time.

Front 28

What four methods can be used to access the command-line environment?

Back 28

Four methods that can be used to access the command line are: the Terminal application,
“>console” at the login screen, single-user mode startup, and remotely via SSH.

Front 29

What three items are in the default command-line user prompt?

Back 29

The three items in the default command-line user prompt are, from left to right:
computer hostname, working directory, and user account.

Front 30

What are the three main components of a typical command?

Back 30

The three main components of a typical command are: the command’s name, command
options, and command arguments.

Front 31

What do the following terms describe: folder, directory, path, absolute path, and relative
path?

Back 31

Folders and directories are both terms used to describe containers in the file system.
A path defines directions to a specific item in the file system. Absolute paths are full
directions to a specific item, whereas relative paths are partial directions to a specific
item based on the user’s current working location.

Front 32

What is the difference between absolute and relative paths?

Back 32

Absolute paths always start from the root, or beginning, of the file system, whereas
relative paths start from the user’s current working location. The default working
location of users is at the root of their home folder.

Front 33

Which command is used to list items in a folder?

Back 33

The ls command is used to list items in a folder.

Front 34

Which two commands can be used to read text files?

Back 34

Two commands used to read text files are cat and less.

Front 35

What is the sudo command used for?

Back 35

The sudo command is used to allow administrators to run commands with root privileges.

Front 36

What are the two primary automation technologies for the graphical interface? How
do they differ?

Back 36

Automator is an easy-to-use application that can create workflows based on predefined
actions. AppleScript is an English-like scripting language that allows you to
script graphical applications.

Front 37

What are the three minimal steps required for creating a command-line script?

Back 37

Three minimal steps required for creating a command-line script are: create a plain
text file containing a list of commands, make the first line “#!/bin/bash”, and change
the file’s permissions to allow execution.

Front 38

What is the primary tool for managing the mac's file system?

Back 38

Disk Utility

Front 39

What is the difference between disk drives, partitions, and volumes?

Back 39

Disk drives are the actual storage hardware, partitions are logical divisions of a disk
drive used to define the storage space, and volumes, contained inside partitions, are
used to define how the individual files and folders are saved to the storage.

Front 40

What are the two primary partition schemes for Mac-formatted drives? What are
their differences?

Back 40

GUID Partition Table is the default partition scheme on Intel-based Macs, and Apple
Partition Map is the default partition scheme on PowerPC-based Macs.

Front 41

What are the six volume formats supported by Mac OS X? How are they different?

Back 41

The volume formats supported as startup volumes for Mac OS X are Mac OS X
Extended, the native volume format supported by all Macintosh computers;
Mac OS X Extended, Journaled, the default volume format for Mac OS X drives;
and Mac OS X Extended, Journaled, Case-Sensitive, the default volume format
for Mac OS X Server drives. Volume formats supported as read/write are Mac OS
Standard (HFS), a legacy Mac OS volume format; UNIX File System (UFS), a legacy
volume format supported by many other UNIX-based systems; and File Allocation
Table (FAT32), the volume format used by many peripherals and older Windowsbased
PCs. Volume formats supported as read-only: NT File System (NTFS), the
native volume format used by modern Windows-based operating systems; ISO 9660, a
common format for CD media; and Universal Disk Format (UDF), a common format
for DVD media.

Front 42

How does file system journaling work?

Back 42

File system journaling records what file operations are in progress at any given
moment. This way, if a power failure or system crash occurs, after the system restarts
it will be able to quickly verify the integrity of the volume by “replaying” the journal.

Front 43

What are the four erase options available in Disk Utility? What are the differences
between them?

Back 43

The four erase options in Disk Utility are Don’t Erase Data, which simply replaces the
volume’s directory structure; Zero Out Data, which provides good security by writing
zeros on top of all the previous drive data; 7-Pass Erase, which provides even better
security by writing seven separate passes of random information on top of all the
previous drive data; and 35-Pass Erase, which provides the best security by writing 35
separate passes of random information on top of all the previous drive data.

Front 44

How does the Finder’s Secure Empty Trash feature work?

Back 44

The Finder’s Secure Empty Trash will perform a 7-pass erase on the contents of the
Trash folder.

Front 45

What three methods can be used to eject a volume or drive from the Finder?

Back 45

The three methods used to eject a volume or drive from the Finder are press and hold
the Eject key for a few moments to unmount and eject optical media; select the volume
you wish to unmount and eject from the Finder and choose File > Eject from the
menu bar; and finally, in the Finder’s sidebar, click the small eject button next to the
volume you wish to unmount and eject.

