AIX: Using NIM to boot into Maintenance Mode

This guide is intended for those who need to boot a system into maintenance mode using a SPOT resource served by a NIM master.
I will try to keep this as reader friendly as possible. Feel free to make suggestions on how to improve this document, and if there are any procedures you would like to see added in the future, let me know and I’ll do my best to add these procedures.
Whenever there is an actual command to execute, the example of that command will look just like your command line interface on your AIX system. For example if I want you to do a listing of files in a directory I would have the example of :
# ls -al
I prefer to do it this way because this is exactly what you’ll see when you type it on your system, and it is also easier to cut and paste the commands.

What this document does and does not cover

Does cover :
SMIT and command line processes for the operations I cover
-Setting up the ‘maint_boot’ operation on the NIM master
-Booting a system into SMS
-Configuring the RIPL and the Boot Device in SMS
–Configuring RIPL
–Configuring the boot device
-Accessing rootvg to get a system into maintenance mode after booting from a NIM SPOT

Does not cover:
– How to create a SPOT resource to use with NIM
– Any websm interface procedures on how to use NIM
– NIM communication information (including nimsh and firewall issues)

For a more advanced or higher level NIM specific guide you can check out the redbooks : NIM From A-Z in AIX 5L Just go to http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/ and type in SG24-7296-00 in the search field on the upper right hand side of the page._______________________________________________________________________

Setting up the ‘maint_boot’ operation on the NIM master

*For this section of the document, the problem system or the system that is needed to be booted into Maintenance Mode will be refered to a the ‘client’ system. The system where the SPOT resource resides will be refered to as the ‘NIM master’. Also, the network adapter being used will be referred to as ‘ent0’, and the SPOT being used for this example will have a name of ‘5300_09_spot’.

*** The SPOT that is used to boot your system into Maintenance Mode needs to be the same Version, and the Technology Level needs to be the same level or higher than the OS on the client system you are trying to boot into Maintenance Mode. This means that if you are running AIX 5.3 TL9, then an AIX 5.3 TL8 SPOT CANNOT be used to boot the system into maintenance mode. This also means that you cannot use an AIX 6.1 SPOT to boot the system into Maintenance Mode because the versions do not match.***

On the NIM master:
1. Initiate the maintenance boot so a boot image will be allocated to the network for the the client to boot from:
# nim -o maint_boot -a spot=5300_09_spot forcebso

-or-

# smitty nim_mac_op => select client (ex. forcebso) =>

+————————————————————————–+
| Operation to Perform |
| |
| Move cursor to desired item and press Enter. Use arrow keys to scroll. |
|
| cust = perform software customization
| diag = enable a machine to boot a diagnostic image
| maint = perform software maintenance
| bos_inst = perform a BOS installation
| reset = reset an object’s NIM state
| fix_query = perform queries on installed fixes
| check = check the status of a NIM object
| reboot = reboot specified machines
| showlog = display a log in the NIM environment
| maint_boot = enable a machine to boot in maintenance mode <—
| lppchk = verify installed filesets
| restvg = perform a restvg operation
| linux_inst = operation to install Linux onto a standalone
| lswpar = show the characteristics of a workload partition
| syncwpar = synchronize workload partition software with the
| update_all = update all currently installed filesets
|
| F1=Help F2=Refresh F3=Cancel
| F8=Image F10=Exit Enter=Do
| /=Find n=Find Next
+————————————————————————–+

*Make sure you select ‘maint_boot’ and not ‘maint’, as the ‘maint’ option does NOT boot the client system into maintenance mode. Only ‘maint_boot’ will boot the client into maintenance mode.

2. Select the SPOT that you will use to boot the client system into maintenance mode:
Enable Maintenance Boot

Type or select values in entry fields.
Press Enter AFTER making all desired changes.

[Entry Fields]
Target Name forcebso
* SPOT [5300_09_spot] +

F1=Help F2=Refresh F3=Cancel F4=List
F5=Reset F6=Command F7=Edit F8=Image
F9=Shell F10=Exit Enter=Do

* Once you hit the ‘Enter’ key, and the smit pannel gives the ‘OK’, the boot image is now allocated to the network for the client system to find and boot from. You may now go to the client system and boot it to SMS so that you can select the network adapter that the client system will use to look on the network for the boot image.
____________________________________________________________________________

Booting a system into SMS

1. If the system is not running, power up the system and upon seeing the following display, hit the ‘1’ or ‘F1’ key. If you are accessing the server/lpar from an HMC, you can click the ‘Advanced’ button when activating the server/lpar, and change the “Boot Mode” to ‘SMS’:

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1 = SMS Menu 5 = Default Boot List
8 = Open Firmware Prompt 6 = Stored Boot List

