Using a mksysb Image to Install the Base Operating System (BOS) on a NIM Client (mksysb Install)

Network Installation Management Guide and Reference

Using a mksysb Image to Install the Base Operating System (BOS) on a NIM Client (mksysb Install)

A mksysb installation restores BOS and additional software to a target from a mksysb image in the NIM environment.

For a complete description of different ways to customize a BOS installation using NIM, see the bos_inst operation .

Prerequisites

The NIM master must be configured, and lpp_source and SPOT resources must be defined. See Configuring the NIM Master and Creating Basic Installation Resources .
The NIM client to be installed must already exist in the NIM environment. To add the client to the NIM environment, use the Adding a Standalone NIM Client to the NIM Environment procedure .
The mksysb must be available on the hard disk of the NIM master or a running NIM client, or the mksysb image will be created during this procedure from either the NIM master or a running NIM client.
Although existing AIX Version 4.1.5 mksysb images can be used to install BOS, only NIM clients running Version 4.2 for later can be used as source machines when creating mksysb images for resources.
The SPOT and mksysb resources should be at the same level of AIX when used for NIM BOS installations.
Many applications, particularly databases, maintain data in sparse files. A sparse file is one with empty space, or gaps, left open for future addition of data. If the empty spaces are filled with the ASCII null character and the spaces are large enough, the file will be sparse, and disk blocks will not be allocated to it.

This creates an exposure in that a large file will be created, but the disk blocks will not be allocated. As data is then added to the file, the disk blocks will be allocated, but there may not be enough free disk blocks in the file system. The file system can become full, and writes to any file in the file system will fail.

It is recommended that you either have no sparse files on your system or that you ensure you have enough free space in the file system for future allocation of the blocks.

Cloning Considerations

The mksysb images enable you to clone one system image onto multiple target systems. The target systems might not contain the same hardware devices or adapters, require the same kernel (uniprocessor or multiprocessor), or be the same hardware platform (rs6k, rspc, or chrp) as the source system.

Because NIM configures TCPIP at the end of an install, it is recommended that a bosinst_data resource be allocated for cloning mksysb installs with the field RECOVER_DEVICES set to no. This will prevent the BOS install process from attempting to configure the devices as they were on the source machine of the mksysb.

Attention: If the system you have cloned is using OpenGL or graPHIGS, there may be some device filesets from these LPPs that must be installed after a clone. OpenGL and graPHIGS have graphics adapter-specific filesets, so if you cloned onto a system with a different graphics adapter, you will need to create a bundle as follows:
echo OpenGL.OpenGL_X.dev >
  /usr/sys/inst.data/user_bundles/graphic_dev.bnd
echo PEX_PHIGS.dev >>
  /usr/sys/inst.data/user_bundles/graphic_dev.bnd
You can allocate this bundle when you install the mksysb, and the device filesets will be installed automatically if OpenGL and graPHIGS are in your lpp_source.

From Web-based System Manager

If the mksysb resource has already been created, skip to step 4. Otherwise, from the Resources Container, double-click the Add New Resource TaskGuide.
Follow the TaskGuide instructions to add the mksysb resource to the NIM environment.
Upon successful completion of this task, return to the main NIM container.
You can select the Install Base OS TaskGuide and follow the prompts to install a mksysb image, or continue with this procedure.
From the NIM Container, select a target standalone machine for the install.
From the Selected menu, select Install Base Operating System.
Select mksysb - Install from a mksysb image and fill in the required fields.
Click OK.
If the client machine being installed is not already a running, configured NIM client, NIM will not automatically reboot the machine over the network for installation. If the client was not rebooted automatically, initiate a network boot from the client to install it. Follow the Booting a Machine Over the Network procedure to perform the network boot.
After the machine boots over the network, the display on the client machine will begin prompting for information about how to configure the machine during installation. Specify the requested information to continue with the installation.

Note: To perform a non-prompted installation, follow the instructions in Performing a Non-Prompted BOS Installation to complete the prerequisite tasks.