Front 46

What is the potential side effect of improperly unmounting or ejecting a drive
or volume?

Back 46

Improperly unmounting or ejecting a drive or volume may cause data corruption.
The system will automatically verify and repair an improperly unmounted or ejected
volume the next time it becomes available to the Mac.

Front 47

What differentiates a RAID 0 set from a RAID 1 set?

Back 47

RAID 0 uses disk striping to simultaneously write data to all drives providing
increased performance but increases your chances of data loss due to drive failure.
RAID 1 uses disk mirroring to write the same data to multiple drives, which does not
increase performance, but it does greatly decrease your chances of data loss due to
drive failure.

Front 48

How do you use the Finder’s burn folder feature?

Back 48

There are two methods for using a burn folder in the Finder. First, you can create a
burn folder of any size by choosing File > New Burn Folder from the menu bar. Once
you are done adding and arranging items in the burn folder, click the Burn button
and then insert a blank recordable optical disc. Or you can create a burn folder of
a specific optical disc size by first inserting a blank recordable optical disc; then the
Finder will automatically create a burn folder that matches the size of the recordable
optical disc.

Front 49

How do you use Disk Utility to burn an optical disc?

Back 49

Disk Utility can burn the contents of a disk image to an optical disk. Click the Burn
button in Disk Utility’s toolbar, select a disk image, and then insert a blank recordable
optical disc.

Front 50

Why is the root, or beginning, level of a user’s home folder visible to other users?

Back 50

The root level of a user’s home folder is visible to other users so they can navigate to
the Public and Sites shared folders.

Front 51

How are the permissions on the Shared folder set to allow for local user sharing?

Back 51

The Shared folder is set up to allow all users to read and write files, but only the user
who owns an item can delete it from the Shared folder. This is accomplished using the
sticky bit permissions setting.

Front 52

How does the default organization of the file system allow users to safely share local
files and folders?

Back 52

Every home folder contains a Public folder that other users can read and a Drop
Box folder that other users can write to. All other subfolders in a user’s home folder
(except the Sites folder) have default permissions that do not allow access to other
users. The Shared folder is also set for all users to share items.

Front 53

What does it mean when you choose the option to “ignore volume ownership” in the
Finder? What are the security ramifications of ignoring volume ownership?

Back 53

You can choose to ignore ownership on any nonsystem volume. This will ignore any
ownership rules and grant any logged-on user unlimited access to the contents of the
volume. This is a potential security risk because it will allow any local user account to
have full access to the volume even if that user did not originally mount the volume.

Front 54

How do you identify the ownership and permissions of a file or folder in the Finder?
In the Terminal?

Back 54

An item’s ownership and permissions can be identified using the Get Info or
Inspector windows in the Finder, or by using the ls –l command in the Terminal.

Front 55

How do you identify the ownership and permissions of a file or folder in the Finder?
In the Terminal?

Back 55

An item’s ownership and permissions can be identified using the Get Info or
Inspector windows in the Finder, or by using the ls –l command in the Terminal.

Front 56

How do permissions in the Finder appear different than permissions in the Terminal?

Back 56

The Finder shows only four different permissions options: no access, read and write,
read only, and write only. On the other hand, using the options available from the ls
command in the Terminal will show you every possible permissions configuration.

Front 57

What is the sticky bit?

Back 57

The sticky bit is a special permission used to define a folder as an append-only destination
or, more accurately, a folder in which only the owner of the item can move,
rename, or delete the item.

Front 58

How is Disk Utility’s Verify and Repair feature used?

Back 58

The Disk Utility’s Verify and Repair feature is used to verify or repair the directory
structure of a volume. The directory structure contains all the information used to
locate files and folders on the volume.

Front 59

What is target disk mode and how is it engaged?

Back 59

Target disk mode is a Mac-specific hardware feature that, when engaged, will share
the Mac’s internal disk drives through the FireWire ports. Target disk mode can be
engaged from the Startup Disk preferences or by holding down the T key as you turn
on the Mac.

Front 60

What is the primary tool for managing font resources?

Back 60

Font Book

Front 61

What are the four default top-level folders visible in the Finder?

Back 61

The four default top-level folders visible in the Finder are: Applications, containing
applications all local users have access to; Library, containing system resources all
local users have access to; System, containing necessary system resources; and finally,
Users, containing all the local user home folders.

Front 62

What are six common system resources? What purpose does each resource serve?
Where are they located in the file hierarchy?

