CHAPTER-1 Introduction to P Series and AIX System Administration

INTRODUCTION TO AIX AND RS/6000

AIX (Advanced Interactive eXecutive) is developed by IBM based on

UNIX System V. Before the product was ever marketed, The acronym AIX
originally stood for Advanced IBM UNIX.

AIX operates on the IBM systems based on Power Architecture technology

newest in ciruitry engineering and multiprocessor technologies and yield
very best performance. The p-series servers use RISC processors and were
formally called RS/6000 systems. IBM has enhanced the standard RISC
technology by introducing the newer Performance Optimized with
Enchanced RISC (POWER) architecture. The original POWER architecture
has also evolved into the POWER2 and POWERPC architectures.

AIX delivers high levels of security, integration, flexibility and reliability.

AIX in combination with IBM’s virtualization provides new levels of
flexibility and performance to allow you to consolidate workloads on fewer
servers which can increase efficiency and conserve energy.

AIX Versions

AIX Version 1, introduced in 1986 for the IBM 6150 RT workstation, was
based on UNIX System V Releases 1 and 2. In developing AIX, IBM and
INTERACTIVE Systems Corporation (whom IBM contracted) also
incorporated source code from 4.2 and 4.3BSD UNIX.

Among other variants, IBM later produced AIX Version 3 (also known as
AIX/6000), based on System V Release 3, for their IBM POWER-based
RS/6000 platform. Since 1990, AIX has served as the primary operating
system for the RS/6000 series (now called System p by IBM).

AIX Version 4, introduced in 1994, added symmetric multiprocessing with

the introduction of the first RS/6000 SMP servers. AIX Version 4 continued
to evolve though the 1990s culminating with AIX 4.3.3 in 1999.

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AIX 5L Version 5.1 was introduced in May 4, 2001. It was having ability to
run on an IA-64 architecture processor, although this never went beyond
beta testing. Then AIX 5L Version 5.2 was introduced in 2002 with some
enhanced features. It is the minimum level required for POWER5 hardware

AIX 5L Version 5.3 (5L means that it supports Linux applications) offers
new levels of innovative self-management technologies. It continues to
exploit current 64-bit system and software architecture to support advanced
virtualization options, as well as IBM POWER5 and POWER5+™
processors with simultaneous multithreading capability for improved
performance and system utilization.

AIX 5L V5.3 also includes the advanced distributed file system NFSv4.
NFSv4 is an open, standards-based distributed file system that offers
superior security, interoperability and scalability.

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The pSeries servers use RISC processors and where formally called RS/6000
systems, where the RS stood for RISC System.

Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) architecture was originally

developed by IBM in the 1970s. Its basic objective was to provide a reduced
instruction set that would execute very fast with maximum efficiency in the
hardware. More complex instructions would be implemented in the software.
The simple RISC-based instruction is typically executed in one system clock
cycle (or less using superscalar techniques). IBM has enhanced the standard

RISC technology by introducing the newer Performance Optimized With

Enhanced Risc (POWER) architecture.

The original POWER architecture has also evolved into the POWER2 and
PowerPC architectures.
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The POWER architectures are designed with the newest in circuitry

engineering and multiprocessor technologies and yield very fast
performance.

The instructions are handled in a superscalar (parallel) fashion by the

processor which further increases the performance offered by a RISC
system. Support for 64-bit architecture has been provided since AIX V4.3.

This support provides improved performance for specialized applications

with:

• Large address spaces (up to 16,384,000 terabytes)

• Access to large datasets for data warehousing, scientific and multimedia

applications.

• Long integers in computations

A major enhancement to AIX since version 5.1 was the introduction of the
64-bit kernel. The 64-bit AIX V5.3 kernel is designed to support these
requirements. The 32-bit and the 64-bit kernel are available. Only 64-bit
CHRP-compliant PowerPC machines are supported for the 64-bit kernel on
the POWER platform. The primary advantage of a 64-bit kernel is the
increased kernel address space allowing systems to support increased
workloads. This ability is important for a number of reasons:

• Data sharing and I/O device sharing are simplified if multiple applications
can be run on the same system

• More powerful systems will reduce the number of systems needed by an

organization, thereby reducing the cost and complexity of system
administration

Server consolidation and workload scalability will continue to require higher

capacity hardware systems that support more memory and additional I/O
devices. The 64-bit AIX 5L kernel is designed to support these requirements.

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The job of the Bus is to provide the highway for information to flow
between the RS/6000 system elements and the optional input output cards
(for example, SCSI adapters, token-ring cards) that are plugged into the
adapter slots.

The first RS/6000’s were based on IBM’s MCA (Micro Channel

Architecture). The MCA systems are sometimes referred to as classical
systems.

The newer RS/6000 systems are based on PCI architecture.

Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) buses are an open industry

specification, which supports complete processor independence. The PCI
bus works across multiple operating system platforms. IBM uses this
technology in all of its RS/6000s. RS/6000’s also contain an ISA (Industry
Standard Architecture) bus for use with some built-in devices like diskette
drive and keyboard.

Built-in ISA support remains in AIX V5.3.

