AIX Administration

AIX Administration

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It used to be said that AIX looks like one space alien discovered Unix, and described it to another different space alien who then implemented AIX. But their universal translators were broken and they'd had to gesture a lot. -- Paul Tomblin

AIX V1, introduced in 1986, was based on System V Release 3. IBM later ported AIX to the RS/6000 platform were it became the primary operating system. In developing AIX, IBM and INTERACTIVE Systems Corporation (whom IBM contracted) also incorporated source code from Berkeley Software Distribution 4.2 and 4.3. Later IBM and SCO created AIX 5L (project Monterey) which initially included creation of the OS capable of running on Intel hardware too but later was limited AIX5L to Power systems as IBM started its Linux promotion campaign. Project Monterey is still subject of litigation with SCO. Here is what Wikipedia stated on the subject [IBM AIX (operating system) - Wikipedia]:AIX V1, introduced in 1986, was based on System V Release 3. IBM later ported AIX to the RS/6000 platform as AIX/6000; since 1989, AIX has served as the RS/6000's primary operating system. In developing AIX, IBM and INTERACTIVE Systems Corporation (whom IBM contracted) also incorporated source code from Berkeley Software Distribution 4.2 and 4.3.

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http://www.softpanorama.org/Commercial_unixes/AIX/index.shtmlIn the SCO v. IBM lawsuit filed in 2003, the SCO Group alleged that (among other infractions) IBM misappropriated licensed source code from UNIX System V Release 4 for incorporation into AIX; SCO subsequently withdrew IBM's license to develop and distribute AIX. IBM maintains that their license was irrevocable, and continues to sell and support the product pending the outcome of litigation.

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AIX is sufficiently different than Solaris, especially when it comes to things like starting and stopping daemons started from init. User and group management is completely different too. The AIX equivalent of Jumpstart is Network Installation Manager.

20 find command examplesTwenty examples of the Unix/Linux find command (free).

AIX claims "linux affinity" and it is partially true as for compilation but mostly this is just a marketing trick -- AIX is probably the most distant form linux flavor of Unix I devdaily.com ever encounter. It is actually extremely idiosyncratic and is distant from any other flavor of Unix too. A lot of AIX features and the way of doing things have mainframe Buy I.B.M RS/6000 roots. While capable and robust OS that has some interesting technical features Save up to 97% off (LPAR is one) it probably stands much father from linux then Solaris. orig list price! Get Networking is also pretty different, with set of idiosyncratic commands, see AIX networking. No regular RC-levels and ability to change from one RC level to another. Starting and stopping services is performed via startsrc and stopsrrc commands. There is also an interesting lssrc which lists status of the daemons. It is somewhat similar to in Linux. AIX 5.3 open source support is much weaker then on Solaris and in this sense AIX "Linux affinity" looks like a joke: very few OSS packages are available. See AIX Toolbox for Linux Applicationsyour RS/6000 system today.IBM.UnixHQ.com

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Bash 3.0, sudo and screen are available. MC can also be found in precompiled form. Here is some information about precompiled binaries location of same OSS tools that you might be interested in: bash 3.0 is available from IBM AIX Toolbox ksh93 is available but not as a default ksh shell (you need to use the name ksh93, but that's still an improvement over Solaris; like in Solaris the version is old and it's better to replace it with a new one). gcc is available from http://www-1.ibm.com/servers/aix/products/aixos/linux/download.html Perl seems to be OK (5.8. is installed by default available, later versions can probably be used too) and like in Solaris it is included into 5.1 base distribution. That means that it is supported by IBM. screen is available from IBM AIX Toolbox sudo is available from IBM AIX Toolbox and UCLA Public Domain Software Library for AIX. Precompiled version from IBM AIX Toolbox works fine on AIX 5.3. wu-ftp is available from the same source gzip is available from the same source ssh is available from the same source rpm is installed by default. Other random observations:

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Nonstandard firewall Strange PAM support No RBAC (there will be RBAC in AIX 6) No zones (there will be Solaris style zones in AIX 6) In some way, AIX is really underappreciated flavor of Unix. For example, it attempted some unification of motley crew of Unix commands (idea of ch and ls prefixes) and more sensible configuration files structure. Here is a good intro into some features of AIX that are attractive to enterprise sysadmin (not that they are absent in other flavors of enterprise Unix) taken from redpaper AIX Benefits for System Administrators by Beth Morton, Sheila Endres, Kim Tran (November 30, 2000 ):The following topics are covered in this paper:

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AIX AdministrationFlexible Installation Options System Resource Controller (SRC) Logical Volume Manager (LVM) File System Management Device Configuration Commands for System Administrators


Flexible Installation OptionsYou can choose which fixes to apply for your maintenance level. This feature, called selective fix, can be done through the System Management Interface Tool (SMIT) by typing the following fast path: smitty instfix and selecting the fix in the FIXES to install field. You can preview a fix to see what filesets are going to change and the space requirements by using the same SMIT fast path and selecting yes in the PREVIEW field. When you apply a fix, you can list what files are affected. You can test a fix by applying it only. Then, if the fix does not help in your environment, you can back out of it. Rejecting a fix is a simple process when done through SMIT. Type the following fast path: smitty reject You can update to the next maintenance level while your current AIX version is still running. Only a reboot is required at the end of the upgrade. Either product media or update media can be used with this feature. Type the following fast path: smitty update_all AIX also offers migration as a method of moving to a new release or version of the operating system while maintaining your system configuration and user configuration data. Migration installations preserve the root volume group and user volume groups. New user configuration files are either merged or saved when updated. Saved files can then be replaced by either the new or existing files to a separate directory for the user to merge with existing files and continue using existing files, or save existing files to a separate directory while new configuration files are introduced and tested. Convenient Backup AIX gives you the option of backing up your system to CD. Compared to other backup media, CDs are portable, cheap, and highly reliable. You can create a bootable root-volume group backup or user-volume group backup. In addition to system recovery, backups can be used to install additional systems with the same image as the system that was originally backed up (called cloning) or to create a customized installation CD for other machines. You can use generic AIX backups confidently on other RS/6000 machines without regard to hardware options. You dont have to restore an entire backup. You can list the contents of a system backup and choose to restore only selected files on a running system. Centralized Installation Administration The Network Installation Manager (NIM) lets you centralize installation administration for multiple machines and schedule those installations to minimize disruptions and inconvenience. You can choose to install all networked machines at the same time or stagger those installations. Within NIM, you can remain at your console while installing AIX on remote machines. You can even run typical installations unattended. You can install each machine with unique options or install all machines with consistent options. You can make a system backup to a NIM server using the mksysb command and use that backup to install another machine (cloning). Benefits of Alternate Disk Installation If you already have an AIX version installed, you can choose an alternate disk installation to transition your site through the upgrade process more smoothly. Alternate Disk Installation lets you install a new version of the operating system w hile your current version is still running. You can retain the flexibility of reverting to the earlier version of AIX if the new installation isnt compatible with your existing applications or customizations. Using an alternate destination disk, you can install the new version to different machines over time, then, when it is convenient, reboot to implement the new installations.

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You can test your applications against the new version on an alternate disk. With this option, you can stabilize your environment before implementing the installation on other machines.

System Resource ControllerThe System Resource Controller (SRC) is useful if you want a common way to start, stop, and collect status information on processes. It was designed to minimize the need for operator intervention. The SRC provides a set of commands and subroutines to make it easier for the system manager and programmer to create and control subsystems. A subsystem is any program or process or set of programs or processes that is usually capable of operating independently or with a controlling system. A subsystem is designed as a unit to provide a designated function. Some of the benefits of the SRC include: Consistent user interface for start, stop, and status inquiries Logging of the abnormal termination of subsystems Notification program called at the abnormal system termination of related processes Tracing of a subsystem, a group of subsystems, or a subserver Support for control of operations on a remote system Refreshing of a subsystem (such as after a configuration data change) The SRC provides a mechanism to control subsystem processes using a common command line and the C interface.