Back 62

Six common system resources are: extensions, which attach themselves to the system
kernel to provide hardware and peripheral driver support; frameworks, which are
shared code libraries that provide additional software resources for both applications
and system processes; fonts; preference files, which contain application and system
configuration information; LaunchAgents and LaunchDaemons, used by launchd to
provide services that automatically start when they are needed or at system startup;
and finally, logs, which are text files that contain error and progress entries from
nearly any application or system service.

Front 63

What are the four system resource domains? What purpose does each domain serve?

Back 63

The four system resource domains are: User, containing applications and system
resources specific to each user account; Local, containing applications and system
resources available to all users on the local Mac; Network (optional), containing
applications and system resources available to any Mac that has an automated network
share; and finally, System, containing applications and system resources required
to provide basic system functionality.

Front 64

Why does the Finder hide certain folders at the root of the system volume?

Back 64

The Finder hides traditional UNIX resources from average users because they don’t
need to have access to those items. If users do need access to these UNIX items, they
can access them from the Terminal.

Front 65

What two methods can be used to hide items from the Finder?

Back 65

The Finder will not show items with periods at the beginning of their filename, or
items with the hidden file flag enabled.

Front 66

What are resource forks and why have they fallen out of favor?

Back 66

Resource forks are used to make the file system appear less complex. Data forks and
resource forks are combined to appear as one single item in the file system. They have
fallen out of favor because they are not directly compatible with non-Mac OS volumes,
nor are they extensible.

Front 67

What are some of the common file flags and extended attributes used by Mac OS X?

Back 67

Common file flags include the locked flag, which locks files from changes, and the
hidden flag, which hides the item in the Finder. Common extended attributes used
in the Finder are setting an item’s color label, stationary pad option, hide extension
option, and Spotlight comments.

Front 68

What does Mac OS X use bundles or packages for?

Back 68

Bundles and packages are used to combine complex items into individual folders.
Packages have the additional advantage of appearing as a single item in the Finder.
This allows software developers to combine resources into a single item and prevents
users from messing with those resources.

Front 69

How does the system identify which application to open when a user double-clicks
on a file?

Back 69

Files are identified either by their file type attributes or their filename extension.
Launch Services maintains a database of known applications and which file types they
can open. When you double-click on a file in the Finder, Launch Services tries to find
an appropriate match. You can override the default application selection in the Finder.

Front 70

What three common UNIX commands support Mac file system metadata?

Back 70

Three common UNIX commands that have been updated to support Mac file system
metadata are cp, mv, and rm.

Front 71

What are the differences between zip archives and disk images?

Back 71

Zip archives are created with the Finder from a specific selection of items. Zip
archives are compatible with many operating systems. On the other hand, disk images
are created using Disk Utility and allow you to create highly flexible archive volumes
that can contain nearly anything.

Front 72

How does the Spotlight search service use metadata?

Back 72

The Spotlight search service creates index databases of file system metadata so that it
can perform normally time-intensive searches nearly instantly.

Front 73

Where does Spotlight store its metadata index databases? How about the Spotlight
plug-ins?

Back 73

Spotlight metadata index databases are stored at the root of every volume in a
/.Spotlight-V100 folder. However, a FileVault user’s database is stored in his encrypted
home folder. Also, the Mail application maintains its own database in each user’s
home folder at ~/Library/Mail/Envelope Index. Spotlight plug-ins can be located in
any Library in a folder named Spotlight.

Front 74

What backup destinations does Time Machine support?

Back 74

Time Machine can back up to any Mac OS X Extended volume, including volumes
from disk images stored on an AFP share from a Mac OS X or Mac OS X Server.

Front 75

How does Time Machine maintain a backup history of the file system?

Back 75

Time Machine starts with a full copy of the file system; then it records any changes to
the file system and only copies the changes. It creates a simulation of the full file system
using hard links for files that have not changed.

Front 76

What are some privacy and security concerns with the Spotlight service?

Back 76

Though Spotlight indexes file and folder permissions, it will allow other users to
search the contents of locally attached nonsystem volumes when ownership is ignored
on those volumes.

Front 77

What types of files are omitted from Time Machine backups?

Back 77

Time Machine always ignores temporary files, Spotlight indexes, items in the Trash,
and anything else that can be considered a cache. Time Machine will also ignore any
files an application has defined as exempt, or any files you have defined as exempt in
the Time Machine preferences.

Front 78

Why is Time Machine inefficient at backing up large databases?

Back 78

Time Machine is inefficient at backing up large databases because it must back up the
entire database file every time any change, no matter how small, is made to the database.

Front 79

Why might a previously backed-up item be no longer available in Time Machine?

