Customizing the standby BOS

You can use the multibos customization operation, with the -c flag, to update the standby BOS.

The customization operation requires an image source (-l device or directory flag) and at least one installation option (installation by bundle, installation by fix, or update_all). The customization operation performs the following steps:

  1. The standby BOS file systems are mounted, if not already mounted.
  2. If you specify an installation bundle with the -b flag, the installation bundle is installed using the geninstall utility. The installation bundle syntax should follow geninstall conventions. If you specify the -p preview flag, geninstall will perform a preview operation.
  3. If you specify a fix list, with the -f flag, the fix list is installed using the instfix utility. The fix list syntax should follow instfix conventions. If you specify the -p preview flag, then instfix will perform a preview operation.
  4. If you specify the update_all function, with the -a flag, it is performed using the install_all_updates utility. If you specify the -p preview flag, then install_all_updates performs a preview operation.
    Note: It is possible to perform one, two, or all three of the installation options during a single customization operation.
  5. The standby boot image is created and written to the standby BLV using the AIX® bosboot command. You can block this step with the -N flag. You should only use the -N flag if you are an experienced administrator and have a good understanding the AIX boot process.
  6. If standby BOS file systems were mounted in step 1, they are unmounted.

Automatic file system expansion

The multibos -X flag auto-expansion feature allows for automatic file system expansion, if space is necessary to perform multibos-related tasks. You should run all multibos operations with this flag.

Preview option

The preview option, using the -p flag, applies to the setup, remove, mount, unmount, and customization operations. If you specify the preview option, then the operation provides information about the action that will be taken, but does not perform actual changes.