Memory Keyboard Network SCSI Speaker

** Most new pSeries systems do not require you to hit the ‘F1’ key anymore, but you can hit both ‘1’ and ‘F1’ alternately if you are unsure of which key your system requires you to hit in order to enter SMS. The firmware display should tell you which button you need to hit. **
________________________________________________________________________

Configuring the RIPL and the Boot Device in SMS

Configuring the RIPL

1. You will need to make sure that the network device you will be booting from has the correct network information. This way when the client sends the bootp request to the NIM master, it knows how to get to the NIM master. So once you are in SMS, you will need to select “Setup Remote IPL (Initial Program Load)”.

pSeries Firmware
Version RG080425_d79e22_regatta
SMS 1.3 (c) Copyright IBM Corp. 2000,2003 All rights reserved.
——————————————————————————-
Main Menu
1. Select Language
2. Password Utilities NOT available in LPAR mode
3. View Error Log
4. Setup Remote IPL (Initial Program Load) <———
5. Change SCSI Settings
6. Select Console NOT available in LPAR mode
7. Select Boot Options
——————————————————————————-
Navigation Keys:
M = return to Main Menu
ESC key = return to previous screen X = eXit System Management Services
——————————————————————————-
Type the number of the menu item and press Enter or select Navigation Key:4

2. Once you have made the above selection, you will need to select which adapter for which you will set the RIPL IP parameters:

pSeries Firmware
Version RG080425_d79e22_regatta
SMS 1.3 (c) Copyright IBM Corp. 2000,2003 All rights reserved.
——————————————————————————-
NIC Adapters
Device Slot Hardware Address
1. 10/100 Mbps Ethernet PCI Adapt Integ:U0.1-P1/E2 0002554f5c46
2. IBM 10/100/1000 Base-TX PCI-X 4:U0.1-P2-I4/E1 00145eb7f39d
——————————————————————————-
Navigation keys:
M = return to Main Menu
ESC key = return to previous screen X = eXit System Management Services
——————————————————————————-
Type the number of the menu item and press Enter or select Navigation Key:

3. Select the IP Parameters option:

pSeries Firmware
Version RG080425_d79e22_regatta
SMS 1.3 (c) Copyright IBM Corp. 2000,2003 All rights reserved.
——————————————————————————-
Network Parameters
IBM 10/100/1000 Base-TX PCI-X Adapter: U0.1-P2-I4/E1
1. IP Parameters
2. Adapter Configuration
3. Ping Test
——————————————————————————-
Navigation keys:
M = return to Main Menu
ESC key = return to previous screen X = eXit System Management Services
——————————————————————————-
Type the number of the menu item and press Enter or select Navigation Key:

4. Make sure to give the correct IPs for each category. When entering the IPs for the gateway, you must enter the IPs for the CLIENTs gateway. If the NIM master and the client are on the same subnet, you can use the NIM masters IP information for the gateway, as you will not need to communicate outside of the subnet (use the gateway) to reach the NIM master:

pSeries Firmware
Version RG080425_d79e22_regatta
SMS 1.3 (c) Copyright IBM Corp. 2000,2003 All rights reserved.
——————————————————————————-
IP Parameters
IBM 10/100/1000 Base-TX PCI-X Adapter: U0.1-P2-I4/E1
1. Client IP Address [9.3.58.217]
2. Server IP Address [9.3.58.194]
3. Gateway IP Address [9.3.58.194]
4. Subnet Mask [255.255.255.000]
——————————————————————————-
Navigation keys:
M = return to Main Menu
ESC key = return to previous screen X = eXit System Management Services
——————————————————————————-
Type the number of the menu item and press Enter or select Navigation Key:

5. After the correct IP parameters have been entered, return to the main menu to select which boot device you want to use.

Configuring the Boot Device

1. At the SMS Main Menu, you will need to “Select Boot Options”, and change the boot device to the network adapter connected to the network used for NIM communication. The main menu should look something like the following:

PowerPC Firmware
Version SF240_338
SMS 1.6 (c) Copyright IBM Corp. 2000,2005 All rights reserved.
——————————————————————————-
Main Menu
1. Select Language
2. Setup Remote IPL (Initial Program Load)
3. Change SCSI Settings
4. Select Console
5. Select Boot Options <——–
——————————————————————————-
Navigation Keys:
X = exit System Management Services
——————————————————————————-
Type menu item number and press Enter or select Navigation key:

2. Select option 5 (Or whatever option will take you to your “Boot Options”), and you will be taken to the next screen which should have similar options:
——————————————————————————-
Multiboot
1. Select Install/Boot Device <——-
2. Configure Boot Device Order
3. Multiboot Startup <OFF>

