Subject: 1.100: I am used to Unix systems programming, why should I learn SMIT? Using SMIT is probably very different from your normal way of doing system administration, but could prove very useful in the long run. In some areas, in particular TCP/IP, NFS, etc., you can also do things the normal way, but it is unfortunately difficult to know exactly when the normal way works. Again, always using SMIT is probably your best way to go, even when you have to learn a new tool. What SMIT actually does is build up commands with all required options to perform the functions requested and execute them. The commands called and the output they produce are stored in the files smit.script and smit.log in your home directory. Looking in smit.script may teach you more about system administration. ------------------------------ Subject: 1.101: How do I turn off the "running man" in smit? Use smitty, the standard curses version or add this line to your .kshrc file: alias smit="smit -C" ------------------------------ Subject: 1.102: How do I import an /etc/passwd or /etc/group file from another box? If the other box is non-AIX, copy the password and group entries for the non-system users into AIX's /etc/passwd and /etc/group files. Then run /bin/pwdck -t ALL. This will create the proper entries in the shadow password file (/etc/security/users). You should also run usrck and grpck. To duplicate the password and group entries from another AIX box, copy /etc/passwd, /etc/group, /etc/security/passwd, /etc/security/group, /etc/security/user, /etc/security/limits, /etc/security/environ. The last three are optional unless you modified them. If you modified /etc/security/login.cfg, you should also copy that file. ------------------------------ Subject: 1.103: Cleaning up utmp, who, and accounting problems The best way to fix this problem is to fix the programs which are causing the behavior in the first place. The short answer is to call software support and ask for the "UTMPFIX" collection of PTFs. Virtually all of these problems should be fixed in the 3251 PMP and the only one I've been able to prove is still broken is using ALT-F4 to close an aixterm. This applies if you are running an X11R5 xterm on 3.2. Add this to the top of X11R5 mit/clients/xterm/main.c: #ifdef AIXV3 #define USE_SYSV_UTMP #define HAS_UTMP_UT_HOST #define WTMP_FILENAME "/var/adm/wtmp" #endif And your utmp problems should go away. If you want xterminal sessions to go into the wtmp file you need to define -DWTMP in the Imakefile and be sure the WTMP_FILENAME is set to the right place. Section 8.02 contains a small C program that you can use until the PTFs arrive. The program must be run as root and will periodically clean up old entries. Another utmp program was posted to comp.sources.unix, volume 25, issue 96 by David W. Sanderson (dws@cs.wisc.edu) that also works on AIX 3.1. ------------------------------ Subject: 1.104: How to fsck the root filesystem You can run fsck either in maintenance mode or on mounted filesystems. Try this: 1. boot from diskette (AIX 3 only --- AIX 4 boot from CD or tape) 2. select maintenance mode 3. type /etc/continue hdisk0 exit (replace hdisk0 with boot disk if not hdisk0) 4. fsck /dev/hd4 ------------------------------ Subject: 1.105: How can I unmount /usr to run fsck on it? From: accapadi@mathew.austin.ibm.com (Matt Accapadi) [ This is for 3.2. ] In order to fsck /usr, it has to be unmounted. But /usr cannot be unmounted because /bin is symbolically linked to /usr/bin. Also /etc/fsck is symbolically linked to /usr/sbin/fsck. To work around this, when you boot from the boot/maintenance diskettes and enter maintenance mode, enter "getrootfs hdisk0 sh" instead of "getrootfs hdisk0" where hdisk0 is the name of the boot disk. Then run "fsck /dev/hd2". ------------------------------ Subject: 1.108: How do I see/change parameters like number of processes per user? You can use SMIT as described below or simply use lsattr/chdev. The former will list the current setting as in: # lsattr -E -l sys0 -a maxuproc maxuproc 40 Maximum # of processes allowed per user True and you can then increase the maxuproc parameter: # chdev -l sys0 -a maxuproc=200 sys0 changed If you just type 'lsattr -E -l sys0' you will get a list of all parameters, some of which can be changed but not others. If you want to use smit, do as follows: smit System Environments and Processes Change / Show Operating System Parameters - on this screen you can change by overtyping the following fields: - Maximum number of PROCESSES allowed per user - Maximum number of pages in block I/O BUFFER CACHE - Maximum Kbytes of real memory allowed for MBUFS - toggle fields exist for: - Automatically REBOOT system after a crash (false/true) - Continuously maintain DISK I/O history (true/false) Info 1.30 erroneously suggests that in AIX 3.2.5 you can set different limits for different users. ------------------------------ Subject: 1.109: How do I shrink the default paging space on hd6? X-With-Changes-From: Ray Reynolds 1) create a paging space to use temporarily mkps -s 20 -a rootvg 2) change