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IBM pSeries AIX HATE

ajt on 2006-06-07T14:26:15

I've drawn the short straw and will have to test our DR procedure. Alas the version of AIX we are running can not be booted from it's mksysb DAT drive because of a bug. This leads to much pain in trying to get the box into Maintance Mode, from a CD instead, then loading the data from the tape at that point.

IBM I hate you, AIX I hate you, freezing cold server room I hate you...

what ancient pSeries AIX is that?

n1vux on 2006-06-08T16:31:10

I gather you don't have the HMC and other modern convenicences? How old or low-end is this pSeries?

Was this ever the IBM recommended procedure back in the day? [Not in my 5 year memory of pSeries -- we're Lights Out in the server room for anything that doesn't require pulling glass or inserting cards. Of course, we spring for virtual console servers for even our commodity linux boxes.]

It sounds like your DR is beyond cold-standby -- what are you oding, reloading a different image onto a DEV box?

Bill

Re:what ancient pSeries AIX is that?

ajt on 2006-06-08T19:23:24

Though I work for a top 20 company on the Fortune 500, they are a bunch of cheapscapes. We have a production SAP system running on secondhand IBM @server pSeries p5-550 hardware with no HMC. The current patch level of AIX 3.5L is broken, and the mksysb can't be used to boot another similar box as it's supposed to. We're going up to a DR site to try and put our mksysb DAT onto their p5-570, if that works, we'll restore the data from the DataProtector system, that's being DR'ed at the same time. If we can't boot the system to restore the rootvg, then it's going to be a very quick exercise!

My feeling is that it'll all go pear shaped, which is okay it's a test and managment needs to know their plans are pants...

This week I've been trying to get an antique p6-600 system to take the rootvg from the p5-550. It won't boot directly from the tape, but it will boot from a minimal CD, and then access the tape. Everything went okay, until it refused to find any disks to install too! I know basic AIX stuff, but I'm no expert and I'm not expecting an easy ride...!

Re:what ancient pSeries AIX is that?

fasherman on 2006-06-14T13:33:53

You don't need an HMC if you're running full system partition, so thats no big deal. Don't get sucked into the scam of using the VIO Server IVM istead of an HMC if you do decide to partition. You can see an explanation as to why here: http://www.pseriestech.org/forum/hardware-management-console/do-i-really-need-an -hmc-27.html

I assume "AIX 3.5L" is a typo. ;)

What patch level of AIX are you on and have your verified that you are complete?

Visit our AIX/IBM pSeries support forums at http://www.pseriestech.org/forum and I should be able to help you though this.

Re:what ancient pSeries AIX is that?

ajt on 2006-06-15T19:39:51

Thanks for the links, I'll have a look around.