FixDist Tool - Electronic Fix Distribution for AIX

About this document
FixDist tool
Downloading the FixDist tool
Installing the FixDist tool
Starting and configuring the FixDist tool
TapeGen tool

About this document

This document provides information about the FixDist tool, an AIX application that allows you to download AIX-related fixes.

Electronic fix distribution

IBM provides a number of mirrored sites on the Internet that allow AIX-related fixes to be freely downloaded. While not all AIX-related fixes are available, additions are constantly being made to these anonymous FTP servers. Though it is not guaranteed that all fixes will be immediately available, servers are usually updated within 24 hours of tape distribution.

The fixes on these servers can be downloaded using either the ftp command, a Web browser or the AIX-exclusive tool called FixDist. This document describes how to use the FixDist tool.

The current anonymous FTP servers are:

United States   techsupport.services.ibm.com  
United Kingdom  ftp.europe.ibm.com             
Canada          rwww.aix.can.ibm.com           
Germany         www.ibm.de                     
Japan           fixdist.yamato.ibm.co.jp

FixDist tool

The FixDist tool is an AIX application that provides discrete downloads and delivers all required images with just one click. It can also keep track of fixes you have already downloaded, so you can download smaller fix packages the next time you need them.

Although the location of the Web pages varies from country to country, the most common one is:

http://techsupport.services.ibm.com/rs6000/support

Downloading the FixDist tool

To download through the Web:

Go to the AIX Technical Support home page.
http://techsupport.services.ibm.com/rs6000/support
Click on the Fixes, drivers, updates, tools link.
Click on the Tools link.
Click on the AIX FixDist Motif-based application link.
Download the tool and guide into your /tmp directory by clicking on the appropriate links.

To download using the ftp command:

Change to your /tmp directory.
Get the tool and the PostScript user's guide. The text version of the user's guide comes with the tool and once installed is found as /usr/lpp/fixdist/fixdist.txt.
You can use any hostname from the anonymous FTP server list found in the subsection, "Electronic fix distribution."
```
ftp techsupport.services.ibm.com 
> login:     anonymous 
> password:  "email"   (example: johndoe@) 
> 
> bin 
> cd /aix/tools/fixdist 
> get fd.tar.Z         (FixDist tool in compressed tar format) 
> get fixdist.ps.Z     (User guide in compressed PostScript) 
> quit 
```

Installing the FixDist tool

The following procedure must be performed as the root user.

Install the tool into the /usr file system. You MUST install it from the / (root) directory to access the online help and preserve your .netrc file.

cd /                              (change directory to the root) 
zcat /tmp/fd.tar.Z |tar -xpvf -   (uncompress and untar)

Starting and configuring the FixDist tool

The database and temporary files that FixDist manipulates on your system are very sensitive to file permissions. Because of this, we recommend that you consistently run FixDist using the same user ID you start with.

To start FixDist, enter:

    fixdist

The file /usr/bin/fixdist is a script that calls /usr/lpp/fixdist/fixdistm for CDE and AIXwindows users. If you have a dumb terminal, FixDist will call /usr/lpp/fixdist/fixdistc.

Read the user's guide for detailed configuration information. The basic configuration tasks are below.

Specify an IBM server.
Specify a location on your system where you want to put the fixes.
Download the fix database from the IBM server to your computer.

TapeGen tool

TapeGen is a companion service tool provided with FixDist that enables you to create a stacked tape containing SMIT-installable fixes. You create a stack file that lists all the images you want stacked onto a tape and TapeGen does the rest.

[ Doc Ref: 90605203114668 Publish Date: Jan. 04, 2001 4FAX Ref: 1228 ]