Logical Volume ManagerThe Logical Volume Manager (LVM) allows logical volumes to span multiple physical volumes. Data on logical volumes appears to be contiguous to the user, but might not be contiguous on the physical volume. This allows file systems, paging space, and other logical volumes to be resized or relocated, span multiple physical volumes, and have their contents replicated for greater flexibility and availability. The Logical Volume Manager (LVM) consists of the logical volume device driver (LVDD) and the LVM subroutine interface library. The LVDD is a pseudo-device driver that manages and processes all I/O. It translates logical addresses into physical addresses and sends I/O requests to specific device drivers. The LVM subroutine interface library contains routines that are used by the systemmanagement commands to perform system management tasks for the logical and physical volumes of a system. The programming interface for the library is available to anyone who wishes to expand the function of the system managementcommands for logical volumes. Benefits that the LVM offers are: Continuous data usage in the event of a drive failure: Mirroring is the process of writing data to two or more drives simultaneously. This allows for continuous data usage should one drive fail. LVM allows you to mirror the root volume group. Spread I/O over multiple disks: Disk Striping allows you to spread I/O for large reads and writes over multiple disks and allows for simultaneous read operations. Dynamically grow file systems: Management tools allow you to add and remove mirrors online without data interruption. Access a volume group from more than one location using a concurrent accessvolume group.

File System ManagementThe native file system type is called the journaled file system (JFS). This file system uses database journaling techniques to maintain its structural consistency, preventing damage to the file system when the system is halted abnormally. It supports the entire set of file system semantics. Some of the benefits of a journaled file system include: Isolate part of the file tree to work on: Each journaled file system resides on a separate logical volume. The operating system mounts journaled file systems during initialization. This multiple file system configuration is useful for system management functions such as backup, restore, and repair, because it isolates a part of the file tree so that you can work on it. Minimize wasted space: The block size for an enhanced journaled file system (JFS2) is specified during its creation. Smaller block sizes minimize wasted disk space by more efficiently storing the data in a file or directorys partial logical blocks. Contiguous storage: JFS is an extentbased file system, allowing data to be stored in a more contiguous manner. Ordered storage: Directory entries are stored in alphabetic order.

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http://www.softpanorama.org/Commercial_unixes/AIX/index.shtmlI-node directory storage: Small directory entries are stored directly on the i-node, not on disk.

Note: Journaled file system (JFS) is native to the PowerPC platform and is not available on the IA-64 platform. Note: Enhanced journaled file system (JFS2) is native to IA-64 platform. Although JFS2 is not native to the PowerPC platform, it is available.

Device ConfigurationYou have complete control over device configuration by usin the following commands: mkdev: Add a device rmdev: Remove a device lsdev: List devices chdev: Change a devices characteristics lsattr: List a devices attributes

Commands for AIX System AdministratorsThe following is a list of commands that are used specifically for administeringAIX: bosboot Initializes a boot device. bootlist Alters the list of boot devices (or the ordering of these devices in the list) available to the system. cfgmgr Configures devices by running the programs in /etc/methods directory. chcons Redirects the system console to device or file, effective next startup chdev Changes a devices characteristics. chdisp Changes the display used by the low-function terminal (LFT) subsystem. checkcw Prepares constant-width text for the troff command. checkeq or checkmm Checks documents formatted with memorandum macros. checknr Checks nroff and troff files. chfont Changes the default font selected at boot time. chfs Changes attributes of a file system. chgroup Changes attributes for groups. chgrpmem Changes the administrators or members of a group. chhwkbd Changes the low-function terminal (LFT) keyboard attributes stored in the Object Data Manager (ODM) database. chitab Changes records in the /etc/inittab file. chkbd Changes the default keyboard map used by the low-function terminal (LFT) at system startup. chkey Changes your encryption key. chlang Sets LANG environment variable in /etc/environment file for next login. chlicense There are two types of user licensing, fixed and floating. Fixed licensing is always enabled, and the number of licenses can be changed through the -u option. Floating licensing can be enabled or disabled (on or off) through the -f option. chlv Changes the characteristics of a logical volume. chnamsv Changes TCP/IP-based name service configuration on a host. chprtsv Changes a print service configuration on a client or server machine. chps Changes attributes of a paging space. chpv Changes the characteristics of a physical volume in a volume group. chque Changes the queue name. chquedev Changes the printer or plotter queue device names. chssys Changes a subsystem definition in the subsystem object class. chtcb Changes or queries the trusted computing base attribute of a file. chtz Changes the system time zone information. chuser Changes attributes for the specified user. chvfs Changes entries in the /etc/vfs file. chvg Sets the characteristics of a volume group. chvirprt Changes the attribute values of a virtual printer. crfs Adds a file system. crvfs Creates entries in the /etc/vfs file.

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http://www.softpanorama.org/Commercial_unixes/AIX/index.shtmlexportvg Exports the definition of a volume group from a set of physical volumes. extendvg Adds physical volumes to a volume group. grpck Verifies the correctness of a group definition. importvg Imports a new volume group definition from a set of physical volumes. lsallq Lists the names of all configured queues. lsallqdev Lists all configured printer and plotter queue device names within a specified queue. lsattr Displays attribute characteristics and possible values of attributes for devices in the system. lsdev Displays devices in the system and their characteristics. lsdisp Lists the displays currently available on the system. lsfont Lists the fonts available for use by the display. lsfs Displays the characteristics of file systems. lsgroup Displays the attributes of groups. lsitab Lists the records in the /etc/inittab file. lskbd Lists the keyboard maps currently available to the low-function terminal (LFT) subsystem. lslicense Displays the number of fixed licenses and the status of floating licensing. lslpp Lists optional program products. lsnamsv Shows name service information stored in the database. lsprtsv Shows print service information stored in the database. lsps Lists paging space and attributes. lsque Displays the queue stanza name. lsquedev Displays the device stanza name. lssrc Gets the status of a subsystem, a group of subsystems, or a subserver. lsuser Displays attributes of user accounts. lsvfs Lists entries in the /etc/vfs file. mkcatdefs Preprocesses a message source file. runcat Pipes the output data from the mkcatdefs command to the gencat command. mkdev Adds a device to the system. mkfont Adds the font code associated with a display to the system. mkfontdir Creates a fonts.dir file from a directory of font files. mkgroup Creates a new group. mkitab Makes records in the /etc/inittab file. mklv Creates a logical volume. mklvcopy Adds copies to a logical volume. mknamsv Configures TCP/IP-based name service on a host for a client. mknotify Adds a notify-method definition to the notify-object class. mkprtsv Configures TCP/IP-based print service on a host. mkps Adds an additional paging space to the system. mkque Adds a printer queue to the system. mkquedev Adds a printer queue device to the system. mkserver Adds a subserver definition to the subserver object class. mkssys Adds a subsystem definition to the subsystem object class. mksysb Backs up mounted file systems in the rootvg volume group for subsequent reinstallation. mkszfile Records size of mounted file systems in the rootvg volume group for reinstallation. mktcpip Sets the required values for starting TCP/IP on a host. mkuser Creates a new user account. mkuser.sys Customizes a new user account. mkvg Creates a volume group. mkvirprt Makes a virtual printer. odmadd Adds objects to created object classes. odmchange Changes the contents of a selected object in the specified object class. odmcreate Produces the .c (source) and .h (include) files necessary for ODM application development and creates empty object classes. odmdelete Deletes selected objects from a specified object class. odmdrop Removes an object class. odmget Retrieves objects from the specified object classes and places them into an odmadd input file. odmshow Displays an object class definition on the screen. pwdck Verifies the correctness of local authentication information. redefinevg Redefines the set of physical volumes of the given volume group in the device configuration database.

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http://www.softpanorama.org/Commercial_unixes/AIX/index.shtmlreducevg Removes physical volumes from a volume group. When all physical volumes are removed from the volume group, the volume group is deleted. reorgvg Reorganizes the physical partition allocation for a volume group. restbase Restores customized information from the boot image. rmdel Removes a delta from a Source Code Control System (SCCS) file. rmdev Removes a device from the system. rmf Removes folders and the messages they contain. rmfs Removes a file system. rmgroup Removes a group. rmitab Removes records in the /etc/inittab file. rmlv Removes logical volumes from a volume group. rmlvcopy Removes copies from a logical volume. rmm Removes messages. rmnamsv Unconfigures TCP/IP-based name service on a host. rmnotify Removes a notify-method definition from the notify-object class. rmprtsv Unconfigures a print service on a client or server machine. rmps Removes a paging space from the system. rmque Removes a printer queue from the system. rmquedev Removes a printer or plotter queue device from the system. rmserver Removes a subserver definition from the subserver object class. rmssys Removes a subsystem definition from the subsystem object class. rmuser Removes a user account. rmvfs Removes entries in the /etc/vfsfile. rmvirprt Removes a virtual printer. savebase Saves base customized device data in the ODM onto the boot device. swapoff Deactivates one or more paging space. swapon Specifies additional devices for paging and swapping. syncvg Synchronizes logical volume copies that are not current. usrck Verifies the correctness of a user definition. varyoffvg Deactivates a volume group. varyonvg Activates a volume group.

