NIM BOS installation data

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The BOS installation program requires access to an image that contains the BOS run-time files. This image is used by the BOS installation program to populate the target's /usr filesystem.

In the NIM environment, this image can come from one of the following resources:

A BOS run-time image that is part of the lpp_source resource that has been allocated to the target
A SPOT resource that has been allocated to the target
A mksysb image that has been allocated to the target

A spot and lpp_source are always required to support the bos_inst rte operation. A bos_inst mksysb operation only requires a spot resource be used.

To indicate which BOS image to use, specify the source attribute when performing the bos_inst operation. The source attribute may have one of the following values:

rte: When an rte value (the default) is used for the source attribute, NIM directs the BOS installation program to use the BOS run-time image that is in the lpp_source directory. This image contains only the BOS run-time files; it does not contain any optional software packages. Selecting an rte source may increase the BOS installation time, because the BOS installation program installs the appropriate device support after populating the target's /usr file system to make the target viable. The installation time may also be increased due to additional installp activity during the NIM customization phase.
Note: The rte source must be used when performing BOS migration installation.
mksysb: Using mksysb as the source results in a target machine that has the same configuration as the machine from which the mksysb image was created. This may save installation and configuration time. The mksysb images could be very large, and the installation will fail if the target does not have enough disk space to accommodate the image.

After the installation is initiated from the master, the NIM master attempts to contact the target and execute a script that will force the system to reboot. The target system issues a BOOTP request to the server after it has shut down. The bos_inst operation is considered complete even if the target does not immediately issue a BOOTP request. The target must issue a BOOTP request to load a network boot image from the server to start the installation.

If the master is unable to contact the target system for any reason (for example, the system is turned off, it is not a running NIM client, or there is a network problem), a message is displayed and user intervention is then required at the target to issue the BOOTP request using the IPL ROM.

By default (no_nim_client=no), NIM also includes the customization required for the target to remain a NIM client after the install. This customization includes the installation and configuration of the bos.sysmgt.nim.client fileset and its requisite filesets, bos.net.tcp.client and bos.net.nfs.client, so that the NIM master can communicate with and control the client after installation. The installp_flags are passed to the installp command for installing the software on the standalone client. The filesets attribute can be used to install a list of additional filesets or software packages from the allocated lpp_source.

To display BOS installation status information while the installation is progressing, enter the following command on the master:

lsnim -a info -a Cstate ClientName

lsnim -l ClientName

Errors in the allocation of a nim_script or boot resource type are fatal errors because the network BOS installation process cannot proceed without these resources. On the other hand, any error encountered during the attempt to cause the target to issue a BOOTP request is a nonfatal error to NIM because, at that point, NIM has successfully initialized the environment to perform a network installation. As soon as the target has successfully loaded its allocated network boot image, the BOS installation process begins.