rules command
Purpose
Manages and deploys device setting rules on the Virtual I/O Server (VIOS).
Syntax
rules -o operation [ -l deviceInstanceName | -t class/subclass/type ][ -a Attribute=Value ] [-d] [-n] [-s] [ –f RulesFile ] [-F] [-h]
Description
The rules command is used to capture, deploy, change, compare, and view VIOS rules. It leverages AIX® Run Time Expert Solution (ARTEX) technology. VIOS provides predefined default rules that contain the critical rules for VIOS device configuration that are recommended for VIOS best practice. You can use the rules command to manage device settings rules on VIOS.
Parameters
Parameter name | Description |
---|---|
-o operation | capture Captures the current system configuration on the VIOS. If the current rules exist, the new captured system configuration overwrites the existing ones. Otherwise, the factory default rules are used as a template to capture current system settings. |
deploy Applies the recommended factory default rules for best practice, or current rules on the VIOS. The parameter not only deploys the new settings to the device type but also makes changes to device instances. If no current rules exist, the parameter creates a new rules file based on the current system settings, and informs you to modify the rules and deploy again. The new setting does not take effect until system reboot. |
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import Imports a user-specified rules file to VIOS current rules. The user-specified rules are primary if the same rules exist in the current rules file during a merge operation. If there is no existing current rules file, a current rules file is created based on default rules. If a rule or device is a not supported by the AIX ARTEX catalog, the import operation fails and informs you to remove the invalid rule and try again. If the changed value is lower than the current default in ODM, a warning is displayed for your awareness. However, the import operation is allowed to continue and complete. To control rules compatibility, by default, the ioslevel rule is compared with current rules and the user-specified rules. If the user-specified ioslevel is lower than the current rules or missing, the operation stops. You must use the -F flag to force the import operation to continue without any checking. |
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list Lists and views the rules file contents or the system configuration based on the rules template. The first column of the output is class/subclass/type, the second is attribute, and the third is value. |
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diff Lists the mismatch devices and attributes, and quantifies the difference numerically, if you specify the –n flag. |
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add Adds a new rule to the VIOS current rules or a user-specified rule file, based on device instance name or device unique type. If the rule already exists, it returns an error. However, the device instance or device type must be supported by the existing AIX ARTEX catalog. Otherwise, the command fails. Note: The command rules -o add –l
hdisk0 –a reserve_policy=no_reserve is used to add
a rule for disk/fcp/mpioosdisk instead of for hdisk0 only.
It is an easier and more convenient version call as compared to rules
–o add –t class/subclass/type -a reserve_policy=no_reserve if
you do not have the ODM information.
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modify You can modify a rule from the current
rules or user-specified rules file, based on device type or device
instance. If the rule that you try to modify does not exist, an error
message is displayed to ask you to add a rule instead of trying to
modify a rule.
Note: See the note in the add operation for device
instance and type usage.
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delete Deletes a rule from current rules
or a user-specified file. If a rule that needs to be deleted does
not exist, an error message is displayed. You cannot remove the rules
contained in default rules from the current rules or the user-specified
rules file.
Note: See the note in the add operation for device
instance and type usage.
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-l deviceInstanceName | You can use the device instance name to search for the device type (class/subclass/type) in ODM. This ensures that you can create a new rule without having knowledge about the ODM information. The -l flag is exclusive with the -t flag. |
-t class/subclass/type | You can use a tag to specify the device class, subclass, and type of the device. The -t flag is exclusive with the -l flag |
-a attribute=value | Attribute and value are a pair setting for a device type. This parameter is required for the add or modify rule for a particular attribute. |
-d | Sets the default rules of the system. |
-n | When used with the rules –o diff command, it shows the number of differences. |
-s | When used with the rules –o diff command, it to shows and lists current system settings. |
-f rulesFile | Used for a user-specified rules file. |
-F | When used with the rules –o import command, it forces the import operation to continue even if non-fatal errors are encountered. |
-h | Displays the usage. |
Exit Status
This command returns the following exit values:
Return code | Description |
---|---|
0 | Successful completion. |
>0 | An error occurred. |
Files
Item | Description |
---|---|
/usr/sbin/rules | Contains the rules command. |
Security
The rules command is supported by RBAC and can be accessed by the padmin and root users.
