How to Resolve the "mkinsttape_sb: permission denied" error on Sysback Versions 3 and 4


Contents

About this document
Procedure 1 - Correcting permisssions on /tmp (recommended)
Procedure 2 - Altering Sysback when /tmp permissions cannot be changed

About this document

This document describes how to fix the mkinsttape_sb: permission denied error when a bootable tape is made on Sysback. This document applies to Sysback-compatible AIX Versions 3 and 4.

The error given displays:

 Rewinding /dev/rmt0 ...
 Placing boot image on tape ...
 bosboot: Boot image is 3105 512 byte blocks.
 Placing install image on tape ...
 /usr/sbin/mkboottape.sh[234]: /usr/sbin/mkinsttape_sb: permission denied
 Error creating install images. Check for available space in /etc.
 sysback: Unable to create bootable tape

The error occurs because the script is not readable. This is because the script is built in /tmp with the suid bit enabled. When /tmp does not have the sticky bit set, suid scripts are automatically made non-executable. This is an AIX feature. This can be resolved by correcting the permissions on /tmp or by modifying the Sysback scripts to handle this problem automatically.


Procedure 1 - Correcting permissions on /tmp (recommended)

Enter the follwing commands:
  1. Make the permissions change once, enter:
          chmod 1777 /tmp
    
  2. To verify the fix, enter:
          sysback -Bf rmt0
    

Procedure 2 - Altering Sysback when /tmp permissions cannot be changed

If the permissions for the /tmp directory need to be other than the defaults for site-specific reasons, follow these steps to resolve the error.

  1. Enter the following series of commands:

  2. Change the following code:
     # Put the bos install files on the tape
     echo
     msg 200 'Placing install image on tape ..'
     if [ ! -x $instprog_sb ]
        then chmod +x $instprog_sb
     fi
    
    to
    # Put the bos install files on the tape
     echo
     msg 200 'Placing install image on tape ..'
     #if [ ! -x $instprog_sb ]
     #   then
        chmod +rx $instprog_sb
     #fi
    
  3. To verify the fix, enter:
    sysback -Bf rmt0
    



[ Doc Ref: 92783812815934     Publish Date: Aug. 02, 2000     4FAX Ref: 4397 ]