Note that the NIM Master’s oslevel is important regarding its ability to install a specific version of VIOS. For instance, if installing VIOS 2.1, the NIM master will need to be AIX 6100-02 or higher. See step 1.

1) Copy both* the VIOS mksysb images from the install DVD to the NIM Master and then cat them together to form a single mksysb_image file.
# cat mksysb_image2 >> mksysb_image
# rm mksysb_image2

To determine what the minimum level of AIX that the NIM master must be to perform the install:
# lsmksysb -lf | grep MAINTENANCE

*NOTE: Older versions of VIO Server do not have two mksysb images. In that case, simply copy the single mksysb_image to the NIM master .

2) Define the mksysb resource on the NIM master:
# nim -o define -t mksysb -a server=master -a location= VIO2_1_mksysb

3) Define a SPOT from the mksysb resource:
# nim -o define -t spot -a server=master -a location= -a source=VIO2_1_mksysb VIO2_1_spot

4) Define an lpp_source from the install DVD:
# nim -o define -t lpp_source -a server=master -a location= -a source=/dev/cd0 VIO2_1_lpp

5) Copy the bosinst.data file from the DVD media to the NIM master and define that as a resource:
# nim -o define -t bosinst_data -a server=master -a location= VIO2_1_bosinst_data

6) Define the VIOS partition as a NIM client:
# smitty nim_mkmac

7) Perform the bosinst operation to set up the NIM resources for the installation:
# smitty nim_bosinst
>>
>> mksysb
>> VIO2_1_mksysb
>>VIO2_1_spot
>> LPP_SOURCE = VIO2_1_lpp
>> BOSINST_DATA = VIO2_1_bosinst_data
>> Remain NIM client after install? = NO
>> Initiate reboot and installation now? = NO

8) Bring up the VIOS partition into SMS mode and manually boot over the network from the NIM master.