From SMIT

If the mksysb resource has already been created, skip to step 6. Otherwise, to create the mksysb resource, enter the smit nim_mkres fast path.
Select mksysb from the list of resource types that can be defined.
In the displayed dialogs, supply the values for the required fields. Use the help information and the LIST option to help you specify the correct values for defining your mksysb resource.
If the mksysb image does not exist, create it by supplying the values for the fields under System Backup Image Creation Options.

Note: If the mksysb image already exists as a file on the hard disk of the NIM master or client, no additional information is needed to define your mksysb resource.
Upon successful completion of this task, exit SMIT.
To use the mksysb resource to install a NIM client, enter the smit nim_bosinst fast path.
Select a TARGET for the operation.
Select mksysb as the installation TYPE.
Select the MKSYSB to use for the installation.
Select the SPOT to use for the installation.
Select the LPP_SOURCE to use for the installation.
In the displayed dialog fields, supply the correct values for the installation options or accept the default values. Use the help information or the LIST option to help you.
Run the SMIT dialog to install the NIM client.
If the client machine being installed is not already a running, configured NIM client, NIM will not automatically reboot the machine over the network for installation. If the client was not rebooted automatically from SMIT, initiate a network boot from the client to install it. Use the Booting a Machine Over the Network procedure to initiate the network boot.
After the machine boots over the network, the display on the client machine will begin prompting for information about how to configure the machine during installation. Specify the requested information to continue with the installation.

Note: To perform a non-prompted installation, follow the instructions in Performing a Non-Prompted BOS Installation to complete the prerequisite tasks.

From the Command Line

If the mksysb resource has already been created, skip to step 2. To create the mksysb resource, enter:
```
nim -o define -t mksysb -a server=ServerName \
-a location=LocationName -a mk_image=yes \
-a source=SourceMachine ResourceName
```
Specify the server name and location of the mksysb image. The mk_image and source attributes are used to create the mksysb image if it does not already exist.

For a complete description of all the options that can be specified when creating a mksysb resource, see mksysb Resource.

Example 1:

To define a mksysb resource, mksysb_res1, from an existing mksysb image located in /export/backups/client_mksysb on the master, enter:
```
nim -o define -t mksysb -a server=master \
-a location=/export/backups/client_mksysb mksysb_res1
```
Example 2:
To create a mksysb image of the client machine, client1, in /export/resources/new_mksysb on the master, and to define a mksysb resource, mksysb_res2, enter:
```
nim -o define -t mksysb -a server=master \
-a location=export/resources/new_mksysb -a mk_image=yes \
-a source=client1 mksysb_res2
```
To initiate the bos_inst operation, enter:
```
nim -o bos_inst -a source=mksysb -a mksysb=mksysb \
-a lpp_source=Lpp_Source -a spot=SPOTName \
-a boot_client=yes/no ClientName
```
Specify the resources to be used to support the installation and any additional options for customizing the installation. To perform a simple mksysb installation, specify the mksysb, lpp_source, and SPOT resources.

If the client machine being installed is not already a running, configured NIM client, NIM will not automatically reboot the machine over the network for installation. A network boot must be performed manually on the machine. If that is the case, supply the boot_client=no attribute to the bos_inst command. If the boot_client attribute value is not specified, it defaults to boot_client=yes.
If the client was not rebooted automatically, initiate a network boot from the client to install it. Follow the Booting a Machine Over the Network procedure to perform the network boot.
After the machine boots over the network, the display on the client machine will begin prompting for information about how to configure the machine during installation. Specify the requested information to continue with the installation.

Example 3:

To perform a mksysb installation using the mksysb, mksysb1, the lpp_source, lpp_source1, and the SPOT, spot1, on client machine, machine1, which is not a running, configured NIM client, enter:
```
nim -o bos_inst -a source=mksysb -a mksysb=mksysb1 \
-a lpp_source=lpp_source1 -a spot=spot1 -a boot_client=no machine1
```

Notes:

The steps to perform a mksysb installation are almost identical to the steps to perform other types of BOS installations. The main differences are that mksysb must be specified in the source attribute of the nim bos_inst command, and a mksysb resource must be allocated for the operation.

To perform a non-prompted installation, follow the instructions in Performing a Non-Prompted BOS Installation to complete the prerequisite tasks.