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[Jun 27, 2010] AIX-HP-UX Interoperability Guide - Managing ProcessesThe ps Command AIX supports both the AT&T and the BSD form of the ps command. To use the BSD form, simply leave off the minus sign for the command options, for example:

The AT&T version of the above command is:

Priorities and Nice Values Both of the above commands provide, among other things, the priority and nice values for each process. The nice value is part of the calculation for the priority value, whose range is 0 to 127. The lower the priority value, the more frequently the process is scheduled. Higher numbers mean lower priority. The nice command follows the BSD value range of -20 to 20, again with the larger number representing the lower priority. Though the AIX man page does not say so, the nice command syntax takes two forms: nice -value and nice -n value. The latter is easier when you have to use negative values. Otherwise, to set the nice value to -10, you have to type:

The renice command, unlike in HP-UX, does not take a -n option. The syntax of renice is:

SignalsLike HP-UX, AIX really has two kill commands: /bin/kill and the kill built-in KornShell command. The signals for each differ. For example:

AIX also has a killall command that any user can run to kill all of his or her processes except the sending process. The syntax is:

System Resource ControllerAIX has a unique way of managing processes: the System Resource Controller (SRC). The SRC takes the form of a daemon, srcmstr, which is started by init via /etc/inittab. srcmstr manages requests to start, stop, or refresh a daemon or a group of daemons. Instead of typing the name of a daemon to start it, or instead of using the kill command to stop a daemon, you use an SRC command that does it for you. In this way you don't have to remember, for example, whether to use an ampersand when starting a daemon, or what signal to use when killing one. SRC also allows you to stop and start groups of related daemons with one command. AIX has a hierarchical organization of system processes, and this organization is configured into the ODM in the form of the SRCsubsys and SRCsubsvr object classes. Daemons at the lowest levels are subservers.

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On a newly loaded system the only subservers are those of the inetd subsystem: ftp, telnet, login, finger, etc. To view these subservers, use the odmget command:

The next level is that of subsystem. In the above command, we have the inetd subsystem listed in each of the subserver stanzas. To see a list of all subsystems, use the odmget SRCsubsys command:

Related subsystems form a subsystem group, the highest level of the SRC. Subsystem groups can be ascertained from the above command by means of the grpname descriptor. Thus the above output shows the lpd subsystem being part of the spooler subsystem group, and inetd a subsystem of the tcpip subsystem group. An easier way to view all the subsystems and subsystem groups is to use the lssrc -a command:

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The most commonly used SRC commands are startsrc, stopsrc, and refresh, each of which takes the following options:

-s -g

Apply this command to a subsystem, using the subsystem name provided in the lssrclssrc -a command Apply this command to a subsystem group, using the subsystem group name provided in the lssrclssrc -a command

The names of these commands imply their purpose: to start a subserver, subsystem, or subsystem group, use the startsrc command. For example, to start the rpc.mountd subsystem (which is actually the rpc.mountd daemon) type:

To start the nfs subsystem group:

This command starts all the subsystems (daemons) that comprise the nfs subsystem group: nfsd, biod, rpc.mountd, rpc.lockd, and rpc.statd. To stop a subsystem or subsystem group, use the stopsrc command in exactly the same way. To stop and restart daemons, or to have daemons reread a configuration file such as /etc/inetd.conf, use the refresh command. For example:

CronAIX supports an AT&T-style crontab file with each one-line entry containing the following: The minute (0 through 59) The hour (0 through 23) The day of the month (1 through 31) The month of the year (1 through 12) The day of the week (0 through 6 for Sunday through Saturday) The shell command AIX also supports a convenient option to the crontab command: the -e option. This option will load the contents of your crontab file into an editing session. The editor used is determined by the value of the EDITOR variable. Once you save and exit from the editing session, your changes become your new crontab file and take effect immediately. Officially, the crontab spool directories are found in /var/spool/cron, although there is a link from /usr/spool to /var/spool in AIX for compatibility with previous versions of the operating system.

[May 12, 2010] lssrc - Gets the status of a subsystem, a group of subsystems, or a subserver.

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AIX Administrationlssrc [ -h Host ] -a To Get Group Status lssrc [ -h Host ] -g GroupName To Get Subsystem Status lssrc [ -h Host ] [ -l ] -s Subsystem To Get Status by PID lssrc [ -h Host ] [ -l ] -p SubsystemPID To Get Subserver Status


lssrc [ -h Host ] [ -l ] -t Type [ -p SubsystemPID ] [ -o Object ] [ -P SubserverPID ] To Get Subsystem Status in SMIT Format lssrc -S [ -s Subsystem | -d ]

[Dec 3, 2009] AIX tips for RHEL4 administrators by Christian PruettNov 17, 2009 | IBM developerWorks AIX and UNIX If you log in to an RHEL4 server or an AIX server, at first there will appear to be little difference between the two. Commands like , , , , , , , , , and work in the same fashion, with a few minor flag differences. Both have a similar directory structure/usr contains executable files, /etc contains system parameter files, /dev contains device files, /var is for temporary files, /opt is for third-party software, and /tmp contains temporary files. But once you start diving deeper than a basic user level, idiosyncrasies emerge. Three main areas of basic administration will help facilitate understanding all other areas of AIX systems administration. First, the two operating systems have a different logical layout for systems administration commands. Those in RHEL4 have a suffix-based nomenclature, where there is a common command or concept followed by the purpose of that command, such as , , and . AIX has a prefix-based nomenclature, such as , , and . If you understand the basic prefixes, including (list, display), (change, modify), (create, make), (remove, delete), finding one keyword can lead to other related commands. Second, although everything is managed through the use of flat files in RHEL4, from network configuration to Kickstart files, AIX has a special database similar to the system registry in Windows operating systems called the Object Data Manager (ODM). This metastructure stores information about what software is installed on the server, the servers host name, device-tuning parameters, networking routing, and many other facets of the operating system. Although contained in three files in /etc/objrepos, /usr/lib/objrepos, and /usr/share/lib/objrepos, the contents of the ODM reside in a proprietary database that cannot be viewed with standard editing tools like vi or Emacs. In the older days of AIX, you would have modified this database using low-level commands that involved a high degree of risk to the server, where one typo could wreck the operating system. Fortunately, because things have evolved over the years, the mid- and high-level commands automatically interact with the ODM, reducing hands-on manipulation to a near-nonexistent level. But, without understanding the idea of the ODM, much of the rest of this article would not make sense. Third, RHEL4 has a variety of helpful administrative tools that handle specific parts of the operating system. These tools begin with the prefix of (formerly ). But AIX has a superior hierarchical administrative tool called the System Management Interface Tool (SMIT) that you can access with the (graphical) or (text) commands. This interactive menu system goes into most areas of systems

