Starter Pack for PowerVS: create, Account, Pricing, Credit Card, first Resource (project), and first small virtual machine (VM)
Demo of your first virtual machine, console access + Internet connection
Demo with Disks, growing the root volume group disk, adding more disks finding them from AIX, moving disks between virtual machines and deleting them.
Installing AIX Open Source tools by using the "yum" command
The video refers to this webpage, which covers lots of other videos to learn AIX and lots of suggestions to follow.	PowerVS: Learning AIX Systems Administration
Updating AIX to the latest Technology Level and Service Park by using the AIX "suma" command

Section 1: Classic 101 UNIX commands

• Your general Linux command skills apply to AIX because Linux commands were written to the UNIX POSIX standard. 
• Linux and AIX differ mostly in the are of the Systems Management commands. Also, AIX administrator use "smitty" to speed up and accurately perform task.

• pwd

• rm myfile.txt

• cat myfile.txt

• # Change to /tmp
  cd /tmp
  
  # Return to you default user home directory
  cd
  
  # Go to a directory in your current working directory:
  cd bin
  
  # Go to the directory above the current working directory
  cd ..

• # The new directory will be sub_dir
  mkdir sub_dir

• rmdir sub_dir
  
  # To the removal of a directory with files in it
  rm -fr sub_dur

• file myfile.txt

• ps

• ps -ef

• grep "UNIX filesystems" myfile

• Redirection

  ​​​​​​​ |  > & >

• export $PATH

• YouTube video:
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFnbAKYkisc
  • 21 minutes
• Managing a volume group and its logical volumes.

  • smitty lvm

• Managing a journal file system type 2.

  • smitty jfs2

• Managing users and setting their passwords.

  • smitty user

• Managing the servers networks but don't change you IP address on IBM Cloud PowerVS

  • smitty tcpip

• Set tome zone, date, and time

  smitty chtz_date

• YouTube Videos:
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH7TnnFDWVg
  • Series of 4
  • Advanced "nmon" topics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrZdL7wujLo&list=PLKQlFnmiWVyc_Dsr-3JTIEuexjdpKc-Bk
  • In case you are also interested in "nmon" for Linux: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prVzcj3vXNc
• Run a workload so that the performance statistics are more interesting than mostly zeros or static numbers.
• For "nmon" online monitoring, start the command:

  nmon

  Then type the following options

  ​​​​​​​ cmdnp
  
  # Key:
  # c = CPUs
  # m = memory
  # d = disks
  # n = network
  # p = top processes
• For capturing the data to the comma separated values (CSV) file every 30 seconds for 10 minutes run:

  nmon -f -s30 -c 20

  Note some people assumed the commend crashed but it is sitting in the back ground as a daemon and finish collecting data, even if you log out. The command creates a file in the local directory with a file name in the format. You need to wait for 10 minutes.

  hostname_datetime.nmon

• The file is a simple text file that can be edited with the command "vi".
• Download the Korn script "nmonchart" from: http://nmon.sourceforge.net/pmwiki.php?n=Site.Nmonchart
• Assuming your file is called "blue_210621_1237.nmon" us the "nmonchart" Korn shell script to generate graphs with:

  nmonchart blue210621_1237.nmon

  Then view the resulting file "blue_210621_1237.html" with a web browser.

• YouTube video:
  • From the AIX on PowerVS services video 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXad6zHwD3Y

smitty upgrade_all

• Preview mode to check for problems and perform the upgrade.
• Check the result was OK.
• Restart AIX

• oslevel -s

• lslpp -L

• YouTube video
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-mKv3pzNmg
  • 34 minutes
• Manual Pages: https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/aix/7.2?topic=management-logical-volume-manager
• "LVM Troubleshooting" Redbooks: http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redbooks/pdfs/sg245433.pdf
• Example use:
  • Volume groups:
     

    lsvg           # list the VG names
    lsvg rootvg       # list the VG specification options
    lsvg -l rootvg # list of logical volumes within rootvg
    
    # Other Volume Group commands:
    mkvg
    lsvg 
    chvg
    exportvg 
    importvg
    extendvg
    reducevg 
    varyoffvg
    varyonvg
    syncvg
    savevg
    restorevg
    

  • Logical volumes:

    lslv     lvname	details of a LV
     lslv -l  lvname	list PV of the LV
     lslv -p lvname	list PP in this LV
     lslv -m lvname	show LV mirroring	
     
    # List all LVs
    for vg in $(lsvg)
    do
        echo -- -- $vg
        lsvg -l $vg
    done
    
    # Other Logical Volumes commands:
    mklv
    lslv
    chlv
    rmlv 
    mklvcopy
    cplv
    extendlv  

  • Physical volumes:

    lspv			list all PV & their VGs
     lspv      hdiskN	details of a PV
     lspv -l   hdiskN	list LV in the PV
     lspv -p hdiskN	list PP in this PV
    
    # Other Physical Volumes commands:
    cfgmgr (find new disks) 
    rmdev
    lspv
    chpv
    migratepv
• LVM Life cycle
• 

1. Make rootvg small and separate
2. Get every disk working for high performance
3. Don’t let a disk failure stop your system
4. Monitor your AIX error logs for disk problems
5. Don’t Meddle
6. If you need help Call AIX Support
7. Read and practice on a test system (No testing in production (tipping))
8. Skill up so in a crisis you don’t panic and make it worse
    

