Using AIX Network Installation Manager and CSM

You use NIM, CSM, and hardware commands to install AIX on the cluster nodes. NIM enables a cluster administrator to centrally manage the installation and configuration of AIX and optional software on machines within a network environment. In a CSM cluster, you may install and configure NIM on an AIX management server or on one or more AIX install servers.

 

Install AIX on CSM cluster nodes

  1. Verify the node definitions.
  2. Create CSM node groups (optional).
  3. Validate hardware control (required for hardware control).
  4. Get network adapter information.
  5. Set up NIM.
  6. Create additional NIM network definitions and routes (optional).
  7. Create NIM machine definitions.
  8. Create NIM machine groups (optional).
  9. Prepare customization scripts (optional).
  10. Prepare for secondary adapter configuration (optional).
  11. Set up cluster configuration (optional).
  12. Verify authentication methods for NIM (optional).
  13. Prepare NIM to add the nodes.
  14. Add OpenSSH and OpenSSL software (optional).
  15. Add Kerberos client software (optional).
  16. Add the nodes to the cluster.
  17. Initiate a network installation of the nodes.
  18. Monitor and verify the installation.
  19. Enable Kerberos Version 5 remote commands (optional).
  20. CSM post-installation tasks...
    • Getting started with the newly installed cluster.
    • Enabling remote commands to use Kerberos Version 5 authentication (optional).
    • Understanding the installation and configuration log files


Maintaining NIM lpp_sources for each AIX release

One requirement of the NIM is that the AIX level of an lpp_source and the Shared Product Object Tree (SPOT) have to be the same as the AIX level in system backup to be restored or the node to be booted into maintenance. For example, installing a mksysb taken from a system running AIX 5.3ML05 using lpp_source and SPOT at AIX 5.3ML04 likely will fail.

In an environment with client nodes running at different levels of an AIX release, an lpp_source and a SPOT for each of these levels must be available to be able to restore client nodes backups or perform maintenance boots of the client nodes.

For our example with the different AIX 5.3 levels, there is one lpp_source with the AIX 5.3 ML04 installation images at...

/export/lpp_source/lpp_source53ML04.

To create a new lpp_source for AIX 5.3 ML05 at directory...

/export/lpp_source/lpp_source53ML05

...we can copy the AIX 5.3 ML04 lpp_source to the AIX 5.3 ML05 location and apply the ML05 updates to it. This requires more disk space, but ensures the integrity of the installation source.

Next steps are to create the new NIM lpp_source and SPOT resources for the new level AIX 5.3 ML05 and update the target partitions.


Installing the Virtual I/O Server using NIM

You can use the following procedures to install the Virtual I/O (VIO) server into environments managed by the HMC or Integrated Virtualization Manager using NIM.

You need the following files before beginning this procedure. These files are located on the Virtual I/O Server installation media:

In addition, the following system requirements must be met:

After the prerequisites have been met, you can also install a Virtual I/O Server or an Integrated Virtualization Manager through the SMIT interface. Run smitty installios to get access to the SMIT interface to the installios command.

The installios setup process creates the following NIM resources to start the installation:

bosinst_data, installp_bundle,lpp_source,mksysb,resolv_conf,SPOT,Client definition.

You need to know the following information as defined within the HMC environment:

HMC Name, Managed System Name, Partition Name, Partition Profile Name

The full installios command is shown here:

/usr/sbin/installios -d'cd0' -h'riogrande.itsc.austin.ibm.com' -s 'p5+-9133-55A-SN10D1FAG' -p'wasp5l_vio' -r'wasp5l_vio_limited' -i'9.3.5.170' -S'255.255.255.0' -g'9.3.5.41' -P'100' -D'full' -l'en_US' '-N'

If we are installing the Virtual I/O Server logical partition, and if SSH and credentials have been configured on the NIM master, then the partition is network-booted from the HMC to begin the installation.


Install WebSphere partitions using NIM

Performing a NIM mksysb installation is faster than performing a NIM Runtime (rte) installation. And, using mksysb, you can optionally include other installed software. A mksysb image is the system backup image created by the AIX mksysb command. You can use this image to install other machines or to restore the machine that was the source of the mksysb.

  1. Run nim bos_inst with the source attribute set to rte to install the AIX OS on a node. The command for node trinity is shown here:

    csmsetupnim -n trinity
    nim -o bos_inst -a source=rte -a lpp_source=lpp_source53ML05 -a spot=spot535 trinity

  2. After the installation, configure and prepare the operating system to run WebSphere. You can, for example...

    • preinstall the AIX ToolBox filesets
    • add the default user needed for your special needs
    • preset NFS remote mounts

  3. Use the installed node to create a NIM mksysb resource and a mksysb image...

    nim -o define -t mksysb -a server=master -a location=/export/mksysb/AIX53ML05_WAS_61_Base -a mk_image=yes -a source=trinity_WAS_61AIX535_mksysb

  4. Use this mksysb image and NIM resource to install AIX on all new partitions.

    Before installing the new node, issue the command csmsetupnim to set up the CSM customization scripts to the automatically update command to exchange HBA public keys and update the Trusted Host List after AIX is installed on a node.

    Issue the NIM bos_inst operation with the source attribute set to mksysb for one or a group of nodes to be installed. The commands for node us is shown here:

    csmsetupnim -n us
    nim -o bos_inst -a source=mksysb -a mksysb=WAS_61AIX535_mksysb -a spot=spot535 us

    Verify all resources have been allocated and that the Node NIM status is as required...

    # lsnim -c resources us
    osprereboot script
    WAS_61AIX535_mksysb mksysb
    spot535 spot
    boot boot

    You can check the NIM status for the object machine by using the command lsnim. In our case, because we were only interested in the value of the NIM attribute Cstate, we used the command...

    lsnim -l us | grep Cstate

    ...to check the output, as shown here:

    Cstate = BOS installation has been enabled

  5. Initiate the node installation.

    netboot -n us

    The progress is written to the CSM logfile...

    /var/log/csm/netboot

You can use the rconsole command to connect to the partition from the CSM management server. The rconsole command provides remote console support for nodes and devices in a cluster. The command uses the CSM database to determine the nodes and devices and their console access information. It provides similar functionality to the HMC Virtual Terminal without needing to have an HMC GUI session open.

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