Cloning with mksysb for rootvg and Sysback V4 for Additional Volume Groups

About this document
Related documentation
Creating a mksysb
Creating a Sysback backup
Restoring the mksysb
Restoring additional volume groups using Sysback
Creating mksysb tips and hints
Restoring mksysb tips and hints

About this document

This document describes how to clone to an unknown system type using a mksysb tape for rootvg and Sysback for additional volume groups.

The information in this document applies to AIX Versions 4.2 and 4.3 with Sysback V4 only.

When cloning 4.3.0 and 4.3.1 systems that have bos.rte filesets installed at 4.3.2.x (for example, 4.3.1 systems with bos.rte.libc 4.3.2.x), these systems should first be upgraded to the 4.3.2.0 maintenance level, and second, should use 4.3.2 bootable media to boot in service mode for cloning.

Creating a mksysb

To create a mksysb tape on the source system, enter:

     mksysb -i /dev/rmt0

If a tape drive other than /dev/rmt0 is being used, subsitute it in the above command.

Creating a Sysback backup

On the source system, create a Sysback tape by Installation or Volume Group Method:

Installation Image Method

Use the SMIT interface:

	smit
   	  AIX System Backup & Recovery/6000
  		Backup & Recovery Options
  			Backup Options
  				Backup the System (Installation	Image)

Or, enter the following command:

  	smit sb_sysback

If volume groups, other than rootvg exist on the system, the following screens will display:

Select Volume Groups(s) to Include (in addition to rootvg). A list of volume groups will appear. Select the none option (rootvg only), or select each additional volume group you intend to include on the backup. To do this, move the highlighted field to the desired value and press the F7 key. After selecting all desired entries, press Enter.
The Device Selector Screen will appear. Place the cursor over the device that you wish to use and press Enter.
The device that you choose and the hostname for remote backups will transfer to the options screen. (For an explanation of options, see the Sysback Manual, "Back Up the System" section.) After verifying all selections on the options screen, press Enter to begin the backup.

Volume Group Method

Use the SMIT interface:

    	smit
  	  AIX System Backup & Recovery/6000
  		Backup & Recovery Options
  			Backup Options
  				Backup Volume Groups

Or, enter the following command:

  	smit sb_mkvgback

The following screens will display:

Select Volume Group(s) to Include.A list of volume groups on the system will appear. Select a single volume group by again moving the highlighted line to the desired volume group and pressing the Enter key. To select multiple volume groups, highlight each desired selection and press the F7 key. After all selections have been made, press Enter to continue.
The Device Selector Screen will appear. Place the cursor over the device that you intend to use, and press Enter.
The device that you choose and the hostname for remote backup devices will transfer to the options screen. (For an explanation of options, see the Sysback Manual, "Back Up the System" section.) After verifying all selections on the options screen, press Enter to begin the backup.

Restoring the mksysb

Use the following steps to restore the mksysb.

Boot in Service mode
On the target system, boot from the installation CD-ROM that is at the same AIX level as the source system. Make sure the tape drive is turned on, but do not load the mksysb tape at this point. It is preferable to use the install CD-ROM, but if there is not one available, the AIX install product tape at the same level can be used. If the install tape is used, you may need to switch the install tape and mksysb tape back and forth a few times during the restoration.
WARNINGS:
- To boot from a product tape, the setting SWITCH_TO_PRODUCT_TAPE = yes must be in the bosinst.data file on the mksysb. In this case, after the mksysb tape has been restored, you will be prompted to reinsert the product tape. Any additional device support can then be installed from the product tape.
- If the source and target system kernels are different (for example, rs6k and rspc), you MUST boot from CD-ROM installation media.
- Some PowerPC models will not boot from installation media. For more information, consult the model documentation or contact your AIX support center for assistance.
Boot process
If the system is a single processor, the boot process should begin immediately. If it is a multiprocessor, go through the hardware boot menu first. For more information, consult the model documentation or contact your AIX support center for assistance.
Installation and maintenance menu
1. During the system boot, three displays will appear in succession: a message stating press F1 or 1 for the system console, a message asking for the desired language, and then the main menu with the following heading:
```
     Welcome to Base Operating System 
      Installation and Maintenance 
```
  The following choices will then appear:
```
    1  Start Install Now with Default Settings 
    2  Change/Show Installation Settings and Install 
    3  Start Maintenance Mode for System Recovery 
```
  Select option 3, Start Maintenance Mode for System Recovery. A menu heading of Maintenance and the following selections will appear:
```
    1  Access a Root Volume Group 
    2  Copy a System Dump to Removable Media 
    3  Access Advanced Maintenance Functions 
    4  Install from a System Backup 
```
  Select option 4, Install from a System Backup.
2. After you select option 4, a menu heading of Choose Tape Drive and then a list of tape drives from which to install will be displayed. Place the mksysb tape into the tape drive, wait for the tape to stop spinning and then select that tape drive from the menu listing.
3. After a short while, the instruction to return to the main menu will appear. Return to the main menu and the following options will be displayed again:
```
    1  Start Install Now with Default Settings 
    2  Change/Show Installation Settings and Install 
    3  Start Maintenance Mode for System Recovery 
```
  This time, select option 2, Change/Show Installation Settings and Install. A menu heading of System Backup Installation and Settings and selections similar to the following will appear:
```
     1  Disk(s) Where You Want to Install.....hdisk0... 
          Use Maps............................No 
     2  Shrink File Systems...................No 
>>>  0 Install with the settings listed above. 
```
  To shrink the file systems to reclaim free space allocated to the file systems, select option 2 so the setting is Yes. For the file systems to be restored with the same allocated space as the original system, make sure option 2 is set to No.
  Once the setting preference is completed for option 2, select option 1 to select which disks will be used for the installation. A menu heading of Change Disk(s) Where You Want to Install with selections similar to the following will appear:
```
>>>  1  hdisk0  00-00-0S-0,0 400 rootvg     yes  no 
     2  hdisk1  00-00-0S-1,0 850 not in VG  yes  no 
>>>  0  Continue with choices indicated above. 
```
  Disks selected for the installation will be marked with ">>>". A disk can be selected or not selected by entering the number that appears to the left of that disk in the listing. Make sure that only the disk to install to is selected. Verify the disk by its "Location Code" and not by the hdisk number because these may be different from the running system.
  After all the disks to be used for installation have been selected, select option 0 to continue. A menu with the heading System Backup Installation and Settings will be displayed. Select option 0, Install with the settings listed above, and the installation will begin.

