This curriculum reflects the scope typically addressed across a full consulting engagement or multi-phase internal transformation initiative.

Evaluate technology roadmaps against business objectives to determine AIX alignment in hybrid IT environments.
Assess total cost of ownership (TCO) trade-offs between AIX, Linux, and cloud-native platforms for mission-critical workloads.
Define architecture review board protocols for approving AIX system deployments and lifecycle extensions.
Map regulatory compliance requirements (e.g., SOX, HIPAA) to AIX configuration baselines and audit trails.
Integrate AIX into enterprise architecture frameworks (e.g., TOGAF) with clear ownership and stewardship models.
Establish criteria for retiring legacy AIX systems versus investing in modernization or containerization.
Negotiate vendor lock-in implications with IBM support contracts and hardware refresh cycles.
Balance innovation velocity against system stability in long-lived AIX environments.

Size AIX LPARs based on projected transaction volumes, memory pressure, and I/O throughput requirements.
Model CPU entitlement and shared processor pool contention under peak load scenarios.
Design storage layouts using LVM and SAN integration to meet RPO and RTO objectives.
Allocate virtualized resources in PowerVM environments while avoiding overcommitment risks.
Forecast capacity needs using historical performance data and business growth projections.
Implement right-sizing strategies for AIX instances to optimize hardware utilization and licensing costs.
Validate high-availability requirements against actual application resilience and failover capabilities.
Plan for scalability bottlenecks in clustered environments using HACMP or PowerHA.

Enforce least-privilege access using RBAC, sudo policies, and role-based profiles on AIX systems.
Implement secure configuration baselines per CIS AIX benchmarks and internal security policies.
Manage AIX Trusted Computing Base (TCB) activation and monitor for unauthorized modifications.
Configure and audit AIX audit subsystem (auditbin, auditpr) for privileged command tracking.
Integrate AIX log sources with SIEM platforms using normalized event formats and retention rules.
Apply security patches and APARs with change windows, rollback plans, and impact analysis.
Isolate management networks and restrict root access using secure shell configurations and key management.
Assess vulnerability exposure from deprecated services (e.g., rlogin, tftp) and enforce deactivation.

Design PowerHA clusters with appropriate resource groups, failover policies, and dependency trees.
Validate heartbeat network redundancy and avoid split-brain scenarios in dual-site configurations.
Test failover procedures under simulated storage, network, and node outage conditions.
Configure non-disruptive upgrades and rolling maintenance in clustered AIX environments.
Integrate application health checks into cluster resource monitoring for accurate failover triggers.
Balance cost of redundancy against business impact of downtime using quantitative risk models.
Document recovery time objectives (RTO) and recovery point objectives (RPO) for each critical service.
Monitor cluster stability metrics and correct configuration drift in long-running environments.

Interpret vmstat, iostat, sar, and nmon output to identify CPU, memory, disk, and network bottlenecks.
Tune AIX kernel parameters (e.g., vmo, no, ioops) based on workload characteristics and observed contention.
Diagnose paging and swapping behavior to prevent performance degradation under memory pressure.
Correlate application-level latency with system-level metrics to isolate root causes.
Establish performance baselines and thresholds for proactive alerting and capacity planning.
Use tracing tools (e.g., truss, tprof) to analyze process behavior and system call overhead.
Optimize file system layout (JFS2 vs. enhanced JFS2) and mount options for specific I/O patterns.
Manage thread and process scheduling to prevent priority inversion in multi-tier applications.

Define change control workflows for AIX system modifications, including approvals and peer reviews.
Implement version-controlled configuration management using tools like Puppet or Ansible for AIX.
Enforce separation of duties between development, testing, and production AIX environments.
Validate rollback procedures for failed OS updates, patching, or configuration changes.
Track configuration drift using automated inventory and compliance scanning tools.
Coordinate maintenance windows with business stakeholders and application owners.
Document system configurations, dependencies, and recovery procedures in a maintainable format.
Conduct post-implementation reviews to assess change success and process improvements.

Design LVM configurations with appropriate volume group types (scalable, big, normal) for growth needs.
Implement snapshot and backup strategies using TSM, NIM, or third-party tools with recovery validation.
Integrate AIX with enterprise storage arrays using multipath I/O and dynamic tracking.
Optimize filesystem allocation and fragment size based on application I/O patterns.
Manage stale filesystems, orphaned LVs, and unused VGs to reduce administrative overhead.
Plan for online filesystem expansion and volume group migration with minimal downtime.
Enforce backup SLAs and test recovery procedures for critical AIX-hosted databases and applications.
Balance performance and redundancy using RAID levels and storage tiering strategies.

Assess feasibility of migrating AIX workloads to Linux, cloud, or container platforms using lift-and-shift or refactoring.
Identify application dependencies and middleware constraints that limit portability from AIX.
Develop phased decommissioning plans for legacy AIX systems with business continuity safeguards.
Containerize AIX applications using PowerAI or evaluate IBM Power Virtual Server as an intermediate step.
Preserve business logic and data integrity during platform transitions with rigorous validation.
Manage skill transition for operations teams moving from AIX to cloud-native technologies.
Quantify technical debt in aging AIX environments and prioritize modernization investments.
Negotiate extended support agreements when migration timelines exceed standard vendor support.

AIX