Back 79

A previously backed-up item will not be available if your backup volume has become full
and Time Machine has had to start deleting older items to make room for newer items.

Front 80

What is protected memory? What is 64-bit memory addressing?

Back 80

The system keeps applications from interfering with one another by segregating their
memory usage using protected memory. Macs with 64-bit-capable processors allow
processes to run in 64-bit mode, which allows them to individually access more than
4 GB of memory.

Front 81

What are the five application environments supported by Mac OS X? What is each
one used for?

Back 81

The five application environments supported by Mac OS X are: Cocoa, the native
application environment for Mac OS X; Carbon, which is based on Mac OS 9 but still
provides native Mac OS X performance; BSD, which is Mac OS X’s command-line
interface (CLI) and is based on Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) UNIX; X11,
which is a popular UNIX windowing environment; and Java, which was originally
created by Sun Microsystems.

Front 82

What are the advantages of code signing?

Back 82

Code signed items include a digital signature that the system can use to verify the
authenticity and integrity of the application or process and its resources.

Front 83

What is Rosetta? What types of items are not supported by Rosetta?

Back 83

Rosetta is translation software optionally installed with Mac OS X that allows Intelbased
Macs to use software originally designed for PowerPC-based Macs. Rosetta
does not support applications created for any version of the Mac OS earlier than
Mac OS X, the Classic compatibility environment, screen savers written for the
PowerPC architecture, software that inserts PowerPC preference panes in System
Preferences, applications that specifically require a PowerPC G5 processor, applications
that depend on one or more PowerPC-only kernel extensions, kernel extensions
or hardware drivers written for the PowerPC architecture, Java applications with JNI
libraries, Java in applications that Rosetta can translate, or plug-ins written for the
PowerPC architecture if the software they tie into runs as Intel native.

Front 84

What system preference enables the accessibility features in Mac OS X? What accessibility
features are available in Mac OS X? Finally, where is the preference file for these
features located?

Back 84

Mac OS X’s accessibility features are available from the Universal Access preferences.
Universal Access includes options to assist users who have difficulty seeing, hearing,
using the keyboard, or using the mouse and trackpad. The Universal Access preference
file is com.apple.universalaccess.plist, located in ~/Library/Preferences.

Front 85

How can you identify the type of a particular application?

Back 85

You can identify an application’s type with the Get Info or Inspector window in the
Finder or with System Profiler.

Front 86

How can you identify which applications are installed on your Mac?

Back 86

You can use the System Profiler application to easily scan all the appropriate application
locations and return a list of installed applications.

Front 87

What steps should you use when troubleshooting application issues?

Back 87

General application troubleshooting steps include restarting the application, trying
another known working document, trying another user account, checking log files,
deleting cache files, replacing preference files, and replacing application resources.

Front 88

What three ways can you forcibly quit an application from the graphical interface?

Back 88

The three ways to forcibly quit an application from the graphical interface are from
the Force Quit Application dialog accessed from the Apple menu, from the Dock’s
application shortcut menu accessed by Control-clicking or right-clicking on the application’s
icon, or from the /Applications/Utilities/Activity Monitor application.

Front 89

What does the problem-reporting feature do?

Back 89

The problem-reporting feature automatically springs into action any time an application
crashes or hangs. This process creates a problem report log that can be viewed
immediately, reported to Apple via the Internet, or viewed later in the /Applications/
Utilities/Console application.

Front 90

Where are application preferences stored? What format is often used for preference files?

Back 90

Application preferences are almost always stored in the user’s Library folder in the
~/Library/Preferences folder. Most application preferences are property lists, which
are XML-formatted files that use the “.plist” filename extension.

Front 91

What process or processes are responsible for Dashboard widgets?

Back 91

The Dock process starts the DashboardClient processes on behalf of the currently
logged-in user. All open widgets run inside one of the two DashboardClient processes.

Front 92

How does Boot Camp work?

Back 92

At the time of this writing Boot Camp allows Windows XP SP2+ or Windows Vista to
run natively on Mac hardware. The Boot Camp Setup Assistant automatically repartitions
the system volume in preparation for the Windows installation. Users install
Windows as they would on any other PC, and then load Mac hardware drivers for
Windows from the Mac OS X Install DVD.

Front 93

What are the minimum system requirements for Boot Camp?

Back 93

The minimum system requirements for Boot Camp are:
An Intel-based Mac computer
Directly attached input devices
Mac OS X v10.5 or later
All firmware updates for your Mac
A Mac OS X v10.5 installation disc
At least 10 GB of free disk space for installing Windows
2 GB or more of RAM when running Windows Vista on a Mac Pro
Boot Camp Assistant
A single full-install Windows Installation disc

Front 94

What are the three primary steps for setting up Boot Camp with Windows?

