AIX SPACE Q1 hello all, after installing two new fibre-channel cards & two ethernet cards into a p630 and powering back up, i couldnt see them listed as resources in 'diag -> resource selection'... so i went to 'smitty -> devices -> install(or whatever)' and got the following error/warning: "cfgmgr: 0514-621 WARNING: The following device packages are required for device support but are not currently installed. devices.pci.ethernet:devices.pci.14108902....etc & devices.pci.fibre-channel:devices.pci.df108059.... etc SO... i have looked on ibm's website for these msg's to no avail. does anyone know what the procedure is for this? sorry i'm a sun/solaris admin with little/no experience on pseries/aix. where are these "packages", and whats the deal for getting these pci-cards recognized and functional? thanks. A1 Are these IBM-branded cards? These will come with device drivers on the OS CD, which we can help you install, if this is indeed the case. If they are not IBM-branded (or sold by IBM or a IBM business partner) cards, then you will need to contact the vendor or manufacturer of the cards and request AIX device driver packages for the cards be made available. -Dan A2 yeah, these are IBM-branded (i was told so anyway... is there an easy way to verify? i'm prety sure they are though). A3 Hmm... do you have a type/model for these adapters? A part number? A FRU number? One of these should be listed on paperwork (order form or stuff that came with it) or box they came in. If no to all of the above, then look at the back of the machine, by where the cards are visible through the slots. Look for stuff like 4-J, 9-P, etc. If you find these codes, mention what code is on each card. Can cross-reference any of the above information to a specific card with known specifications. From there, can figure out what drivers it needs. A4 yeah, i didnt get any paperwork, just the pci cards wrapped in anti-static bags... but on the back, i'm seeing some codes as follows: fibre-channel cards: both have a sticker that says "5704" one has a sticker that says "IEEE Address 00-00-C9-48-06-87" the other has a "IEE Address 00-00-C9-4C-89-1C" dual-port ethernet cards: both have a sticker that reads "5706" btw... i have the BOS disks for 5.2, but i don't have the diagnostics disk... i don't need that do i? (i needed it before to install raid adapter and set up raid on a different machine) A5 okay, i found something about ibm's "fixcentral", so i went there and entered the codes, oslevel, etc, and found a list of filesets, which i'm currently downloading and burning to disk to put on the machine... supposedly i can just put the disk into cd0 and issue a: $ cfgmgr -i /dev/cd0 i don't, however, have great faith that this is going to work... for some reason (i just can't put my finger on it... maybe its just that NOTHING seems to work in AIX the first time... ughh!!) what do you think? A6 If you have network access to the machine, you can FTP or scp the filesets to a filesystem that has room. (Let's say /var) Then do: # inutoc /var # installp -aXgd/var ..... The meaning of the installp flags: -a = APPLY (but *NOT* commit...easy to back out) -X = grow filesystem during installation if needed -g = pull in any other forgotten group prereqs as needed -d = directory to find the filesets (packages) inutoc scans the directory for any filesets and then extracts package information from each and builds it into a .toc file in the same directory. This makes it very fast for the installp command to figure out dependencies and prereqs/coreqs/etc. Otherwise, yeah, you could do the ISO image burn to CD route and stuff. -Dan A7 > > okay, i found something about ibm's "fixcentral", so i went there and > > entered the codes, oslevel, etc, and found a list of filesets, which > > i'm currently downloading and burning to disk to put on the machine... @CC I do not think that this make much sense because you do not get normaly the base fileset from there. I posted in another thread already the answer. > > If you have network access to the machine, you can FTP or scp the > filesets to a filesystem that has room. (Let's say /var) For local filesets the location should be /usr/sys/inst.images Best practise is even to create a FS and mount it into /usr/sys/inst.images So copy the files to /tmp/in/ and use 'smitty bffcreate ' or gencopy to copy the file to /usr/sys/inst.images/ You will see the difference in file naming. > > Then do: > > # inutoc /var > # installp -aXgd/var ..... This is the procedure for