AIX 5L Fix Distribution

Audience: System Administrators

Date: August 16, 2002

It is important to keep your AIX operating system current because it fixes bugs, adds new functionality, improves performance, and keeps Supportline happy. The fixes to keep your system current are freely available on the internet. However, the location and procedure for downloading AIX 5L fixes is different than AIX 4. The URL for requesting AIX 5L fixes is

http://techsupport.services.ibm.com/server/aix.elecptforder

To use this facility, a user must obtain an "IBM Common Registration UserID" from

http://www.ibm.com/registration/selfreg

In addition, the download procedure has changed. Here's how the new procedure works:

• You submit a request for the fix
• The systems generates a tar file containing the fix and its requisites
• The system places the tar file on an FTP server (generally 5 minutes, but may take as long 2 hours)
• The system sends you an e-mail with the ftp-link and retrieval instructions (The ftp file is kept on the server for 72 hours, then erased.)

Unlike the web-based FixDist interface, there is no "search" capability. You'll have to use the APAR database to do any searching.