Migration to AIX PCM combined with OS update using Alternate Disk Copy

On most AIX systems the SP or TL level is updated at regular intervals. It makes sense to perform the migration from SDDPCM to AIX PCM together with such an update. This saves time and some reboots, which otherwise have to be done because of the multipathing migration.

In our blog post “Migration from SDDPCM to AIX-PCM” we had already shown the migration for standalone systems.

Here, the migration from SDDPCM to AIX-PCM will be shown as part of an OS update, using the Alternate Disk Copy method. The procedure is roughly the following:

  1. Unmirroring the rootvg to get a free disk for Alternate Disk Copy.
  2. Change the Path Control Module (PCM) to AIX PCM.
  3. Creating the altinst_rootvg.
  4. Removal of fixes in the altinst_rootvg.
  5. Performing the OS update on the altinst_rootvg.
  6. Installing fixes in the altinst_rootvg.
  7. Adding a firstboot script to set disk attributes.
  8. Change the Path Control Module (PCM) back to SDDPCM.
  9. Booting from the altinst_rootvg.

On our example system AIX 7.1 TL5 SP2 is installed, the disks are SVC disks connected via virtual FC adapters. SDDPCM is the currently active multipathing driver:

# oslevel -s
7100-05-02-1810
# lsdev -l hdisk0 -F uniquetype
disk/fcp/2145
aix01:/root> lsattr -El hdisk0 -a PCM -F value
PCM/friend/sddpcm
#

As stated in the blog post above, some disk attributes change when migrating to AIX PCM. Therefore, you should take a close look at the current attributes in order to take them over later (at least partially). By way of example, we only look at the attribute queue_depth, which currently has the value 120:

# lsattr -El hdisk0 -a queue_depth -F value
120
#

Our system has a mirrored rootvg:

# lsvg -p rootvg
rootvg:
PV_NAME           PV STATE          TOTAL PPs   FREE PPs    FREE DISTRIBUTION
hdisk3            active            399         232         00..01..71..80..80
hdisk0            active            399         240         00..01..79..80..80
#

The system was booted from the hdisk0:

# bootinfo -b
hdisk0
#

So we leave hdisk0 in the rootvg and remove  hdisk3 from the rootvg to get a free disk for Alternate Disk Copy.

# unmirrorvg rootvg hdisk3
0516-1246 rmlvcopy: If hd5 is the boot logical volume, please run 'chpv -c <diskname>'
        as root user to clear the boot record and avoid a potential boot
        off an old boot image that may reside on the disk from which this
        logical volume is moved/removed.
0516-1804 chvg: The quorum change takes effect immediately.
0516-1144 unmirrorvg: rootvg successfully unmirrored, user should perform
        bosboot of system to reinitialize boot records.  Then, user must modify
        bootlist to just include:  hdisk0.
# reducevg rootvg hdisk3
# chpv -c hdisk3
# bootlist -m normal hdisk0
#

Before we create a copy of the rootvg using Alternate Disk Copy, we temporarily change the system to AIX PCM without, however, rebooting. If then the altinst_rootvg is generated, the conversion to AIX PCM is already done in altinst_rootvg!

# manage_disk_drivers -d IBMSVC -o AIX_AAPCM
********************** ATTENTION *************************
  For the change to take effect the system must be rebooted
#

At the end of the OS update, we then undo this change on the rootvg to have the original state with SDDPCM.

After these preparations we start now the alt_disk_copy command:

# alt_disk_copy -d hdisk3 -B
Calling mkszfile to create new /image.data file.
Checking disk sizes.
Creating cloned rootvg volume group and associated logical volumes.
Creating logical volume alt_hd5.
Creating logical volume alt_hd6.
Creating logical volume alt_hd8.
…
#

Some fixes are installed on the system, which we remove from the altinst_rootvg before the update:

# emgr -l
ID  STATE LABEL      INSTALL TIME      UPDATED BY ABSTRACT
=== ===== ========== ================= ========== ======================================
1    S    102m_ifix  10/14/18 10:48:18            IFIX for Openssl CVE on 1.0.2m       
2    S    IJ03121s0a 10/14/18 10:49:04            IJ03121 for AIX 7.1 TL5 SP00         
3    S    IJ05822s2a 10/14/18 10:49:18            a potential security issue exists    
…
#

Activation of the altinst_rootvg:

# alt_rootvg_op -W -d hdisk3
Waking up altinst_rootvg volume group ...
#

And removal of the fixes:

# INUCLIENTS=1 /usr/sbin/chroot /alt_inst /usr/sbin/emgr –r -n 3
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Efix Manager Initialization
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Initializing log /var/adm/ras/emgr.log ...
Accessing efix metadata ...
Processing efix label "IJ05822s2a" ...
…
Operation Summary
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Log file is /var/adm/ras/emgr.log

EFIX NUMBER       LABEL               OPERATION              RESULT           
===========       ==============      =================      ==============   
1                 IJ05822s2a          REMOVE                 SUCCESS          

Return Status = SUCCESS
# INUCLIENTS=1 chroot /alt_inst /usr/sbin/emgr -r -n 2
…
# INUCLIENTS=1 chroot /alt_inst /usr/sbin/emgr -r -n 1
…

(Note: please do not forget the variable INUCLIENTS, this signals that the operation is taking place in an alternate boot environment!)

