AIX Technology Overview

Technology Basics:

RS64
S70 125 MHz
S70A 262 MHz
S80 450 MHz
S80A 600 MHz

Power4 (2001)
-LPAR Technology
-Dynamic LPAR Technology
p690 1.3/1.5/1.7/1.9 GHz

Power5 (2005)
-Shared Processor Partition
-VIO Server
p590 1.65/1.9 GHz
p595 2.1/5 GHz

Power6 Range (2007)
Consistency
-Binary compatibility
-Mainframe-inspired reliability
-Support for virtualisation
Blades/ Entry
-JS22 (2-4 Cores options:IVM)
-JS12
-520 (1-4 Cores options:HMC,IVM)
-550 (2-8 Cores options:HMC,IVM)
Mid-range
-570 (4-16 Cores mandatory:HMC)
Enterprise
-595 (8-64 Cores mandatory:HMC)
-575 (448 Cores mandatory:HMC)

All runs: Linux, IBM i, AIX
*IVM=Integrated Virtualization Manager
*HMC=Hardware Management Console

HMC
One HMC >Many machines (32 max)
>Must be run on Private HMC & Service Processor Network
Machine level
-Power On or Off
-Install new firmware
-Monitor and report for problems
-Directs Service Repairs
LPAR Level
- Create an LPAR
-Allocate CPU, RAM, adapters
- Start or stop a LPAR
- Change LPARs

Technology Overview

1. Logical Partition
-Broken into partitions and each runs into separate machines
-Requires you to install an entire operating system
-It Allocate:
-Processors >Whole CPU
-Memory >128MB
-I/O Slot/Adapter >whole slot
-All Resource allocate independently
-AIX and Linux OS

2. Dynamic Logical Partition
-Moving of resources between logical partitions while they are actually running
-Moves:
-Processors
-Memory
-I/O slot/adapter
- Applications notified of configuration changes

3. Shared Processor Logical Partition (SPLPAR)
-Dedicated CPU - still available
-New share CPU pool
-CPU allocated to LPARs in CPU 100ths
-Guaranteed minimum CPU time
-Idle >give back unused CPU cycles
-Busy >use unused CPU cycles
-Hypervisor allocates CPU time "on demand"
-Can be capped or uncapped, high or low weight and virtual number of CPUs
-LPARs are isolated and secure
-CAPP EAL4+certification

4. Virtual I/O Server
-VIOS Provides:
-Shared Disk adapters >SCSI, Fibre Channel or SATA
-Shared Network adapters>10/100MB of 1GB/10GB Ethernet
-Shared DVD
-Reduced cost and saves time
-Less adapters & cables
-Flexible & fast setup time
-Shared CPUs+Virtual I/O Server=Micro-Partitions

5. Workload Partition
- Do not need access to HMC or IVM to create WPARs
- Lightweight and easy to install
-share filesystems and resources of the global AIX system which they reside
-installs private copies of a few file systems
-fewer AIX licenses might be required
-you don’t have to install fixes and updates on so many virtual systems

AIX Administraton Quick Guide

AIX Administration

# System Startup Problem Handling
alog Used to maintain and manage log files
cfgmgr Configures devices and optionally installs device software into the system
last Displays all the previous logins and logoffs that still have entries in /var/adm/wtmp file
bootlist Displays and alters the list of boot devices available to the system.
uptime Shows how long the system has been up
mpcfg Enables a user with root authority to manage service information.
shutdown Used to shut down the system

# Hardware Assistance
lsdev -Cc disk list all disk configured on the system
lsdev -Cc adapter list all adapters
rmdev -Rdl delete the device and remove it from the ODM. This action is recursive, it deleted all children of the specified device
rmdev -Rdl fscsi0 delete the first fibre HBA protocol device and all children devices from the ODM
rmdev -Rl fscsi0 put the HBA and all its children into the defined state so changes can be made to the devices with the chdev command
chdev -a <attribute to modify=new_value> -l <devname> - this will modify an attribute, like the queue depth for hdisk
chdev -a queue_depth=20 -l hdisk3
lspv Displays information about a physical volume within a volume group.
lsattr Displays information about the attributes of a given device or kind of device.

# System and Software Installation
installp installs and updates software.
-a Applies one or more software products or updates.
-c Commits applied updates to the system.
-l Lists all the software products and their separately installable options contained on the installation media to the standard output.
No installation occurs.
-r Rejects all software updates that are currently applied but not committed.
lslpp command displays information about installed filesets or fileset updates.
lppchk Verifies files of an installable software product.
insfix Installs filesets associated with keywords or fixes.
-a Displays the symptom text associated with a fix. Can be combined with the -i, -k, or -f flag.
-d <Device> Specifies the input device. Not valid with the -i and -a flags.
-f <File> Specifies the input file containing keywords or fixes. Use - (dash) for standard input.
-i Displays whether fixes or keywords are installed. Installation is not attempted when the -i flag is used.
smitty bffcreate create installation images on your hard disk.