default paging space hd6 so it is not used at next reboot chps -a n hd6 3) For AIX 3.1, edit /etc/rc.boot4 and change swapon /dev/hd6; for AIX 3.2 and 4.x, edit /sbin/rc.boot and change swapon /dev/hd6 swapon /dev/paging00 3a)Since the default system dump device is /dev/hd6 in 4.1.x, it has to be changed to the temporary swap device before you remove the old swap device. sysdumpdev -p /dev/paging00 4) Update information in boot logical volume bosboot -a (3.1) bosboot -a -d hdisk0 (3.2 & 4) 5) shutdown and reboot 6) remove current hd6 and create a new one of smaller size rmps hd6 mklv -y hd6 -t paging rootvg 7) Re-edit /etc/rc.boot4 (3.1), /sbin/rc.boot (3.2/4) to swap to /dev/hd6 swapon /dev/hd6 7a)On AIX 4, change the dump device back to hd6: sysdumpdev -p /dev/hd6 8) Update information in boot logical volume bosboot -a (3.1) bosboot -a -d hdisk0 (3.2 & 4) 9) change current paging device (paging00) so it is inactive at next boot chps -a n /dev/paging00 10) shutdown, reboot, remove paging00 using the command: rmps paging00 You can check your paging space with `lsps -a` ------------------------------ Subject: 1.110: The swapper seems to use enormous amounts of paging space, why? When you run ps, you may see a line like: USER PID %CPU %MEM SZ RSS TT STAT TIME CMD root 0 0.0% 14% 386528 8688 - S 17:06 swapper This is normal behavior, the swapper looks to ps like it has the entire paging space plus real memory allocated. ------------------------------ Subject: 1.111: How much paging space do I need? See answer 2 in question 1.300. ------------------------------ Subject: 1.112: How do I mount a floppy disk as a filesystem? From: op@holmes.acc.Virginia.EDU (Olaf Pors) You can build a filesystem on a floppy and mount it, however the filesystem will be read only. The reason that the filesystem will be read only is because AIX Version 3.1.5 cannot create a journal log on a diskette. The intended use is for temporary access to read only data. The diskette file system must be unmounted after use and during system backup procedures or errors could occur. To make the read only filesystem on a floppy: 1. Make a subdirectory on an existing filesystem and place all of the files that the diskette will contain into this subdirectory. 2. Enter the following command to create a prototype file containing information about the new filesystem, in the example /dir_struct is the pathname of the subdirectory created in step 1, and proto_filename is the name of the prototype file to be created. proto /dir_struct > proto_filename 3. Place a formatted floppy into the drive. 4. Edit the prototype file and replace the first line with the following: 0 0 5. Enter the following command to make the filesystem on your floppy: mkfs -p proto_filename -V jfs /dev/fd0 6. Create the directory upon which you will mount the floppy based filesystem, or you can use /mnt. Mount the filesystem: mount -r -V jfs /dev/fd0 /your_mount_point 7. To unmount the filesystem: umount /dev/fd0 Since the filesystem is read-only it may be of limited use but if you are going to use it for utility programs and other data that does not change much, it may still be useful. If you need to change the data, you can copy the directory from the floppy into another directory, make your modifications, and remake the filesystem using this procedure. ------------------------------ Subject: 1.113: How do I remove a committed lpp? AIX 3.2.5: you can get rid of COMMITTED lpps/ptfs by installing with the force option and then rejecting the package. AIX 4 users: installp has a new option, uninstall (-u) which can be used to remove lpps. BEWARE of pre-requisite chains. ------------------------------ Subject: 1.114: How can I recover space after installing updates? From: Milt Cloud Note: If you are a /usr server, do not use this because the files mentioned below are needed by /usr clients and cannot be deleted. Installp creates numerous files in /usr to clean up after failed/rejected installs and also for de-installing uncommitted lpps. Once you have COMMITted packages you can remove these files safely. Depending on your installation activity the numbers can be significant: hundreds-to-thousands of files, megabytes of data. Files eligible for removal are associated with each "product" you have installed; the largest collection being due to bos. After COMMITting bos lpps, you may safely remove all files of the form: /usr/lpp/bos/deinstl* /usr/lpp/bos/inst_U4* /usr/lpp/bosadt/deinstl* and /usr/lpp/bosadt/inst_U4* You may repeat this for all additional COMMITted products (e.g., bostext1, bosnet, xlc) you have on your system. This problem of lingering install files is a known defect in installp. If you have installed PTF U411711 (or any superseder of it: U412397, U413366, U413425) the deadwood in /usr will not be quite as prevalent. No single PTF currently available completely corrects this problem. On my own 320, the following freed up 12.4M in /usr: # rm -R /usr/lpp/bos/deinstl* # rm -R /usr/lpp/bos/inst_U4* ------------------------------ Subject: 1.115: Where are the AIX log files kept? From: