The document discusses setting up AIX Network Installation Management (NIM) to consistently install and maintain IBM AIX systems across four separate data centers. Key points: - NIM allows centralized management of OS installations and clients from a master server using resources like software images, configuration files, and scripts. - Resources like SPOTs, bosinst_data, and installp_bundles were customized for different machine types and environments to automate standard installations. - Mksysbs and tapes were used to replicate the NIM master across disconnected data centers due to network security rules. - A scenario outlines setting up a NIM master and using it to push an AIX 5.1 installation to

1. AIX Network Install Manager
When we replaced our old hardware platform with IBM AIX RS/6000 systems, a main
concern was controlling how our new systems would be installed. With the old platform,
we ran into several instances where the software (moving from our development group to
QA and into production) was not the same, which caused numerous build breaks. We
chose the AIX Network Installation Management (NIM) setup, because we needed to
ensure consistent, standard OS installations between systems within our four separate
data centers. Our company also has a security rule that doesn't allow any one machine
access to all networks within our organization. Our four separate data centers have four
separate networks with no connection between them, and each network is segmented into
either inside or outside the firewall.
NIM Resources
NIM allows you to customize installations and maintain clients on the network from a
centralized location (the NIM master) or the NIM client itself. The master contains the
NIM database and can serve resources. Resources in NIM are files or directories
containing data that NIM will use to install, customize, and maintain NIM clients. A NIM
client is any machine configured and defined in the NIM database. Some key NIM
resources used in our setup are:
• Licensed Program Product Source Directory (lpp_source): This directory
contains backup file format (BFF) images, which AIX installp uses to load
software. One way to understand the role of the lpp_source directory in a BOS
installation is to compare it to all the installation images needed to support any
configuration (specifically different device configurations) along with a base core
set of software (called simages) that are on the BASE installation CDs. We
created a base 433 lpp_source, multiple lpp_sources containing different
maintenance levels, and separate lpp_sources for our 32-bit and 64-bit third-
party application software.
• Shared Product Object Tree (SPOT): This directory is created from an
lpp_source and is equivalent in content to a /usr file-system on AIX. The
purpose of a SPOT in a NIM installation is similar to the boot images and BOS
installation scripts (bi_main, rc.boot, and rc.bosinst) on volume 1 of the
BASE install CD. The SPOT must contain support for all boot environments
(platform, network type, kernel type). We created several different SPOTs for the
different data centers and maintenance levels we use to support our systems.
• bosinst_data: This data file contains information that drives the BOS install
(e.g., prompt vs. no-prompt, which disk to install the OS on, and the type of
installation (Overwrite, Preservation, or Migration) to name a few). First, we
created separate bosinst_data resources for each machine type (S80, H70, B50,
M80, P680, and 43P). Then, by specifying two disks to target in our
bosinst_data resource and specifying copies in the image_data resource, we
could set up mirroring during the initial load.

2. • image_data: This data file contains information about the characteristics of the
OS being installed. For example, it includes the size of file systems, whether or
not to mirror, and whether or not to disk stripe. We created separate image_data
resources for each machine type (S80, H70, B50, M80, P680 and 43P).
• Script: This is a customization file the systems administrator can create, which
executes near the end of the BOS installation. You can execute multiple NIM
script resources during a BOS installation. If you need to control the order of
execution, I recommend putting it all in one large script. We created one NIM
script to set up the OS environment and hardware parameters, configure certain
system files, set up security, install third-party software, create and set up dump
devices, customize paging space to correspond to the system RAM, and help
create a complete inventory by machine type and serial number. I've included a
copy of this script at the end of this article (Listing 1). All listings for this article
are available from the Sys Admin Web site: http://www.sysadminmag.com/code/
• Installp_bundles: This data file contains a customized list of additional
software to install after the base AIX software is loaded. If you have different
configurations that you need to duplicate on a repeatable basis, this resource is
very useful. In our environment, we have different OS software requirements for
development, QA, and production above the minimal AIX software needed to
support different hardware systems. The easiest way to facilitate and maintain
these different requirements, which need to be consistent, is to use
installp_bundles.
• mksysb: This is a backup archive file that contains a system image of rootvg.
Because of our network security restrictions (no one machine could be connected
to all the networks within our organization), we used mksysb and savevg tapes to
replicate the NIM master to the other data centers. If we had one machine
connected to the different data centers, we could have used NIM to replicate and
update the NIM masters in the different data centers by BOS-installing a NIM
mksysb resource and using a NIM script to restore the other volume group data.
• mac_group: This is a logical grouping of machine types (standalone, diskless, or
dataless) that enables the systems administrator to target one or more machines
with a single command or NIM operation. We did not use this feature, but we
could have taken advantage of this by grouping all like systems and like
configurations to install to more than one machine at a time.