Examples
- To add new rules, type the following command:
rules -o add -t disk/vscsi/cvdisk -a queue_depth=8
- To add reserve_policy rules to current rules
for a device type whose instance is hdisk0, type the following command:
rules –o add –l hdisk0 –a reserve_policy=no_reserve
- To add serve_policy rules to current rules for
a device type disk/fcp/mpioosdisk, type the following
command:
rules –o add –t disk/fcp/mpioosdisk -a reserve_policy=no_reserve
- To add service_policy rules to a user-specified
rules file for device type whose instance is hdisk0, type the following
command:
rules –o add –l hdisk0 –a reserve_policy=no_reserve –f/tmp/rules.xml
- To delete rules, type the following command:
rules -o delete -t disk/vscsi/cvdisk -a queue_depth
- To delete reserve_policy from current rules for disk/fcp/mpioapdisk device
type, type the following command:
rules –o delete –t disk/fcp/mpioapdisk –a reserve_policy
- To delete reserve_policy from current rules for
hdisk0 device type, type the following command:
rules –o delete –l hdisk0 –a reserve_policy
- To delete reserve_policy from /tmp/rules.xml rules
file for hdisk0 device type, type the following command:
rules –o delete –l hdisk0 –a reserve_policy –f /tmp/rules.xml
- To modify existing rules, type the following command:
rules -o modify -t adapter/pciex/df1000fe -a num_cmd_elems=2048
- To modify reserve_policy rules from the current
rules file for disk/fcp/mpioapdisk device type, type
the following command:
rules –o modify –t disk/fcp/mpioapdisk –a reserve_policy=no_reserve
- To modify reserve_policy rules from the current
rules file for hdisk0 device type, type the following command:
rules –o modify –l hdisk0 –a reserve_policy=no_reserve
- To modify reserve_policy rules from /tmp/rules.xml rules
file for hdisk0 device type, type the following command:
rules –o modify –l hdisk0 –a reserve_policy=no_reserve –f /tmp/rules.xml
- To list and view the default rules, type the following command:
rules –o list –d
- To list and view the current rules, type the following command:
rules –o list
- To list and view the current system setting, type the following
command:
rules –o list –s
- To list and view the rules contents from a user-specified file,
type the following command:
rules –o list –f user_rules.xml
- To list the mismatch devices and attributes between VIOS system settings and
current rules, type the following command:
rules –o diff rules –o diff -s
- To list the mismatch devices and attributes between VIOS system settings and
default rules, type the following command:
rules –o diff –s –d
- To list the mismatch devices and attributes between current rules
and factory default rules, type the following command:
rules –o diff –d
- To list the mismatch devices and attributes between current rules
and user_rules.xml file, type the following command:
rules –o diff –f user_rules.xml
- To list the mismatch devices and attributes between two rules
files, type the following command:
rules –o diff –f rules1.xml rules2.xml
- To find the mismatch number between two files, type the following
command:
rules –o diff –n –f rules1.xml rules2.xml
- To list rules in the system, type the following command:
rules -o list -s
The system displays the following output:
disk/fcp/mpioosdisk reserve_policy no_reserve disk/fcp/mpioapdisk reserve_policy single_path disk/fcp/nonmpiodisk reserve_policy no_reserve disk/fcp/aixmpiods8k reserve_policy no_reserve disk/sas/mpioapdisk reserve_policy no_reserve disk/sas/mpioosdisk reserve_policy no_reserve disk/sas/scsd reserve_policy no_reserve disk/sas/sisarray reserve_policy no_reserve disk/vscsi/cvdisk reserve_policy no_reserve
- To capture VIOS current
system settings and save it to the current rules file, type the following
command:
rules –o capture
- To deploy VIOS recommended
default rules, type the following command:
rules –o deploy -d
- To deploy VIOS current
rules, type the following command:
rules –o deploy
- To import a user-specified rules file to current rules, type the
following command:
rules –o import –f user_rules.xml
- To import user-specified rules contained in the file user_rules.xml to
current rules and to ignore the ioslevel incompatibility,
type the following command:
rules –o import –f user_rulex.xml -F
- To display the usage of the rules command, type the following
command:
rules -h