AIX 4.3 Installation Tips


Contents

About this document
Java 1.1.8.10 missing from 02/2001 Update CDs
NFS and NIM errors with 10/2000 and 11/2000 Update CDs
Communications server fails to start
ifor_ls.jcs Installation failure
NFS errors with 4/2000 Update CD
Migration to AIX 4.3.3
oslevel may not indicate 4.3.3.0
ifor_ls.msg installation failures
bos.loc.utf.ZH CN update failure
perfagent.tools update failure
sysmgt.websm.apps update failure
Installation failures from NFS mounted CD
AIX documentation using IBM HTTP Web Server
AIX Fast Connect in DCE environment
Soft5080 on Xinerama
LED E1DC during boot on CHRP systems
Firmware corruption using feprom_update
Exec format error running Netscape Communicator
WebSphere V3.0 with AIX JDK 1.1.8
Cloning updated systems

About this document

This document contains the latest tips for successful installation of AIX 4.3, and will be updated as new tips become available.

APARs and PTFs mentioned in this document, when available, can be obtained from FixDist. Information on obtaining and using FixDist is available at the following URL.

http://service.software.ibm.com/rs6k/fixes.html


Java 1.1.8.10 missing from 02/2001 update CDs

The instfix -ik 4330-07_AIX_ML command will indicate that not all filesets were applied from the 02/2001 Update CD media.

This was a result of a problem in the C++ runtime environment shipped with AIX 4.3. The update CD was modified to replace Java 1.1.8 PTF set 10 with PTF set 8 since the problem was not seen with Java 1.1.8 PTF set 8. However, the instfix data was not changed to reflect the change.

The solution is to update the C++ RTE Version 5 and then apply the Java 1.1.8 PTF set 10. The C++ RTE V5 may be obtained via FTP download from:
http://www-4.ibm.com/software/ad/vacpp/service/csd.html#redistribute

The Java 1.1.8 PTF set 10 was provided with APAR IY14739, which can be obtained from FixDist.


NFS and NIM errors with 10/2000 and 11/2000 Update CDs

Customers may experience NFS mount failures with the following message after installation of the bos.net.nfs.client update at the 4.3.3.25 or 4.3.3.26 level.

     1831-011 access denied

This problem can also cause NIM installation to fail with LED 611.

The 4.3.3.25 level update is included on the 10/2000 AIX Update CD, and in the 4330-05 Recommended Maintenance package. The 4.3.3.26 level update is included on the 11/2000 AIX Update CD, and in the 4330-06 Recommended Maintenance package.

This problem can be circumvented by removing the access= components from the lines in the /etc/exports file and then running exportfs -a.

The fix for this problem will be provided with APAR IY13656, which can be obtained from FixDist when available.


Communications server fails to start

Communications Server for AIX, Versions 5 and 6, will fail to start on AIX 4.3.3 if the bos.rte.libc fileset is at the 4.3.3.17 or later level, and the sna.rte fileset is below the 5.0.4.2 level for CS/AIX V5, or below the 6.0.0.1 level for CS/AIX V6.

For failing levels, the /var/sna/sna.err file may contain the following errors:

     CS/AIX V5: Unable to start the TN Server executable snatnsrvr_mt
     CS/AIX V6: error reading configuration: define_tn3270_ssl_ldap

The fix for this problem is available in one of the following Communications Server APARs.

      IY12351 Communications Server V5
      IY12677 Communications Server V6

ifor_ls Installation Failure

The License Use Management Java Client Support (ifor_ls.jcs 4.3.3.25) install image included on the 10/2000 AIX 4.3.3 product media (CD# LDC4-0286-06) may fail to install with a message similar to the following:

   Installing ifor_ls.jcs 4.3.3.25, got the following post_i script error:

The cause of the problem is currently being investigated. This document will be updated with additional details when available.


NFS errors with 4/2000 Update CD

Customers may experience NFS timeout errors if one of the following fileset updates are installed.

        bos.net.nfs.client 4.3.3.11
        bos.net.nfs.client 4.3.3.12

The 4.3.3.12 level was included on the 4/2000 AIX Update CD that accompanies the AIX 4.3 media.

To resolve the problem, obtain the fix for APAR IY09175, which is available from FixDist.