• YouTube video
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqocZ0PrxEA
  • 19 minutes
• You can use "smitty jfs2" for managing file systems.
• Many system administrators use the underlying commands for common tasks like growing and shrinking file systems.
• List the online file systems: 

  df -g
  
  # -g so the results are in Gigabytes
  # -m for megabytes
  
  # To see the file system attributes use:
  lsfs
  
  # To see the current file system mount points:
  mount
• Create a JFS2 in a new logical volume and mount it

  crfs -v jfs2 -g scratchvg  -a size=42G -m /temp -A yes -p rw
  
  mount /temp
  
  # The filesystem details are in the text file /etc/filesystems
  

• Create a JFS in a previously created logical volume called "mylv"

  crfs -v jfs2 -d mylv -m /temp -A yes -p rw
  

• Grow & shrink JFS2

  Change size:
   chfs -a size=+8G /temp # add 8 GB          
   chfs -a size=-2G /	# remove 2 GB
   chfs -a size=50G	# change size to 50 GB
  

• YouTube video:
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KigHoJjbKQs
  • 13 minutes
• Excellent "out of the box" settings for most AIX servers.
• The 'O' commands optional parameter setting commands for AIX subsystems named:
  • "asoo" Active System Optimizer options
  • "ioo" Input Output options
  • "lvmo" Logical Volume Manager options
  • "nfso" Network File System options
  • "no" Network options 
  • "raso" Reliability, Availability, and Serviceability options
  • "schedo" Process Scheduler options
  • "vmo" Virtual Memory options
• The command reports the parameter settings is a common report format:
  • Name of the tuning option.
  • Current value.
  • Default value.
  • Boot value after next reboot.
  • Minimum is the lowest valid value.
  • Maximum is the highest valid value.
  • Units the measurement value sizes.
• Example 

  $ no -h
  Usage:  no -h [tunable] | {[-F] -L [tunable]}
          no [-p|-r] [-y] (-D | ({-d tunable} {-o tunable=value}))
    -h                      Display help about the command and its arguments
    -h tunable       Display help about a tunable
    -L [tunable]     List info about one or all tunables in a table
    -x [tunable]     List info about one or all tunables in CSV
    -a                    Display value for all tunables, one per line
    -F                    Force display of restricted tunables  -a/-L/-x
    -o tunable       Display current value of a tunable
    -o tunable=value Set tunable to value
    -D                   Reset all tunables to their default values
    -d tunable       Reset tunable to its default value
    -r                    Make change(s) (-D/-d/-o) to nextboot value
    -p                   Make change(s) (-D/-d/-o)  permanent (current + nextboot)
    -y                    Suppress prompt before executing bosboot

  
   

• WARNING: Active Memory Expansion requires an HMC setting (which is not currently possible with PowerVS).
• YouTube video:
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtWxC5IJWKg
  • 9 minutes
• To see the benefits of AME the system must have many processes running by using memory otherwise AME is not needed.
• Run workload that heavily uses a large proportion of memory so the free space is low or even some memory paging.
• Run the command "amepat" to generate a report of the AME effect on higher CPU use and higher effective memory.

• YouTube video:
  • From the AIX on PowerVS services video 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzVCQCo7kMU
  • Alternative longer YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPTXXnYLb-w
• Example commands

• #get the help info for yum
  yum
  
  # Update all the already installed package to the latest version
  yum update
  
  # Looking for a package by name
  yum list python3*
  
  # Looking for a package using a string
  yum search get
  
  # Find details of a package
  yum info python3
  
  # install and automatically add pre-reqs
  yum install python3.ppc
  
  rpm -qa
• Can’t cover all packages wget, C, Python3, Go, Apache, and PostgreSQL
   

• YouTube video: 
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvylFrQX93U
• AIX, like all UNIX based operating systems, has the all powerful superuser called "root".  If you want less important function available for non-root users, then that is a problem. Some examples are a user that can control printers but no other "root" user functions. Or a user that is allowed to mount and unmount particular file systems. It is this class of problem that is addressed by Roll-based Access Control.
• The RBAC feature allows fine grain access to a matrix of commands and resources to specific users or user groups.

• YouTube video playlist: 
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osoG3CsfDjk

• https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/aix/7.1?topic=workload-partitions-aix
• Covering versioned, system and application workload partition types.
• Also, configuring and managing workload partition with advanced topics.

• The NIM Redbooks: https://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redbooks/pdfs/sg247296.pdf
• Installing AIX over a network by using a NIM server. The NIM server is running AIX and responds to "bootp" and "tftp" requests from a booting LPAR (VM) to mount the AIX installation media to allow the AIX installation.
• There are many web articles on NIM.
• NIM can be managed by using commands or by using "smitty".

• Live Update is a feature in AIX 7.2 and higher release.
• Previously call Live Kernel Update (LKU) but now covers more than the AIX Kernel
• Note Live Update is an advanced function for experience AIX system administrators and is aware of the prerequisites.

# Edit the details into this file: 
vi /var/adm/ras/liveupdate/lvupdate.data 

# Set the authorisation for HMC access
hmcauth -u hscroot -a hmc_name 

# Start the Update
geninstall -k [-p] [-Y] [-D] [ -d <media> ]
                [ -f <file> | <install_list...> | all | update_all ]

• PowerHA
• XIVE
• Flash Cache
• GZIP on the POWER9 processor
• Dynamic LPAR