application installation but for device driver installation i would go with $ cfgmgr -i /PathToSoftware hth Hajo A8 holy F(*&#((*#ING SH(*#)*)$*TTT!!!!! dan, get this... .now, i cant even copy the files to the machine because it says: not enough room on device WTF?!?!?!?! its a BRAND NEW MACHINE!!!!!!!!! i CANT COPY ANYTHING to /tmp... /var.... /usr.... NOTHING!!!! not enough space on filesystem???? the filesystem needs to be increased!?!?!?! WTF?!?!?!?!?! there are 2 x 78GB HD's in there!!!!! i HATE AIX!!!!!! i mean REALLY...is AIX too FUCKING STUPID to use the whole disk when it installs itself?!?!? so... let me guess... now i get to REINSTALL AIX ?!?!? god DAMMMMIT... i'll be here all NIIIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A9 sorry all.... that was really immature and stupid. its just so frustrating when this stuff happens and i'm SO clueless about AIX. I really feel like i might resign from this job if its going to be all aix like this. i mean, i'm actually pretty good with sun/solaris stuff... been using it for so many years. when i took this job, i was like "how differrent can AIX be?". shit. in my limited experience, i have had NOTHING BUT PROBLEMS with it. i'm sure its my fault, my ignorance and lack of experience with it. but still. i believe a unix admin should be able to jump onto ANY unix system and be able to get BASIC stuff done. i mean seriously.... there are over 140GB's of HD space on this system, and when AIX installed... it evidently made about 5% of it useable. thanks alot aix. but really... sorry about the outburst. i just want to go home, and now i know i'll be here all night. again. A10 > sorry all.... > that was really immature and stupid. its just so frustrating when .... what you think i felt the first time with a sun machine after years of AIX administration ? .. wasted disk space AIX use a LVM which something like veritas Volume manager. So in AIX you start with small Filesystems and increase them on the fly or even create you once. A fast increase can be done by $ chfs -a size=+128M /MyFilesystem # AIX > 5.1 So since i am still awake ( you can write me directly if would like ( service (at) metamodul.com ) i can lead you through the steps you should do. 1) Get the AIX Installation media or check if they are already installed in /usr/sys/inst.images or another location. I asume that you can use the CD drive on the AIX box. 2) Put the first AIX CD into the drive and issue: $ cfgmgr -i /dev/cd0 what the message from cfgmgr ? A11 > that was really immature and stupid. its just so frustrating when No big deal. It happens, even to best of us. We all have days like that, especially when wading into something really new and strange/different. > this stuff happens and i'm SO clueless about AIX. I really feel like i > might resign from this job if its going to be all aix like this. i What? You're going to let IBM get the better of you?! No way, dude!!! :) You've been doing great so far. If you stick with it, it'll eventually all "fall in place" and make sense one day. It takes a while... but when I was fighting with my first AIX system for about 3-4 months, daily, one day... things just kinda 'clicked'. Hey, let me tell you something: when we all started working at my company, not one single person had the first clue about AIX. We're all Solaris and Linux admins originally. (And in my case, with some other stuff, too.) But we all learned how to administer AIX. It can be done. If you give up now or soon, it won't be done. If you stick with it, it will be. > i mean seriously.... there are over 140GB's of HD space on this system, > and when AIX installed... it evidently made about 5% of it useable. It left all the rest for you to carve up as *you* want to do in the future, instead of it dictating to you how to size stuff. This is good stuff and done for the right reasons. You need to trust IBM (and AIX) here. AIX is about 15 years old, so IBM has had a long time to get important stuff like that right. Also, it's really, really, really easy to grow filesystems and make new filesystems in AIX. One (or two) commands to make a filesystem, and one command to grow a filesystem. See my other post first; can walk you through that stuff, but need some basic info first. > but really... sorry about the outburst. i just want to go home, and > now i know i'll be here all night. again. Nah. You won't be there 'all night'. You'll either leave on time, or maybe delayed 10-15 minutes? -Dan A12 If you're new to AIX, but know other