Installation Guide and Reference

Perform a Non-Prompted New and Complete Overwrite Base Operating System Installation from CD

Using this scenario, you can perform a non-prompted new and complete overwrite base operating system installation from CD. The first time you install, the base operating system (BOS) installation program presents menus from which you must choose setup options.

For subsequent installations, you can change many aspects of the default BOS installation program by editing the bosinst.data file. The bosinst.data file directs the actions of the BOS installation program. The file resides in the /var/adm/ras directory on the installed machine only, and it is not accessible on the commercial tape or the CD on which you received AIX 5.2.

Also, the bosinst.data file can be used to replicate one set of installation settings on other machines. For example, system administrators can create a bosinst.data file with settings that can be used to install all the machines they support that have the same configuration.

In this scenario, you will create a bosinst.data file that will not prompt the user during the BOS installation menus.

In this scenario, you will do the following:

• Create a customized bosinst.data file
• Create a supplementary diskette
• Boot from the AIX product CD

If you are overwriting an existing system, gather the TCP/IP information from the system before you begin this scenario.

Create a Customized bosinst.data File

1. Use the cd command to change your directory to the /var/adm/ras directory.
2. Copy the /var/adm/ras/bosinst.data file to a new name, such as bosinst.data.orig. This step preserves the original bosinst.data file.
3. Edit the bosinst.data file with an ASCII editor as follows:

   Note: The following example includes automatic acceptance of Software License Agreements.

   control_flow:
       CONSOLE = /dev/lft0
       INSTALL_METHOD = overwrite
       PROMPT = no
       EXISTING_SYSTEM_OVERWRITE = yes
       INSTALL_X_IF_ADAPTER = yes
       RUN_STARTUP = yes
       RM_INST_ROOTS = no
       ERROR_EXIT =
       CUSTOMIZATION_FILE =
       TCB =
       INSTALL_TYPE = full
       BUNDLES =
       SWITCH_TO_PRODUCT_TAPE = no
       RECOVER_DEVICES = yes
       BOSINST_DEBUG = no
       ACCEPT_LICENSES = yes
       INSTALL_64BIT_KERNEL = 
       INSTALL_CONFIGURATION = 
       DESKTOP = CDE
   
   target_disk_data:
       LOCATION =
       SIZE_MB = 
       HDISKNAME = hdisk0
   
   locale
       BOSINST_LANG = en_US
       CULTURAL_CONVENTION = en_US
       MESSAGES = C
       KEYBOARD = en_US

4. Verify the contents of the edited bosinst.data file using the bicheck command:

   /usr/lpp/bosinst/bicheck bosinst.data

5. Copy the edited file to the root directory:

   cp /var/adm/ras/bosinst.data /bosinst.data

Create a Supplementary Diskette

1. Create an ASCII file consisting of one word:

   data

2. Save the new ASCII file, naming it signature.
3. Copy the signature file to the root directory.
4. Create the supplementary diskette and use it for installation:
   • Back up the edited bosinst.data file and the new signature file to the diskette with the following command:

     ls ./bosinst.data ./signature | backup -iqv

     Note
     Make sure you back up the files to the diskette relative to the root path.

Boot from the AIX Product CD

1. Insert the diskette in the diskette drive of the target machine you are installing.
2. Insert the AIX Volume 1 CD in the CD-ROM drive.
3. Boot the system.

The BOS installation program uses the customized bosinst.data file on the diskette, rather than the default bosinst.data file shipped with the installation media to answer the questions in the BOS menus. If you filled in the values correctly in the bosinst.data file, the BOS installation will begin. If the BOS installation program detects an error with a value in the bosinst.data file, the BOS menus will display with a message explaing what information needs to be corrected.