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administration, from changing the maximum number of processes per user ID to changing the speed of a network interface. There are some cases where you will always use SMIT because of the complexity and length of commands like those for network administration or creating file systems. But, be cautious and do not let it become a crutch to your systems administration abilities; you can always click the F6 key to see the actual commands that are run. AIX systems administrators can generally tell serious administrators from the inexperienced by the amount of times they rely on SMIT. With these three points in mind, any RHEL4 systems administrator should be able to step in and start managing servers with a good degree of success. But now, let's dive more into the concepts and nuances of the various pieces of AIX. Server installation RHEL4 is typically installed manually by CD or DVD or by using Kickstart to help the process along. During the installation, multiple options are available. You can select or omit specific software, determine the file system layout, choose user ID authentication methods, and even set the root users password. Comparatively, AIX offers fewer options. If you use standard CDs or DVDs, some options for changing such settings as language preferences and choice of disk are available, but AIX does not offer the versatility of the Linux installation process. AIX does, however, have a more versatile Network Installation Manager (NIM) tool that provides some options that RHEL4 does not, such as installing from an operating system backup and grabbing necessary driver software along the way. Here's how a basic AIX installation works: 1. When you boot the server (or activate the LPAR), a variety of LED codes will flash as the system runs its basic hardware checks. At some pointusually, when the LED code E1F1 appearsthe screen displays its first main output, and five icons or words appear. 2. After the keyboard icon or word appears, you usually presses the F1 key to drop the server into the System Management Services (SMS) menu. Then, from the boot list option, you select the device from which the installation will take place. If you are using the network for a NIM installation, you must first set up the network configuration in the Remote Initial Program Load (RIPL) menu. 3. After exiting SMS, the server boots up on the devices specified in its boot list. Assuming that you are not using NIM, you then see the AIX installation window after a few more moments of testing. In this installation window, you can choose the hard disk (hdisk) on which AIX will be installed, which language will be used, and whether some software bundles will be chosen from a limited list of options. 4. After all the selections have been made, the installation runs, the server reboots, and the operating system comes up with no password for the root user. At this point, AIX is officially "up." Here are a couple of commands you should know: Sets the system boot list order. You can use this command to tell the system to boot from CD, disk, the network, or other devices. Creates the system boot image on a specific device. Typically, you use this command after mirroring disks or changing boot devices. Software management RHEL4 uses the Red Hat Package Manager (RPM) for installing, upgrading, and removing software. The command can query individual packages, determine requisite software, and see which files are contained within what package. You can find the particular version and update of RHEL4 installed on the server by looking at the /etc/redhat-release file. AIX manages software through the ODM. It tracks which software is installed, the versions, dependencies, and other, similar attributes like RPM. In AIX, software packages are called filesets and are segregated into Licensed Program Products (LPPs). Unlike RHEL4, though, AIX uses a variety of commandsprovided later in this articleto install, view, and prepare filesets for installation. But two facets of AIX are worth mentioning with respect to software management. First, AIX allows you to install software in one of two states: applied or committed. Software that is committed is in a static state and can only be removed. Applied software preserves the underlying committed fileset and can be rejected without harming the last committed fileset. This behavior can allow software to be

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Second, AIX breaks down its versioning into four levels of granularity: version, release, technology level (formerly maintenance level), and service pack. You can find the particular version of AIX by using the command. For example, if the output displays , this means that the server is AIX Version 5, Release 3, Technology Level 5, Service Pack 2. If not all filesets are present in the particular technology level or service pack, only the prior complete software set level will be displayed. Commands to know for server management include: Displays which licensed program products (LPPs) are installed, including their version and release, and whether the software is committed or applied. Installs, applies, commits, and removes software. Generates a table of contents (toc) file for a particular directory containing software. Unless a .toc file is present, the command will not know which software is present for installation. AIX also has the ability through the Linux affinity introduced in version 5 to install RPM packages compiled for AIX. These are managed primarily through the command in the same way. This ubiquitous command handles the installation of filesets and RPMs and is used typically by SMIT menus. Displays operating system levels. Logical volume management The Logical Volume Manager (LVM) featured in RHEL4 was based on the one developed for AIX, and most of the core concepts are the same between the two. Here's how things are laid out: Volume groups (VGs) are made up of disks (hdisks) called physical volumes (PVs). Each VG must have at least one PV, and only one VG can be assigned to a PV at a time. Each PV is broken down into individual physical partitions (PPs). These are a set fixed size at the VG layer. Logical volumes (LVs) point to a set of specific PPs; a single LV can point to up to three PPs for mirroring through the logical partitions (LPs) mapping. File systems are established on top of these LVs. There are two types of file system structures in AIX: journaled file systems (JFS) and enhanced journaled file systems (JFS2). The former is a throwback to the earlier days of AIX, and space is limited by the Number of Bytes Per Inode setting (NBPI) setting, with a maximum file system size of 2TB. The latter became a standard with AIX 5L and can go up to nearly 1PB in size (but the maximum recommended size is 16TB). Both types of file systems can be dynamically increased in size, but with AIX 5.3, JFS2 file systems can be dynamically decreased in size, as well. AIX tracks most LVM information through the ODM. But the /etc/filesystems file is the equivalent of the /etc/fstab in RHEL4 for file system tracking. The format is different, howevera paragraph-structured delineation rather than a single line per file system. Commands to know for LV management include: Lists PV information , Places a disk into or removes a disk from a VG , Create a VG and change VG attributes , , , . Make, change, remove, and list LV information , , , . Create, change, remove, and list file system information Device management AIX has a variety of robust tools for managing devices. Simply put, if the appropriate device fileset is installed on the server, AIX can automatically detect and establish settings for it. And even if the fileset is not installed, AIX will tell you what is needed to make it work. You manage devices are through the ODM, and you can set them in a defined or available state. Defined devices have registered components in the ODM but cannot be actively used, because they have been removed or are otherwise disabled. Available devices can be used and configured.

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Devices can be hierarchical in how they are linked together, and some devices have both physical and logical representations. For example, the first Fibre Channel card defined on a server appears as fscsi0. The logical representation of this device is fcs0. And hard disks assigned through a SAN will have the same device address as the card. The underlying devices cannot be removed until the child devices are deleted first. The customizable settings for each device are called attributes. Some device attributes cannot be modified dynamically while a device is active, such as network link speeds or Fibre Channel heartbeats, but the changes can be made if the device is changed to the defined state, or you can set changes to take place after a reboot. Commands to know for device management include: . Automatically probes the server and adds new devices. , . Change device attributes and remove devices logically and/or physically. There is also a deprecated command, but because handles most device-addition operations, this command is seldom used. , , . List device information, device configuration information, and device attributes. User ID and group management User ID and group management in AIX are not handled by the ODM but instead reside in flat files much like RHEL4. Their locations and formats are slightly different, however. The /etc/passwd and /etc/groups files are roughly the same between RHEL4 and AIX. But, the /etc/security directory contains files that handle password complexity (user), ulimits (limits), encrypted passwords (passwd), and group metadata (groups). Commands to know for user ID and group management include: , , , , , , . Make, change, remove, and list user IDs. . Make, change, remove, and list groups.

Process management In RHEL4, the automation of operating system processes is handled through Services and configurable through the and commands. Similarly, AIX has a System Resource Controller (SRC) that starts, maintains, and manages processes. The SRC is handled by the srcmstr process, spawned from the /etc/inittab file at boot time. Processes that the SRC manages are broken into groups, such as rcnfs for NFS-related processes, and then into individual subsystems, such as automountd for automounter processes. Each process managed by the SRC correlates with at least one process on the normal process table (ps). AIX also uses the inittab for managing processes and can start applications in a similar manner to RHEL4, Sun Solaris, and other System V flavors of UNIX by dropping files in the /etc/rc.d subdirectories. Commands to know for process management include: , , . Start, stop, and list SRC process information. . Re-sources the inittab file and applies any changes to the active system. Virtual memory management Just like with other forms of UNIX, AIX employs virtual memory structures to help complement physical memory. But there are several differences and nuances between RHEL4 swap space and AIXs paging space. The structure for paging space is specialized LVs. Paging space is not managed through the commands but instead through specialized commands that help register information with the ODM. However, paging space can be manipulated with some of the more specialized LVM commands, such as moving them from disk to disk. Generally, paging space should be one to two times real memory in size. A system may have more than one paging space defined, but it is best to keep paging spaces at equal sizes and to limit one paging space per disk. Commands to know for virtual memory management include:

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http://www.softpanorama.org/Commercial_unixes/AIX/index.shtml, , . Make, change, remove, and list paging spaces. , . System performance information tools that display paging space utilization, pages in/out, and other system statistics.

Network management In RHEL4, the configuration of network devices is handled through flat files based out of /etc/sysconfig /network-scripts. There are also a few related files, such as the /etc/hosts and /etc/resolv.conf files, that track hostnames and DNS information. In AIX, the ODM manages network configuration. It tracks system IP addresses, netmasks, routes, and gateway information. But, the hosts and resolv.conf files perform the same functions as in RHEL4. Each network interface has a physical device definition, such as ent0 for an Ethernet adapter. This is where the Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) size and media speed attributes are stored. Then, at least one logical interface will be linked to this physical device, such as en0 or et0, on which the IP address will be configured. Although the command can handle some temporary device configuration changes, these changes will not be registered permanently unless you use the command. Commands to know for network management include: , Defines the networking parameters for a specific interface. , Display network routing, statistics, and interface information.

