1. What is ODM?

The ODM has many purposes. Its primary functions are to maintain the configuration, associated devices, and the
vital product database.
In addition, it provides a more robust, secure, and sharable resource than the
ASCII files previously used in AI.
System data managed by the ODM includes!
" Device configuration information
" Display information for SMIT #menus, selectors, and dialogs$
" %ital product data for installation and update procedures
" Communications configuration information
" System resource information
Most system ob&ect classes and ob&ects are stored in the 'usr'lib'ob&repos
directory( ho)ever, ODM information is stored in three directories as follo)s!
" 'usr'lib'ob&repos
" 'usr'share'lib'ob&repos
" 'etc'ob&repos
The basic components of the ODM are ob&ect classes and ob&ects. To manage
ob&ect classes and ob&ects, you use the ODM commands and subroutines.
Odmadd, odmchange, odmget, odmsho) etc.
2. What is Physical Volume?
*ach individual fi+ed,dis- drive is called a physical volume #.%$ and has a
name #for e+ample! hdis-/, hdis-0, or hdis-1$.
3. What is Volume Group(VG) ?
All physical volumes belong to one volume group #%2$
4. What is Physical Partition ?
All of the physical volumes in a volume group are divided into physical
partitions #..s$ of the same si3e.
. What is lo!ical Volume ?
4ithin each volume group, one or more logical volumes #5%s$ are defined.
5ogical volumes are groups of information located on physical volumes. Data
on logical volumes appear as contiguous to the user but can be discontiguous
on the physical volume.
". What is lo!ical Partition ?
*ach logical volume consists of one or more logical partitions #5.s$. *ach
logical partition corresponds to at least one physical partition. If mirroring is
specified for the logical volume, additional physical partitions are allocated to
store the additional copies of each logical partition.
7. What is #o!ical Volume Mana!er (#VM)?
The set of operating system commands, library subroutines, and other tools that
allo) you to establish and control logical volume storage is called the 5ogical
%olume Manager #5%M$. The 5%M controls dis- resources by mapping data
bet)een a more simple and fle+ible logical vie) of storage space and the actual
physical dis-s.
$. Where %oes #VM &eeps con'i!uration %ata?
O()ect Data Mana!er (ODM) %ata(ase
The ODM database is the place )here most of the AI system configuration data
is -ept. The ODM database contains information about all configured physical
volumes, volume groups, and logical volumes. This information mirrors the
information found in the %2DA. 6or e+ample, the process of importing a %2DA
involves automatically copying the %2DA data for the imported volume group into
the ODM. 4hen a volume group is e+ported, the data held in the ODM about that
volume group is removed from the ODM database.
*. What is VGD+ ( Volume Group Descriptor area?
The %2DA, located at the beginning of each physical volume, contains
information that describes all the logical volumes and all the physical volumes
that belong to the volume group of )hich that physical volume is a member. The
%2DA is updated by almost all the 5%M commands. The %2DA ma-es each
volume group self,describing. An AI system can read the %2DA on a dis-, and,
from that, can determine )hat physical volumes and logical volumes are part of
this volume group.
*ach dis- contains at least one %2DA. This is important at vary on time. The
time stamps in the %2DAs are used to determine )hich %2DAs correctly reflect
the state of the volume group. %2DAs can get out of sync )hen, for e+ample, a
volume group of four dis-s has one dis- failure. The %2DA on that dis- cannot be
updated )hile it is not operational. Therefore, you need a )ay to update this
%2DA )hen the dis- comes online, and this is )hat the vary on process )ill do.
The %2DA is allocated )hen the dis- is assigned as a physical volume #)ith the
command m&%e,$. This &ust reserves a space for the %2DA at the start of the dis-.
The actual volume group information is placed in the %2DA )hen the physical
volume is assigned to a volume group #using the m&,! or e-ten%,! commands$.
4hen a physical volume is removed from the volume group #using the re%uce,!
command$, the volume group information is removed from the %2DA.
1.. What is #V/0 ( #o!ical Volume /ontrol 0loc& )?
The 5%C7 is located at the start of every logical volume. It contains information
about the logical volume and uses a fe) hundred bytes.
11. What is Dis& 1uorum ?
A 8uorum is a state in )hich 90 percent or more of the physical volumes in a
volume group are accessible. A 8uorum is a vote of the number of %olume 2roup
Descriptor Areas and %olume 2roup Status Areas #%2DA'%2SA$ that are active.
A 8uorum ensures data integrity in the event of a dis- failure.
12. What is Dis& Mirrorin! ?
Dis- mirroring is the association of t)o or three physical partitions )ith each
logical partition in a logical volume. 4hen the data is )ritten onto the logical
volume, it is also )ritten to all the physical partitions that are associated )ith the
logical partition. Therefore, mirroring of data increases the availability of data.
AI and the logical volume manager provide a dis- mirroring facility at a logical
volume level. If mirroring is established, this can be done )hen a logical volume
is created.
The m&l, command allo)s you to select one or t)o additional copies for each
logical volume. Mirroring can also be added to an e+isting logical volume using
the m&l,copy command.