Restoring additional volume groups using Sysback

Once the system has been restored from the mksysb backup, use the following steps to recreate and restore the additional volume groups to the target system:

Insert Sysback system backup tape from the source system in the drive.

Use the SMIT Interface:

     smit
	AIX System Backup & Recovery/6000
		Backup & Recovery Options
			Recreate Volume Groups, Logical Volumes or Filesystems

Or, enter the following command:

       smit sb_create

Select the tape device that the Sysback tape is in. After selecting the tape device, you will be asked for the "Backup Sequence Number."
NOTE: Provided that multiple backups are not stacked on the tape, you can use the default Backup Sequence Number. Otherwise, call your support center for assistance on which image number to use.
You will then be asked to Select Type to be Created. Select Volume Group (all LVs and filesystems).
Next, select the volume group(s) that you intend to restore at this time (not to include rootvg, as it has already been restored), from the list of volume groups included on this system backup. To select multiple volume groups, move the highlighted line to each selection and press F7. When finished, press Enter to continue.
You will then be prompted with Edit the Volume Group Information before proceeding? Choose yes, the default setting, and press Enter.
A menu titled Change Volume Group & Logical Volume Information will display. Choose Select Physical Volumes for Volume Groups.
You will now be given a choice of the volume groups to select physical volumes for. Choose one of the volume groups that you are trying to restore. A list of the physical volumes on the system and which ones are currently assigned to existing volume groups will now appear. Select enough free physical volumes to fit the current volume group. At the bottom of the menu is an indicator of Megabytes Required versus Currently Selected. Ensure that the Currently Selected number exceeds the Megabytes Required number. Press Esc to return to the Change Volume Group & Logical Volume Information menu.
Repeat step 7 for each of the volume groups being recreated. When you have selected physical volumes for all the volume groups to be recreated, press Esc to continue.
You will then be asked, Are you sure you wish to create the volume group(s)(y/n)?. Answering y will recreate the volume groups as specified.
With the previous steps complete, you will be asked to press Enter to return to the SMIT screen.
Now that you have recreated the volume groups, verify that they are mounted with the mount command.

Restore data into the volume groups using SMIT:

     smit
	AIX System Backup & Recovery/6000
		Backup & Recovery Options
			Restore Data from a Backup

Or, enter the following command:

     smit sb_restore

Select the tape device that the Sysback system backup is in and use the default Backup Sequence Number (or the number that was determined after calling your support center).
Next, you will be asked to Select Type of Data to be Restored. In this case, choose Volume Group (all LVs and filesystems). A list of the volume groups on the backup tape will appear and you can select the ones you wish to restore. Select multiple entries using the F7 key again. When you have completed your selections, press Enter to continue.
The Restore data from a Backup menu will appear. For the purposes of this document, you can leave the defaults and press Enter to continue. The data will then be restored, with a progress indicator showing the estimated time and time elapsed.
Once the restore is complete, exit out of restore and SMIT. Your system has now been cloned.

