Question & Answer
Question
This is a guide intended for those who need to setup NIM and the needed resources in order to boot into maintenance mode.
References:
Here’s a list of useful documents you might want to read before continuing with this:
1. Booting AIX into Maintenance Mode from HMC
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=isg3T1013056
2. NIM Setup Guide
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=isg3T1010383
2. NIM Communications in a Firewall Environment
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=isg3T1011808
3. IBM Redbook – NIM A-Z
Answer
Introduction
This technote describes how to setup NIM to boot into maintenance mode on AIX systems in order to perform maintenance operations on the rootvg volume group. When the machine is part of a NIM environment, you can enter maintenance mode directly by enabling the maint_boot operation for a NIM standalone machine.
Requirements
If we want to boot a server into maintenance mode without the installation media, then we can achieve this by the NIM server using SPOT.
The SPOT which is used to boot your target server to maintenance mode should be the same version of AIX and an equal or higher TL level. Additionally, the service pack build date of the SPOT must be equal to or higher than the target server.
Examples :
If the target server is running AIX 7200-02-01-1732 it is recommended to use a SPOT at that level.
Using a SPOT at 7200-02-02-1832 or any service pack level higher within TL02 will work as well
Using a SPOT at 7200-03-01-1838 or any service pack level higher should work as a secondary option, if there is no appropriate matching TL/SP SPOT available.
Using a SPOT at 7200-01-xx-xxxx (regardless of SP and Build Date) will not work. Neither will any other lower version or TL SPOT resource.
Alternate option:
Creating a SPOT from a current existing mksysb of that system will allow you to boot to maintenance mode as well.
Example: If the NIM master is running AIX 7200-03-01-1838 then you can boot into maintenance mode the same target level or lower, but not higher, otherwise you should first update your NIM master to the needed level, if the NIM master's # oslevel -s command returns "7200-03-01-1838", the build date on your LPAR is 1838 which means that this oslevel was released on the 38th week of 2018.
Creating the SPOT resource.
Creating SPOT resource from AIX base media iso.
First we need to create lpp_source from the AIX base media iso file and then to create the SPOT from it.
1. Enter the smitty menu to create resources with:
#smitty nim_mkres
2. Select the lpp_source from the list of resource types.
* Resource Name [7200_03_01_1838_base_lppsource]
* Resource Type lpp_source
* Server of Resource [master]
* Location of Resource [/export/lpp_source/7200_03_01_1838_base_lppsource]
Source of Install Images
[/export/base/AIX_v7.2_Install_7200-03-01-1838_DVD_1_of_2_102018.iso]
Names of Option Packages [all]
All other options should remain set to their default values.
If you would prefer to create the resource from command line:
# nim -o define -t lpp_source -a server=master -a source=<full path to the DVD.ISO> -a packages=all -a location=<where to create the lpp_source resource> <lpp_source name>
Then we need to create SPOT from the lpp_source which we already created:
1. Enter the smitty menu to create resources with:
#smitty nim_mkres
2. Select the SPOT from the list of resource types.
* Resource Name [7200_03_01_1838_base_spot]
* Resource Type spot
* Server of Resource [master]
Source of Install Images [7200_03_01_1838_base_lppsource]
Press F4 and select the lpp_source
* Location of Resource [/export/spot/7200_03_01_1838_base_spot]
All other options should remain set to their default values.
If you would prefer to create the resource from command line:
# nim -o define -t spot -a server=master -a source=<lpp_source name> -a location=<where to create the spot resource> <spot name>
Creating SPOT resource from mksysb.
If you have recent mksysb from the system you are going to boot in maintenance mode you can use it to create SPOT from it.
First, we need to verify the VRMF of the mksysb is equal to or lower than the NIM master.
# cd <location of your mksysb>
# lsmksysb -lf <mksysb filename> | grep SERVICEPACK
Example:
# lsmksysb -lf target28OCT.mksysb | grep SERVICEPACK
SERVICEPACK LEVEL: 7200-03-01-1838
*Note : If you do not get output from this command, then your AIX VRMF level is below 7100-04.
On mksysb images with levels lower than 7100-04, follow these steps:
# cd <location of your mksysb>
# lsmksysb -Lf <mksysb filename> | grep bos.mp64
Example:
# lsmksysb -Lf testbackup.mksysb | grep bos.mp64
bos.mp64 6.1.9.200 C F Base Operating System 64-bit
Based on the version of the bos.mp64 fileset you can consider which is the exact AIX version this mksysb has been taken from, please see the link below with all the bos.mp64 levels corresponding to AIX levels:
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=isg1fileset2063572681
Then we need to create mksysb resource from the mksysb file:
1. Enter the smitty menu to create resources with:
#smitty nim_mkres
2. Select the mksysb from the list of resource types.
* Resource Name [target_mksysb_28OCT]
* Resource Type mksysb
* Server of Resource [master]
* Location of Resource [/export/mksysb/target28OCT.mksysb]
All other options should remain set to their default values.
