installing several AIX PS/2's

[Kevin P. Kleinfelter]

peter at cunixf.cc.columbia.edu (Peter Wu) writes:

>I was wondering if there anyone out there who has the same problem.
>We have to install AIX 1.2 on ~30 PS/2's and I was wondering if there
>is any easy/efficient/time-saving way besides spending up to three
>hours on one machine swapping disks?

>Is there anyway?  Please tell me there is.  :(  I don't want to have
>to spend ~90 hours swapping disks!!

There is a much easier way, IF you want ~30 IDENTICAL machines.
Here is my method:

1. Install one machine (all disks, all updates, all products).
2. Boot from the maintennance disk, and take a "minidisk" 
   backup of /<local>, and root minidisks (each to a separate tape).
3. On each "clone" machine...
   a. run the first part of the install from diskettes
      (i.e. through the point where it says "Completing first
       stage installation.")
   b. boot from the reference diskette and do a minidisk restore
      from your two backup tapes.


Note that this procedure will create machines with the same node name.
If you want to create machines with different names, then you might be
able to do so by changing the names after the install.


Note 2: IBM says that they will be shipping updates to AIX 1.2 to all
registered users of AIX 1.2 in the next month or so.  I do not know what
bug fixes are included, except for the following:
   The "restore" command in AIX 1.2 can fail in some circumstances.  The
   one I encountered shows up when you take a "-x" backup under 1.1, and
   then try to restore a directory and its files under 1.2 (using "-d").
   It restores the directory, but none of the files within the directory.
-- 
Kevin Kleinfelter @ Management Science America, Inc (404) 239-2347
gatech!nanovx!msa3b!kevin

"Don't hold your finger on the button if the motor ain't goin' roundy-roundy."