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AIX Version 4.3 Installation Guide

bosinst.data File Stanza Descriptions

This section describes the contents of the bosinst.data file. Two example files follow the stanza descriptions.

control_flow Stanza

The control_flow stanza contains variables that control the way the installation program works:

CONSOLE Specifies the full path name of the device you want to use as the console. This value is blank in the default bosinst.data file because the file specifies a prompted installation, which requires you to press a key to identify your console. (Instructions for which key to press are displayed on the screen.) If you change the PROMPT variable to no, you must specify a console here.
INSTALL_METHOD Specifies a method of installation: migrate, preserve, or overwrite. The default value is initially blank. The installation program assigns a value, depending on which version of AIX was previously installed. See "Installation Methods" for more information about installation methods.

The default method of installation is migrate if AIX 3.2, 4.1, or 4.2 is on the machine. The default is preserve if AIX 3.1 or 4.3 is on the machine. If no AIX exists, the default method is overwrite.

PROMPT Specifies whether the installation program uses menus from which you make choices. The possible values are yes (default) and no.
Note: You must fill in values for all variables in the locale stanza if you set the PROMPT variable to no. Similarly, if PROMPT equals no, you must supply values for all variables in the control_flow stanza, with two exceptions: the ERROR_EXIT and CUSTOMIZATION_FILE variables, which are optional.
Attention: Fill in values for all variables in the target_disk_data stanza if you set the PROMPT variable to no. The BOS installation program assigns target disks for blank variables. You can lose data if the install program assigns a disk where you store data.
EXISTING_SYSTEM_OVERWRITE Confirms that the install program will overwrite existing files. This variable is applicable only for a nonprompted overwrite installation. The possible values are no (default) and yes.

If the installation program detects an existing volume group when PROMPT is set to no and EXISTING_SYSTEM_OVERWRITE is set to no, an error message instructs you to set installation parameters.

INSTALL_X_IF_ADAPTER Installs AIXwindows. The possible values are:
yes (default) Install AIXwindows if the selected console is a graphics terminal
no Do not install AIXwindows
all Always install AIXwindows.
RUN_STARTUP Starts the Configuration Assistant on first boot after the BOS installation completes, if the system has a graphical interface. Starts Installation Assistant if the machine has an ASCII interface. The possible values are yes (default) and no.
RM_INST_ROOTS Removes all files and directories in the /usr/lpp/*/inst_roots directories. The possible values are no (default) and yes.

The /usr/lpp/bos/inst_roots directories must remain if the machine will be used as a network server. You can, to save disk space, set this value to yes if the machine will not be a network server.

ERROR_EXIT Starts an executable program if an error occurs in the installation program. The default value is blank, which signals BOS installation to use a command that is shipped on the installation media. The command starts an error message routine when the installation program halts due to an error. As an alternative to the default, you can enter the path name of your own script or command for a customized error routine.
CUSTOMIZATION_FILE Specifies the path name of a customization file you create. The default value is blank. The customization file is a script that starts immediately after the installation program concludes.
TCB Specifies whether you want to install the Trusted Computing Base (TCB). When you install the TCB, the trusted path, the trusted shell, and system integrity checking are installed. The TCB must be installed and initialized when the operating system is installed. The TCB cannot be installed later. By not installing the TCB, installation time is reduced. The possible values are no (default) and yes.
INSTALL_TYPE Specifies what software to install on the machine. The values are full (full-function configuration), client (client configuration), and personal (personal workstation configuration). The full configuration includes all the software in client and personal. Change full to client or personal if you want to install one of these subsets of the full-function configuration.

The default setting depends on the software configuration that you purchased. For example, if the installed machine has a full-function (server) configuration, the setting will be full. You should not change the default setting.

BUNDLES Specifies what software bundles to install. Type the full path name of each bundle file. Be sure there is sufficient disk space and paging space on the target machine for the software you specify in the BUNDLES variable.

This list of bundle file names is limited to 139 bytes. If your list of bundle file names is longer than 139 bytes, use the cat command to combine the bundle files into a single custom bundle file and enter the name of your custom bundle file in this field.

If you are installing from CD-ROM or using a network installation server, specify the full path name of each bundle file as follows:

/SPOT/usr/sys/inst.data/sys_bundles/BundleFileName

If you are installing from tape, to specify system-defined bundles on the product media, use the full path name of each bundle file as follows:

/usr/sys/inst.data/sys_bundles/BundleFileName

If you are using a bosinst.data diskette to define your own bundle files, specify the full path name of each bundle file as follows: /../ DirectoryName/ BundleFileName. For example, if you put a bundle file named mybundle in the root directory, the full path name would be /../mybundle.