Troubleshooting AIX has wonderful tools for actively detecting and diagnosing potential problems with servers. Because the hardware and operating system were developed side by side, when hardware glitches arise, the system knows how to track them and report them for repair. AIX has a rotating log called the error reporterrpt for shortthat logs hardware and software errors. Unlike the messages file in Linux, the errpt contains pieces of meta-information such as identification numbers that can aid in looking for specific errors. The errpt can also be viewed in an abbreviated form for quick scanning or a detailed view for in-depth information. AIX also has a diagnostic tool, , that can test errors in the errpt and determine whether they are temporary, one-off hiccups or necessitate a part replacement. And if IBM wants more information from the server, the utility can gather a wide variety of information and package it for technical support to troubleshoot the problem. Commands to know for troubleshooting include: Displays hardware and software errors registered by the system , Put a message in the errpt log and purge old errors from the system Interactive diagnostic tool for examining the server Gathers system information for analysis

[Oct 21, 2009] Re Equivalent command in AIX to top command in LinuxJun 14, 2006 | http://unix.derkeiler.com/ James wrote: Hi all, I wondered if there is an equivalent command in AIX to the "top" command in Linux. I think there is a "top" in the Linux Toolbox for AIX, but what you really want is "nmon", written by Mr. Nigel Griffiths of IBM. A little Googlemancy should get you a download link. Used by IBMers worldwide for performance investigations. Does everything that top does and more.

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Or (as the man said) use topas, which is already included on the AIX installation media. bos.perf.tools if memory serves.

[Oct 17, 2009] Monitoring logs and command outputAug 25, 2009 | developerWorks Summary: Monitoring system logs or the status of a command that produces file or directory output are common tasks for systems administrators. Two popular open source tools simplify these activities for modern systems administrators: the and commands. Both are terminal-oriented commands, which means that they are easily ported to most UNIX or UNIX-like systems because they do not depend on any specific graphical desktop environment.

[Oct 17, 2009] IBM and HP virtualizationA very good articleLearn about the virtualization capabilities of both HP-UX and AIX, the fundamental differences between virtualization products on HP and IBM, and how these products integrate with the hardware platforms on which they run. The intent of this article is to educate you and also to help you make informed decisions as to which platform works best for you, from a feature and functionality standpoint and for your long-term strategic goals.

[Apr 20, 2009] Sun goes to Oracle for $7.4BOracle+Sun has the power to seriously harm IBM. Solaris still has the highest market share among proprietary Unixes. And AIX is only third after HP-UX. Wonder if Solaris will become Oracle's main development platform again. Oracle is a top contributor to Linux and that might help to bridge the gap in shell and packaging. Telecommunications and database administrators always preferred Solaris over Linux. Yahoo! Finance Oracle Corp. snapped up computer server and software maker Sun Microsystems Inc. for $7.4 billion Monday, trumping rival IBM Corp.'s attempt to buy one of Silicon Valley's best known -- and most troubled -companies. ... ... ... Jonathan Schwartz, Sun's CEO, predicted the combination will create a "systems and software powerhouse" that "redefines the industry, redrawing the boundaries that have frustrated the industry's ability to solve." Among other things, he predicted Oracle will be able to offer its customers simpler computing solutions at less expensive prices by drawing upon Sun's technology. ... ... ... Yet Oracle says it can run Sun more efficiently. It expects the purchase to add at least 15 cents per share to its adjusted earnings in the first year after the deal closes. The company estimated Santa Clara, Calif.-based Sun will contribute more than $1.5 billion to Oracle's adjusted profit in the first year and more than $2 billion in the second year. If Oracle can hit those targets, Sun would yield more profit than the combined contributions of three other major acquisitions -- PeopleSoft Inc., Siebel Systems Inc. and BEA Systems -- that cost Oracle a total of more than $25 billion. A deal with Oracle might not be plagued by the same antitrust issues that could have loomed over IBM and Sun, since there is significantly less overlap between the two companies. Still, Oracle could be able to use Sun's products to enhance its own software.

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Oracle's main business is database software. Sun's Solaris operating system is a leading platform for that software. The company also makes "middleware," which allows business computing applications to work together. Oracle's middleware is built on Sun's Java language and software. Calling Java the "single most important software asset we have ever acquired," Ellison predicted it would eventually help make Oracle's middleware products generate as much revenue as its database line does. Sun's takeover is a reminder that a few missteps and bad timing can cause a star to come crashing down. Sun was founded in 1982 by men who would become legendary Silicon Valley figures: Andy Bechtolsheim, a graduate student whose computer "workstation" for the Stanford University Network (SUN) led to the company's first product; Bill Joy, whose work formed the basis for Sun's computer operating system; and Stanford MBAs Vinod Khosla and Scott McNealy. Sun was a pioneer in the concept of networked computing, the idea that computers could do more when lots of them were linked together. Sun's computers took off at universities and in the government, and became part of the backbone of the early Internet. Then the 1990s boom made Sun a star. It claimed to put "the dot in dot-com," considered buying a struggling Apple Computer Inc. and saw its market value peak around $200 billion.

AIX snapshotHi guys... Need some help. How do i get a snapshot of vital configuration into a text file. Is there any way to do it? Replies To This MessageRe: AIX snapshot

Posted by: johnnyk 02/08/2006, 15:39:23 Author Profile | Post Reply | Alert | Recommend | Current page | Edit | Main Forum hi, you can download a script "cfg2html" from web and launch it. the result file ".html" contains the configuration. Regards.

Topic: Re: AIX snapshot Posted by: christou 02/08/2006, 15:48:55

Author Profile | Post Reply | Alert | Recommend | Current page | Edit | Main ForumYes, You have a command called "snap". As root ru the the following command : snap -a This command will gather all system iformation under /tmp/ibmsupt Then you can copy this directory and do what you want. If you want to send information to IBM Tech Support, you better get a look on "pax" and "snap"

AIX Version 6.1Latest generation of IBMs well-proven, scalable, open standards-based UNIX operating system Features for virtualization, security, availability and manageability designed to make AIX 6 even more flexible, secure and available than previous versions Built on IBM POWER6 technology and virtualization to help deliver superior performance, increase system utilization and efficiency, provide for easy administration and reduce total costs

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The next step in the evolution of the UNIX OS Businesses today need to maximize the return on investment in information technology. Their IT infrastructure should have the flexibility to quickly adjust to changing business computing requirements and scale to handle ever expanding workloadswithout adding complexity. But just providing flexibility and performance isnt enough; the IT infrastructure also needs to provide rock solid security and near-continuous availability and while managing energy and cooling costs. These are just some of the reasons why more and more businesses are choosing the AIX operating system (OS) running on IBM systems designed with Power Architecture technology. With its proven scalability, advanced virtualization, security, manageability and reliability features, the AIX OS is an excellent choice for building an IT infrastructure. And, AIX is the only operating system that leverages decades of IBM technology innovation designed to provide the highest level of performance and reliability of any UNIX operating system. The newest version of AIX, Version 6.1, is binary compatible with previous versions of the AIX OS, including AIX 5L and even earlier versions of AIX. This means that applications that ran on earlier versions will continue to run on AIX 6.1guaranteed. AIX 6.1 is an open standards-based UNIX OS that is designed to comply with the Open Groups Single UNIX Specification Version 3. AIX 6.1 runs on systems based on POWER4, PPC970, POWER5 and the latest generation of POWER processor, POWER6. Most of the new features of AIX 6.1 are available on the earlier POWER processor-based platforms, but the most capability is delivered on systems built with the new POWER6 processors. The AIX OS is designed for the IBM Power, System p, System i, System p5, System i5, eServer p5, eServer pSeries and eServer i5 server product lines, as well as IBM BladeCenter blades based on Power Architecture technology and IBM IntelliStation POWER workstations. AIX 6.1 extends the capabilities of the AIX OS to include new virtualization approaches including the ability to relocate applications between systems without restarting the application, new security features to improve and simplify security administration, new availability features inspired by IBM legacy systems and numerous features designed to make the AIX OS easier and less expensive to manage. This AIX release underscores IBMs firm commitment to long-term UNIX innovations that deliver business value. This release of AIX continues the evolution of the UNIX OS that started in Austin, Texas, with AIX on the RT PC and the RISC Systems/6000 (RS/6000). AIX 6.1 is available in two different editions: a Standard Edition that includes AIX only and an AIX Enterprise Edition that includes AIX 6, the Workload Partitions Manager for AIX and several Tivoli products. AIX Enterprise Edition is designed to provide enterprise management capabilities with all the capabilities of AIX 6 in a single product.1