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Some older model PCI systems also contain ISA slots that would accept
standard ISA cards. With AIX V5.2 and later, ISA cards are no longer
supported.

The first IBM RISC-based machines at that time called RS/6000s) were
based on IBM's MCA (Micro Channel Architecture). The MCA systems are
sometimes referred to as classical systems. These were very popular and still
make up a large portion of the installed bases. MCA machines can be easily
recognized by the physical key on the front of the machines. PCI and MCA
are basically the same from an administrative viewpoint.

There are differences primarily in the startup procedure. For more

information, see the MCA section in the appendix.

With AIX V5.2, MCA architectures are no longer supported.

A good source for hardware information is:

http://publib16.boulder.ibm.com/pseries/en_US/infocenter/base/

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One common configuration for the pSeries is as a single-user graphical

workstation suitable for graphics applications such as CAD/CAM.

In this configuration the pSeries has a graphics display (referred to as an

LFT – Low Function Terminal) which is attached to a graphics adapter
inside the system unit. A keyboard, mouse, and optional graphics tablet are
plugged into special ports on the system board.

There are a number of graphics cards available for the different pSeries
models which differ in speed, resolution, number of colors supported, 2D or
3D support, and so forth.

There are corresponding displays that can be used from personal computer
displays through to the 23-inch PowerDisplay.

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Some multiuser systems consist only of ASCII terminals connected locally

or over a telephone line by modem. Two ASCII devices can be connected to
the serial ports provided on pSeries. All further ASCII devices will require
an asynchronous adapter card.

More complex systems consist of many pSeries and other devices such as
PCs connected over a local area network (LAN) like Ethernet or token ring.
In this case the pSeries requires the appropriate communications adapter
card.

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Uniprocessor is referring to machines with only one processor. The

processor is connected to memory and other adapters via the bus. Today I/O
buses are on the PCI architecture.

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SMP

The Symmetric Multiprocessor (SMP) architecture supports a single copy of

the operating system, which is shared by all processors. Memory and disk is
also shared. RS/6000 SMP models support both PCI and MCA buses and
can support up to 24 processors.

IBM Cluster 1600

The IBM Cluster 1600 systems (originally called IBM Scalable

PowerParallel or SP) are a set of up to 16 rack-mounted pSeries or RS/6000
systems, called nodes. The nodes fit in 128 slots on the Cluster 1600. These
nodes used to be restricted to special RS/6000 models which fit into
specialized frames. A thin node took one slot, a wide node took two slots
and a high node took four slots. Each Cluster 1600 node has its own
memory, operating system, expansion slots, and disk.

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Today the Cluster 1600 can incorporate the regular pSeries models up to and
including p690 machines. A high-speed network called the SP Switch (up to
480 MB/sec.) is available to connect the nodes together. The Cluster 1600
uses the Parallel System Support Programs (PSSP) to control its
environment.

The Cluster 1600 system is ideal for any parallel computing, high CPU-
usage (such as modeling and numerical analysis) and I/O-intensive
applications (such as Data Mining, OLTP, DB2/PE and Oracle Parallel
Query/Server).

IBM eserver p5 Product Family

p5 590
p5 550

p5 570 p5 595
p5 510

Mid -
range
p5 575
p5 520

Entry High-end

This figure shows recently introduced products in the pSeries and eServer p5
product family. These offerings are POWER5 processor systems.

AIX 5L V5.2 and above exclusively support CHRP architecture machines

with PCI buses. There is a minimum hardware requirement of 128 MB of
RAM and 2.2. GB of disk space.
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IBM Server p5 510

IBM Server p5 510 and IBM server p5 510 Express are rack-mount servers
(9110-510). Servers often come in rack mountable form. The standard width
of the industrial racks used to store servers is 19". The height is often quoted
as 1U, 2U etc. Each "U" is about 4.5 cms (1.75 inches).

The p5-510 server has a base of 512 MB of main memory that can be
expanded to 32 GB for faster performance and exploitation of 64-bit
addressing as used in large database applications.

The p5-510 server contains five internal device bays. The five device bays
are front-accessible; four bays are for hot-swap-capable disk drives and can
accommodate up to 1.2 TB of disk storage. The fifth bay is available for a
slimline DVD-ROM or DVD-RAM. Other integrated features include three
64-bit PCI-X slots, integrated service processor, integrated 10/100/1000
Mbps two-port Ethernet, two service processor communication, two USBs,
and two HMC ports, integrated dual-channel Ultra320 SCSI controller,
external SCSI port, hot-swappable power and cooling, and optional
redundant power.

For partitioning, a Hardware Management Console (HMC) is required.

Dynamic LPAR is supported on the p5-510 server, allowing up to two
logical partitions. In addition, the optional Advanced POWER Virtualization
feature supports up to 20 micro-partitions using Micro-Partitioning™
technology.

(Note : This model do not support AIX 5.1. It support AIX 5.2 and 5.3).

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IBM eServer was a family of computer servers from IBM Corporation. Announced in
the year 2000 it combined the various IBM server brands (AS/400, Netfinity, RS/6000,
S/390) under one brand. The various subrands were at the same time rebranded from:

 IBM AS/400 to IBM eServer iSeries, i for Integrated.