dirk@kimosabi.ucsc.edu (Dirk Coldewey) AIX logs messages as specified in /etc/syslog.conf. Here's an example # *.err;kern.debug;auth.notice;user.none /dev/console *.err;kern.debug;daemon,auth.notice;mail.crit;user.none /var/adm/messages lpr.debug /var/adm/lpd-errs *.alert;kern.err;daemon.err;user.none operator *.alert;user.none root *.emerg;user.none * # for loghost machines, to have authentication messages (su, login, etc.) # logged to a file, un-comment out the following line and adjust the # file name as appropriate. # # if a non-loghost machine chooses to have such messages # sent to the loghost machine, un-comment out the following line. # auth.notice /var/log/authlog mail.debug /var/log/syslog # following line for compatibility with old sendmails. they will send # messages with no facility code, which will be turned into "user" messages # by the local syslog daemon. only the "loghost" machine needs the following # line, to cause these old sendmail log messages to be logged in the # mail syslog file. # user.alert /var/log/syslog # # non-loghost machines will use the following lines to cause "user" # log messages to be logged locally. # user.err /dev/console user.err /var/adm/messages user.alert `root, operator' user.emerg * ------------------------------ Subject: 1.116: How can I log information about ftp accesses to a file? From: elr@trintex.uucp (Ed Ravin) From: map@hal.maths.monash.edu.au (Michael Page) 1) In /etc/syslog.conf, add the line: daemon.debug /tmp/daemon.log 2) # touch /tmp/daemon.log # refresh -s syslogd 3) Modify your inetd.conf so that ftpd is called with the "-l" flag. You may also want the "-d" flag. This can be done with 'smit inetdconf'. All the syslog messages from various system daemons should now appear in the file "/tmp/daemon.log". ------------------------------ Subject: 1.117: How do I find a file name from the inode number? From: /G=Bill/S=Mansfield/O=P00S38E/OU1=notes/DD.HPNOTES=Bill_Mansfield/mcd/us#a#MCD@mhs-mcdusa.attmail.com (Bill Mansfield) ncheck -i nnnn /mntpoint ------------------------------ Subject: 1.118: How do I set up postscript accounting? From: taluskie@utpapa.ph.utexas.edu (Vince Taluskie) Ephraim Vider originally wrote this program to configure postscript page accounting. It acts as a backend wrapper which logs accounting information in /etc/qconfig and can be ftp'd from utpapa.ph.utexas.edu in /pub/aix/psacct.tar.Z. Compile with: cc pswrap.c -o pswrap -lqb and then make this program suid root: chown root pswrap chmod u+s pswrap If this step is not done, the printer will hang. Then start up SMIT and go to : Spooler Manage Local Printer Subsystem Local Printer Queue Devices Change / Show Characteristics of a Queue Device and change "BACKEND PROGRAM pathname" to the full pathname of pswrap since pswrap will now handle the backend interface with the queue. A stream of info will be written to a logfile in /tmp (prob lp0.log) but this file is mainly used for status info and raw pagecounts. If the accounting data is going to the qconfig-specified acctfile, then use the 'pac' command to read it. I prefer to have readable ascii data files instead, so I just comment out the '#define WANT_PAC' line and it will only go to the ACCTFILE specfied in pswrap.c. [pswrap.c source has been moved to section 8.03] ------------------------------ Subject: 1.119: How do I create boot diskettes? In AIX 4.x you cannot, the kernel and ram drive don't fit on a diskette. You should get "0301-174 bosboot: Invalid device /dev/fd0 specified!" if you try. For AIX 3.2.x you will need to have four formatted diskettes. boot disk: bosboot -d /dev/fd0 -a display disk: mkdispdskt display extension disk: mkextdskt Install/Maintenance disk: mkinstdskt AIX 3.2.5 may require a fifth boot diskette if you have a FDDI adapter in the machine. It is the "communications extension" diskette. ------------------------------ Subject: 1.120: Where can I find tools for performance monitoring? Free X based performance watcher: xsysstats - For 3.2 a few tools are available in /usr/lpp/bosperf. There are tools to monitor traces, I/O events, CPU, virtual memory, disk block usage, kernel extensions, etc. It even has a simulator, rmss, that allows one to try out different memory size configurations to see how it impacts performance. See 6.05 for the AIX Performance and Tuning Guide. The Monitor program is an AIX/6000 System performance monitor program. Monitor can be used to display system statistics of various short time performance values. Monitor program is available for anonymous ftp from -file. New to version 2 (released as version 2.1.1) * Allow logging of information on interval basis in ascii format. The logfile can be specified as a strftime string and can be compressed. * Synchronize sample/interval time on wall clock (from 00:00). * Sample/interval time is now accurate to around 10 milliseconds (depending on system load). * User counts for remote and inactive users, and average inactive time. * System uptime is printed. * Highlighted headers * In logmode, filesystem usage is logged * support for Symmetric