distributions, Rosetta Stone is your friend. You will come to like AIX, trust me...... http://www.owlriver.com/tips/maintenance/unix-rosetta.pdf Don A13 You can grow filesystems as needed. It's cake, and doesn't interrupt anything. No reboots or stopping anything. At install time, AIX takes only what it needs by default so that you can easily create new filesystems or grow existing ones -- whatever you want. That flexibility is VERY good to have, long-term, trust me on this. :) > so... let me guess... now i get to REINSTALL AIX ?!?!? > god DAMMMMIT... i'll be here all NIIIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! One of my favorite authors was Douglas Adams. Very tongue-in-cheek kind of guy and pretty funny, too. He did the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books. I'm reminded of a popular phrase from of one of these books: Don't Panic :-) That applies here, too. Now, this is *not* a problem at all, normally. First, take a deep breath. Take a short break; grab something to drink -- coffee, tea, soda, water. Then come back here. On that AIX machine, get the output of: # df -k and... # lsvg rootvg | grep FREE Post both. I just need to make sure you have enough free PPs in the volume group. Then we can make a filesystem for /usr/sys/inst.images (the AIX default location for packages) like Hajo suggested. It's better to create that as a separate filesystem instead of making a single, large, monster /usr filesystem because before AIX 5.3, you couldn't shrink any filesystems when you needed to get some space back in the future. I can walk you through the steps of creating a filesystem, but want to triple check some stuff first. So I'll wait for the info you'll post. Also, how many MB total for the files that you want to upload? Douglas Adams was a smart dude. Don't Panic. :-) -Dan You will need to keep in mind that this is a strange, new OS, with its own learning curve. In time, you *CAN* master it, but will need practice and patience. If I might suggest something? Perhaps look at it as an adventure in a strange new foreign land instead of a series of roadblocks. It's more fun that way, and you get to keep your sanity. A14 No AIX is not stupid "You Are" for not taking the time to at least to try and learn the basics. AIX uses a journaled file system that can be sized on the fly hint ... smit chfs, man chfs etc. unlike solaris that dumps 90% of the free disk space in to /export/home on a default install AIX uses only what it needs and lets you grow, shrink or create file systems on your own when you need without the need to reboot or log users off or go in to single user mode. A15 whew! yeah, i really freaked out, didnt i? sorry. i like d.adams... read hitchhikers a long time ago. but anyway... lets see..this box is NOT on the network.. .nor can i easily put it on the network where it is now. okay... so i'm typing these results by hand, not pasting... here goes: #df -k FS 1024-bloks free %used Iused %Iused mountedon /dev/hd4 65536 51292 22% 1542 5% / /dev/hd2 983040 0 100% 31024 13% /usr /dev/hd9var 65536 84 100% 390 3% /var /dev/hd3 " (65536) 0 100% 112 1 /tmp /dev/hd1 " 63484 4% 18 1 /home /proc - - - - - /proc /dev/hd10opt " 42240 36% 482 3 /opt /dev/cd0 " 0 100% 39092 100% /cdrom WHEW!!! okay... #lsvg rootvg |grep FREE MAX LV's: 256 FREE PPs: 1038 (66432 megabytes) okay... what do you think? A16 > whew! yeah, i really freaked out, didnt i? sorry. No problem. > okay... what do you think? Hmm. Do this: # lsvg rootvg | grep "PP SIZE" What is the size? I am guessing 128 MB? Also, how many MB, total, is the files that you want to upload to the AIX box? -Dan A17 Hi Dan, since i am getting no response from CC you should tell to increase or cleanup the /var /usr /tmp files because he filled them up and at least a few MB are needed in /var and /tmp for processing. a simple: chfs -a size=+1 /tmp chfs -a size=+1 /usr chfs -a size=+1 /var should give the system some releave cu Hajo A17 dang... this little editor messed up the formatting above, sorry. umm... i want to say, thanks, you guys, for your patience (except "mm"... hey MM...solaris uses a jounaled fs too... vfs and v vm work great for resizing on the fly... but its also useful to clients (who might not know about, or be into, changning around the fs) "out-of-the-box" on a default config... UNlike aix.... seriously, its so easy to change the fs, why not just dump the diskspace into probable useful places and let people change it around later if they want (like