Back 94

To set up Boot Camp, you must start with the Boot Camp Assistant, then install and
set up Windows from the Windows installation disc, and finally install the Boot Camp
drivers for Windows from the Mac OS X Install DVD.

Front 95

What three methods can be used for selecting the startup disk on a Mac with
Windows installed?

Back 95

If you have both Mac OS X and Windows installed, you can select the startup disk
from the Startup Manager as soon as you turn on the Mac, from the Mac OS X
Startup Disk preferences, or from the Windows Boot Camp Control Panel.

Front 96

What do the terms interface, protocol, and service mean in relation to computer networks?

Back 96

An interface is any channel through which network data can flow. Hardware network
interfaces are defined by physical network connections, while virtual network
interfaces are logical network connections that ride on top of hardware network connections.
A protocol is a set of rules used to describe a specific type of network communication.
Protocols are necessary for separate network devices to communicate
properly. Finally, a network service (as it pertains to the Network preferences) is the
collection of settings that define a network connection.

Front 97

What is the purpose of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and subnet masks? What is
their format?

Back 97

The Internet Protocol (IP) address identifies the location of a specific network device.
IP addresses are the primary identification used by the Internet protocol suite TCP/IP
for both local and wide area networks. Subnet masks are used by network devices to
identify their local network range and to determine if outgoing data is destined for a
network device on the LAN. Most common IP addresses and subnet masks share the
same IPv4 formatting. IPv4 addresses are a 32-bit number represented in four groups
of four-digit numbers, known as octets, separated by periods. Each octet has a value
between 0 and 255.

Front 98

How does the IP use the MAC address to send messages between computers on a
local area network (LAN)?

Back 98

If a network device needs to send data to another network device on the same LAN, it
will address the outgoing packets based on the destination device’s MAC address.

Front 99

How does the IP transfer messages between computers over a wide area network (WAN)?

Back 99

A network client uses the subnet mask to determine if the destination IP address is on
the LAN. If the destination IP address is not on the LAN, then it’s assumed the destination
address is on another network and it will send the data to the IP address of the
local network router. The network router will then send the data, via a WAN connection,
on to another router that it thinks is closer to the destination. This will continue
across WAN connections from router to router until the data reaches its destination.

Front 100

How is the Domain Name Service (DNS) used to facilitate network naming?

Back 100

The DNS service is used to translate host names to IP addresses via forward lookups
and translate IP addresses to host names via reverse lookups. DNS is architected as a
hierarchy of worldwide domain servers. Local DNS servers provide name resolution
and possibly host names for local clients. These local DNS servers connect to DNS
servers higher in the DNS hierarchy to resolve both unknown host names and host
local domain names.

Front 101

How do Mac OS X computers acquire and use link-local TCP/IP addresses?

Back 101

If DHCP is specified as the configuration for a TCP/IP connection and no DHCP
service is available, the computer will automatically select a random IP address in the
169.254.xxx.xxx range. It will check the local network to ensure that no other network
device is using the randomly generated IP address before it applies the IP address.

Front 102

What interfaces and protocols are supported by default in Mac OS X?

Back 102

Mac OS X supports the following network interfaces and protocols:
Wired Ethernet IEEE 802.3 family of hardware network interface standards
Wireless (AirPort) IEEE 802.11 family of hardware network interface standards
FireWire IEEE 1394 hardware network interface
Analog modem hardware network interface
Bluetooth wireless hardware network interface
Virtual private network (VPN) virtual network interface via the Point-to-Point
Tunneling Protocol (PPTP)
VPN virtual network interface via the Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) over
Internet Protocol security (IPsec)
Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet (PPPoE) virtual network interface
6 to 4 virtual network interface
Virtual local area network (VLAN) virtual network interface via the IEEE 802.1Q standard
Link Aggregation virtual network interface via the IEEE 802.3ad standard
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), also known as the
Internet protocol suite
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)
Domain Name Service (DNS) protocol
Network Basic Input/Output System (NetBIOS) and Windows Internet Naming
Service (WINS) protocols
Authenticated Ethernet via the 802.1X protocol
Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP)

Front 103

How does network service order affect network connectivity?

Back 103

The network service order list is used to determine the primary network interface if
there is more than one active interface. All network traffic that isn’t better handled via
local connection to an active network interface is sent to the primary network interface.
Thus, all Internet traffic is sent through the primary network interface.