 IBM RS/6000 to IBM eServer pSeries, p for POWER
 IBM Netfinity to IBM eServer xSeries, x for eXtended architecture (with respect
to "commodity" Intel-based servers)
 IBM S/390 to IBM eServer zSeries, z for Zero downtime

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PC CONNECTIVITY TO RS/6000 SERVER

RS/6000’s are accessed via a network using PC’s.

One way to connect is using telnet. Another method, which is growing

popularity, is to install software on the PC to give the PC the capability to
function as an X-Window Server. This allows the PC to function as a
graphics display station for the RS/6000.

RS/6000
Machine PC
Network

X- Window X-Window
Client Program Server software

Very commonly, pSeries are accessed via a network using PCs.

One way to connect is using telnet. Another method, which is growing in

popularity, is to install software on the PC to give the PC the capability to
function as an X-Window Server.

This allows the PC to function as a graphics display station for the pSeries.
There are many commercially available software packages for several
different operating systems that provide this functionality.

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AIX security permissions restrict the performance of administrative tasks to

the root user (and sometimes other users in special groups; for example,
system for general tasks, security for user administration, printq for AIX
Print Subsystem printer management, lp for System V Print Subsystem
printer management.)

This means that the root user's password must be kept secure and only
divulged to the few users who are responsible for the system.

A certain amount of discipline is also required when using the root ID,
because typing errors made as root could do catastrophic system damage.

For normal use of the system, a non-administrative user ID should be used,

and only when superuser privilege is required should the root user ID be
used.

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To obtain superuser (root) privileges while logged in as a normal user, you

can use the su command. This prompts you for root's password and then
give you a shell with root privileges so that you can perform commands.

When you have performed the required tasks you should exit from the su
command in the same way as exiting from a normal shell

The su command allows you to assume the permissions of any user whose
password you know.

Every time the su command is used an entry is placed in the file

/var/adm/sulog (this is an ASCII text file). This makes it easy to record
access as the superuser.

Normal logins are recorded in the file /var/adm/wtmp. To read the contents
of this file use the command: who /var/adm/wtmp.

The su command can also be specified with the “-” (dash) option. The “-”
specifies that the process environment is to be set as if the user had logged
into the system using the login command. Nothing in the current
environment is propagated to the new shell.

For example,using the su command without the “-” option, allows you to
have all of the accompanying permission of root while keeping your own
working environment.

INTERFACES

GRAPHICAL

The common Desktop Environment (CDE) is AIX's default graphical user

interface. As part of Linux Affinity and the free AIX Toolbox for Linux
Applications (ATLA), open-source KDE and GNOME desktop are also
available.

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Minimize time and resource spent managing systems; that is, manage
efficiently.

AIX helps with tools such as SMIT and the Web-based System Manager.
Maximize productivity, reliability and performance; that is, maximize
the productivity of the users. AIX helps with features, such as the logical
volume manager, that don't require the system to be brought down for
maintenance.

Provide remote system management solutions; AIX supports Web-based

technology with the Web-based System Manager. As a result, multiple
systems can be managed from one AIX system over the network. This can
be done with SMIT using telnet as well.

SYSTEM MANAGEMENT INTERFACE TOOL

SMIT is the System Management Interface Tool for AIX. It allows a user to
navigate a menu hierarchy of commands, rather than using the command
line. Invocation is typically achieved with the command SMIT. Experienced
system administrators make use of the F6 accelerator which generates the
command line that SMIT will invoke to complete the proposed task. SMIT
also generates a log of commands that are performed (SMIT.log), which can
be condensed into a script for automating a series of tasks on numerous
systems.

SMIT and Smitty refer to the same program, though Smitty invokes the text-
based version, while SMIT will invoke an X Window based interface if
possible; however, if SMIT determines that X Window capabilities are not
present, it will present the text-based version instead of failing.

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Determination of X Window capabilities is typically performed by checking

for the existence of the DISPLAY variable.

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Introduction
This visual illustrates that LPARs can have resources allocated based on the
needs of the workload rather than the amount contained in a physical
building block. In the diagram above, there are four partitions, each with
various amounts of resources.

Adding or Removing Resources Dynamically

On the pSeries implementation of LPARs, you can dynamically add and
remove resources (CPUs, memory, and I/O slots) to and from a partition
while the operating system is running.

For dynamic partitions, the partition must be running AIX 5.2 (or later) and
both the managed system and the HMC must be running a version of

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firmware dated October 2002 or later. All partitions running AIX 5.1 and
Linux are static partitions which means

the partitions must be reactivated (that is, rebooted) to change the resource
configuration. When memory is moved from one partition to another with
dynamic LPAR, memory is written to all zeroes by the system firmware.
Likewise, I/O adapters are fully reset when moved.

Allocating Disks
Disks are not allocated to partitions individually. Instead, the I/O slot
containing the adapter controlling one or more disks is allocated to a
partition.

There are a number of distinct tasks which the system administrator on a

UNIX or AIX system must perform. Often there will be more than one

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system administrator in a large organization, and the tasks can be divided

between the different administrators.

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