solaris) instead of how it is now where you DEFinitely HAVE to change it around) i mean.. is it just me, or is there always like... an extra layer of complexity... to get anything done in aix? anyway... i am really learning alot from you Dan (the man!) and thanks Hajo, too! well, i have to run and pick my girlfriend up from class and drive her home, but i will be coming back here after that (this machine had to be finished yesterday... i think i'm already in trouble... so i'll be coming back herre and working 'till its perfect) i'll be back on here in a couple hours, but dan, if youre gone by then... what do you think is the best way to get the drivers for those NIC's & fibre-channel's installed? i have to get those things working one way or another tonight...(is there a way to test theyre working, besides 'diag' without connectivity?) but really guys, thanks. btw, hajo, i did a $ cfgmgr -i /dev/cd0 with BOS#1 in there, and there was a shitload of stuff it looked like it added... but the right fs's to make the NIC's &FC's show up as resources was NOT there, apparently, 'cause AIX still isnt recognizing them, and is still returning the original WARNING msg's from my first post. then, i downloaded what the Warning msg. SAID were the requisite fs's from ibm's fixcentral, burned them to disk and tried it with that disk, but it was like "invalid toc" or some shit... can't remember but it didnt work... gotta jet, but i'll be back soon! thank you all profusely!!! A18 Lots of information, but work through stuff one step at a time. Don't get overwhelmed. Digest in bite-sized chunks. :) If any questions, just ask. In article <1137627315.891512.19090@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>, cc wrote: > > i'll be back on here in a couple hours, but dan, if youre gone by > then... what do you think is the best way to get the drivers for > those NIC's & fibre-channel's installed? i have to get those things > working one way or another tonight...(is there a way to test theyre > working, besides 'diag' without connectivity?) These filesystems are full; we need a little extra room, so grow each filesystem listed by 10 512-byte blocks (aka 5K total per fs): # chfs -a size=+10 /tmp # chfs -a size=+10 /usr # chfs -a size=+10 /var (chfs is the AIX equivalent of Solaris growfs.) We are clearing out *just* enough room so that rest of the commands won't fail when they create temporary files. Also, I'd suggest removing any junk from all three filesystems. (rm stuff that you can safely remove. If you're not sure, ask in a separate thread.) Now we double check to make sure we have any existing data moved out of the way: # ls -l /usr/sys/inst.images If above ls command returns no files, great. If it has any files in it, then do this: # mv /usr/sys/inst.images /usr/sys/inst.images.old Then we check something important: # lsvg rootvg | grep "PP SIZE" If PP size is set to 64 MB, then do this: # mklv -c2 -y lpplv rootvg 10 That will create a 640 MB logical volume (LV) for you. -c2 specifies two copies (for a mirrored setup). -y lpplv specifies name of LV rootvg specifies which VG to carve the LV out of. 10 specifies 10 PPs to take for making the LV. If PP size is set to 128 MB, then do this instead: # mklv -c2 -y lpplv rootvg 5 5 x 128 MB = 640 MB You get the idea. For any PP size, multiply it by whatever number to get 640 MB. I'm not sure you need that much, but doesn't hurt, especially since you have a *LOT* of unused disk space right now. And now, to create and mount the filesystem itself: # crfs -v jfs -d /dev/lpplv -m /usr/sys/inst.images # mount /usr/sys/inst.images If we had any files in /usr/sys/inst.images.old then move them to the fs: # mv /usr/sys/inst.images.old/* /usr/sys/inst.images/ Do you already have a cdrom entry? Check: # grep -p /cdrom /etc/filesystems If that returns nothing, then let's make a CD entry so we can mount it. # mkdir /cdrom # crfs -v cdrfs -d /dev/cd0 -m /cdrom -p ro (This will add a /cdrom stanza in /etc/filesystems, the AIX equivalent of /etc/fstab. cdrfs is also the AIX equivalent of Solaris pcfs filesystem.) Now mount the CD: # mount /cdrom Which directory has the files on CD? Check. # ls -alR /cdrom | more Whereever the package files are, copy them to /usr/sys/inst.images. Sometimes you can tell if they are package files because they have a .bff filename extension (BFF = Backup File Format). Or sometimes you can do 'file *' in a particular directory and it says 'backup/restore format file'. (You normally do not need to copy from