Front 104

In the Network preferences, how can you tell which interface is currently being used
for network activities?

Back 104

In the Network preferences, all network interfaces with a green status indicator are
being used for network activities. However, again all network traffic that isn’t better
handled via a local connection will be sent to the primary network interface. The primary
network interface is the top-most active interface in the listing.

Front 105

What functionality does Mac OS X 10.6 support with the AppleTalk protocol?

Back 105

Mac OS X v10.6 does not support AppleTalk.

Front 106

What are four common issues that can interrupt network services on a Mac OS X
computer?

Back 106

Four common issues that interrupt network services on Mac OS X are:
A disconnected network cable will cause the hardware network interface to become
inactive.
A nonfunctioning network interface port will cause the hardware network interface to
become inactive.
A DHCP service issue will prevent proper TCP/IP configuration.
A DNS service issue will prevent host name resolution.

Front 107

How can you identify the MAC addresses for all of the Mac’s network interfaces?

Back 107

You can identify all the MAC addresses for the Mac’s network interfaces from the Info
pane of the Network Utility.

Front 108

What is the relationship between clients and servers as it relates to network service access?

Back 108

Client software is used to access network services provided by server software. The
connection is established using a common network protocol known by both the client
and server software. Thus, the client and server software can be from different
sources.

Front 109

What is the relationship between a network service and a network port?

Back 109

Network services are established using a common network protocol. The protocol
specifies which TCP or UDP port number is used for communications.

Front 110

What two dynamic network service discovery protocols are supported by Mac OS X?

Back 110

Mac OS X supports Bonjour, and Network Basic Input/Output and Windows Internet
Naming Service (NetBIOS and WINS) dynamic network service discovery protocols.

Front 111

How does Mac OS X use dynamic network service discovery protocols to access network
services?

Back 111

Devices providing a network service advertise their availability via a dynamic network
service discovery protocol. Clients that are looking for services request and receive
this information to provide the user with a list of available network service choices.

Front 112

What five network file services can you connect to from the Finder’s Connect to
Server dialog?

Back 112

From the Finder’s Connect to Server dialog, you can connect to Apple File Protocol
(AFP), Server Message Blocks/Common Internet File System (SMB), Network File
System (NFS), Web-Based Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV), and File
Transfer Protocol (FTP) network file services.

Front 113

How are items inside the Finder’s Network folder populated?

Back 113

The Finder populates the Network folder using information provided by the dynamic
network services discovery protocols. Computers providing services appear as resources
inside the Network folder, while service discovery zones or workgroups appear as folders.
Any currently connected servers will also appear in the Network folder.

Front 114

How do you provide Mac OS X file-sharing services so other computers can access them?

Back 114

To provide services to other network clients you first set your Mac’s network identification,
then enable the desired network file service, and finally define access to file
system resources.

Front 115

What password issues may arise related to the SMB service?

Back 115

To support SMB authentication, users’ passwords must be stored in a special format,
which must be enabled in Sharing preferences.

Front 116

What shared items are accessible to an administrative user who connects via AFP or
SMB? What about a standard user?

Back 116

Administrators who connect to your Mac via AFP or SMB have access to any locally
mounted volume. By default, standard users can only access their home folder and
other users’ Public folders.

Front 117

What items are shared by default to all users?

Back 117

The items shared to all users by default are the local users’ Public folders inside their
home folders.

Front 118

What shared items are accessible to any user who connects via FTP?

Back 118

Users who connect to your Mac via FTP have access based on the local file system
ownership and permissions; by default they’ll start in their home folders but can navigate
anywhere file permissions allow them to.

Front 119

How do you provide Mac OS X web-sharing services?

Back 119

To enable the web-sharing service select the checkbox next to Web Sharing in the
Sharing preferences.

Front 120

What files are associated with the computer’s website? What about an individual
user’s website?

Back 120

The computer’s website files are located in the /Library/WebServer/Documents folder.
Each user’s website files are located in the Sites folder inside their home folder.

Front 121

What client-sharing services can Mac OS X provide?

Back 121

Mac OS X’s client-sharing services are: Screen Sharing, Remote Login, Remote
Management, Remote Apple Events, and Xgrid Sharing.

Front 122

What is the security risk of enabling client-sharing services?

Back 122

If a client-sharing service is compromised, an unauthorized user can control your
Mac and execute unwanted applications or processes.

Front 123

How is Xgrid implemented in Mac OS X?

Back 123

Mac OS X includes the ability to share its computing resources as an Xgrid agent. A
computer running Mac OS X Server is required to act as an Xgrid controller.