[Sep 11, 2008] The LXF Guide 10 tips for lazy sysadmins Linux Format The website of the UK's best-selling Linux magazineA lazy sysadmin is a good sysadmin. Time spent in finding more-efficient shortcuts is time saved later on for that ongoing project of "reading the whole of the internet", so try Juliet Kemp's 10 handy tips to make your admin life easier... 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Cache your password with ssh-agent Speed up logins using Kerberos screen: detach to avoid repeat logins screen: connect multiple users Expand Bash's tab completion Automate your installations Roll out changes to multiple systems Automate Debian updates Sanely reboot a locked-up box Send commands to several PCs

[Jun 14, 2008] IBM Redbooks PowerVM Virtualization on IBM System p Introduction and Configuration Fourth Edition

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AIX Administration10 July 2008 | www.redbooks.ibm.com Overview


This IBM Redbooks publication provides an introduction to PowerVM virtualization technologies on IBM System p servers. The Advanced POWER Virtualization features and partitioning and virtualization capabilities of IBM Systems based on the Power Architecture have been renamed to PowerVM. PowerVM is a combination of hardware, firmware and software that provides CPU, network and disk virtualization. The main virtualization technologies are: POWER6 and POWER5 hardware POWER Hypervisor Virtual I/O Server Though the PowerVM brand includes partitioning, software Linux emulation, management software, and other offerings, this publication focuses on the virtualization technologies that are part of the PowerVM Standard and Enterprise Editions. This publication is also designed to be an introduction guide for system administrators, providing instructions for: Configuration and creation of partitions and resources on the HMC Installation and configuration of the Virtual I/O Server Creation and installation of virtualized partitions While discussion is focussed on IBM System p hardware and AIX , the basic concepts can be extended to the i5/OS and Linux operating systems as well as the IBM System i hardware. This edition has been updated with the new features available with the IBM POWER6 hardware and firmware.

[Jan 30, 2008] The Unix Guardian--AIX 20 Years Down, Many More to GoOld news, you know ;-) AIX: 20 Years Down, Many More to Go Published: January 26, 2006 by Timothy Prickett Morgan It can be honestly said that IBM had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the Unix market. Not once, but twice. First in 1986 with the RT PC and then again in 1990 with the RS/6000. But starting in 1997, with its first 64-bit PowerPC processors and a substantially improved AIX 4.3, Big Blue became a credible Unix player. While IBM's RS/6000, pSeries, and p5 servers have to take a lot of credit for the ascendancy of the AIX platform in the Unix space, the AIX Unix variant, which turned 20 last week, deserves some of the credit. I said some. You cannot underestimate the effect of IBM's Power-based server hardware on its success in the Unix market. In the past few years, through brutal price and performance competition, IBM has pulled alongside Unix juggernauts Sun Microsystems and Hewlett-Packard. That price competition has been enabled, in part, by the sharing of a common Power-based platform with the iSeries line, which runs the OS/400 and i5/OS operating systems. IBM has a monopoly on this iSeries platform, and it can charge a pretty hefty premium for the hardware and software used in the iSeries, which allows it to aggressively price its similar AIX-based Power platforms. Without the iSeries, IBM would not have been able to be as aggressive in the Unix market. Period. Unfortunately for IBM, the iSeries market has shrunk by half because the need to charge such a high premium to subsidize its Unix server business has made the iSeries uncompetitive with alternative entry Windows, Unix, and Linux platforms. iSeries customers love their RPG and COBOL applications and their DB2/400 database, but love can only be so expensive. In any event, because of IBM's aggressive roadmap, the iSeries buffer, and the delivery of dynamic logical partitioning and other sophisticated technologies in the AIX-p5 product line in the summer of 2004, IBM took the lead in the Unix server market and accounts for most of the growth this market saw last year.

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This is truly remarkable for such a former also-ran in the Unix space. And it seems likely that even if Sun can stabilize its Solaris platform sales as it shifts increasingly to Opterons and new product lines like the "Niagara" Sparc T1s and if HP can grow its HP-UX sales on Integrity, IBM will, from here on out, remain neck-and-neck with the former leaders in the Unix space. This will be a three-horse race for a long, long time unless something radical happens. IBM will continue to rely on its hardware to give it an edge--although for many workloads, AMD's Opteron processors will give the Power5 and Power5+ chips a run for the money and IBM may not retake a solid lead until the Power6 chip comes out in 2007. So what is in store of AIX in the coming years, and how will IBM use its Unix operating system to further differentiate its pSeries family servers? According to Satya Sharma, who holds the title of distinguished engineer and who has been in charge of AIX development in the Austin, Texas, labs where many Power chips and AIX were developed, Big Blue has big plans for AIX. Sharma should know. He has been working on AIX in one form or another since 1993, when IBM developed its RS/6000 PowerParallel machines (remember Deep Blue playing chess?), and has been in charge of AIX since 2000, when IBM was readying AIX 5L for market on its Power4 dual-core processors. Because IBM is so gung-ho about the open source Linux operating system, it is easy for AIX to get drowned in the Linux cacophony. Linux has run in partitions or as a standalone operating system across its entire eServer product line for the past several years and accounts for a lot of the growth in server sales, particularly on its zSeries mainframes and xSeries X86 and X64 servers and to a lesser extent on its pSeries and iSeries Power machines. Being a community developed, open source operating system has many advantages, Sharma concedes, but IBM also thinks that there are significant advantages to owning both the hardware and operating system platforms. "The Unix server market is a $20 billion market, and the Linux server market is a $7 billion market, and we are going to play in both," explains Sharma. "But AIX is the operating system that IBM controls, and that means as we add features in hardware, AIX can fully exploit those features when they are announced." By contrast, Linux is a community developed operating system, and support for many hardware features often lags the initial release of a new Linux kernel. To be fair, that has more to do with the way hardware vendors like IBM disclose information to the open source community. If IBM gave Linux developers the same lead times it gave its own AIX developers on a new feature, there would be no Linux lag or it would certainly be a lot smaller. In the fall, IBM quietly announced to customers and partners its Unix Systems Agenda, which lays out IBM's commitment to Unix and delivering server platforms that run it. While not disclosing all of the details in the roadmaps, Sharma says that the current AIX roadmaps go out to 2011, and that IBM plans to put out a new version or release of its Unix platform every two to three years. (The difference between a version and a release is a matter of argument between IBM's technologists and marketeers, and is supposed to be based on how much new functionality is added to AIX. If the technologists had won this argument, then AIX 5.3 would have been AIX 6.0, since it had a lot of new functionality, but given that IBM is on the Power5 chips, marketing clearly wanted AIX 5 and p5 servers to have "five" in their names.) Sharma says that the next major release of AIX is due in the second half of 2007, which roughly coincides with the delivery of IBM's Power6 processors. He won't say what the name is because IBM has not yet decided. "There will be significant innovations going into this implementation of AIX operating system," says Sharma, "so much so that we are wondering whether or not we should call it AIX 6 or not." It stands to reason that this platform will be called AIX 6, probably without the "L" for Linux because Linux affinity is no longer an issue. People don't want a Linux recompilation environment that sits inside AIX, which is what IBM was peddling in 2001 when AIX 5L first came out and the pSeries platform did not realty support native Linux as yet. What they want is to run Linux, and IBM has dynamic, logical partitioning on its Virtualization Engine hypervisor to do this on both the pSeries and iSeries platforms. Technically, it should be called AIX 5Li, since both Linux and i5/OS (formerly OS/400) run on the p5 servers these days. AIX 6 is cleaner, and given that a new hardware platform is coming, I expect IBM to peddle AIX 6, i6/OS, and Linux 2.6 on the Power6 platforms. (That's a lot of sixes, and don't go all numerological on me.) Sharma is cagey about what will be in the future AIX, but it is going to have new features that allow operating systems and the applications that run on top of them to be more stable and reliable. "The hardware reliability is getting pretty darned good, and is approaching that of a mainframe," says Sharma. "But the OS and application reliability of Unix"--and he obviously meant all Unixes, not just AIX--"is not as good." To that end, IBM is taking another page out of its mainframe playbook, and it will be adding fault isolation and other z/OS features to AIX. Like other Unixes, AIX has a single address space for the kernel, the file system, and the drivers. With the future AIX, IBM will give these different parts of the operating system their own separate memory spaces, so crashes in one area do not take down the whole operating system, and therefore the applications that run on top of them. Specifically, a feature called "storage keys" for