a CD to a hard drive; AIX can read packages without having to mount a CD, but in your situation, the CD image you have is missing the TOC and possibly other things... so we will make sure everything looks ok this one time.) Then build the Table of Contents (TOC) file: # inutoc /usr/sys/inst.images *NOW* you can install stuff from there. You can use either 'installp', 'smitty install', or 'cfgmgr'. Also, see if you're missing any of these packages by doing this: # lslpp -L | grep devices.pci.df1000f9 # lslpp -L | grep devices.pci.df1000f7 # lslpp -L | grep devices.pci.df1080f9 # lslpp -L | grep devices.common.IBM.fc # lslpp -L | grep devices.fcp.disk (lslpp is the AIX equivalent of Solaris pkginfo.) Let us know if above lslpp had anything for above five filesets? And if yes, what version (5.2.0.something). If necessary, install missing stuff with: # installp -aXg devices.pci.df1000f9 devices.pci.df1000f7 \ devices.common.IBM.fc devices.fcp.disk devices.pci.df1080f9 Leave out any names of filesets that you already have. (installp is the AIX equivalent of Solaris pkgadd.) Check the lslpp -L again for anything you installed. See it appear now? If yes, what version? Retry the configuration manager probe: # cfgmgr (cfgmgr is the AIX equivalent of Solaris devfsadm.) Afterwards, you can check to see if AIX saw the device: # lsdev -C | grep fc You should have devices like 'fcs0' appear (FC adapter #0). They should also be in the Available (ready to be used) state. Defined means "It's there but I'm not sure if it can be used unless you change fix or enable it". Also, to check what network interfaces you have installed: # lsdev -Cc if Ignore any et lines (et0, et1, etc) or lo0. You want to see what 'en' lines appear -- en0, en1, etc. Then make sure you're looking at the right one by doing: # entstat -d ent1 | head -5 Make sure the 'Device Type' looks reasonable. You're just making sure this isn't a built-in device or that you're looking at the wrong interface. It could be named ent1, could be ent2, ent3, or who knows what. That's why you're triple checking with entstat to see which one is it -- assuming the device driver installed ok. Other people might have an opinion on how to do quick testing without FC or ethernet connectivity... but my guess is that if you get the devices to show up at all, they should work at the customer site. Also, will this be used on a gigabit ethernet network or 100 mbit LAN? If 100 mbit LAN, find out if the network port will be autonegotiation or hardcoded on the switch side. If hardcoded -- let's say, for 100/full, then on the AIX side, do this: # chdev -l entX -a media_speed=100_Full_Duplex (where entX is the interface -- ent99, ent3, whatever) If it's autonegotiation on switch port, do not hardcode the network interface's speed and duplex. If it's gigabit ethernet, leave as autonegotiation because that is what the gig-e standards requires. Also, once you get the FC device drivers loaded, check the firmware revision on the FC card(s): # lscfg -vl fcs0 Look at the ZB field. Ignore first three characters of the value. If it's a Feature Code 6239 (aka FC6239) card, it needs to be at least version 1.81X1. I *think* the '5704' you mentioned earlier maps to a FC 6239 card. Go here: http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/pseries/v5r3/topic/com.ibm.pseries.doc/hardware_docs/selectbygeneralserviceoptions.htm Download the 'Adapters, Devices, and Cables for Multiple Bus Systems' PDF file from there. Ignore the Microchannel (MCA) stuff 'cause you probably don't have MCA-based systems, and the pSeries are all PCI based, anyway. Look at page 125 of that PDF file. It says FC 6239 is a single port 2 Gb/sec FC adapter, and mentions 'Type 5704'. On page 129, it says FC 5706 is a dual-port 10/100/1000 Mbit Ethernet adapter, and also type 5706. Sounds right to me, too. Also go to that link I gave and download the 'PCI Adapter Placement Reference' PDF file. DON'T get the Linux one (first). Get the second PDF file! Open that file and click on the entry for the pSeries 630 (6C4/6E4). Look at the table. It says that the FC 6239 (aka type 5704; that's the FibreChannel card) should be put in slot 4 first if this is a 4-slot p630. If slot 4 is full, put it in slot 3. If 3 is full, put in 2. If 2 is full, put in 1. If 1 is full, buy a bigger machine. :-) If this is a 6-slot p630, the preferred order is 3, 4, 5, 6, 1, 2. You can look up the entry for the FC 5706 ethernet card you installed. The table says same order as for the FC 6239 