Using the NIM check operation

The check operation is used to verify the usability of a machine or resource in the NIM environment.

The command-line syntax for the check operation is as follows:

nim -F -o check -a debug=Value TargetName |TargetNames

The target of a check operation can be any NIM client, a group of NIM clients, a Virtual Input or Server client, a SPOT resource, or a LPP_Source resource.

The flags and attributes that can be specified for the check operation are as follows:

Item	Description
-F (optional)	Notifies the NIM to force the operation, if the target is currently in use. If the -F flag is specified when the target is a SPOT resource, the flag forces the SPOT network boot images to be rebuilt. The -F flag is not required when you perform the check operation on client machines. If the-F flag is used in a check operation on a client machine, the default_profile attribute is re-created in case the attribute is old.
-a debug=Value (optional)	Builds network boot images for aSPOT network in debug mode, if debug=yes is specified. This attribute is only valid if the target is a SPOT resource. The default value is debug=no. For more information on the debug attribute, refer to Producing debug output from a network boot image.

Item

Description

-F (optional)

Notifies the NIM to force the operation, if the target is currently in use. If the -F flag is specified when the target is a SPOT resource, the flag forces the SPOT network boot images to be rebuilt. The -F flag is not required when you perform the check operation on client machines. If the-F flag is used in a check operation on a client machine, the default_profile attribute is re-created in case the attribute is old.

-a debug=Value (optional)

Builds network boot images for aSPOT network in debug mode, if debug=yes is specified. This attribute is only valid if the target is a SPOT resource. The default value is debug=no. For more information on the debug attribute, refer to Producing debug output from a network boot image.

When applied to NIM clients, the check operation updates the machine state (Mstate) of the client. A ping test is performed to check whether the client is reachable. After the check operation is performed, the Mstate of the client is set to either running or not running.

When the mgmt_profile attribute is set, the check operation checks the related HMC, CEC, IVM, VIOS, or BCMM object connection by using the ssh command for the NIM client object.

When applied to SPOT resources, the check operation performs root synchronization for diskless and dataless clients. If required, the operation rebuilds the boot images of the SPOT network.

When applied to LPP_Source resources, the check operation rebuilds the contents views (.toc) file in the LPP_Source directory. It also determines whether all filesets are included in the resources to qualify for the LPP_Source simages attribute.