If you would prefer to create the resource from command line:
# nim -o define -t mksysb -a server=master -a location=<path to filename of the mksysb> <mksysb resoruce name>
After the mksysb resource has been created, we can proceed with creating the SPOT from it.
1. Enter the smitty menu to create resources with:
#smitty nim_mkres
2. Select the SPOT from the list of resource types.
* Resource Name [target_spot_28OCT]
* Resource Type spot
* Server of Resource [master]
Source of Install Images [Press F4 and select the mksysb resource - target_mksysb_28OCT]
* Location of Resource [/export/spot/spot_from_mksysb_28OCT]
All other options should remain set to their default values.
If you would prefer to create the resource from command line:
# nim -o define -t spot -a server=master -a source=<mksysb resource> -a location=<where to create the spot resource> <spot name>
Setting up the target LPAR for maintenance boot.
After we have created the required SPOT resource we need setup the target LPAR for maintenance boot:
# smitty nim_mac_op
Then select the client you are going to boot in maintenance mode:
Target Name
Move cursor to desired item and press Enter.
master machines master
target machines standalone
On the following screen select main_boot (enable a machine to boot in maintenance mode):
Operation to Perform
Move cursor to desired item and press Enter. Use arrow keys to scroll.
diag = enable a machine to boot a diagnostic image
cust = perform software customization
bos_inst = perform a BOS installation
maint = perform software maintenance
reset = reset an object's NIM state
fix_query = perform queries on installed fixes
check = check the status of a NIM object
reboot = reboot specified machines
maint_boot = enable a machine to boot in maintenance mode
showlog = display a log in the NIM environment
lppchk = verify installed filesets
restvg = perform a restvg operation
linux_inst = operation to install Linux onto a standalone
lswpar = show the characteristics of a workload partition
syncwpar = synchronize workload partition software with the
showdump = Show the location of a client dump
snap = collect a snap record from a client
update_all = update all currently installed filesets
*Make sure you select “maint_boot” and not “maint”, as the “maint” option does NOT boot the client system into maintenance mode. Only 'maint_boot' will boot the client into maintenance mode.
Then on the next screen we need to select the SPOT resource which we created in the previous steps:
Enable Maintenance Boot
Type or select values in entry fields.
Press Enter AFTER making all desired changes.
[Entry Fields]
Target Name target NIM client
* SPOT [Press F4 and select the SPOT target_spot_28OCT or 7200_03_01_1838_base_spot]
All other options should remain set to their default values.
If you would prefer to create the resource from command line:
# nim -o maint_boot -a spot=<spot name> <client name>
In order to verify that maintenance boot has been enabled and the SPOT resource has been allocated for the target LPAR:
# lsnim -l target
target:
class = machines
type = standalone
connect = nimsh
platform = chrp
netboot_kernel = 64
if1 = master_net target.ibm.com BA2C80E99102 ent0
cable_type1 = N/A
Cstate = maintenance boot has been enabled
prev_state = ready for a NIM operation
Mstate = currently running
boot = boot
spot = target_spot_28OCT
cpuid = 00F7F4744C00
control = master
Once we verify this we can go ahead and reboot the target LPAR from the HMC and boot it in SMS mode, you can follow the technote below in order to boot the target LPAR in SMS from the HMC:
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=isg3T1013056
When we get into the SMS menus we need to first setup the remote IPL settings:
PowerPC Firmware
Version AL740_161
SMS 1.7 (c) Copyright IBM Corp. 2000,2008 All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Main Menu
1. Select Language
2. Setup Remote IPL (Initial Program Load)
3. Change SCSI Settings
4. Select Console
5. Select Boot Options
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Navigation Keys: X = eXit System Management Services
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type menu item number and press Enter or select Navigation key: 2
Select the needed network adapter:
PowerPC Firmware
Version AL740_161
SMS 1.7 (c) Copyright IBM Corp. 2000,2008 All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NIC Adapters
Device Location Code Hardware Address
1. Interpartition Logical LAN U8202.E4C.10F474R-V2-C2-T1 ba2c80e99102
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Navigation keys:
M = return to Main Menu
ESC key = return to previous screen X = eXit System Management Services
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type menu item number and press Enter or select Navigation key:1
PowerPC Firmware
Version AL740_161
SMS 1.7 (c) Copyright IBM Corp. 2000,2008 All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Select Internet Protocol Version.