# Object Data Manager
odmadd Adds objects to an object class. The odmadd command takes an ASCII stanza file as input and populates object classes with objects found in the stanza file.
odmchange Changes specific objects in a specified object class.
odmcreate Creates empty object classes. The odmcreate command takes an ASCII file describing object classes as input
and produces C language .h and .c files to be used by the application accessing objects in those object classes.
odmdelete Removes objects from an object class.
odmdrop Removes an entire object class.
odmget Retrieves objects from object classes and puts the object information into odmadd command format.
odmshow Displays the description of an object class. The odmshow command takes an object class name as input and puts the object class information into odmcreate command format.

# Storage Management, LVM and filesystems
PV Commands:
lsdev Lists devices in the ODM.
chdev Changes the characteristics of a device.
mkdev Adds a device to the system.
chpv Changes the state of the physical volume.
lspv Displays information about a physical volume within a volume group.
migratepv Moves allocated physical partitions from one physical volume to one or more other physical volumes.
VG Commands:
mkvg Creates a new volume group.
extendvg Adds a physical volume to a volume group.
reducevg Removes a physical volume from a volume group.
chvg Changes a volume group.
lsvg Displays information about a volume group.
importvg Installs a volume group.
exportvg Removes a volume group.
reorgvg Reorganizes a volume group.
syncvg Synchronizes a volume group.
varyonvg Makes a volume group available for use.
varyoffvg Makes a volume group unavailable for use.
LV Commands:
mklv Creates a logical volume.
lslv Lists the characteristics of a logical volume.
rmlv Removes a logical volume.
extendlv Increases the size of a logical volume.
chlv Changes the characteristic of a logical volume.
mklvcopy Adds mirrored copies to a logical volume.
rmlvcopy Removes mirrored copies from a logical volume.
cplv Copies the contents of a logical volume to a new logical volume.
FS Commands:
chfs Changes the characteristics of a file system.
crfs Adds a file system.
lsfs Displays the characteristics of a file system.
rmfs Removes a file system.
mount Makes a file system available for use.
fsck Checks file system consistency and interactively repairs the file system.
umount Unmounts a previously mounted file system, directory, or file.
df Reports information about space on file systems.

# System Paging Space
chps Changes the attributes of a paging space.
lsps Displays the characteristics of a paging space.
mkps Creates an additional paging space.
rmps Removes an inactive paging space.
swapon Activates a paging space.
swapoff Deactivates one or more paging spaces.

# System Backup, Restore and Availability
tar manipulates archives by writing files to, or retrieving files from, an archive storage medium.
The files used by the tar command are represented by the File parameter.
If the File parameter refers to a directory, then that directory and, recursively, all files and directories within it are referenced as well.
cpio Copies files into and out of archive storage and directories.
dd Reads the InFile parameter or standard input, does the specified conversions,
then copies the converted data to the OutFile parameter or standard output.
The input and output block size can be specified to take advantage of raw physical I/O.
pax Should be the archive of choice for system dumps and images greater than 2 GB in size.
mksysb Creates an installable image of the root volume group either in a file or onto a bootable tape.
savevg Saves non-root volume groups.
backup Creates copies of your files on a backup medium, such as a magnetic tape or diskette.
The copies are in one of the two backup formats: Either specific files backed up (using the -i flag),
or the entire file system backed up by i-node.
restore Reads archives created by the backup command and extracts the files stored on them. These archives can be in either file-name or file-system format.
restvg Restore a volume group.
tctl Control a tape device.

# System Resource Controller
lssrc Gets the status of a subsystem, a group of subsystems, or a subserver.
startsrc starts subsystem
stopsrc Stops a subsystem
refresh Refresh a subsystem
at Runs commands at a later time.Submit commands that are to be run only once.
skulker Cleans up file systems by removing unwanted files.Invoked by cron jobs.

# Network Administraton
inetd subsystem daemon controls:
comsat daemon
ftpd daemon
fingerd daemon
rlogind daemon
rexecd daemon
rshd daemon
talkd daemon
telnetd daemon
tftpd daemon
uucpd daemon
smit tcpip Configuring network interface using smit
smit chgenet Configuring a network adapter using smit
mktcpip Sets the required values for starting TCP/IP on a host.

