How to perform the mksysb restore from nim?

How to perform the mksysb restore from nim?

Pre-check:

Ø Get the latest mksysb image of your client onto the NIM server.

Ø Ensure you have the location details of the root disk; disk onto which you have to restore mksysb. Select the correct root disk, donot select the data disk, this shall destroy the data on the data disk.

Ø Confirm the client is defined, if not define the client 

Installation Instructions:

1.Define your client in the NIM Master   -> #smitty nim_mkmac

2. Get the mksysb image of your client to the NIM Master

3. Creation of Resource using the Mksysb of your Client   --> #Smitty nim_mkres

4. Smitty nim_task_inst.-->   Install the Base Operating System on Standalone Clients

5. Select your client

6. Choose the Mksysb as Installation type

7. Choose the resource which is created by your mksysb image

8. Choose the Spot which is higher than your Client

9. Change "Initiate reboot and installation now?" to "no"

10. The following steps are optional if the hardware is similar . The steps are required if new hardware drivers will be needed. If you aren't sure, do the steps.

                 a. choose the 61TL01_lpp_source

                 b. set "ACCEPT new license agreements" to "yes"

                 c. set "ACCEPT new license agreements" in the "installp Flags" section to "yes"

11. Reboot your Client and Get into SMS mode, start your restoration

12. Press 1 to get into the SMS menu,

13.In the SMS menu the first screen , we have 3 options

14.Select the option 3, Utilities,

15.Select option “Remote Initial Program Load Setup” , 

16.Enter the IP parameters,

17.Specify the Client IP ( IP of the server on which the mksysb image will be restored ), Server IP ( IP of the NIM Server ), Check if the subnet mask is correct. Specify, gateway if needed. Perform a ping test

18. Come back to the menu, by pressing X,

19. Select the option Multiboot,

20. Select Boot Device, and select the Ethernet card

             Exit from SMS menu by pressing X, the server (a.k.a NIM client) would try to connect to the NIM server, once the packet count starts it means that the NIM client is connected and receiving the packets from the NIM master.

We get the boot screen now, Press 1

Accept the language as English, Press 1 now,

Select 0,

You may change the settings by selecting the right number,

Once selected it comes back to the main menu,

The installation would start now

This progress can also be monitored on the NIM Master,  lsnim –l <  clinet hostname>

Once done, the system should reboot automatically

Verification / Post-check:

Ø Make sure the server is accessible from the network (ssh and telnet should work)

Ø All the Volume groups should be varied On

Ø Confirm all the file systems are mounted

Ø Check all the logins are working fine

Ø Make sure all the required services are running

Ø Get the confirmation from the application team that everything working fine.

Backout:

There is no backout for ‘mksysb restore’; it is itself a backout. Perhaps the mksysb restore of the previous image could be a backout in this case.

How to perform storage migration from IBM to Hitachi?

How to perform storage migration from IBM to Hitachi?

 Please follow the below host based storage migration steps in dual vio setup.

   ü  Take the backup of the Lpar (Mksysb and TSM for datavg), and take the backup of VIOS (VIOSBR and VIOSBR)

   ü  Share the current configuration (IBM disks info) to the storage team (No of disks and size of the disks), and ask storage people to provide the new Hitachi disks based on the current configuration.

   ü  Execute "cfgmgr"on the vios servers to make sure the newly added Hitachi disks are available with the correct size and note the LUN info.

   ü  Change the disk's attribute like the algorithm and reserve_policy

   ü  Map the disks to the lpar with the help of mkvdev command (mkvdev –vadapter vhost# -vdev hdisk# -dev vtd_name)

   ü  Come to the Lpar and then execute the cfgmgr and confirm the number of disks and size of the disks also the disks having the two path.

   ü  Change the attribute of healthcheck_interval

   ü  Extend the disks to the VG and then execute the migratepv command (nohup migratepv IBM_disk Hitachi_disk &)

   ü  Once the migraiton is completed, take it out the old IBM disks by executing the reducevg command (Reducevg datavg IBM_disk)

   ü  Remove the disks from the lpar by executing rmdev

   ü  Now going to VIOS server and then delete the IBM disks VTD Mapping and then delete the IBM disks.

   ü  Once you delete the IBM disks, ask the storage people to unmap the IBM disks from their end, once they did, we will execute the cfgmgr and make sure the IBM disks cannot return back.

Note:

   ü  Ask the app people to shutdown the app/DB (This is OPTIONAL if your management wants to make sure to avoid any risks - we can perform rootvg+datavg migration on the fly. However if we perform the storage migration on cluster (HACMP) environment, we need to down the app (In cluster end - bring resource group offline) to avoid risks.

   ü  We can perform the storage migration in SAN based also. Steps are slightly differ from Host based method.

   ü  We can perform the migration by using the below methods.

       ü  1. Migratepv

       ü  2. Mirrorvg

       ü  3. Alt disk install 

If you happy with above topic, Kindly rate your reactions/comments below.

IBM AIX interview questions you should not leave home without?

How to deal with AIX interview questions?

Hi guys Greetings from Howtoaix. I have listed the some set of interview questions below. Please prepare the answer before you gonna attend the interview. Please do share the answers if anyone wish to do it.

Note: will share the advance concept (VIO, NIM, LPAR,DLPAR,HMC) questions in near future.