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managing these separate memory spaces will be pulled from the mainframe into AIX. According to Sharma, 75 percent of the crashes that all Unix customers experience if Unix were retooled in this manner. In the meantime, Sharma says that IBM is preparing a maintenance release for the current AIX 5.3 that will be put out some time in the second half of 2006, which will allow the Virtualization Engine hypervisor to span multiple, physically separated servers and allow workloads running in a logical partition on one machine in either AIX or Linux to be passed to another machine's AIX or Linux partitions, on the fly and over the network. This feature is tentatively called "partition relocation," and it is similar in concept to the VMotion feature of VMware's ESX Server for X86 and X64 servers and a similar feature expected in the open source Xen 3.0 hypervisor for X86 and X64 platforms.

IBM Wikis - AIX 5L Wiki - Adapter and Device SupportDiagnostic tools ethtool - for all LAN devices iprutils - for IBM SCSI/RAID controllers lputil - for Emulex Fibre Channel HBA bcmflashdiag - for Broadcom Ethernet scli - for QLogic Fibre Channel HBA

[Nov 6, 2007] nmon performance A free tool to analyze AIX and Linux performanceFree toolIntroduction The tool is designed for AIX and Linux performance specialists to use for monitoring and analyzing performance data, including: CPU utilization Memory use Kernel statistics and run queue information Disks I/O rates, transfers, and read/write ratios Free space on file systems Disk adapters Network I/O rates, transfers, and read/write ratios Paging space and paging rates CPU and AIX specification Top processors IBM HTTP Web cache User-defined disk groups Machine details and resources Asynchronous I/O -- AIX only Workload Manager (WLM) -- AIX only IBM TotalStorage Enterprise Storage Server (ESS) disks -- AIX only Network File System (NFS) Dynamic LPAR (DLPAR) changes -- only pSeries p5 and OpenPower for either AIX or Linux Also included is a new tool to generate graphs from the on a Web site. See the README file for more details. Benefits of the tool The tool is helpful in presenting all the important performance tuning information on one screen and output and create .gif files that can be displayed

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dynamically updating it. This efficient tool works on any dumb screen, telnet session, or even a dial-up line. In addition, it does not consume many CPU cycles, usually below two percent. On newer machines, CPU usage is well below one percent. Data is displayed on the screen and updated once every two seconds, using a dumb screen. However, you can easily change this interval to a longer or shorter time period. If you stretch the window and display the data on X Windows, VNC, PuTTY, or similar, the tool can output a great deal of information in one place. The tool can also capture the same data to a text file for later analysis and graphing for reports. The output is in a spreadsheet format (.csv).

AIX commands you should not leave home withoutHow would I know if I am running a 32-bit kernel or 64-bit kernel? To display if the kernel is 32-bit enabled or 64-bit enabled, type:

How do I know if I am running a uniprocessor kernel or a multiprocessor kernel? is a symbolic link to the booted kernel. To find out what kernel mode is running, enter and see what file it links to. The following are the three possible outputs from the command and their corresponding kernels:

Note: AIX 5L Version 5.3 does not support a uniprocessor kernel. How can I change from one kernel mode to another? During the installation process, one of the kernels, appropriate for the AIX version and the hardware in operation, is enabled by default. Let us use the method from the previous question and assume the 32-bit kernel is enabled. Let us also assume that you want to boot it up in the 64-bit kernel mode. This can be done by executing the following commands in sequence:

The /dev/hdiskxx directory is where the boot logical volume /dev/hd5 is located. To find out what xx is in hdiskxx, run the following command:

Note: In AIX 5.2, the 32-bit kernel is installed by default. In AIX 5.3, the 64-bit kernel is installed on 64-bit hardware and the 32-bit kernel is installed on 32-bit hardware by default. Hardware How would I know if my machine is capable of running AIX 5L Version 5.3? AIX 5L Version 5.3 runs on all currently supported CHRP (Common Hardware Reference Platform)-based POWER hardware.

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AIX AdministrationHow would I know if my machine is CHRP-based? Run the command. If it's a CHRP machine, the string


appears on the Model Architecture line.

How would I know if my System p machine (hardware) is 32-bit or 64-bit? To display if the hardware is 32-bit or 64-bit, type:

How much real memory does my machine have? To display real memory in kilobytes (KB), type one of the following:

Can my machine run the 64-bit kernel? 64-bit hardware is required to run the 64-bit kernel. What are the values of attributes for devices in my system? To list the current values of the attributes for the tape device, rmt0, type:

To list the default values of the attributes for the tape device, rmt0, type:

To list the possible values of the login attribute for the TTY device, tty0, type:

To display system level attributes, type:

How many processors does my system have? To display the number of processors on your system, type:

How many hard disks does my system have and which ones are in use?

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AIX AdministrationTo display the number of hard disks on your system, type:


How do I list information about a specific physical volume? To find details about hdisk1, for example, run the following command:

How do I get a detailed configuration of my system? Type the following:

The following options provide specific information:

Displays platform-specific device information. The flag is applicable to AIX 4.2.1 or later. Displays the VPD (Vital Product Database) found in the customized VPD object class.For example, to display details about the tape drive, rmt0, type:

You can obtain very similar information by running the

command.

How do I find out the chip type, system name, node name, model number, and so forth? The command provides details about your system.

Displays the chip type of the system. For example, PowerPC. Displays the release number of the operating system. Displays the system name. For example, AIX. Displays the name of the node. Displays the system name, nodename, version, machine ID. Displays the system model name. For example, IBM, 9114-275. Displays the operating system version. Displays the machine ID number of the hardware running the system.

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Displays the system ID number.AIX What version, release, and maintenance level of AIX is running on my system? Type one of the following:

How can I determine which fileset updates are missing from a particular AIX level? To determine which fileset updates are missing from 5300-04, for example, run the following command:

What SP (Service Pack) is installed on my system? To see which SP is currently installed on the system, run the 5L Version 5.3 system, with TL4, and SP2 installed would be: command. Sample output for an AIX

Is a CSP (Concluding Service Pack) installed on my system? To see if a CSP is currently installed on the system, run the Version 5.3 system, with TL3, and CSP installed would be: command. Sample output for an AIX 5L

How do I create a file system? The following command will create, within volume group testvg, a jfs file system of 10MB with mounting point /fs1:

The following command will create, within volume group testvg, a jfs2 file system of 10MB with mounting point

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How do I change the size of a file system? To increase the file system size by 1000000 512-byte blocks, type:

Note: In AIX 5.3, the size of a JFS2 file system can be shrunk as well. How do I mount a CD? Type the following:

How do I mount a file system? The following command will mount file system /dev/fslv02 on the /test directory:

How do I mount all default file systems (all standard file systems in the /etc/filesystems file marked by the mount=true attribute)? The following command will mount all such file systems:

How do I unmount a file system? Type the following command to unmount /test file system:

How do I display mounted file systems? Type the following command to display information about all currently mounted file systems:

How do I remove a file system? Type the following command to remove the /test file system:

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How can I defragment a file system? The command can be used to improve or report the status of contiguous space within a file system. For example, to defragment the file system /home, use the following command:

Which fileset contains a particular binary? To show contains , type:

Or to show

contains

, type:

How do I display information about installed filesets on my system? Type the following:

How do I determine if all filesets of maintenance levels are installed on my system? Type the following:

How do I determine if a fix is installed on my system? To determine if IY24043 is installed, type:

How do I install an individual fix by APAR? To install APAR IY73748 from , for example, enter the command:

How do I verify if filesets have required prerequisites and are completely installed?