Front 124

What network services are provided by your Mac to facilitate Internet sharing?
What options are available for Internet sharing via your Mac’s AirPort wireless
Ethernet interface?

Back 124

When Internet sharing is enabled, your Mac provides network routing NAT, DHCP,
and DNS forwarding services for any network device connected to your Mac’s shared
network interfaces. When sharing a network or Internet connection to your Mac’s
AirPort wireless Ethernet interface, you can specify a wireless network name, channel,
and (optionally) WEP security settings.

Front 125

How does Mac OS X’s built-in firewall work? What advanced firewall settings
are available?

Back 125

Mac OS X’s built-in firewall inspects each incoming network connection to determine
if it’s allowed. Connections are allowed or denied on a per-application basis.
The advanced firewall settings allow you to control whether signed applications are
automatically allowed through the firewall, to control the list of allowed (or denied)
applications, and to enable stealth mode (which means your Mac will not respond to
any unsolicited connections).

Front 126

What are some known issues that arise when connecting to network file services?

Back 126

Forked files may cause problems for NFS or WebDAV network file systems. Also,
avoid AFP 2 services as provided by Windows file servers.

Front 127

What are three common troubleshooting techniques for issues involving failure to
connect to network services?

Back 127

Review the Network preferences, review the Network Utility statistics, and attempt to
connect to different network services.

Front 128

What is a directory as it relates to directory services?

Back 128

A directory is a database of information that in some cases can be shared to the network.
The most commonly accessed directory resource is account information.

Front 129

What are seven common types of resources Mac OS X can access from a directory service?

Back 129

Common directory resources that Mac OS X can access include user accounts, user
groups, computer accounts, computer groups, network file mounts, management settings,
and collaboration information.

Front 130

What are the primary differences between local, network, and mobile accounts?

Back 130

Local accounts are available only to a single Mac, network accounts are available to
Macs connected to a network directory service, and mobile accounts are network
accounts that are cached to the local Mac for offline use.

Front 131

What are four advantages of using network directory services to store account
information?

Back 131

Four advantages of using network directory services to store account information
are: 1) user accounts are no longer tied to individual Macs; 2) the same user account
information can be used for multiple network services; 3) you can use Kerberos to
provide secure single-sign-on authentication; and 4) you can define user and computer
settings from a centralized location.

Front 132

What four directory service types can be used in Mac OS X?

Back 132

The directory service types that can be used in Mac OS X are Local, Berkeley Software
Distribution (BSD) Flat File and Network Information Systems (NIS), Lightweight
Directory Access Protocol version 3 (LDAPv3), and Active Directory (AD).

Front 133

What is authentication? What is authorization?

Back 133

Authentication is the process of proving your identity to the computer; authorization
defines which items or services you are allowed to access.

Front 134

What are three common authentication methods?

Back 134

Three common authentication methods are basic or clear-text passwords, encrypted
passwords, and Kerberos ticket–based authentication.

Front 135

What is a Kerberos ticket? What is a Key Distribution Center (KDC)?

Back 135

Kerberos tickets are used to validate an account’s identity. Kerberos uses ticketgranting
tickets (TGTs) and service tickets. Kerberos requires a special trusted service
known as the KDC. In most cases the KDC service is running alongside the network
directory service.

Front 136

How do Kerberos and the keychain system differ for managing authentication services?

Back 136

Kerberos can only be used to authenticate kerberized services and is often managed
on a networkwide scale. The keychain system can be used to save a wide variety of
authentication information, but saved keychain information is accessible only to the
local Mac.

Front 137

What are five common directory services and authentication services troubleshooting
techniques?

Back 137

Common directory services and authentication services troubleshooting techniques
are: 1) attempting to authenticate with another user account; 2) resetting the account
password; 3) verifying network directory service connectivity and configuration; 4)
verifying Kerberos authentication and configuration; and 5) checking the directory
service log files.

Front 138

Which peripheral, expansion, and storage buses are supported by Mac OS X?

Back 138

Mac OS X supports Universal Serial Bus (USB), FireWire, and Bluetooth peripheral
buses; PCI Express (PCIe), PC Card, and ExpressCard 34 expansion buses; and
Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA), Serial ATA (SATA), Small Computer System
Interface (SCSI), Serial Attached SCSI (SAS), and Fibre Channel storage buses.

Front 139

What does iSync do?

Back 139

iSync allows you to synchronize personal information between Mac OS X applications
and peripherals like Palm PDAs and Bluetooth-enabled cell phones.

