The AIX 5L Service Strategy
and
Best Practices: AIX 5L Service
Scenarios and Tools
IBM Corporation
THE AIX 5L SERVICE STRATEGY AND BEST PRACTICES
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Table of Contents
1 INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................4
1.1 NEW TERMS AND CONCEPTS.............................................................................5
1.1.1 Technology Level (TL) .............................................................................5
1.1.2 Service Pack (SP).....................................................................................5
1.1.3 Concluding Service Pack (CSP) ...............................................................6
1.1.4 Interim Fix (IF)........................................................................................6
2 MAINTENANCE STRATEGY MODELS...........................................................8
2.1 LATEST LEVEL .................................................................................................8
2.2 MAXIMUM STABILITY.......................................................................................9
2.3 YEARLY UPDATE..............................................................................................9
2.4 MODEL OVERVIEW.........................................................................................10
3 RELEASE SCHEDULES....................................................................................11
3.1 REDUCING THE AMOUNT OF CHANGE BETWEEN TECHNOLOGY LEVELS............11
4 SECURITY FIXES..............................................................................................12
5 TESTING OF PTF UPDATES AND TECHNOLOGY LEVELS.....................13
6 AIX 5L PACKAGING AND FIX ARCHITECTURE .......................................14
6.1 PTF................................................................................................................14
6.2 APAR............................................................................................................14
7 SYSTEM BACKUP AND RECOVERY.............................................................15
7.1 ALT_DISK_INSTALL.........................................................................................15
7.2
MKSYSB..........................................................................................................15
7.3
MULTIBOS.......................................................................................................16
8 PREVIEWING UPDATES .................................................................................17
9 TOOLS.................................................................................................................18
9.1 SUMA...........................................................................................................18
9.1.1 Functional Highlights ............................................................................18
9.2 COMPARE_REPORT .........................................................................................18
9.2.1 Functional Highlights ............................................................................19
10 USAGE SCENARIOS .....................................................................................20
10.1 OVERVIEW .....................................................................................................20
10.1.1 Awareness..............................................................................................20
THE AIX 5L SERVICE STRATEGY AND BEST PRACTICES
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10.1.2 Decision.................................................................................................20
10.1.3 Implement ..............................................................................................20
10.1.4 Verify.....................................................................................................21
10.2 PROACTIVE MAINTENANCE WITH SUMA ........................................................22
10.2.1 Latest Level............................................................................................22
10.2.2 Maximum Stability .................................................................................23
10.2.3 Yearly Update........................................................................................23
10.3 STANDALONE – WITH INTERNET ACCESS..........................................................24
10.3.1 Download the latest fixes periodically (using suma command line) ........24
10.3.2 Download a specific APAR (using suma SMIT easy menus) ...................25
10.4 STANDALONE – WITH NO INTERNET ACCESS.....................................................27
10.4.1 Download the latest fixes (using compare_report command line)...........27
10.4.2 Download a specific APAR (using the IBM Support Web site)................28
10.5 MORE THAN ONE SYSTEM – WITH INTERNET ACCESS........................................29
10.5.1 Download the latest fixes (setup suma on all NIM clients)......................30
10.5.2 Download the latest fixes (setup suma only on NIM master)...................30
10.6 MORE THAN ONE SYSTEM – WITH NO INTERNET ACCESS...................................31
10.6.1 Download the latest fixes (compare_report using inventory from clients)31
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1 Introduction
In response to client feedback related to the frequency of required maintenance, and the
desire to maintain a more stable environment for longer periods of time, AIX 5L™ will
change some of its current service strategy directions and institute new release rules.
One issue that has made it increasingly difficult to control the amount of change
introduced with an update is the increased activity in the service update stream between
maintenance levels. Delivering too many fixes in the update stream can cause instability
and regression risk to existing function. Delivering fixes only for critical and pervasive
problems will help reduce the amount of risk when a service update is applied.
Another issue is the amount of change in Maintenance Levels and the frequency with
which they are released. Starting in 2006, a Maintenance Level will be referred to as a
Technology Level and will only be released twice per year. The first Technology Level
of the year will be focused on hardware enablement for new systems and adapters that are
being introduced. The second Technology Level, released in the second half of the year,
will include both hardware and software features. Having a year between major releases
of new software features also allows for more extensive testing of these releases.
For clients who wish to install only one major level per year, the concepts of a Service
Pack and Concluding Service Pack will be introduced. A Concluding Service Pack will
allow support on a Technology Level for up to fourteen months from the date the
Technology Level was released.
Finally, to address security issues, fixes for security problems will be shipped on multiple
Technology Levels, so you will not be required to jump up a level just to patch a security
hole.
Note: Changes to the Fix Central Web site to reflect the new service strategy will be
made in early 2006, when the first Technology Level is released.
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1.1 New Terms and Concepts
1.1.1 Technology Level (TL)
A Technology Level is the new term for the twice yearly releases which contain new
hardware and software features, and service updates. The first TL will be restricted to
hardware features and enablement, as well as software service. The second TL will
include new hardware features and enablement, software service, and new software
features, making it the larger of the two yearly releases. In the past, we have used the
term Maintenance Level (ML) even though the release contained code for new features
and functions. Technology Level is a more appropriate term for this code.
The Technology Level (e.g., 5300-04) will be displayed using the “oslevel -r” AIX 5L
command, just as this command can currently be used to display the Maintenance Level.
Starting in 2006, installing a Technology Level should be viewed as an “all or nothing”
operation, meaning that requisites will be added so that the whole Technology Level is
installed, and not allow a TL to be partially installed. The reason for this change is to
avoid getting into unsupported configurations. Technology/Maintenance Levels are
tested as a unit, with minimal testing of individual updates. We believe that most clients
install a new level as a unit, and supporting individual PTF’s is no longer a focus. It is
more of a risk to have only half of a Technology Level installed than it is to install the
entire Technology Level, and as a result, install some additional updates that you feel you
might not need. It is preferred to have systems that are at a known tested level.
We do not recommend attempting to reject a Technology Level once it has been applied
to an AIX 5L system. Since Technology Levels are usually large (with respect to the
amount of code shipped) it is faster and less risky to fall back to the previous level using
other methods. To fall back with a reboot, use alt_disk_install or the new multibos
function shipped with 5300-03. To fall back with a restore, create a backup (mksysb) to
NIM or bootable media (CD, DVD, or tape) before applying the Technology Level.
Having a good recovery plan in place is critical, especially when dealing with
maintenance windows on production systems. As with any new technology, careful
testing should be performed before putting a new Technology Level into production.
1.1.2 Service Pack (SP)
The Service Pack concept will allow service-only updates (as known as PTF’s) that are
released between Technology Levels to be grouped together for easier identification.
These fixes will be for highly pervasive, critical, or security related issues. Service Packs
will be provided for the N and N-1 releases (e.g., V5.3 and V5.2) on the latest
Technology Level for each release (e.g. 5300-04 and 5200-08), and they will be released
approximately every 4-6 weeks after the release of a Technology Level.
Applying and rejecting an individual service update (PTF) is still a supported and
recommended method of removing an update if there is a problem or a regression after it
is installed. Since Service Packs can also be rejected, it is recommended that before
applying a Service Pack or PTF update, that all other updates on the system are
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