This document provides information about the FixDist tool, a web application that allows you to download AIX-related fixes.
IBM provides a number of mirrored sites on the Internet that allow AIX-related fixes to be freely downloaded. While not all AIX-related fixes are available, additions are constantly being made to these anonymous FTP servers. Though it is not guaranteed that all fixes will be immediately available, servers are usually updated within 24 hours of tape distribution.
The fixes on these servers can be downloaded using either the ftp command, a web browser or the AIX-exclusive tool called FixDist. This document describes how to use the FixDist tool.
The current anonymous FTP servers are:
United States service.software.ibm.com 198.17.57.66 United Kingdom ftp.europe.ibm.com 193.129.186.2 Canada rwww.aix.can.ibm.com 204.138.188.126 Germany www.ibm.de 192.109.81.2 Japan fixdist.yamato.ibm.co.jp 203.141.89.41
The FixDist tool is a web application that provides discrete downloads and delivers all required images with just one click. It can also keep track of fixes you have already downloaded, so you can download smaller fix packages the next time you need them.
Although the location of the web pages varies from country to country, the most common one is:
http://techsupport.services.ibm.com/support/rs6000
To download through the web:
To download using the ftp command:
You can use any hostname from the anonymous FTP server list found in the subsection, "Electronic Fix Distribution."
ftp service.software.ibm.com > login: anonymous > password: "email" (example: johndoe@) > > bin > cd /aix/tools/fixdist > get fd.tar.Z (FixDist tool in compressed tar format) > get fixdist.ps.Z (User guide in compressed PostScript) > quit
The following procedure must be performed as the root user.
Install the tool into the /usr file system. You MUST install it from the / (root) directory to access the online help and preserve your .netrc file.
cd / (change directory to the root) zcat /tmp/fd.tar.Z |tar -xpvf - (uncompress and untar)
The database and temporary files that FixDist manipulates on your RS/6000 are very sensitive to file permissions. Because of this, we recommend that you consistently run FixDist using the same user ID you start with.
To start FixDist, enter:
fixdist
The file /usr/bin/fixdist is a script that calls /usr/lpp/fixdist/fixdistm for CDE and AIXwindows users. If you have a dumb terminal, FixDist will call /usr/lpp/fixdist/fixdistc.
Read the user's guide for detailed configuration information. The basic configuration tasks are:
TapeGen is a companion service tool provided with FixDist that enables you to create a stacked tape containing SMIT-installable fixes. You create a stack file that lists all the images you want stacked onto a tape and TapeGen does the rest.