multiprocessing cpuinfo (-smp option or 's' character command). * help page in interactive mode 'h' or '?' character commands ------------------------------ Subject: 1.121: How can I tell what virtual printer a print queue is using? From: yoder@austin.ibm.com (Stuart R. Yoder) Use the command 'lsvirprt'. Don't use any parameters and it will run in an interactive mode that will give you a menu of all virtual printers on the system with the queue and device for each one. ------------------------------ Subject: 1.122: Two srcmstr's are less useful than one? From: hubert@rs530.ncs.mainz.ibm.com (Bernhard Zeller) This can happen on systems that have no console, or systems with an async terminal as the console but not attached or turned off. One of the symptoms is a second srcmstr got run. But the second srcmstr is worthless as we can't use the stop/startsrc commands, refresh inetd, qdaemon won't start, etc. To resolve this, type: smit chgtty and add the keyword 'clocal' in following lines: STTY attributes for RUN TIME STTY attributes for LOGIN ------------------------------ Subject: 1.123: How do I set the tty name associated with a physical port? From: accapadi@mathew.austin.ibm.com (Matt Accapadi) Let's say you wanted to make a tty on the s1 port and call it rs0000 and a tty on the s2 port and call it rs0001. You could run: mkdev -c tty -s rs232 -t tty -l rs0000 -p sa0 -w s1 # creates rs0000 and mkdev -c tty -s rs232 -t tty -l rs0001 -p sa1 -w s2 # creates rs0001 ------------------------------ Subject: 1.124: How do I use mksysb to clone a system? From: joann@ariadne.SLAC.Stanford.EDU (Jo Ann Malina) I use the following steps on the master machine to clone an AIX system: 1) Remove the password from root. 2) Remove the NIS line from the end of the /etc/group file (the last line with the +: ) 3) Change most of the level '2' designations in /etc/inittab to level '3' to prevent them from being started up when the new system is booted (the minimum ones to change are rc.nfs and rc.tcpip) 4) Boot in service mode and change the name and ip address to a "spare" set to avoid address collision. 5) Clear /tmp, /usr/tmp and /usr/spool/lpd/stat. 6) Run mkszfile and edit it to be sure /usr is as small as possible; then mksysb from the command line. The above changes allow me to boot in normal mode the first time, get in as root, change the above files back and do the other things necessary to configure the new system. Then, of course, I go back and clean up and reboot my master machine. Note: 1 and 2 lets you log in even if you can't get on the network. It prevents the login process from trying to reach an NIS server. Step 2 needed only if you use NIS. ------------------------------ Subject: 1.125: How do I retain timestamps with mksysb? Originally From: graeme@ccu1.aukuni.ac.nz ( Graeme Moffat) As of AIX 3.2.5 bosrest preserves timestamps and permissions as does pax. In AIX 3.2.2 /usr/lpp/bosinst/bosnet (for net installs), and bosrest (tape), the 'pax' commands all have '-pmop' options. m = "DON'T retain modification times". So, simply change all the '-pmop' to '-pop' and remake inst/maint diskettes or mksysb tapes. ------------------------------ Subject: 1.126: How can I find out the machine type? [Due to it's length this script was moved to section 8.04] ------------------------------ Subject: 1.127: Updating to 3.2.5 From: kraemerf@franvm3.VNET.IBM.COM (Frank Kraemer) (Ed. The following is useful if you have to update a large number of systems, large being > 3.) *** WARNING : Modify the scripts if you need dataless, diskless *** *** or remote /usr support. *** 1) Receive the PMP3250 tape from your AIX support center the PTF number is U493250. 2) Create a filesystem with 240 MB of space (60 PP's) and mount it as /dev/pmp3250 - /pub/pmp3250 3) Insert the tape (blocksize is 512) and install PTF U422467 # installp -BXacgq -d /dev/rmt0 bos.obj 3.2.0.0.U422467 4) Use the following script to load the tape in the new filesystem # cd /pub/pmp3250 # mktape2disk.sh 0 447 <<-- read 447 files from rmt0 [ The mktape2disk.sh script has been moved to section 8.05 ] ------------------------------ Subject: 1.128: AIX fix strategy From: leedp@austin.ibm.com (Dennis Lee, PMP Release Manager) First, a little history... The maintenance strategy for AIX 3.1 was cumulative updates. Every few months, we'd put all available fixes in one large package and ship it. There was no real strategy for providing a single fix. Although we'd occasionally produce an emergency patch, there was no method for tracking them; if you got a second one, it might overwrite the first. So, after a few of these patches, it's hard to track. In AIX 3.2 we introduced a "selective fix" strategy to support individual fixes. The package contained information about other fixes that were required for that fix to work correctly. For example, a Korn shell fix might require a change in libc.a, which might in turn require a fix in the kernel. This strategy allowed us to keep track of which fixes were installed to make sure we didn't overwrite one with another, and make sure they all worked