card, too. That table basically tells you how to optimize your machine for performance by putting cards on their own high speed busses instead of fighting each other for internal bus bandwidth and stuff like that. -Dan A19 Dan Foster wrote: > These filesystems are full; we need a little extra room, so grow each > filesystem listed by 10 512-byte blocks (aka 5K total per fs): > > # chfs -a size=+10 /tmp > # chfs -a size=+10 /usr > # chfs -a size=+10 /var The minimun increase for a filesystem is one PP in case fs size is lv size So saying chfs -a size=+1 /tmp means: Please increase the filesystem /tmp with 512 bytes but the system will round UP the request to the next PP size So if your PP size is 128 MB you will increase the filesystem by 128 MB Hajo A20 Ah, yes, that's true. I'd forgotten about that. -Dan A21 I forgot to add a few things. > Also, see if you're missing any of these packages by doing this: > > # lslpp -L | grep devices.pci.df1000f9 > # lslpp -L | grep devices.pci.df1000f7 > # lslpp -L | grep devices.pci.df1080f9 > # lslpp -L | grep devices.common.IBM.fc > # lslpp -L | grep devices.fcp.disk > > (lslpp is the AIX equivalent of Solaris pkginfo.) > > Let us know if above lslpp had anything for above five filesets? And if > yes, what version (5.2.0.something). > > If necessary, install missing stuff with: > > # installp -aXg devices.pci.df1000f9 devices.pci.df1000f7 \ > devices.common.IBM.fc devices.fcp.disk devices.pci.df1080f9 If necessary, put AIX 5.2 CD #1 in the CD drive and do: # installp -aXg -d/dev/cd0 devices.pci.df1000f9 devices.pci.df1000f7 \ devices.common.IBM.fc devices.fcp.disk devices.pci.df1080f9 > Also, once you get the FC device drivers loaded, check the firmware > revision on the FC card(s): > > # lscfg -vl fcs0 > > Look at the ZB field. Ignore first three characters of the value. If > it's a Feature Code 6239 (aka FC6239) card, it needs to be at least > version 1.81X1. If you are downrev (below 1.81X1), then the 6239 firmware upgrade procedure is at: http://techsupport.services.ibm.com/server/mdownload2/FC6239FW.html ...and the firmware update file can be gotten from: http://techsupport.services.ibm.com/server/mdownload/pci.df1080f9-1-181x1.rpm Check out firmware revision level only *AFTER* you have gotten fcs0 to show up! This is just a detail to check, afterwards. Also, for your FC 5706 gig-e adapter, if you're downrev, you can also update its firmware, too. (The upgrade procedure tells you how to check.) 5706 firmware upgrade procedure: http://techsupport.services.ibm.com/server/mdownload2/flsh5706.html 5706 firmware update file: http://techsupport.services.ibm.com/server/mdownload/flash5706.bin -Dan A22 Hey guys (other comp.unix.aix readers): It looks like his FibreChannel card is a FC 6239 (type 5704). I'm not familiar with the 6239 drivers; I only have an old 6227. He's running AIX 5.2 at a ML but don't remember which. ML4 or ML5, I think? I'm sure there's lots of people here with 6239 drivers and AIX 5.2. Where did you find the 6239 drivers? On the AIX CDs or was it on a separate driver CD? -Dan A23 I mentioned before he needed some stuff. I have some corrections: devices.pci.df1000f9 devices.pci.df1000f7 He does not need above stuff. f7 is for the 6227 and f9 is for 6228. He has a 6239, so above two filesets are not needed. devices.pci.df1080f9 This is the 6239 driver itself. I can't find it on my 5.2 ML2 CDs, so I am guessing it came on a separate driver CD? Is there a place to download the base level fileset for this, for AIX 5.2, from IBM's website? I can't quite find it. devices.common.IBM.fc devices.fcp.disk These two are both on the AIX 5.2 CD #1. He should hopefully already have these installed. -Dan A23 Hmm, I guess he still needs df1000f7 if he needs to do a firmware update for the 6239. Strange, but true! f7 is also on AIX 5.2 CD #1. -Dan A24 gosh, i don't know how to express my gratitude for all your help... i never made it back in here last night (too depressed to face any more error msg.'s)... but i'm going to go try this stuff now.... i'll let you know how it turns out. thank you so much!!!! A25 dan and hajo.... how did you guys get so good? just lots of experience and being smart i guess. anyway, everything worked perfectly... except i didnt have time to update the firmware... the box had to go out to the client this morning. my boss says that normally when we get hardware to install like that, that we'll get disks with the proper filesets/drivers on them, but this was some kind of special