Creating mksysb tips and hints

Platform types
1. Platform type
```
    bootinfo -T 
```
  Running this command will return one of the following: rs6k, rspc, chrp, or PAL.
2. Boot platform type
```
    bootinfo -p 
```
  Running this command will return one of the following: rs6k, rs6ksmp, or rspc.
  WARNING: The type rs6ksmp is not valid at AIX 4.2 even though this command reports it.
  The type rspc will be reported for all non-rs6k types.
3. Processor type
```
    bootinfo -z           0 = up (single processor) 
                          1 = mp (multi processor) 
```

When cloning at AIX 4.2 and 4.3 it is no longer required to use a diskette containing the clone script. If you use an image.data or bosinst.data that is different from what is on the mksysb tape, a diskette will still need to be created. Contact your AIX support center for assistance.

If a product tape for booting is being used, the bosinst.data variable SWITCH_TO_PRODUCT_TAPE must be equal to yes.

bosinst.data fields

The following new fields have been added to the bosinst.data file.

    RECOVER_DEVICES = yes, no           (default - yes) 
    BOSINST_DEBUG = no, yes             (default - no) 
    SWITCH_TO_PRODUCT_TAPE = no, yes    (default - no)

The RECOVER_DEVICES option allows the choice to recover the customized ODM attributes (for example, network addressing, static routes, tty settings, and multi-port adapter cards).

    YES - To recover the source ODM.  The file 
          /etc/firstboot will be created and run on reboot. 
    NO  - NOT to restore any attributes.

WARNING: Attempting to install customized attributes when the devices are not in exactly the same location will not work and the devices will not be defined. Only use this option when restoring a mksysb back to the system in which it was created.

The BOSINST_DEBUG option allows the install process to debug if something goes wrong. Either use this variable or enter 911 on the initial Installation and Maintenance screen to see debug output. Prior to AIX 4.1.5, there were no set steps to get debug output.

The SWITCH_TO_PRODUCT_TAPE option allows a product tape to be used instead of the cd-rom.

    Yes - Boot from tape product media. 
    No  - Boot from CD-ROM product media.

NOTE: If you continue to boot from product media, you have the choice of using a CD-ROM or tape on an rs6k or rs6ksmp system. For rspc or chrp system types, boot from a CD-ROM because no rspc or chrp product tapes are being shipped.

Restoring mksysb tips and hints

OpenGL or PEX_PHIGS
NOTE: The following tip applies to AIX version 4.2. In AIX version 4.3 the OpenGL and PEX_PHIGS device filesets are included on the AIX 4.3 install media.
If the source system is using OpenGL or PEX_PHIGS, there may be some device filesets from these LPs that need to be installed on the target system after the cloning process. OpenGL and PEX_PHIGS have graphics-adapter-specific filesets that are on separate media, so to clone onto a system with a different graphics adapter, do the following on the target system:
1. To create a bundle, enter:
```
    echo OpenGL.OpenGL_X.dev > \ 
/usr/sys/inst.data/user_bundles/graphic_dev.bn 
    echo PEX_PHIGS.dev >> \ 
/usr/sys/inst.data/user_bundles/graphic_dev.bn 
```
2. To install the bundle, enter:
```
    smitty install_bundle 
```
  If any filesets are installed, reboot the system before using OpenGL and PEX_PHIGS; otherwise it may cause performance problems.

Bosboot fail errors

When booting from 4.2.0 CD-ROM installation media and attempting to restore a mksysb which is at 4.2.1, the following errors may be displayed:

    0653-341  The file /dev/ipldevice does not exist 
    0301-150  bosboot: Invalid or no boot device specified. 
    1) to continue 2) maintenance

WORKAROUND:

Select option 2 for maintenance.

When booting from a CD-ROM, enter:

    export LIBPATH=/../SPOT/usr/lib:$LIBPATH 
    lslv -l hd5    ( --> hdisk# ) 
    ln -f /dev/r<hdisk#> /dev/ipldevice 
    bosboot -ad /dev/ipldevice 
    exit

When booting from tape, enter:

    export LIBPATH=/.../usr/lib:$LIBPATH 
    cd /../usr/lib 
    mv libc.a libc.orig 
    lslv -l hd5    ( --> hdisk# ) 
    ln -f /dev/r<hdisk#> /dev/ipldevice 
    bosboot -ad /dev/iplevice 
    exit

This problem is corrected with AIX 4.2.1 CD-ROM media.

[ Doc Ref: 95797646212204 Publish Date: Oct. 19, 2000 4FAX Ref: 8561 ]

Cloning with mksysb for rootvg and Sysback V4 for Additional Volume Groups

Contents

About this document

Related documentation

Creating a mksysb

Creating a Sysback backup

Installation Image Method

Volume Group Method

Restoring the mksysb

Restoring additional volume groups using Sysback

Creating mksysb tips and hints

Restoring mksysb tips and hints