together. But the initial selective fix design still had a few problems. o None of the fixes were cumulative. If you got a fix for Korn shell, you may not receive all of the fixes for Korn shell. This left the possibility of rediscovering other problems that were already fixed. o Since we chose to fix everything possible that was reported as a problem, instead of deferring them to the next release, the number of available fixes became quite large. o The number of additional fixes required by any given fix could also be quite large. Since the installation program ran once for each fix, the size and complexity of the fix packages grew, and installation time lengthens greatly. While developing the AIX 3.2.4 upgrade, we undertook a large effort to resolve the selective fix concerns, and dramatically increase the quality of AIX 3.2. The base operating system and most of the optional program products were split into subsystems. A subsystem is a group of logically related files. The division was made such that changes to a given subsystem were less likely to affect other subsystems. In total there are approximately 500 subsystems, but in practice, files have been modified in only about half of them. The advantages of the new packaging strategy are: o Each subsystem package is cumulative, containing all of the fixes and enhancements to date for that subsystem. o The cumulative subsystem package is tested as an entity. o The number of fix packages is greatly reduced because the number of subsystems is far fewer than the number of fixes and enhancements. o The number of other fixes required by any given fix is also greatly reduced because a subsystem package has requisites only on other subsystem packages. o The reduced number of fix packages greatly reduced installation time. Some customers also told us that they liked the maintenance level strategy that we used in AIX 3.1. They liked being able to install all of the known fixes, and they liked knowing what "level" of AIX they had. To meet these requirements, we produced a Preventive Maintenance Package (PMP). The PMP is simply a collection of the latest cumulative subsystem packages tied together in such a way that it can be installed by selecting a single fix. We also added flags to the lslpp command and added a new command, oslevel, to show which PMP is installed. Now we had both! The good attributes of selective fix along with the good attributes of maintenance levels. A few Q&As: Q. Why is the fix I just received 130 megabytes!@#? I already have the AIX 3.2.4 update installed! A. Your fix may be part of the AIX 3.2.5 update. AIX 3.2.5 is another PMP that contains all of the fixes to date, as well as enhancements to support the PowerPC model 250, and the new high-end RS/2 models 590 and 990, as well as support for new disk and tape drives, graphics adapters and more. Q. Why can't you just build my fix on 3.2.4? A. There really isn't such a thing as 3.2.1 or 3.2.2 or even 3.2.4. They're just collections of fixes and enhancements built on a 3.2 base. If the fix for your problem was built prior to 3.2.5, you can get the older version. But if your fix was built for the first time in a 3.2.5 subsystem, that's the only version of the fix that exists. See also 6.02. ------------------------------ Subject: 1.129: Are passwords limited to 8 char? AIX passwords are only significant to 8 characters. You can set a passwd to more than 8 characters but anything over eight are ignored. No messages or warnings are given. Be careful if you're running NIS. You probably want to limit passwords to 8 char on all machines (6000 and others) to be compatible. Someone mentioned that DCE supports kerberos which supports passwords greater than 8 characters. ------------------------------ Subject: 1.130: How do I increase the number of ptys > 64? From: mick@oahu.cern.ch (Mickey Coggins) SMIT only allows 64. Try this: odmget -q"attribute=num and uniquetype=pty/pty/pty" PdAt | sed "s/0-64/0-512/" | odmchange -q"attribute=num and uniquetype=pty/pty/pty" -o PdAt chdev -l pty0 -anum=256 -P reboot ------------------------------ Subject: 1.131: Where can I find patches for CERT advisories? Patches (APARs in IBMspeak) for CERT advisories (system security problems) can be found at . You should have a copy of Fixdist handy to deal with translating APAR and PTF numbers into downloadable files. See question 1.142 for more information about fixdist. ------------------------------ Subject: 1.132: How do I remove a non-existant physical volume? Thanks to Johnny Shieh (shieh@austin.ibm.com) To delete a phantom disk from the ODM use reducevg with the pvid instead of the disk name. You are running some command such as lsvg or varyonvg and it is griping about a disk that is no longer findable right? In that warning message, it should give you a pvid. Try one of the following, (note: reducevg updates the VGDA but not the ODM). reducevg -f ldeletepv -g VGid -p PVid -g Required, specify the VGid of the volume group you are removing the physical volume from -p Required, specify the PVid of the PV to be removed ------------------------------ Subject: 1.133: How do I kill a process that ignores kill -QUIT -KILL -STOP If there is i/o pending in a device driver, and the driver does not catch the signal, you can't kill it - a reboot is the only way to clear it. Furthermore, if the process stays hung for more than a few minutes, you can find out what device is wedged by doing this -- % echo trace -k $(expr / 256) | crash | tee stack If you can't figure out what is wrong, print that trace out and call 1-800-237-5511 and tell them that something is broken. Tell them you want to fax in the nice stack trace that you have as your testcase. ------------------------------ Subject: 1.134: How can I see "console" messages? From: crow@tivoli.com (David L. Crow) Use the swcons command to redirect the console to a file. Or use chcons to do it permanently. ------------------------------ Subject: 1.135: Where can I find TOP for AIX? TOP functionality is included in an AIX package called Monitor. See question 1.120 for more information. ------------------------------ Subject: 1.136: How can I restrict root logins to specific terminals? From: jfh@austin.ibm.com (Julianne F. Haugh) Read FAX 2737 availible from the 800-IBM-4FAX number discussed in section 6.02. Refer to APAR IX45701 for fixes related to the rsh style commands. ------------------------------ Subject: 1.137: How do I merge my /etc/password and /etc/security/password for Crack? /usr/sbin/mrgpwd. You must have permissions to read /etc/security/password. ------------------------------ Subject: 1.138: I lost the root password, what should I do? From: dramm@csusm.edu (Donald E. Ramm) Boot from boot diskettes, bootable tape, or bootable CD. At the Installation/Maint menu select item 4, "Start a limited function maintenance shell. At the subsequent "#" prompt enter the command: getrootfs hdiskN (where "N" is replaced by the number of a disk on your system that is in rootvg.) That will run for about a minute or so and you get a # prompt back. At this point you are logged in as root in single user mode. Change to /etc/security and edit the passwd file. Delete the three lines under root: password, update time (or whatever it's called), and flags. Save the file. Then at the prompt, give root a new password. Shutdown/reboot in normal mode. Log in with new password. ------------------------------ Subject: 1.139: How can I resolve DEV_WAIT status for a local print queue? From: chuah@sam.po.my (Chuah Teik Chye) Try "qadm -k && qadm -U" ------------------------------ Subject: 1.140: SMIT problems forcing/overwriting install? Installp does not support overwriting and installing prerequisite software at the same time. ------------------------------ Subject: 1.141: Which distribution tape do I have? From: fuzzy@obelix.ncs.mainz.ibm.com (Thomas Braunbeck) AIX 3.2.5 (3250-04-09) | | | | | | | | | | | Revision level | | Enhancement level | Preventive Maintenance Package (PMP) level AIX Version, Release, Modification level ------------------------------ Subject: 1.142: How can I get PTF (fixes) via ftp? What is fixdist? Get a copy of IBM's fixdist package. This X-windows (and curses) program can help you find and transfer PTFs from IBM to your machine. It is availible from and further instructions are displayed after you login. It is worth noting here that the files fixdist retrieves are often quite large and therefore not recommended for those with slow connections. Ciaran Deignan says that Bull offers AIX PTFs at . The basic download facility requires that you have the right PTF number. The "Consult" facility allows you to search for PTFs that apply to a given fileset (bos.rte.tty, for example). The "search" facility allows a PTF to be selected on a wide range of criteria. Apple has their own fixdist site with all the fixes that has been approved on the Apple Network Servers. Apple users should NOT use the fixes available from IBM and their mirrors, but only from: (130.43.6.8). ------------------------------ Subject: 1.143: Is there an easy way to determine if AIX has a PTF applied or not? lslpp -Bl Uxxxxxxx Where Uxxxxxxx is the PTF id. ------------------------------ Subject: 1.144: How do I recreate a deleted /dev/null? From: tvweaver@austin.ibm.com (Tom Weaver) /bin/mknod /dev/null c 2 2 ------------------------------ Subject: 1.145: What is a checkstop error? From: tvweaver@austin.ibm.com (Tom Weaver) While this may not be the official definition, what it means is that the hardware has detected a condition that it cannot resolve, and which prevents normal operation. So, it stops executing instructions, responding to interrupts, etc. Usually it means that some component of the hardware is broken. ------------------------------ Subject: 1.146: How do I recover deleted files? Preferably from a backup. If you don't have a backup, at least one company, Compunix, claims to have a product that will recover deleted files. More information is available at . From: Bernard.Kozyra@bull.net [Editor's note: this one appears to be for the really desperate ones, but it might be helpful if you really need it the