case or something. anyway, how important is it to get updated firmware on stuff like this? is there ever a compatibility issue with the os version and the firmware version? what are the risks/rewards in firmware version control? again... seriously, thank you guys so much... dan, it looks like you were up posting all night... do you work latenight or something? (or you just couldn't sleep knowing there was a crippled aix box out there somewhere? hahaha!) hey seriously, if you have an amazon wishlist or something (either of you)... i'd get you a tshirt or book or something to express my grattitude! thanks again guys... and keep up the good work... i will help others when i can because of this btw- where do you guys work/live? A25 Great to hear!! Smart? Nah. Practice makes "perfect". :) It took a while, but had lots of AIX machines at my current employer so I had lots of opportunities to learn. Never really "perfect", though. I'm still learning lots of good tips from everybody here in comp.unix.aix, nearly every single day. > anyway, how important is it to get updated firmware on stuff like > this? is there ever a compatibility issue with the os version and the > firmware version? what are the risks/rewards in firmware version > control? Well, it depends. You often need to apply updated host system firmware before any future AIX OS upgrades (i.e. from 5.2 to 5.3). That could be done another time... no big rush if you don't have immediate plans for an OS upgrade to a new release. Host system firmware is extremely trivial. Takes a few seconds to kick off, followed by a mandatory reboot. (Must be done from system console, whether graphical or serial console.) That's literally all it takes. IBM pSeries microcode website has microcode files and step-by-step procedure for all the RS/6000 and pSeries systems. Also tells you how to check host system firmware version. 'lsattr -El sys0 -a fwversion' ('microcode' is the official IBM term for what we often call 'firmware'. They're the same thing. Another IBM official term is 'planar board' -- same as what we call 'motherboard'. Often seen in mainframe or AS/400 shops where IBM says 'DASD' -- Direct Access Storage Device, what we call 'hard drive'. Etc etc... IBM has an interesting way of speaking due to long history with computers. :) ) Then there's the device firmware. Lots of devices will have their own upgradable firmware -- CDROM drive (yes, believe it or not), sometimes hard drives, sometimes ethernet cards, often/always FC adapters, etc. You rarely *need* to upgrade device firmware for most stuff. There was a situation where you HAD to upgrade a specific CDROM model's firmware to even boot AIX CD to do an install! (This was with an older CDROM drive made about 5-6 years ago, so this doesn't affect you.) However, the rare exception to the "you usually don't NEED to upgrade device firmware" rule of thumb is with FC (as in FibreChannel) cards. Why? FC is somewhat complex, and it's often very picky. I have had problems with my AIX and Sun boxes with FC that was resolved only by being at the latest OS device driver version, latest FC card firmware, and latest FC switch firmware (if a SAN switch is used). So it is more important to ensure the FC card is at the latest firmware, and that your FC device drivers is also latest. I think your FC device drivers is already at latest if you followed the steps I suggested. If the FC card was made within the past year or so, then it is possible that it is already at the latest firmware. No way of knowing for sure without doing 'lscfg -vl fcs0 | grep ZB', though. If your customer is not seeing weird FC problems later on, then you can probably put off the FC card firmware upgrade for another time. Doing the upgrade is really no big deal. It's just matter of getting a specific package on the system then doing a specific diag command (after any FC-based filesystems and volume groups has been unmounted/stopped) that takes only 30 seconds and doesn't involve any reboots. > again... seriously, thank you guys so much... dan, it looks like you > were up posting all night... do you work latenight or something? (or Administering 3 OS platforms and about 300 systems, some complex (and some *very* mission critical ones), usually requires late-night work for me. :) I was taking care of some AIX 5.2 ML5 to ML7 OS upgrade patches done through official change management procedures. One more to do tonight then I'll be done with this batch of 25. Whee. :) But, yes, do often work late at