1. IPv4 - Address Format 123.231.111.222
2. IPv6 - Address Format 1234:5678:90ab:cdef:1234:5678:90ab:cdef
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Navigation keys:
M = return to Main Menu
ESC key = return to previous screen X = eXit System Management Services
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type menu item number and press Enter or select Navigation key:1
PowerPC Firmware
Version AL740_161
SMS 1.7 (c) Copyright IBM Corp. 2000,2008 All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Select Network Service.
1. BOOTP
2. ISCSI
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Navigation keys:
M = return to Main Menu
ESC key = return to previous screen X = eXit System Management Services
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type menu item number and press Enter or select Navigation key:1
PowerPC Firmware
Version AL740_161
SMS 1.7 (c) Copyright IBM Corp. 2000,2008 All rights reserved.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Network Parameters
Interpartition Logical LAN: U8202.E4C.10F474R-V2-C2-T1
1. IP Parameters
2. Adapter Configuration
3. Ping Test
4. Advanced Setup: BOOTP
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Navigation keys:
M = return to Main Menu
ESC key = return to previous screen X = eXit System Management Services
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type menu item number and press Enter or select Navigation key:1
Type in the correct values for your environment.
PowerPC Firmware
Version AL740_161
SMS 1.7 (c) Copyright IBM Corp. 2000,2008 All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IP Parameters
Interpartition Logical LAN: U8202.E4C.10F474R-V2-C2-T1
1. Client IP Address [9.175.170.220]
2. Server IP Address [9.175.170.219]
3. Gateway IP Address [9.175.170.219]
4. Subnet Mask [255.255.254.0]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Navigation keys:
M = return to Main Menu
ESC key = return to previous screen X = eXit System Management Services
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type menu item number and press Enter or select Navigation key:
Note:
When the master and client are on the same network the "Gateway" IP address should be set to the master's IP address. The true gateway address should only be used if they are on different networks.
Once you setup the remote IPL settings press ESC in order to return to the previous menu and perform and to run a ping test:
PowerPC Firmware
Version AL740_161
SMS 1.7 (c) Copyright IBM Corp. 2000,2008 All rights reserved.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Network Parameters
Interpartition Logical LAN: U8202.E4C.10F474R-V2-C2-T1
1. IP Parameters
2. Adapter Configuration
3. Ping Test
4. Advanced Setup: BOOTP
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Navigation keys:
M = return to Main Menu
ESC key = return to previous screen X = eXit System Management Services
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type menu item number and press Enter or select Navigation key:3
PowerPC Firmware
Version AL740_161
SMS 1.7 (c) Copyright IBM Corp. 2000,2008 All rights reserved.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ping Test
Interpartition Logical LAN: U8202.E4C.10F474R-V2-C2-T1
Speed, Duplex: auto,auto
Client IP Address: 9.175.170.220
Server IP Address: 9.175.170.219
Gateway IP Address: 9.175.170.5
Subnet Mask: 255.255.254.0
Protocol: Standard
Spanning Tree Enabled: 0
Connector Type:
1. Execute Ping Test
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Navigation keys:
M = return to Main Menu
ESC key = return to previous screen X = eXit System Management Services
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type menu item number and press Enter or select Navigation key:1
9.175.170.220: 24 bytes from 9.175.170.219: icmp_seq=8 ttl=? time=11 ms
9.175.170.220: 24 bytes from 9.175.170.219: icmp_seq=9 ttl=? time=11 ms
9.175.170.220: 24 bytes from 9.175.170.219: icmp_seq=10 ttl=? time=11 ms
.-----------------.
| Ping Success. |
`-----------------'
Press any key to continue..........
Then press M to return to the Main SMS menu:
PowerPC Firmware
Version AL740_161
SMS 1.7 (c) Copyright IBM Corp. 2000,2008 All rights reserved.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Main Menu
1. Select Language
2. Setup Remote IPL (Initial Program Load)
3. Change SCSI Settings
4. Select Console
5. Select Boot Options
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Navigation Keys: X = eXit System Management Services
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type menu item number and press Enter or select Navigation key:5
PowerPC Firmware
Version AL740_161
SMS 1.7 (c) Copyright IBM Corp. 2000,2008 All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Multiboot
1. Select Install/Boot Device
2. Configure Boot Device Order
3. Multiboot Startup <OFF>
4. SAN Zoning Support
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Navigation keys:
M = return to Main Menu
ESC key = return to previous screen X = eXit System Management Services
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type menu item number and press Enter or select Navigation key:1
PowerPC Firmware
Version AL740_161
SMS 1.7 (c) Copyright IBM Corp. 2000,2008 All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Select Device Type
1. Diskette
2. Tape
3. CD/DVD
4. IDE
5. Hard Drive
6. Network
7. List all Devices
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Navigation keys:
M = return to Main Menu
ESC key = return to previous screen X = eXit System Management Services
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type menu item number and press Enter or select Navigation key:6
PowerPC Firmware
Version AL740_161
SMS 1.7 (c) Copyright IBM Corp. 2000,2008 All rights reserved.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Select Network Service.