Now we mount the LPP source for the OS update via NFS from our NIM server:

# mount aixnim:/export/nim/lpps/aix710503lpp /mnt
#

The OS update can now be done in the altinst_rootvg:

# alt_rootvg_op -C -b update_all -l /mnt
Installing optional filesets or updates into altinst_rootvg...
install_all_updates: Initializing system parameters.
install_all_updates: Log file is /var/adm/ras/install_all_updates.log
install_all_updates: Checking for updated install utilities on media.
…
installp:  * * * A T T E N T I O N ! ! !
        Software changes processed during this session require
        any diskless/dataless clients to which this SPOT is
        currently allocated to be rebooted.
install_all_updates: Log file is /var/adm/ras/install_all_updates.log
install_all_updates: Result = SUCCESS
#

Finally, we install some fixes. We first mount the directory /mnt with the fixes in the altinst_rootvg:

# mount -v namefs /mnt /alt_inst/mnt
# INUCLIENTS=1 chroot /alt_inst /usr/sbin/emgr -e /mnt/emgr/ppc/102p_fix.181127.epkg.Z
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Efix Manager Initialization
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Initializing log /var/adm/ras/emgr.log ...
Efix package file is: /mnt/emgr/ppc/102p_fix.181127.epkg.Z
…
EPKG NUMBER       LABEL               OPERATION              RESULT           
===========       ==============      =================      ==============   
1                 102p_fix            INSTALL                SUCCESS          

Return Status = SUCCESS
# INUCLIENTS=1 chroot /alt_inst /usr/sbin/emgr -e /mnt/emgr/ppc/IJ09621s3a.181001.epkg.Z
…
# INUCLIENTS=1 chroot /alt_inst /usr/sbin/emgr -e /mnt/emgr/ppc/IJ11545s0a.181127.epkg.Z
…
# umount /alt_inst/mnt
#

To set the desired disk attributes and uninstall SDDPCM we use a firstboot script:

# cat /alt_inst/etc/firstboot
#! /bin/ksh

print "INFO: adjust hdisk attributes"
chdev -Pl hdisk0 -a queue_depth=120

print "INFO: uninstalling SDDPCM"
installp -u devices.sddpcm.$(uname -v)$(uname -r).rte devices.fcp.disk.ibm.mpio.rte

print "INFO: perform reboot"
reboot

# chmod a+x /alt_inst/etc/firstboot
#

The script should, if used, be adapted to your own needs. There, you should customize all the desired disk attributes (queue_depth, reserve_policy, …). The sample script here is just to indicate what you could do!

The altinst_rootvg is now updated and converted to AIX PCM. We disable the altinst_rootvg so that it can be booted.

# alt_rootvg_op –S -t
Putting volume group altinst_rootvg to sleep ...
forced unmount of /alt_inst/var/adm/ras/livedump
…
forced unmount of /alt_inst
Fixing LV control blocks...
Fixing file system superblocks...
#

(Note: please do not forget the option “-t“, this creates a new boot image!)

But before we boot from the altinst_rootvg, we change the multipathing driver back to SDDPCM on the rootvg!

# manage_disk_drivers -d IBMSVC -o NO_OVERRIDE
********************** ATTENTION *************************
  For the change to take effect the system must be rebooted
#

Finally we change the bootlist to altinst_rootvg (hdisk3):

# bootlist -m normal hdisk3
#

And last but not least we reboot:

# shutdown –r now

SHUTDOWN PROGRAM
Tue Apr 16 19:49:08 CEST 2019

Broadcast message from root@aix01 (tty) at 19:49:08 ...

PLEASE LOG OFF NOW ! ! !
System maintenance in progress.
All processes will be killed now.
…

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                Welcome to AIX.
                   boot image timestamp: 19:45:08 04/16/2019
                 The current time and date: 19:51:11 04/16/2019
        processor count: 2;  memory size: 4096MB;  kernel size: 36847630
       boot device: /vdevice/vfc-client@3000000a/disk@5005076XXXXXXXXX:2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
…
Multi-user initialization completed
INFO: adjust hdisk attributes
hdisk0 changed
INFO: uninstalling SDDPCM
…
Installation Summary
--------------------
Name                        Level           Part        Event       Result
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
devices.sddpcm.71.rte       2.7.1.1         ROOT        DEINSTALL   SUCCESS   
devices.sddpcm.71.rte       2.7.1.1         USR         DEINSTALL   SUCCESS   
devices.fcp.disk.ibm.mpio.r 1.0.0.25        USR         DEINSTALL   SUCCESS   
INFO: perform reboot
Rebooting . . .
…

AIX Version 7
Copyright IBM Corporation, 1982, 2018.
Console login:

(In the output you can see the actions of the firstboot script: changing disk attributes, uninstalling SDDPCM and rebooting.)

After logging in we check the OS version, the used multipathing driver and some disk attributes:

# oslevel -s
7100-05-03-1846
# lsdev -l hdisk0 -F uniquetype
disk/fcp/mpioosdisk
# lsattr -El hdisk0 -a PCM -F value
PCM/friend/fcpother
# lsattr -El hdisk0 -a queue_depth -F value
120
# genkex|grep pcm
         5ae0000    60000 /usr/lib/drivers/aixdiskpcmke
# lslpp -l|grep sddpcm
#

We have successfully completed the migration from SDDPCM to AIX PCM together with an OS update. Using scripts this can be automated further.

We have tested this procedure for AIX 7.1 and AIX 7.2. So far, we have not been able to carry out a test for PowerHA for reasons of time.