most.] RECOVERING REMOVED FILES AND DIRECTORIES IN A FILESYSTEM If a file is Deleted from the system, the filesytem blocks composing that file still exist, but are no longer allocated. As long as no new files are created or existing files extended within the same filesystem, the blocks will remain untouched. It is possible to reallocate the blocks to the previous file using the "fsdb" command (filesystem debugger). MAKE A BACKUP OF THE ENTIRE FILESYSTEM BEFORE PERFORMING THESE STEPS!!! ELSE ( BANG !!!!! ). It is possible to send a mail for have some informations ... Bernard.Kozyra@bull.net Steps to recover a deleted file ------------------------------- 1) "ls -id {dir}" (where dir is directory where file resided) Record INODE number for next step. 2) Unmount the filesystem. 3) "fsdb /{Mountpoint}" or "fsdb /dev/{LVname}" (where Mountpoint is the filesystem mount point, and LVname is the logical volume name of the filesystem) 4) "{INODE}i" (where INODE is the inode number recorded in step 1) This will display the inode information for the directory. The field a0 contains the block number of the directory. The following steps assume only field a0 is used. If a value appears in a1, etc, it may be necessary to repeat steps #5 and #6 for each block until the file to be recovered is found. 5) "a0b" (moves to block pointed to by field "a0" of this inode) 6) "p128c" (prints 128 bytes of directory in character format) Look for missing filename. If not seen, repeat this step until filename is found. Record address where filename begins. Also record address where PRIOR filename begins. If filename does not appear, return to step #5, and selecting a1b, a2b, etc. Note that the address of the first field is shown to the far left. Increment the address by one for each position to the right, counting in octal. 7) "a0b" (moves to block pointed to by field "a0" of this inode) If the filename was found in block 1, use a1b instead, etc. 8) "p128e" (prints first 128 bytes in decimal word format) Find the address of the file to recover (as recorded in step 6) in the far left column. If address is not shown, repeat until found. 9) Record the address of the file which appeared immediately PRIOR to the file you want to recover. 10) Find the ADDRESS of the record LENGTH field for the file in step #9 assuming the following format: {ADDRESS}: x x x x x x x x x x ... | | | | |-------- filename ------| inode # --+----+ | | | +-- filename length record LENGTH --+ Note that the inode number may begin at any position on the line. Note also that each number represents two bytes, so the address of the LENGTH field will be `{ADDRESS} + (#hops * 2) + 1' 11) Starting with the first word of the inode number, count in OCTAL until you reach the inode number of the file to be restored, assuming each word is 2 bytes. 12) "0{ADDRESS}B={BYTES}" (where ADDRESS is the address of the record LENGTH field found in step #10, and BYTES is the number of bytes [octal] counted in step #11) 13) If the value found in the LENGTH field in step #10 is greater than 255, also type the following: "0{ADDRESS-1}B=0" (where ADDRESS-1 is one less than the ADDRESS recorded in step #10) This is necessary to clear out the first byte of the word. 14) "q" (quit fsdb) 15) "fsck {Mountpoint}" or "fsck /dev/{LVname}" This command will return errors for each recovered file asking if you wish to REMOVE the file. Answer "n" to all questions. For each file that is listed, record the associated INODE number. 16) "fsdb /{Mountpoint}" or "fsdb /dev/{LVname}" 17) {BLOCK}i.ln=1 (where BLOCK is the block number recoded in step #15) This will change the link count for the inode associated with the recovered file. Repeat this step for each file listed in step #15. 18) "q" (quit fsdb) 19) "fsck {Mountpoint}" or "fsck /dev/{LVname}" The REMOVE prompts should no longer appear. Answer "y" to all questions pertaining to fixing the block map, inode map, and/or superblock. 20) If the desired directory or file returns, send money to the author of this document. ------------------------------ Subject: 1.147: What questions are on the AIX Certified User/SystemAministrator/etc., exam? If you want more information, look at . There's also a self assessment exam available at . The questions are supposedly *derived from the same sources* as the AIX Certification exams. I assume that this means the actual exams cover much of the same information. I assume that the actual questions (and especially the answers) are protected by copyright and possibly other laws, so disclosing them without IBM's permission would not be wise or legal. ------------------------------ Subject: 1.148: How can I run a command or commands at system shutdown? "Stock" AIX 4.1.x doesn't have any obvious place to add commands to the shutdown sequence. You can 1) modify /etc/shutdown (it's a shell script); 2) add your commands to /etc/netware.clean (shutdown invokes this program if it exists) or 3) install APAR IX65326 ("ADD /ETC/RC.SHUTDOWN TO SHUTDOWN SCRIPT IN AIX4.1.5) which adds a user-defined /etc/rc.shutdown script to the shutdown sequence. AIX 