3. NIM configuration under AIX5.2
Scenario:
 Setup NIM master server in AIX5.2
 Setup NIM client for AIX5.1 installation.
Steps:
1. Install OS in NIM master server
2. Install bos.sysmgt.nim fileset in NIM master for NIM operations
3. Configure NIM master server. Load AIX5.1 image as part of configuring
NIM master.
4. Configure NIM client in the NIM master server.
5. Configure Remote IPL parameters in client
6. Test connectivity from client to NIM server using SMS ping
7. Boot the client system-using network by getting in to SMS mode
8. Initiate the Push installation from the NIM master server
NIM configuration:
1. Installing AIX 5.2 OS in NIM master server.
2. Install bos.sysmgt.nim filesets, which is needed for NIM master.
3. Configure NM master server
Make sure to put AIX 5.1 1 of 6 CD in the CDROM drive in NIM master server
#Smitty nim_config_env

4. Lpp_source name
for AIX51 image

5. Notice two new filesystems are created
/export/lpp_source – for lpp_sources
/export/spot – meant for SPOT
hm2axpp91:/>df -k
Filesystem 1024-blocks Free %Used Iused %Iused Mounted on
/dev/hd4 65536 52120 21% 1432 5% /
/dev/hd2 1179648 448272 62% 20250 7% /usr
/dev/hd9var 65536 56888 14% 463 3% /var
/dev/hd3 2883584 1745988 40% 4687 1% /tmp
/dev/hd1 65536 63404 4% 21 1% /home
/proc - - - - - /proc
/dev/hd10opt 131072 63504 52% 397 2% /opt
/dev/usrapps 327680 220464 33% 1031 2% /usr/apps
/dev/lv00 655360 35404 95% 227 1% /export/lpp_source
/dev/lv01 393216 54884 87% 10949 12% /export/spot
4. Adding a standalone NIM client to the NIM master.
#smitty nim_mkmac

7. Make sure to
create the
network for
10.176.3.0
MAC of the
client is not
needed

8. 5.Configure Remote IPL in the client system
Boot the system in SMS mode. (If LPAR set it to boot in SMS mode.)

10. 6. Test connectivity from client to NIM server using SMS ping
Perform PING from SMS menu to make sure client is able to communicate to
NIM Server using the IP address information provided earlier in STEP 5.
Go to Remote IPL option and select do PING test.

13. 7. Boot the NIM client system using network from SMS mode as follows

17. While the above message appears at the client side
9. Initiate the push installation from the NIM master server
From MASTER run the following
#Smitty nim_bosinst
Select the
client name
created in step
4

18. Select the
install type
Select
lpp_sourc
e name,
which has
aix5.1
image

19. Leave rest in default
Installation starts automatically.

21. Additional NIM information:
1) If any clients connected in other network than master. Need to create networks
for that client subnet.
#smitty nim_net

22. 2) To create a AIX5.1 image in lpp_source by name aix51
#smitty nim_mkres

23. 3) To dump the image CDROM to a HDD file.
#Smity bffcreate
Procee multiple volume – yes …to dump all OS cds to a single file.
4) To communicate NIM clients connected in different network than the NIM master ..need to
create NIM default route for both the networks(NIM master network and NIM client network ).
#smitty nim_routing
Make sure to
put the image
in diff dir
than
lpp_source.

24. 5) To Install a spefic fileset from the master on the client
#Smitty nim_inst_all
Network1 is 10.176.3.0 network
10.176.3.1 is default network for
10.176.3.0

26. 6) To take mksysb using NIM
Configure NIM client at client side
#smitty niminit

27. #smitty nim_mkmac – to configure client in NIM master

28. leave rest in default
#smitty nim_mkres
select “mksysb” type

29. Leave rest in default
To restore mksysb backup to client:
To restore the mksysb for NIM client follow all the procedures to boot the NIM client from SMS
mode ..
From the master

32. Leave rest in default……
Mksysb restore on
client requires
SPOT .No SPOT gets
created during
mksysb.Hene we
need to either create
new SPOT use other
SPOT of the same
version of OS in
MASTER

33. Errors:
To view client status and information
hm2axpp91:/usr/lpp/bos.sysmgt/nim/methods>lsnim -l hm2axws51
hm2axws51:
class = machines
type = standalone
locked = 25484
platform = chrp
netboot_kernel = mp
if1 = network1 hm2axws51 0 ent0
cable_type1 = bnc
Cstate = BOS installation has been enabled
prev_state = not running
Mstate = in the process of booting
boot = boot
mksysb = hm2axws51mksysb
nim_script = nim_script
spot = aix51_spot
cpuid = 0023F9DA4C00
control = master

34. 2) we got this error while initiating mksysb installation from NIM master to client hm2axws51
0042-135 nim: unable to perform the requested operation
because "hm2axws51" is currently controlled by
the machine "hm2axws51". It may be necessary
to deallocate resources from the target before
performing the intended operation.
hm2axpp91:/usr/lpp/bos.sysmgt/nim/methods>./m_chattr -a control=master hm2axws51
hm2axpp91:/>nim -o deallocate -a subclass=all hm2axws51
This resolve the above error