1. How do I know if my volume group is normal, big, or scalable?

2. How do I create a volume group?

3. How can I change the characteristics of a volume group?

4. How do I create a logical volume?

5. How do I increase the size of a logical volume?

6. How do I display all logical volumes that are part of a volume group (e,g, rootvg)?

7. How do I list information about logical volumes?

8. How can I clone the rootvg?

9. How do I replace a disk?

10. How do I mirror a logical volume?

11. How can I display or set values for network parameters?

12. How do I get the IP address of my machine?

13. How do I identify the network interfaces on my server?

14. How do I activate a network interface?

15. How do I display routing table, interface and protocol information?

16. How will you create a file if a disk is given to you?

17. Difference between JFS & JFS2?

18. How will you find the inode number?

19. How will you find LTG size?

20. How will you change LTG size?

21. How will you find whether a quorum is up or not?

22. How to copy a LV from one VG to another?

23. Mirroring concept?

24. How will you unmirror a VG if a PV gets failed?

25. How will you change a PP size?

26. T – Factor?

27. What is the default PP Size in AIX?

28. How will you rename a VG?

29. What is major number?

30. What will you do if a disk gets failed?

31. How to enable & disable quorum?

32. What are the types of error?

33. What are the error levels severity?

34. What is the command to see the error log?

35. What is the command to clear the errorlog?

36. What is the command to increase the size of error log when it is ful?

37. What is the command to start , stop, restart and list a demon?

38. When does error demon start in boot process?

39. Which file that error daemon stay?

40. Two states of device availability and explain them?

41. How will you check whether a device is installed or not?

42. How to change a 64 bit kernel to 32 bit kernel?

43. How to change a 32 bit kernel to 64 bit kernel?

44. How many VGs can be created in a LVM?

45. Types of VG & explain about them?

46. How to convert a normal VG to big & scalable VG and also Big to Scalable VG?

47. What is VGDA, VGSA?

48. Default dump device?

49. Default secondary dump device?

50. How find a system dump?

51. Where the file does the paging space stay?

52. How will check whether a fix is installed or not?

53. What are the two states of installation?

54. How will you reject a committed fileset?

55. How will you check whether service pack is installed or not?

56. What is the latest OS level?

57. How will you check whether software is installed or not?

58. How do you find history of a file set?

59. How to remove a failed package installation?

60. How do remove the entries of the device in the odm?

61. What are the types of ODM Database ?

62. ODM Commands

63. Types of Installation?

64. Where does log files resides?

65. How to unlock user account?

66. How to lock a user’s account?

67. How do u take backup of file systems?

68. How will u restore a file from already take backup using backup?

69. How will u append a file to a previous archive take by Tar?

70. What command to take backup other vg’s?

71. What command to restore backup of non – rootvg?

72. In which files the installation errors stay?

73. What are the Error Codes? 201, 221-229, 553, c31, 552,554,556

74. What is the command to view boot log?

75. what is the command to configure the devices?

76. what is the command to list the bootlist?

77. what is the command to change the boot list order?

78. what are the fields in /etc/inittab file?

79. What is the command to find out the kernel bit mode?

80. what is the difference between mksysb and savevg backup?

81. what is the command to confirm the mksysb backup is properly taken?

82. What is the command to list/edit/remove the fields of cronjob?

83. what file should allow and deny the cron entry?

84. what command to list out the usage of the paging space?

85. what command to increase/decrease/remove the paging space?

86. How to enable and disable the paging space?

87. what command to remove the installed software?

88. what command is used to check whether the deamon is running or not?

89. what is the command to start/stop/refresh the deamon?

90. what are the areas are managed by ODM?

91. what command is used to add the IP address?

92. What is the command to bring down and bring up the network card?

93. what is the command to create/remove/change the user account?

94. what is the command to change the password?

95. How to find out the current run level?

96. How to find out the speed of the network adapter?

97. can we able to copy the lv from one vg to another vg? How?

98. what is the command to perform mirror and unmirror task?

99. How to find out the broken filesets in aix?

100. How to find out the FC card details in aix?

101. How to list out the file with the number on all the lines?

102. How to come to the last line in the vi editor?

103. what is the use of R flag in the chmod command?

104. What is mean by sticky bit and how do you find out?

105. How to change the prompt in aix?

106. How to list out last login and log out in aix?

107. How to scan a particular device in aix?

108. what is the output of bootinfo with the following options (l,K,r,s,b,p,M,T)?

109. How to stop and start the error deamon?

110. How to increase the size of errordeamon?

111. what is the output of sysdumpdev with the following options (l,e,,Pp,Ps,p,s)?

112. which file allow and deny the cron?

113. what is the disadvantage of tar?

114. How to take tar backup?

115. How to take a snap shot in aix?

116. What is the output location of snap? what is the name of the file?

117. what is the purpose of lppchk command?

118. how to change the hostname temporarily?

119. How to change the hostname permanently?

120. What are all the content of blv?

121. What is the default kernal location?

122. How to remove the filesystem info in /etc/filesystems?

123. How do you list out the filesystems information in vg?

124. What is the default priority in aix?

125. How to stop and restart the processs?

126. How to run a background process in to foreground? (Vice versa)

127. What are the different directory abbreviation ( )

128. How to move a directory?

129. How to rename a file?

130. How to obtain/monitor the lvm performance?

131. How to find out the firmware level in aix>

132. How to confirm the smt is enable or not in the system?

133. How to list out the top ten users of paging space?

134. How to list out the top ten users of real memory?

135. How to find out the available processor in aix>

136. How to check the system dump is completed successfully?

137. How to list out the efix?

138. How to list open files?

139. How to compress a file in aix?

140. How to find out the major number of the device?

141. How to list out the mac address?

142. What command needs to execute after editing /etc/inittab file?

143. what is the zoombie or defunct process in aix?

144. Waht is the purpose of errorlogger?

145. How to find out the runlevel in aix?

146. How to find out the file's general information? (What kind of file is this?)

147. what is the purpose of inutoc?

148. what is the purpose of savebase command in aix?

149. How to find out the whether your are working in standalone server or logical

partition?

150. How to list out the directories and sub-directories of the folder?