If you are using Preservation Installation, create bundle files before you start the installation. Create the files in /home and specify the full path name of each bundle file as follows:

/home/BundleFileName
SWITCH_TO_PRODUCT_TAPE Allows you to boot from a product tape, then switch to a mksysb tape to install. You can then switch back to the product tape at the end of the installation if you need to install additional device filesets for support on the target machine. This procedure is usually used for cloning systems. The possible values are no (default) and yes.

Normally, you would boot from a CD-ROM (to ensure that you have the correct device support and boot image) then tell BOS install to install from the mksysb tape. At the end of the install, BOS install automatically verifies that all device support is installed on the system and installs additional device support from the CD-ROM.

If you are booting from a product tape and switching to a mksysb tape, BOS install does not automatically assume you want to do cloning and will not prompt you for the product tape again. If you want a prompt for the product tape to verify all the device support is installed, you must set this variable to yes in your bosinst.data file.

RECOVER_DEVICES Specifies whether to reconfigure the devices. For mksysb installs, the ODM configuration database is saved in the image. The device names and attributes are automatically extracted from the database, and the BOS install program attempts to recreate the devices the same way they were on the machine the mksysb was created on. This is normally what you would do for regular mksysb restores on the same system. However, for cloning, you may not want these devices configured this way, especially for network configuration. The possible values are yes (default) and no if you do not want device reconfiguration.
BOSINST_DEBUG Specifies whether to show debug output during BOS installation. The value yes will send set -x debug output to the screen during BOS installation. The possible values are no (default) and yes.

target_disk_data Stanza

The target_disk_data stanza contains variables for disks in the machine where the program will install BOS. The default bosinst.data file has one target_disk_data stanza, but you can add new stanzas to install BOS on multiple disks, one stanza for each disk.

There can be multiple target_disk_data stanzas. They define which disk(s) will contain the root volume group. Only one field (PVID, CONNECTION, LOCATION, SIZE_MB, HDISKNAME) must be non-null for BOS install to choose a disk. The order of precedence is PVID (Physical Volume ID), then CONNECTION (parent attribute//connwhere attribute), then LOCATION, then SIZE_MB, and then HDISKNAME.

Attention: Do not leave the target_disk_data stanza(s) empty if prompt=no unless you do not care which disk BOS install overwrites, because the algorithm for determining the default disk on which to install is not always predictable.

The SIZE_MB field can contain either a size or the word largest . If a size is listed, BOS install does a "best-fit" on the disks. If the word largest is in that field, BOS install selects the largest disk. If there is more than one target_disk_data stanza, BOS install selects the two "largest" disks, and so on.

PVID Specifies the 16-digit physical volume identifier for the disk.
CONNECTION Specifies the combination of the parent and attribute and the connwhere attribute associated with a disk. The parent and connwhere values are separated by two slashes (// ). If the parent value is scsi0 and the connwhere value is 0,1 , then the CONNECTION value is scsi0//0,1 .
SIZE_MB Specifies the formatted size of the disk, in megabytes, where the program will install BOS. The default value is blank. You can specify the size of your target disk by typing the number of megabytes available on the formatted disk. Also, you can type largest if you want to use the largest disk (that has not already been selected) found by the installation program.
LOCATION Specifies a location code for the disk where the program will install BOS. The default value is blank. If you do not specify a value, the installation program assigns a value based on the next two variables. "Vital Product Data and Location Codes" in POWERstation and POWERserver Common Diagnostics Information Manual provides information about the format of location codes.
HDISKNAME Specifies the path name of the target disk. The default value is blank. To name a target disk, use the hdiskname format, where hdiskname is the device name of your disk (for example, hdisk0).

locale Stanza

The locale stanza contains variables for the primary language the installed machine will use. Refer to "Understanding Locale" for a list of languages and the format to use when editing variables.

dump Stanza

The dump stanza specifies system dump characteristics.

PRIMARY Specifies the primary dump device to be set by sysdumpdev -P -p device.
SECONDARY Specifies the secondary dump device to be set by sysdumpdev -P -s device.
COPYDIR Specifies the directory to which the dump is copied at system boot.
FORCECOPY Specifies whether the system will boot into menus which allow copy of the dump to external media if the copy fails.
ALWAYS_ALLOW Specifies whether the key mode switch can be ignored when a dump is requested.

If the stanza is not present in the bosinst.data file, then no additional dump device handling occurs beyond what is already in place. Checking on the values of the fields will be limited; if the device specified for a dump device is not valid, then any error processing comes from the sysdumpdev command and is sent to the console and stored in the BOS install log.


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