Front 140

What are the device classes used in Mac OS X to categorize peripherals? What are
some example peripherals of each class?

Back 140

Device classes as defined by Mac OS X are: human input devices (HID) like keyboards
and mice; storage devices like hard drives and optical drives; printers; scanners; digital
cameras; video devices, including both input and output devices; and audio devices,
including both input and output devices.

Front 141

What is a device driver? What three primary types of device drivers are there?

Back 141

A device driver is software specially designed to facilitate the communication between
Mac OS X and a peripheral. They can be kernel extensions, framework plug-ins, or
stand-alone applications.

Front 142

What does CUPS do?

Back 142

Common UNIX Printing System (CUPS) manages all printing and faxing for
Mac OS X, including both local and shared printing.

Front 143

What are PPD files responsible for?

Back 143

PostScript Printer Description (PPD) files are printer driver files that instruct the
CUPS system on how to communicate with specific printer models.

Front 144

How do you share printers with other Mac and Windows users?

Back 144

You can enable printer sharing for Mac clients from the Print & Fax or Sharing preferences,
but to enable authenticated print sharing to Windows clients you must also
enable user’s passwords in the SMB file sharing settings from the Sharing preferences.

Front 145

What are the primary system initialization stages and user environment stages in
Mac OS X, and in what order do they start?

Back 145

The primary system initialization stages are: firmware, booter, kernel, and system
launchd (in that order). The primary user environment stages are loginwindow, user
launchd, and user environment.

Front 146

What are the visual and/or audible cues of the stages of system initialization?

Back 146

Each stage is indicated by the following: firmware, startup chime or bright flash of the
power-on light followed by a light gray screen on the primary display; booter, a dark
gray Apple logo on the primary display; kernel, a small dark gray spinning gear or
spinning earth icon below the Apple logo; and system launchd, a bright blue screen on
all displays followed by the login screen.

Front 147

What does the firmware do? What is the POST?

Back 147

The firmware initializes the Mac’s hardware and locates the booter file on a system
volume. The Power-On Self-Test (POST) checks for basic hardware functionality
when your Mac powers on.

Front 148

What role does the system launchd process serve during system startup?

Back 148

The system launchd process is ultimately responsible for starting every system process.
It also manages system initialization and starts the loginwindow process.

Front 149

What items are automatically started by the system launchd during the system initialization
process?

Back 149

During system initialization the system launchd process automatically starts /System/
Library/LaunchDaemons, /Library/LaunchDaemons, /Library/StartupItems (via
SystemStarter), and the /etc/rc.local UNIX script if it exists.

Front 150

What role does the loginwindow process serve in system startup?

Back 150

The loginwindow process displays the login screen that allows the user to authenticate,
and then sets up and manages the graphical interface user environment.

Front 151

What is the difference between launch daemons, startup items, launch agents, and
login items?

Back 151

Launch daemons and startup items are opened during system initialization by the
system launchd process on behalf of the root user. Launch agents and login items
are opened during the initialization of the user environment by the user’s specific
launchd process.

Front 152

What happens during user logout?

Back 152

During user logout the user’s loginwindow process does the following: requests that all
user applications quit; automatically quits any user background processes; runs any
logout scripts; records the logout to the main system.log file; resets device permissions
and preferences to their defaults; and finally quits the user’s loginwindow and
launchd processes.

Front 153

What happens during system shutdown?

Back 153

At system shutdown the loginwindow process logs all users out and then tells the kernel
to quit all remaining system processes. Once the kernel quits all system processes, the
Mac will shut down.

Front 154

What is the difference between Safe Boot, Safe Mode, and Safe Login?

Back 154

Safe Boot refers to when the system is starting up; Safe Mode is when the system is
actually running; and Safe Login is when the system starts up the user session.

Front 155

Which items are not loaded when Mac OS X safe-boots?

Back 155

When Mac OS X safe-boots, it will not load third-party KEXTs, third-party
LaunchAgents, third-party LaunchDaemons, third-party StartupItems, third-party
fonts, any user login items, or any user-specific LaunchAgents.

Front 156

What keyboard combination is used to safe-boot Mac OS X?

Back 156

A Safe Boot is initiated by holding down the Shift key during system startup.

Front 157

How do you further resolve an issue that disappears when the Mac successfully safe-boots?

Back 157

If an issue disappears when the Mac successfully safe-boots, then you must find and
remove or quarantine the third-party startup resource that caused the issue. The best
way to isolate the problematic item is to start up the Mac in verbose mode and then
observe where the startup process fails. Verbose mode is initiated by holding down
Command-V during system startup.