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AIX AdministrationTo show which filesets need to be installed or corrected, type:


How do I get a dump of the header of the loader section and the symbol entries in symbolic representation? Type the following:

How do I determine the amount of paging space allocated and in use? Type the following:

How do I increase a paging space? You can use the command to dynamically increase the size of a paging space. For example, if you want to increase the size of hd6 with 3 logical partitions, you issue the following command:

How do I reduce a paging space? You can use the chps command to dynamically reduce the size of a paging space. For example, if you want to decrease the size of hd6 with four logical partitions, you issue the following command:

How would I know if my system is capable of using Simultaneous Multi-threading (SMT)? Your system is capable of SMT if it's a POWER5-based system running AIX 5L Version 5.3. How would I know if SMT is enabled for my system? If you run the command without any options, it tells you if it's enabled or not.

Is SMT supported for the 32-bit kernel? Yes, SMT is supported for both 32-bit and 64-bit kernel. How do I enable or disable SMT? You can enable or disable SMT by running the command. The following is the syntax:

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The following options are available:

Sets SMT mode to disabled. Sets SMT mode to enabled. Makes the SMT mode change effective on next and subsequent reboots if you run the command before the next system reboot. Makes the SMT mode change immediately but will not persist across reboot.If neither the boot or the now options are specified, then the mode change is made immediately. It persists across subsequent reboots if you run the command before the next system reboot. How do I get partition-specific information and statistics? The command provides a report of partition information and utilization statistics. This command also provides a display of Hypervisor information. Volume groups and logical volumes How do I know if my volume group is normal, big, or scalable? Run the command on the volume group and look at the value for MAX PVs. The value is 32 for normal, 128 for big, and 1024 for scalable volume group. How to create a volume group? Use the following command, where partition_size sets the number of megabytes (MB) in each physical partition where the partition_size is expressed in units of MB from 1 through 1024. (It's 1 through 131072 for AIX 5.3.) The partition_size variable must be equal to a power of 2 (for example: 1, 2, 4, 8). The default value for standard and big volume groups is the lowest value to remain within the limitation of 1016 physical partitions per physical volume. The default value for scalable volume groups is the lowest value to accommodate 2040 physical partitions per physical volume.

How can I change the characteristics of a volume group? You use the following command to change the characteristics of a volume group:

How do I create a logical volume? Type the following:

How do I increase the size of a logical volume?

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To increase the size of the logical volume represented by the lv05 directory by three logical partitions, for example, type:

How do I display all logical volumes that are part of a volume group (for example, rootvg)? You can display all logical volumes that are part of rootvg by typing the following command:

How do I list information about logical volumes? Run the following command to display information about the logical volume lv1:

How do I remove a logical volume? You can remove the logical volume lv7 by running the following command:

The command removes only the logical volume, but does not remove other entities, such as file systems or paging spaces that were using the logical volume. How do I mirror a logical volume? 1. mklvcopy LogicalVolumeName Numberofcopies 2. syncvg VolumeGroupName

How do I remove a copy of a logical volume? You can use the command to remove copies of logical partitions of a logical volume. To reduce the number of copies of each logical partition belonging to logical volume testlv, enter:

Each logical partition in the logical volume now has at most two physical partitions. Queries about volume groups To show volume groups in the system, type:

To show all the characteristics of

, type:

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To show disks used by

, type:

How to add a disk to a volume group? Type the following:

How do I find out what the maximum supported logical track group (LTG) size of my hard disk? You can use the command with the flag. The output gives the LTG size in KB. For instance, the LTG size for hdisk0 in the following example is 256 KB.

You can also run the What does

command on the hard disk and look at the value for MAX REQUEST. command do?

The command is used to synchronize stale physical partitions. It accepts names of logical volumes, physical volumes, or volume groups as parameters. For example, to synchronize the physical partitions located on physical volumes hdisk6 and hdisk7, use:

To synchronize all physical partitions from volume group testvg, use:

How do I replace a disk? 1. 2. 3. VolumeGroupName hdisk_new hdisk_bad hdisk_new VolumeGroupName hdisk_bad

How can I clone (make a copy of ) the rootvg? You can run the command to copy the current rootvg to an alternate disk. The following example shows how to clone the rootvg to hdisk1. Network

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AIX AdministrationHow can I display or set values for network parameters? The


command sets or displays current or next boot values for network tuning parameters.

How do I get the IP address of my machine? Type one of the following:

For example, type host cyclop.austin.ibm.com. How do I identify the network interfaces on my server? Either of the following two commands will display the network interfaces:

To get information about one specific network interface, for example, tr0, run the command:

How do I activate a network interface? To activate the network interface tr0, run the command:

How do I deactivate a network interface? For example, to deactivate the network interface tr0, run the command:

[Oct 25, 2007] IBM AIX Toolbox for Linux Applications - GNU and open source tools for AIXLimited selection but basic things like sudo are available and work on AIX5.3. I tested bash 3.0, screen, expect and sudo.

IBM AIX Toolbox Download Page - Alphabetical Listing

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[Oct 15, 2007] AIX V6 Advanced Security Features Introduction and ConfigurationA new redbook. Published on 12 September 2007, Rating: (based on 1 review)

[Jul 19, 2007] Using the GNU C-C++ compiler on AIXIBM should provide tech support with gcc on your system, but with libraries-hell you are on your own. AIX 5L Binary Compatibility IBM provides binary compatibility amongst AIX 5.1, AIX 5.2 and AIX 5.3 versions of the operating system. Therefore applications running on AIX 5.1 or on AIX 5.2 will run on 5.3 as-is if they follow the criteria listed in the IBMs AIX 5L binary compatibility statement at http://www-1.ibm.com/servers/aix/os/compatibility. With that said, ISVs vary wildly on the processes they use to add support of a new OS release level. Many of the top ISVs run their applications through some form of testing. In most cases they will run them through a subset of their final testing procedures prior to adding support. Many other ISVs, however, review our binary compatibility details and add support based on their applications compliance with our statement. In either case, there is no need to recompile the application to get them to AIX 5.3. Installing GCC on AIX ... Make sure that you install a version of GCC that corresponds to the AIX release installed on the system. GCC installs private copies of some header files that have to integrate properly with AIX system header files for GCC to function correctly, otherwise running the compiler may produce error messages about header files. The header files should be rebuilt if they do not match. One can delete the header file cache to build a new release of GCC from sources with an old version, but GCC should not be operated without the header file cache. Website links For more information on the GNU project and the GCC compiler, see the official web sites at http://gcc.gnu.org/. A list of new features in GCC version 3.3 is at http://gcc.gnu.org/gcc-3.3/changes.html. Similarly, the list of new features in GCC version 3.4.3 is at: http://gcc.gnu.org/gcc-3.4/changes.html.

[Jun 11, 2007] IBM Redbooks AIX 5L Practical Performance Tools and Tuning GuideThis IBM Redbook incorporates the latest AIX 5L performance and tuning tools. It is a comprehensive guide about the performance monitoring and tuning tools that are provided with AIX 5L Version 5.3, and it is the ultimate guide for system administrators and support professionals who want to efficiently use the AIX performance monitoring and tuning tools and understand how to interpret the statistics. The usage of each tool is explained along with the measurements it takes and the statistics it produces. This redbook contains a large number of usage and output examples for each of the tools, pointing out the relevant statistics to look for when analyzing an AIX system's performance from a practical point of view. It also explains the performance API available with AIX 5L and gives examples about how to create your own performance tools. This redbook also contains an overview of the graphical AIX performance tools available with AIX 5L and the AIX Performance Toolbox Version 3.0. This redbook is a rework of the very popular redbook AIX 5L Performance Tools Handbook, SG24-6039, published in 2003.

[Jun 11, 2007] IBM Wikis - AIX 5L Wiki - nmon Manualnmon is a free performance monitoring tool for AIX and Linux and is downloadable from this Wiki. This Wiki is the sole place to get nmon. nmon now includes other tools like

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http://www.softpanorama.org/Commercial_unixes/AIX/index.shtmlnmon2rrd tool for creating web pages with the nmon performance data and nmonmerge tool for joining save files together.

There is also a free spreadsheet analyser for nmon captured data from Stephen Atkins from This nmon tool gives you a huge amount of information on one screen and can save data to a comma separated values (.csv) file for latest analyses. This tool runs on: AIX 5.1, AIX 5.2 and A

AIX Administration

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