3. Select option 1 (Or whatever option will allow you to select the “Install/Boot Device”). You do not want to “Configure Boot Device Order” because that option will set the boot list, or boot order from this point on. By selecting “Install/Boot Device”, the boot list, or boot order will only be changed for ONE reboot. You will have choices similar to the following after chosing “Select Install/Boot Device”:

pSeries Firmware
Version RG080425_d79e22_regatta
SMS 1.3 (c) Copyright IBM Corp. 2000,2003 All rights reserved.
——————————————————————————-
Select Device Type
1. Diskette
2. Tape
3. CD/DVD
4. IDE
5. Hard Drive
6. Network <——
7. List all Devices

*This is where you will need to enter what device contains the boot image: Network (for booting from a NIM SPOT).

4. Once you make the selection to boot from a network device, you will need to select which adapter to boot from:

pSeries Firmware
Version RG080425_d79e22_regatta
SMS 1.3 (c) Copyright IBM Corp. 2000,2003 All rights reserved.
——————————————————————————-
Select Device
Device Current Device
Number Position Name
1. – Ethernet ( loc=Integ:U0.1-P1/E2 )
2. – Ethernet ( loc=4:U0.1-P2-I4/E1 )
——————————————————————————-
Navigation keys:
M = return to Main Menu
ESC key = return to previous screen X = eXit System Management Services
——————————————————————————-
Type the number of the menu item and press Enter or select Navigation Key:

5. Once you select the adapter you are going to boot from, you will be asked what type of boot you would like to perform. Although you will be going into maintenance mode on the NIM client, you DO NOT want to select “Service Mode Boot”. That is a very limited shell, and will not always allow you to do everything you would like to do in maintenance mode. Select “Normal Mode Boot”:

pSeries Firmware
Version RG080425_d79e22_regatta
SMS 1.3 (c) Copyright IBM Corp. 2000,2003 All rights reserved.
——————————————————————————-
Select Task

Ethernet ( loc=4:U0.1-P2-I4/E1 )

1. Information
2. Normal Mode Boot <——-
3. Service Mode Boot
—————————————————————————–
Navigation keys:
M = return to Main Menu
ESC key = return to previous screen X = eXit System Management Services
——————————————————————————-
Type the number of the menu item and press Enter or select Navigation Key:

6. When asked if you are sure if you want to exit SMS, select ‘yes’ and the system will issue the bootp request to the master and begin the network boot and allow you to access maintenance mode:

pSeries Firmware
Version RG080425_d79e22_regatta
SMS 1.3 (c) Copyright IBM Corp. 2000,2003 All rights reserved.
——————————————————————————-
Are you sure you want to exit System Management Services?
1. Yes
2. No
——————————————————————————-
Navigation Keys: X = eXit System Management Services
——————————————————————————-
Type the number of the menu item and press Enter or select Navigation Key:

____________________________________________________________________________

Accessing rootvg to perform maintenance once booted from a NIM SPOT

1. At the “Maintenance” menu, take option 1 which should be “Access a Root Volume Group”. Once you make that selection, you will receive the following warning:

Warning:
If you choose to access a root volume group, you will NOT be able to return
to the Base Operating System Installation menus without rebooting.

Type the number of your choice and press Enter.

0 Continue

88 Help ?
>>> 99 Previous Menu
>>> Choice [99]:

2. Hit ‘0’ to continue and you will have the choice as to which Volume Group you would like to access. Each Volume Group that is listed, will also display which disk the Volume Groups belong to. For example:

Access a Root Volume Group
Type the number for a volume group to display the logical volume information
and press Enter.

1) Volume Group 00068a0a0000d700000001211129ba79 contains these disks:
hdisk0 15360 vscsi
2) Volume Group 00068a0a0000d70000000120cf29befd contains these disks:
hdisk1 15360 vscsi

Choice:

3. Once you have selected a Volume Group, the Volume Group information will be displayed. Look for a Volume Group that contains all of the regular rootvg logical volumes. This would look similar to the following:
Volume Group Information
——————————————————————————
Volume Group ID 00068a0a0000d70000000120cf29befd includes the following
logical volumes:
hd5 hd6 hd8 hd4 hd2 hd9var
hd3 hd1 hd10opt fslv00 fslv01 fslv02
fslv03 fslv04
——————————————————————————
Type the number of your choice and press Enter.

1) Access this Volume Group and start a shell
2) Access this Volume Group and start a shell before mounting filesystems

99) Previous Menu

Choice [99]:

4. At this point you will need to chose whether you would like to access the Volume Group and start a shell, or access the Volume Group before starting a shell. If you are not sure which option to pick, please contact IBM’s AIX Software support for further assistance.