Using a mksysb image to install the base operating system on a NIM client

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A mksysb installation restores BOS and additional software to a target from a mksysb image in the NIM environment.

For a complete description of different ways to customize a BOS installation using NIM, see Using the NIM bos_inst operation.

The mksysb images enable you to clone one system image onto multiple target systems. The target systems might not contain the same hardware devices or adapters, require the same kernel (uniprocessor or multiprocessor).

Because NIM configures TCPIP at the end of an installation, it is recommended that a bosinst_data resource be allocated for cloning mksysb installations with the RECOVER_DEVICES field set to no. This will prevent the BOS installation process from attempting to configure the devices as they were on the source machine of the mksysb image.
Note: A NIM customization that affects the ODM database is not reflected after a mksysb installation on the same system. Restoring the mksysb backup causes the ODM to be restored to the state it was in when the backup was created.

In AIX, devices are not recovered if the mksysb image that is being installed was not created on the same system.

Attention: If the system you have cloned is using OpenGL or graPHIGS, there may be some device filesets from these LPPs that must be installed after a clone. OpenGL and graPHIGS have graphics adapter-specific filesets, so if you cloned onto a system with a different graphics adapter, you will need to create a bundle as follows: 
echo OpenGL.OpenGL_X.dev > /usr/sys/inst.data/user_bundles/graphic_dev.bnd
echo PEX_PHIGS.dev >> /usr/sys/inst.data/user_bundles/graphic_dev.bnd
You can allocate this bundle when you install the mksysb, and the device filesets will be installed automatically if OpenGL and graPHIGS are in your lpp_source.

Prerequisites

  • The NIM master must be configured, and SPOT and mksysb resources must be defined. See Configuring the NIM master and creating basic installation resources.
  • The NIM client to be installed must already exist in the NIM environment. To add the client to the NIM environment, see Adding standalone clients to the NIM environment.
  • The mksysb must be available on the hard disk of the NIM master or a running NIM client, or the mksysb image is created during this procedure from either the NIM master or a running NIM client.
  • The SPOT and mksysb resources should be at the same level of AIX when used for NIM BOS installations.
  • Many applications, particularly databases, maintain data in sparse files. A sparse file is one with empty space, or gaps, left open for future addition of data. If the empty spaces are filled with the ASCII null character and the spaces are large enough, the file will be sparse, and disk blocks will not be allocated to it.

    This situation creates an exposure in that a large file will be created, but the disk blocks will not be allocated. As data is then added to the file, the disk blocks will be allocated, but there may not be enough free disk blocks in the file system. The file system can become full, and writes to any file in the file system will fail.

    It is recommended that you either have no sparse files on your system or that you ensure you have enough free space in the file system for future allocation of the blocks.