Introduction to Base Operating System Installation

This chapter provides information about completing an installation of the AIX 5.2 base operating system (BOS).

The BOS installation program first restores the run-time bos image, then installs the appropriate filesets, depending on your selections. The installation program automatically installs required message filesets, according to the language you choose.

In the BOS menus, you can also configure the following options:

• Desktop selection
• Trusted Computing Base
• Controlled Access Protection Profile (CAPP) and Evaluation Assurance Level 4+ (EAL4+)
• 64-bit kernel enablement
• Enhanced journaled file system (JFS2)
• Graphics software
• Documentation services software
• Installation of all device and kernel filesets

For more information about the installation options, refer to Installation Options.

The following installation methods are available on AIX:

New and Complete Overwrite

This method installs AIX 5.2 on a new machine or completely overwrites any BOS version that exists on your system.

For instructions on installing AIX 5.2 on a new machine or to completely overwrite the BOS on an existing machine, refer to New and Complete Overwrite Installation / Preservation Installation.

Preservation

This method replaces an earlier version of the BOS but retains the root volume group, the user-created logical volumes, and the /home file system. The system file systems /usr, /var, /tmp, and / (root) are overwritten. Product (application) files and configuration data stored in these file systems will be lost. Information stored in other non-system file systems will be preserved.

For instructions on preserving the user-defined structure of an existing BOS, refer to New and Complete Overwrite Installation / Preservation Installation.

Migration

This method upgrades from AIX 4.3 or earlier versions of the BOS to AIX 5.2. The migration installation method is used to upgrade from an existing version or release of AIX to a later version or release of AIX. A migration installation preserves most file systems, including the root volume group, logical volumes, and system configuration files. It overwrites the /tmp file system.

For instructions on migrating an existing version or release of AIX to a later version or release of AIX, refer to Migration Installation.

The following table shows the differences in the installation steps among the installation methods.

BOS Menus

After you select the console and language to be used for the BOS menus, the Welcome to Base Operating System Installation and Maintenance screen displays, as follows:

                    Welcome to Base Operating System
                      Installation and Maintenance

Type the number of your choice and press Enter.  Choice is indicated by >>>.

>>> 1 Start Install Now with Default Settings

    2 Change/Show Installation Settings and Install

    3 Start Maintenance Mode for System Recovery


    88  Help ?
    99  Previous Menu

>>> Choice [1]:

If you select Start Install Now with Default Settings, the BOS command determines the default installation method to use based on your system's configuration. A summary screen displays, similar to the following, where you can confirm the installation method and installation options:

                    Overwrite Installation Summary

Disks:  hdisk0
Cultural Convention:  en_US
Language:  en_US
Keyboard:  en_US
64 Bit Kernel Enabled:  No
JFS2 File Systems Created:  No
Desktop:
Enable System Backups to install any system:  Yes

Optional Software being installed:
HTTP_Server (Expansion Pack)
Kerberos_5 (Expansion Pack)

>>> 1   Continue with Install
    88  Help ?
    99  Previous Menu

>>> Choice [1]:

If the selections are correct, press Enter to begin the BOS installation.

However, if you would like to change the installation method or options, select Change/Show Installation Settings and Install at the BOS welcome screen. The Installation and Settings screen displays, as follows:

                  Installation and Settings

Either type 0 and press Enter to install with current settings, or type the
number of the setting you want to change and press Enter.

    1  System Settings:
         Method of Installation.............New and Complete Overwrite
         Disk Where You Want to Install.....hdisk0

    2  Primary Language Environment Settings (AFTER Install):
         Cultural Convention................English (United States)
         Language ..........................English (United States)
         Keyboard ..........................English (United States)
         Keyboard Type......................Default

    3  More Options  (Desktop, Security, Kernel, Software, ...)

>>> 0  Install with the current settings listed above.

                       +-----------------------------------------------------
    88  Help ?         |    WARNING: Base Operating System Installation will
    99  Previous Menu  |    destroy or impair recovery of ALL data on the
                       |    destination disk hdisk0.
>>> Choice [0]:

For more information on the BOS menu options, refer to the Help at any time by typing 88 in the Choice field. For conceptual information on the BOS installation procedures, refer to the following sections:

• New and Complete Overwrite Installation / Preservation Installation
• Migration Installation

For how-to instructions for performing BOS installations, refer to the following:

• Perform a New and Complete Overwrite Base Operating System Installation from CD
• Perform a Migration Base Operating System Installation from CD

Electronic License Agreements

AIX 5.2 ships with software license agreements which can be viewed electronically. If a product has an electronic license agreement, it must be accepted before software installation can continue. In the case of initial BOS installation, you can view and accept or reject license agreements in a license agreement dialog after the installation has occurred, but before the system is available for use as part of Configuration Assistant (graphics consoles) or Installation Assistant (ASCII consoles).

The AIX BOS has a license agreement, but not all software packages do. When you agree to the license agreement for BOS installation, you are also accepting all license agreements for any software installed automatically with the BOS. Some software, such as the GNOME or KDE desktops, can be optionally installed during BOS installation; the appropriate licensing information for such software is displayed separately.

If a customized bosinst.data file is used (usually for unattended installations, or nonprompted installations), the ACCEPT_LICENSES field in the control_flow stanza can be used to accept the license agreements so users are not prompted at reboot time. When performing a "push" installation using the Network Installation Management (NIM) environment, the licenses must be accepted, either from the choices made when initializing the installation or in a customized bosinst.data file, before the installation can continue. For more information on the bosinst.data file, refer to The bosinst.data File.

For additional software package installations, the installation cannot occur unless the appropriate license agreements are accepted. This option, as well as options to preview licenses, is offered in both the System Management Interface Tool (SMIT) and the Web-based System Manager installation interfaces. When using the installp command, use the -Y flag to accept licenses and the -E flag to view license agreement files on the media.

For more information on license manipulation, refer to the inulag command description in the AIX 5L Version 5.2 Commands Reference.