# Network File System Administration
chnfs Starts a specified number of biod and nfsd daemons.
mknfs Configures the system to run NFS and starts NFS daemons.
nfso Configures NFS network options.
automount Mounts an NFS automatically.
chnfsexp Changes the attributes of an NFS-exported directory.
chnfsmnt Changes the attributes of an NFS-mounted directory.
exportfs Exports and unexports directories to NFS clients.
lsnfsexp Displays the characteristics of directories that are exported with NFS.
lsnfsmnt Displays the characteristics of mounted NFS systems.
mknfsexp Exports a directory using NFS.
mknfsmnt Mounts a directory using NFS.
rmnfs Changes the configuration to stop the NFS daemons.
rmnfsexp Removes NFS-exported directories from a server's list of exports.
rmnfsmnt Removes NFS-mounted file systems from a client's list of mounts.

# System Performance
iostat Reports CPU and I/O statistics.
vmstat Reports virtual-memory activity and other system statistics.
netstat Displays the contents of network-related data structures.
ps Displays the status of processes.
lsattr Displays the attributes of devices.
lslv Displays information about a logical volume or the logical volume allocations of a physical volume.
nfsstat Displays statistics about Network File System (NFS) and Remote Procedure Call (RPC) activity.
nice Runs a command at higher- or lower-than-normal priority.
no Displays or sets network options.
renice Changes the priority of one or more processes.
reorgvg Reorganizes the physical-partition allocation within a volume group.
sar Collects and reports or records system-activity information.
schedtune Sets parameters for CPU scheduler and Virtual Memory Manager processing.
svmon Captures and analyzes a snapshot of virtual memory.
time Prints the elapsed execution time and the user and system processing time attributed to a command.
tprof Reports CPU usage for individual programs and the whole system.
trace Records and reports selected system events.

# User Administration
mkuser Creates a new user.
passwd Creates or changes the password of a user.
chuser Changes user attributes (except password).
lsuser Lists user attributes.
rmuser Removes a user and its attributes.
chsec Changes security related stanzas.
login Initiates a user session.
who Identifies the users currently logged in.
dtconfig Enables or disables the desktop autostart feature.

# Printing
/etc/qconfig Configuration file
lpstat Displays information about the current status of the line printer.
qchk Displays the current status information regarding specified print jobs, print queues, or users.
lpq Reports the status of the specified job or all jobs associated with the specified UserName and JobNumber variables.
lpr Uses a spooling daemon to print the named File parameter when facilities become available.

# Sendmail
/etc/sendmail.cf Configuration file
startsrc -s sendmail starts sendmail or /usr/lib/sendmail
ps -ef |grep sendmail check if sendmail is running
kill -9 <sendmail_pid> stops sendmail daemon
refresh -s sendmail refresh the sendmail daemon
/etc/aliases Alias: Name1, Name2, ... NameX
mail Displays the system mailbox.
mail -f Displays your personal mailbox (mbox).
mail -f+folder Displays a mail folder.
mail user@address Addresses a message to the specified user.
mailq Prints the contents of the mail queue.
mailstats Displays statistics about mail traffic.
newaliases Builds a new copy of the alias database from the /etc/aliases file.
sendmail Routes mail for local or network delivery.
smdemon.cleanu Cleans up the sendmail queue for periodic housekeeping.

AIX Power Processors (Power4, Power5, Power6)

Power6 =are made on a wafer (silicon)
300 mm=1 ft
Roughly 120 Power6 chips


# How many CPUs in a Power chip?
- The answer is TWO
- 2 CPUs
- 2 Processors
- 2 Cores
- 2 Way
- same answer with POWER4, POWER5 and POWER6


Confusions that arise in the packaging of Power chips

POWER5 Dual Chip Module
- In a single 2 inch module
- One Power Chip
- One L3 memory cache chip
This has 2 CPUs/Cores

POWER5 Quad Chip Module
- In single 2 inch module
- Two Power chip
- Two L3 Memory caches
This has 4 CPUs/Cores

POWER5 Multi Chip Module
- In a single 4 inch module
- Four Power Chips (center)
- Four L3 Memory caches
This has 8 CPUs/Cores
Used in POWER5 p595

Power 6 is simpler


Power 6 users Dual Chip Module
- One Power Chip
- One L3 memory cache chip
- In a single 2 inch module
This has 2 CPUs/Cores
Except:
- Very Low End models leave out the L3 cache to reduce the cost
- High End p595 has two L3 cache chips for extra performance

# Determining the number of physical CPUs?

Stand-alone AIX machine
- lsconf | pg
- lsdev -Cc processor

HMC controlled machine with Logical Partitions (LPAR)
- At the HMC
Systems Management>Servers>
- Contents of: Servers
- Configured Processor Units column
- At an LPAR
- lparstat -i
- Maximum Physical CPUs in system
- Active Physical CPUs in system