Migration to AIX 4.3.3

When migrating to AIX 4.3.3 from earlier releases of AIX, systems with SSA adapters may experience a bosboot failure. The cause is a packaging error in the SSA install image. The error will be similar to:

          0301-154 bosboot: missing protofile:  /usr/lib/drivers/ssapin

The error only occurs if the devices.mca.8f97.com fileset is installed. You can determine if this fileset is installed using the command:

          lslpp -L devices.mca.8f97.com

To prevent this failure from occurring, before migrating obtain the following script and run it as root.
ftp://techsupport.services.ibm.com/aix/efixes/296702/ssa_pre_i.efix

Once the error has occurred, you can recover by reinstalling devices.common.IBM.ssa.rte with the force overwrite option.

When doing a migration to AIX 4.3 from a previous release of AIX, you must update filesets from all CD-ROM volumes. The initial migration installation only updates from volume 1. After the system is booted in normal mode, you should run smit update_all to update from the additional CD-ROM volumes. SMIT will prompt for the additional volumes as necessary.


oslevel may not indicate 4.3.3.0

The oslevel command may not correctly output 4.3.3.0 on systems installed or updated from the AIX 4.3.3 product media for the following reasons.


ifor_ls.msg installation failures

Some ifor_ls.msg.*.compat.gui filesets may fail to install from the AIX 4.3.3 product media due to a requisite to ifor_ls.compat.gui 4.3.3.0, which does not exist. This problem can be corrected by installing the ifor_ls.compat.gui 4.3.3.0 update (APAR IY04448), when available, from
FixDist.


bos.loc.utf.ZH_CN update failure

When updating an existing AIX 4.3 system from the AIX 4.3.3.0 Maintenance Level, the bos.loc.utf.ZH_CN 4.3.3.0 update will fail to install if the bos.loc.iso.zh_CN fileset is not installed. To prevent this problem, install the bos.loc.iso.zh_CN fileset from your existing AIX media prior to updating from the AIX 4.3.3.0 Maintenance Level. This problem does not occur when updating from the AIX 4.3.3 Product Media.


perfagent.tools update failure

When updating an existing AIX 4.3 system from the AIX 4.3.3.0 Maintenance Level, the perfagent.tools 2.2.33.0, as well as other requisites, may fail to install. The requisite failure occurs if the perfagent.server fileset is installed without the perfagent.tools fileset. To prevent this problem, install the perfagent.tools fileset from your existing AIX media prior to updating from the AIX 4.3.3.0 Maintenance Level. This problem does not occur when updating from the AIX 4.3.3 Product Media.


sysmgt.websm.apps update failure

When updating an existing AIX 4.3 system from the AIX 4.3.3.0 Maintenance Level, the sysmgt.websm.apps 4.3.3.0, as well as other requisites, may fail to install. The requisite failure occurs if the sysmgt.websm.apps fileset is already installed due to a requisite to perl.rte, which is a new fileset in 4.3.3. To prevent this problem, install the perl.rte fileset that is included in the AIX 4.3.3.0 Maintenance Level prior to updating from the AIX 4.3.3.0 Maintenance Level. This problem does not occur when updating from the AIX 4.3.3 Product Media.


Installation failures from NFS mounted CD

Permissions of some install images on the AIX 4.3.3 product media do not include read permission for others. Although this will not cause problems while installing from a locally mounted CD-ROM, it can cause installation failures from a CD-ROM that is NFS mounted. This problem can be circumvented by copying the images to disk and changing the permissions, or by changing the NFS export parameters to allow root access for the mounting host.


AIX documentation using IBM HTTP Web Server

If you are using the IBM HTTP Web Server software to serve the AIX Documentation Library services, the configuration process may not have worked correctly. To test the configuration, type the following command after you have completed the library service configuration process:

     grep DOCUMENT_DIRECTORY /etc/environment

For a correctly configured system, grep should output the following line.

     DOCUMENT_DIRECTORY=/usr/HTTPServer/htdocs

If the directory name is not the same as listed in the preceding line, complete the instructions below.