1. BOOTP
2. ISCSI
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Navigation keys:
M = return to Main Menu
ESC key = return to previous screen X = eXit System Management Services
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type menu item number and press Enter or select Navigation key:1
PowerPC Firmware
Version AL740_161
SMS 1.7 (c) Copyright IBM Corp. 2000,2008 All rights reserved.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Select Device
Device Current Device
Number Position Name
1. - Interpartition Logical LAN ( loc=U8202.E4C.10F474R-V2-C2-T1 )
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Navigation keys:
M = return to Main Menu
ESC key = return to previous screen X = eXit System Management Services
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type menu item number and press Enter or select Navigation key:1
PowerPC Firmware
Version AL740_161
SMS 1.7 (c) Copyright IBM Corp. 2000,2008 All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Select Task
Interpartition Logical LAN( loc=U8202.E4C.10F474R-V2-C2-T1 )
1. Information
2. Normal Mode Boot
3. Service Mode Boot
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Navigation keys:
M = return to Main Menu
ESC key = return to previous screen X = eXit System Management Services
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type menu item number and press Enter or select Navigation key:2
PowerPC Firmware
Version AL740_161
SMS 1.7 (c) Copyright IBM Corp. 2000,2008 All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Are you sure you want to exit System Management Services?
1. Yes
2. No
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Navigation Keys: X = eXit System Management Services
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type menu item number and press Enter or select Navigation key:1
Once we exit the System Management Services, the network boot will start:
TFTP BOOT ---------------------------------------------------
Server IP.....................9.175.170.219
Client IP.....................9.175.170.220
Gateway IP....................9.175.170.5
Subnet Mask...................255.255.254.0
( 1 ) Filename................./tftpboot/target.ibm.com
TFTP Retries..................5
Block Size....................512
PACKET COUNT = 12600
Then we will be presented with the welcome to AIX screen and will be prompted to define a console, where we need to press 1:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to AIX.
boot image timestamp: 17:13:02 10/28/2018
The current time and date: 18:10:49 10/28/2018
processor count: 1; memory size: 2048MB; kernel size: 45161317
boot device: /vdevice/llan@30000002:speed=auto,duplex=auto,9.175.170.219,,9.175.170.220,9.175.170.5,5,5,255.255.254.0,512
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
******* Please define the System Console. *******
Type a 1 and press Enter to use this terminal as the system console.
Pour definir ce terminal comme console systeme, appuyez sur 1 puis sur Entree.
Taste 1 und anschliessend die Eingabetaste druecken, um diese Datenstation als Systemkonsole zu verwenden.
Premere il tasto 1 ed Invio per usare questo terminal come console.
Escriba 1 y pulse Intro para utilizar esta terminal como consola del sistema.
Escriviu 1 1 i premeu Intro per utilitzar aquest terminal com a consola del sistema.
Digite um 1 e pressione Enter para utilizar este terminal como console do sistema.
>>> 1 Type 1 and press Enter to have English during maintenance.
88 Help ?
>>> Choice [1]: 1
And now we are in maintenance mode:
Maintenance
Type the number of your choice and press Enter.
>>> 1 Access a Root Volume Group
2 Copy a System Dump to Removable Media
3 Access Advanced Maintenance Functions
4 Erase Disks
5 Configure Network Disks (iSCSI)
6 Select Storage Adapters
88 Help ?
99 Previous Menu
>>> Choice [1]:
Known issues
When you are in maintenance mode and you try to access the volume group and you are getting errors like:
"System error: Error
0
Examine .loader section symbols with the 'dump -Tv' command.
Could not load program
/usr/bin/ksh:
Symbol resolution failed for /usr/lib/libc.a(shr.o) because:
Symbol unicount (number 265) is not exported from dependent module /unix. "
This means that:
- The SPOT level is lower than the oslevel of the target LPAR you are trying to boot in maintenance mode.
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Document Information
Modified date:
02 April 2019
UID
ibm10879609