Cloning a rootvg using alternate disk installation

Using this scenario, you can clone AIX® running on rootvg to an alternate disk on the same system, install a user-defined software bundle, and run a user-defined script to customize the AIX image on the alternate disk.

The information in this how-to scenario was tested using specific versions of AIX. The results you obtain might vary significantly depending on your version and level of AIX.

Because the alternate disk installation process involves cloning an existing rootvg to a target alternate disk, the target alternate disk must not be already assigned to a volume group.

In this scenario you will do the following:

1. Prepare for the alternate disk installation
2. Perform the alternate disk installation and customization
3. Boot off the alternate disk
4. Verify the operation

Step 1. Prepare for the alternate disk installation

1. Check the status of physical disks on your system. Type:

   # lspv

   Output similar to the following displays:

   hdisk0         0009710fa9c79877    rootvg    active
   hdisk1         0009710f0b90db93    None

   We can use hdisk1 as our alternate disk because no volume group is assigned to this physical disk.
2. Check to see if the alt_disk_copy fileset has been installed by running the following:

   # lslpp -L bos.alt_disk_install.rte

   Output similar to the following displays if the alt_disk_copy fileset is not installed:

   lslpp: 0504-132  Fileset bos.alt_disk_install.rte not installed.

3. Using volume 1 of the AIX installation media, install the alt_disk_copy fileset by running the following:

   # geninstall -d/dev/cd0 bos.alt_disk_install.rte

   Output similar to the following displays:

   +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
                                   Summaries:                                     
   +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
                                                                                  
   Installation Summary                                                           
   --------------------                                                           
   Name                        Level           Part        Event       Result     
   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   bos.alt_disk_install.rte    5.3.0.0         USR         APPLY       SUCCESS    

4. Create a user-defined bundle called /usr/sys/inst.data/user_bundles/MyBundle.bnd that contains the following filesets:

   I:bos.content_list
   I:bos.games
5. Create the /home/scripts directory:

   mkdir /home/scripts

6. Create a user-defined customization script called AddUsers.sh in the /home/scripts directory:

   touch /home/scripts/AddUsers.sh
   chmod 755 /home/scripts/AddUsers.sh

7. Edit /home/scripts/AddUsers.sh to contain the following lines:

   mkuser johndoe
   touch /home/johndoe/abc.txt
   touch /home/johndoe/xyz.txt

Step 2. Perform the alternate disk installation and customization

1. To clone the rootvg to an alternate disk, type the following at the command line to open the SMIT menu :

   # smit alt_clone

2. Select hdisk1 in the Target Disk to Install field.
3. Select the MyBundle bundle in the Bundle to Install field.
4. Insert volume one of the installation media.
5. Type /dev/cd0 in the Directory or Device with images field.
6. Type /home/scripts/AddUsers.sh in the Customization script field.
7. Press Enter to start the alternate disk installation.
8. Check that the alternate disk was created, by running the following:

   # lspv

   Output similar to the following displays:
   

   hdisk0         0009710fa9c79877    rootvg             
   hdisk1         0009710f0b90db93    altinst_rootvg     

Step 3. Boot from the alternate disk

1. By default, the alternate-disk-installation process changes the boot list to the alternate disk. To check this run the following:

   # bootlist -m normal -o   

   Output similar to the following displays:

   hdisk1

2. Reboot the system. Type:

   # shutdown -r

   The system boots from the boot image on the alternate disk (hdisk1).

Step 4. Verify the operation

1. When the system reboots, it will be running off the alternate disk. To check this, type the following:

   # lspv

   Output similar to the following displays:

   hdisk0         0009710fa9c79877    old_rootvg  
   hdisk1         0009710f0b90db93    rootvg      
   

2. Verify that the customization script ran correctly, by typing the following:

   # find /home/johndoe -print       

   Output similar to the following displays:

   /home/johndoe                     
   /home/johndoe/.profile            
   /home/johndoe/abc.txt             
   /home/johndoe/xyz.txt             

3. Verify that the contents of your software bundle was installed, by typing the following:

   # lslpp -Lb MyBundle                                         

   Output similar to the following displays:

     Fileset                      Level  State  Description                      
     ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
     bos.content_list           5.3.0.0    C    AIX Release Content List         
     bos.games                  5.3.0.0    C    Games