Rootvg corruption on TSMserver

sbttn223

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Hi,

While running TSM5.3 on AIX5.3, it appears that the hdisk where the OS is sitting on has been giving lvm and read/write errors and my guess is that it's probably going to die.

I plan on using the reccommended fsck command on the filesystems in maintenance mode, but in case that doesn't work, will installing the OS in preservation mode bring this back to a stable state (until i can get another disk that is)? Unfortunately, no mksysb is available.

Any similar experiences or "gotcha's" to keep in mind, or specific files for TSM (on /usr/tivoli/tsm/.../) to make an extra copy of?
 
Well, Before you do anything, backup the crucial TSM config files. Afterworlds, go ahead an run the mksysb anyway. I normally have mksysb create standard dvd ISO images that I burn to a DVD. I don't have the command handy right now, but if you need it, I'll post it tomorrow. For the most part, if you have the config files that TSM needs, repairing the server should not be that big of deal. Most of my time is speat is making IT security happy with all the administrative software.
 
You could also try mirroring it to a second disk in rootvg while the disk is still working.
 
This is the command to make a "mksysb" dvd
/usr/sbin/mkcd -M '/mnt/san/la-tsm1/backup/iso' -C '/mnt/san/la-tsm1/backup/iso' -I '/mnt/san/la-tsm1/backup/iso' -V 'rootvg' '-S' '-D' -L

naturally you need to change the paths
don't forget to allow files larger than 2 GB
ulimit -f unlimited

Here is the Info on mirroring rootvg that BBB was referring to. Naturally if your hardware supports hardware raid, you might want to do that instead.

###### theses notes were taken from IBM's website.

#In our configuration, disk0 is the main boot dirve that is mirrored to disk1


# when replacing rootvg, unmirror the volume group with unmirrorvg -c 1 rootvg
# then reduce the volume group with reduce -d rootvg hdiskX
# the may not willingly let you reduce the volume group so it may be neccessary to force
# it with the "-f" augment
# this will probably also be necessary when extending the volume group

#make sure that both the boot drive nd the mirror are bootable when finished

bootlist -m normal hdisk0 hdisk1

Mirroring the root volume group

The following scenario explains how to mirror the root volume group (rootvg).
Note:

1. Mirroring the root volume group requires advanced system administration experience. If not done correctly, you can cause your system to be unbootable.
2. Mirrored dump devices are supported in AIX 4.3.3 or later.

In the following scenario, the rootvg is contained on hdisk01, and the mirror is being made to a disk called hdisk11:

1. Check that hdisk11 is supported by AIX® as a boot device:

bootinfo -B hdisk11

If this command returns a value of 1, the selected disk is bootable by AIX. Any other value indicates that hdisk11 is not a candidate for rootvg mirroring.
2. Extend rootvg to include hdisk11, using the following command:

extendvg rootvg hdisk11

If you receive the following error messages:

0516-050 Not enough descriptor space left in this volume group, Either try
adding a smaller PV or use another volume group.

or a message similar to:

0516-1162 extendvg: Warning, The Physical Partition size of 16 requires the
creation of 1084 partitions for hdisk11. The limitation for volume group
rootvg is 1016 physical partitions per physical volume. Use chvg command with
the -t option to attempt to change the maximum physical partitions per Physical
Volume for this volume group.

You have the following options:
* Mirror the rootvg to an empty disk that already belongs to the rootvg.
* Use a smaller disk.
* Change the maximum number of partitions supported by the rootvg, using the following procedure:
1. Check the message for the number of physical partitions needed for the destination disk and the maximum number currently supported by rootvg.
2. Use the chvg -t command to multiply the maximum number of partitions currently allowed in rootvg (in the above example, 1016) to a number that is larger than the physical partitions needed for the destination disk (in the above example, 1084). For example:

chvg -t 2 rootvg

3. Reissue the extendvg command at the beginning of step 2.
3. Mirror the rootvg, using the exact mapping option, as shown in the following command:

mirrorvg -m rootvg hdisk11

This command will turn off quorum when the volume group is rootvg. If you do not use the exact mapping option, you must verify that the new copy of the boot logical volume, hd5, is made of contiguous partitions.
4. Initialize all boot records and devices, using the following command:

bosboot -a

5. Initialize the boot list with the following command:

bootlist -m normal hdisk01 hdisk11

Note:
1. Even though the bootlist command identifies hdisk11 as an alternate boot disk, it cannot guarantee the system will use hdisk11 as the boot device if hdisk01 fails. In such case, you might have to boot from the product media, select maintenance, and reissue the bootlist command without naming the failed disk.
2. If your hardware model does not support the bootlist command, you can still mirror the rootvg, but you must actively select the alternate boot disk when the original disk is unavailable.
 
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