night, even if no scheduled maintenances. It helps with my team providing more fuller national (and international) coverage for our administration responsibilities. It also helps lessen the load on the pageable on-call person when we have a full time team member helping provide coverage as a normal work shift during late night hours, because the working person can handle problems that pops up without people having to wake up the on-call person and wait. Result: faster response for late-night problems = happy users, and almost no late-night pages for on-call person = happy colleagues. ;) I've been working nights for over 10 years, so I'm used to it. I can't imagine working in the daytime! My bosses have tried to move me to 9-5 but eventually conceded that was a failure so they gave up and let me stay at nights, for now. > you just couldn't sleep knowing there was a crippled aix box out there > somewhere? hahaha!) Well, that too. :-) Wasn't a big deal that you didn't come back. I figured out what happened. I personally thought it was a good choice to take the night off and regroup, and tackle everything in the morning when fresh again. There's also more to life than AIX. So, good call. > hey seriously, if you have an amazon wishlist or something (either of > you)... i'd get you a tshirt or book or something to express my Nah, how about a cheap $5 lunch next time I'm in the area? :) AIX admins are easy -- the path to them lies through /dev/stomach. ;) > grattitude! thanks again guys... and keep up the good work... i will You're welcome. If you really want to show your gratitude, help others here in c.u.a when you get a little more used to AIX. :) Costs nothing except a few minutes of your time to help others. > help others when i can because of this Excellent! > btw- where do you guys work/live? I don't usually get out much in my area because very busy, but sometimes I travel on vacation or business trip all over the country (or other countries). I'm familiar with the east coast U.S. because that's where I grew up. Currently working in western NY, near the Canadian border. If you want to send me mail with the general area you work in, I'd be happy to let you know if I pass through the area on a future trip. My email address seen in this posting is indeed valid and I do read it. I do stop by Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Massachusetts, Washington, D.C., northern Virginia occasionally, and other east coast U.S. places less frequently (Atlanta, Florida, etc). As for Hajo... I am guessing Hajo may be short for 'Hans-Joachim', which is a common name for German-speaking people. (Austria, Germany, etc.) Also, when it was early evening here, he said he was "still awake" which makes me think Hajo's in Europe. -Dan A26 To be honest , i do not remember because all software is on our nim server But normaly: It should be on the first AIX CD or on the Additional Device Driver CD if he can not find the Software or has to update the microcode he should look at: IBM's Fiber Channel Adapter (HBA) Firmware and Device Driver Information http://www-1.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=isg1pTechnote1478 or go directly to http://techsupport.services.ibm.com/server/mdownload2/FC6239FW.html for device driver . Good to know for me also because normaly i just look for updates Hajo A27 I see he will need to go to: http://www-912.ibm.com/eserver/support/fixes/search.jsp?system=2&release=5.2 - Enter 'devices.pci.df1080f9' for the search string - Click on the 'Go' button - Click on the 'Add to my download list' button - Click on the 'Continue' button - Set the pull-down menu (under 'oslevel -r' paragraph) to 5200-00 - Click on the 'Continue' button - Download all 12 filesets offered, via HTTP or FTP - Transfer all of the downloaded files to the AIX system in the /usr/sys/inst.images directory (that he created earlier) (He can use either the network or a CD to do file transfer.) - On the AIX system, run 'inutoc /usr/sys/inst.images' - On the AIX system, run 'cfgmgr' He should have 12 files totalling about 3 MB to put on the AIX system. -Dan A28 Dan, It is not possible, the least amount filesystems are STILL using at least ONE PP - so in this case PP size should be 64 Mb. But I still can not see any problem - either increase free space in one of the existent filesystems (/tmp, /var etc.) or just create new fs for installation purposes and then remove it. Roman. A29 That's correct, as Hajo also pointed out. I'd forgotten about that. -Dan A30