4.2 and above already has a similar feature. ------------------------------ Subject: 1.149: How to install LPPs on a shared disk? From: Ciaran Deignan I have an LPP that I want to install on all my AIX machines (for example the "perl" freeware), but I want to minimize the disk-space used on the network of machines. Can I selectively mount part of /usr on another machine? In general it is not possible to share an LPP with several machines. Sometimes it is possible to use a dedicated filesystem to install freeware which can then be shared. However for anything packaged as an LPP it is possible to use a script that replaces /usr/sbin/inurest, and that redirects files delivered by the LPP to the shared disk. One script that does this is called Ninstallp, and it is available (with instructions) from http://www.geocities.com/ResearchTriangle/5428/ninstallp.html ------------------------------ Subject: 1.150: How can I reduce the size of /var/adm/wtmp ? The file /var/adm/wtmp grows with each login, but is never reduced. The contents of wtmp is used (only?) by the command "last", which shows, in reverse order, all the logins and reboots that happened since the start of the wtmp file. The file should not be deleted, but the contents can be discarded using the following command: # > /var/adm/wtmp Alternatively the freeware utility "tidysys" can remove all the entries from wtmp that are older than (say) 15 days. Tidysys was written by Terry Murray for AIX 3.2 and is available from ftp://ftp.frontiernet.net/pub/aix/tsys220.tar. Tidysys was ported to AIX 4.1 by C. Deignan and is available from . ------------------------------ Subject: 1.151: How do I start local daemons at system startup? AIX does neither use the BSD style rc.local file nor the System V style /etc/rc*.d startup files directories. To add local daemons to the system startup sequence in a BSD rc.local style use the following command to create an /etc/inittab entry: # mkitab -i rcnfs "rclocal:2:wait:/etc/rc.local >/dev/console 2>&1" # touch /etc/rc.local # chmod 700 /etc/rc.local Then put the command lines to start the daemons in /etc/rc.local. ------------------------------ Subject: 1.152: How do I set the TZ variable to automatically change to daylight savings time? The TZ variable can be set in /etc/environment file so the time automatically switches to daylight savings time in spring and back to normal in autumn. The actual rules when to switch vary by country, the following should work in middle europe: TZ=MET-1MET DST,M3.5.0/02:00:00,M10.5.0/03:00:00 The exact definition for the rules can be found with infoexplorer under the environment page. ------------------------------ Subject: 1.153: Why does init not reap its zombie child processes? If you have lots of zombie (defunct) processes with parent process id 1, the init process is probably waiting for some bad /etc/inittab configuration line to finish. Check the inittab file for entries that specify the wait keyword for processes that do not terminate. These lines should probably specify "once" or "respawn" instead. ------------------------------ Subject: 1.154: I'm looking for a missing command or header file. Which fileset do I need to install? If you are at AIX Version 4.2.1 or later you could install bos.content_list and then use the command "which_fileset [ File ]" The which_fileset command searches the /usr/lpp/bos/AIX_file_list file for a specified file name or command name, and prints out the name of the fileset that the file or command is shipped in. ------------------------------ Subject: 1.155: Why doesn't the df -k output reflect the space I added to an LV? You need to use the chfs command or the smit chfs menu to tell the file system to use the new space. By the way, in most cases it is better to just increase the size of the file system, it will increase the underlying LV automatically. From bofh@mail.teleweb.pt Mon Apr 10 07:56:03 2000 Path: lendl.cc.emory.edu!finch!news.mindspring.net!ix.netcom.com!howland.erols.net!pants.skycache.com.MISMATCH!triton.skycache.com!nntp-out.teleweb.pt!news.teleweb.pt!not-for-mail From: bofh@mail.teleweb.pt Newsgroups: comp.unix.aix,comp.answers,news.answers Subject: comp.unix.aix Frequently Asked Questions (Part 2 of 5) Supersedes: Followup-To: comp.unix.aix Date: 7 Apr 2000 18:51:25 +0200 Organization: What ? Lines: 1511 Approved: news-answers-request@mit.edu Distribution: world Expires: 12 May 2000 18:42:27 Message-ID: References: Reply-To: bofh@mail.teleweb.pt (Jose Pina Coelho) NNTP-Posting-Host: p140a23.teleweb.pt X-Trace: srvlis16.teleweb.pt 955123167 24933 212.16.140.23 (7 Apr 2000 15:59:27 GMT) X-Complaints-To: abuse@teleweb.pt NNTP-Posting-Date: 7 Apr 2000 15:59:27 GMT Summary: This posting contains AIX Frequently Asked Questions and their answers. AIX is IBM's version of Unix. Keywords: AIX RS/6000 questions answers Xref: lendl.cc.emory.edu comp.unix.aix:189302 comp.answers:40079 news.answers:179801 Posted-By: auto-faq 3.3 (Perl 5.005) Archive-name: aix-faq/part2 Revision: 1.5 2000/01/04 02:34:26 Posting-Frequency: monthly ------------------------------