  1. As root, enter the following command:
              smit change_doc_search_server
    
  2. Select Local - this computer in the Documentation search server LOCATION field and press Enter.
  3. Select Other local server or above in non-default location in the Web server SOFTWARE field and press Enter.
  4. Specify the following directories on the Change Local Documentation and Search Server panel. Change other values as required for your Web server setup and press Enter.
         Local web server cgi-bin DIRECTORY              /usr/HTTPServer/cgi-bin
         Local web server HTML document directory        /usr/HTTPServer/htdocs
    

AIX Fast Connect in DCE environment

AIX Fast Connect configured in a DCE environment to provide access to file shares located in DFS space must be started using the following steps.
  1. Login as root.
  2. dce_login as a principal (such as cell_admin) that has su rights to the DFS tree being shared.
  3. Start AIX Fast Connect using the net start /load command. SMIT or WebSM can also be used as long as they are started from this shell.
The above procedure allows the cifsServer daemon to run with su login context while cifsUserProc runs with users login context. Users login context gets set following DCE authentication.


Soft5080 on Xinerama

APAR IY06658 for Soft5080 is required when running Soft5080 using the Xinerama extension to the X server.


LED E1DC during boot on CHRP systems

CHRP based systems can hang at boot with E1DC in the LEDs after booting down-level diagnostics or AIX CDs. Determine if your system is CHRP based using the following command:
        lslpp -L devices.chrp.base.rte
If the devices.chrp.base.rte filesets are installed, the system architecture is likely CHRP. If this fileset is not installed, this problem cannot occur on your system.

To prevent this problem from occurring, install APAR IX79693, which is included in AIX 4.3.2, and also obtain the latest 4.3.2 diagnostics CD-ROM, P/N 08L1427 or 08L1430. Do not attempt to boot the system with earlier level diagnostics CD-ROMs or other media that contains a level of AIX earlier than 4.3.2.

Once this problem occurs, the only way to correct the condition is to power the system off, unplug the battery for approximately 10 minutes, plug in the battery and power the system back on.


Firmware corruption using feprom_update

The feprom_update command fails on AIX 4.3 systems with an error similar to:
        1734-009 cannot write in FEPROM
Once this failure occurs, the system firmware is corrupt, and the system will no longer reboot. This problem affects SMP systems with 604e processors, including SP High Nodes. APAR IX84560 is currently available and should be installed prior to attempting a firmware update.


Exec format error running Netscape Communicator

Netscape Communicator uses a private copy of the AIX C library (libc.a). The libc.a shipped with Netscape Communicator 4.0.4 and earlier may not be compatible with AIX 4.3.1. It may fail to start with an error similar to the following:
        Could not load program /usr/local/netscape4/netscape_aix4
        Symbol __malloc_postfork_unlock in /usr/lib/libpthreads.a is undefined
        Symbol __malloc_prefork_lock in /usr/lib/libpthreads.a is undefined
        Could not load library libC.a[shr.o]
        Error was: Exec format error
To correct this problem, refer to the following URL for instructions on downloading and installing the fix.

WebSphere V3.0 with AIX JDK 1.1.8

Use of the AIX Java 1.1.8 JIT (Just-in-Time compiler) with the WebSphere V3.0 Administration Server requires APAR IY04792. Until the APAR is applied, the JIT should be disabled during WebSphere Application Server startup. Disabling the JIT can have negative WebSphere Application Server performance impacts, therefore, installation of APAR IY04792 is highly recommended.

To disable the AIX JDK 1.1.8 JIT, modify the WebSphere admin.config file and replace the line:

        com.ibm.ejs.sm.util.process.Nanny.adminServerJvmArgs=-mx128m

with the line:

        com.ibm.ejs.sm.util.process.Nanny.adminServerJvmArgs=-mx128m -Djava.compiler=NONE

Secondly, any Application Server that is created will also require the JIT to be disabled. To accomplish this through the use of the WebSphere Administrative Console, add the following to the command line arguments field for the Application Server:

        -Djava.compiler=NONE

The Admin Console does not require the JIT to be disabled. The procedure is only required for the Adminserver and any Application Servers.


Cloning updated systems

When using a mksysb to clone a system which has had updates applied, you must update the target systems to at least the same update level as the system on which the mksysb was made. Failure to do so could result in an incompatible level of device support on the target system.

CHRP architecture systems cloned from non-CHRP architecture systems with updates applied may fail to boot due to incompatibilities between the updated kernel in the mksysb image and the base level devices.chrp.base.rte fileset installed during the cloning process. To circumvent this problem, install and update the devices.chrp.base.rte fileset on the non-CHRP system prior to creating the mksysb that will be used for cloning.




[ Doc Ref: 90605188914736     Publish Date: Mar. 23, 2001     4FAX Ref: 8175 ]