2he mirror,! comman%
The mirror,! command mirrors all the logical volumes on a given volume group.
This same function may also be accomplished manually if you run the m&l,copy
command for each individual logical volume in a volume group. As )ith m&l,copy,
the target physical drives to be mirrored )ith data must already be members of
the volume group.
To get default mirroring of rootvg, run the follo)ing command.
mirrorvg rootvg
To replace a failed dis- drive in a mirrored volume group, run the follo)ing
commands!
unmirrorvg )or-vg hdis-:
reducevg )or-vg hdis-:
rmdev ,l hdis-: ;d
<eplace the failed dis- drive )ith a ne) one, and name it hdis-: by e+ecuting
the follo)ing commands!
e+tendvg )or-vg hdis-:
mirrorvg )or-vg
3oot,! mirrorin!
4hen the rootvg mirroring has completed, the follo)ing three tas-s must be
performed!
0. <un the (os(oot command.
The (os(oot command creates a boot file #boot image$ from a <AM #<andom
Access Memory$ dis- file system and a -ernel. The (os(oot command is
re8uired to customi3e the bootrec of the ne)ly mirrored drive.
1. <un the (ootlist command.
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The (os(oot command al)ays saves device configuration data for dis-. It
does not update the list of boot devices in the =%<AM #nonvolatile random
access memory$. The =%<AM list can be modified by using the (ootlist
command.
>. <eboot the system.
6inally, the default of the mirror,! command is for the 8uorum to be turned
off. To turn 8uorum off on a rootvg volume group, the system must be
rebooted.
13. 4o5 to ma&e a a,aila(le %is& a physical ,olume ?
A ne) dis- drive is usable only )hen assigned to a volume group. To be used by
the 5%M, a dis- must be configured as a physical volume. The follo)ing
command )ill change an available dis- #hdis-0$ to a physical volume by
assigning a physical volume identifier #.%ID$, if it does not already have one.
chdev ,l hdis-0 ,a pv?yes
This command has no effect if the dis- is already a physical volume.
14. 4o5 to remo,e a physical ,olume ?
A physical volume must be unconfigured before it can be removed from the
system. The follo)ing e+ample sho)s ho) to unconfigure a physical volume
#hdis-0$ and change its state from available to defined using the rm%e,
command!
rmdev ,l hdis-0
The definition of this physical volume )ill remain in the ODM. The ,d flag
removes the definition from the ODM.
1. What is a 'ile system?
A file system is a set of files, directories, and other structures. 6ile systems
maintain information and identify the location of a file or directory@s data. In
addition to files and directories, file systems may contain a boot bloc-, a
superbloc-, bitmaps, and one or more allocation groups. An allocation group
contains dis- i,nodes and fragments.
1". What is super(loc& ?
The Aournaled 6ile System #A6S$ divides the logical volume into a number of
fi+ed si3e units called logical bloc-s. The first and thirty,first logical bloc-s are reserved for the
superbloc- #logical bloc- >0 being a bac-up copy$. The super bloc- contains information, such as the overall si3e of
the file system in 901 byte bloc-s, the file system name, file system log device address version number, and the file
system state.
16. What is meant (y mountin! a 'ile system?
Mounting is a concept that ma-es file systems, files, directories, devices, and special files available for use at a
particular location. It is the only )ay a file system is made accessible. Once you have created the file system, the
ne+t tas- is to ma-e it available to your users.
1$. Durin! creation time7 4o5 to set a 'ile system to (e automatically mounte% ?
crfs ;A yes file"system
1*. 4o5 to increase a 'ile system si8e ?
chfs ,a si3e?ne)"si3e"in"901,byte"bloc-s file"system"name
or
chfs ;a si3e?Badditional"bloc-s file"system"name
2.. 4o5 5ill you trou(leshoot %i''erent 'ile system pro(lems?
3eco,erin! 'rom super (loc& errors
If you receive one of the follo)ing errors from the 'sc& or mount commands, the
problem may be a corrupted #or dirty$ superbloc-.
fsc-! =ot an AI> file system
fsc-! =ot an AI%> file system
fsc-! =ot an AIC file system
fsc-! =ot an AI%C file system
fsc-! =ot a recogni3ed file system type
mount! invalid argument
The problem can be resolved by restoring the bac-up of the superbloc- over the
primary superbloc- using one of the follo)ing commands!
dd count?0 bs?C- s-ip?>0 see-?0 if?'dev'lv// of?'dev'lv//
The follo)ing command )or-s only for AI %ersion C!
fsc- ,p 'dev'lv//
Once the restoration process is completed, chec- the integrity of the file system
by issuing the 'sc& command.
fsc- 'dev'lv//
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In many cases, restoration of the bac-up of the superbloc- to the primary
superbloc- )ill recover the file system. If this does not resolve the problem,
recreate the file system and restore the data from a bac-up.
/annot unmount 'ile systems
A file system cannot be unmounted if any reference is still active )ithin that file
system. The follo)ing error message )ill be displayed!
Device busy
or
A device is already mounted or cannot be unmounted
The follo)ing situations can leave an open references to a mounted file system!
" 6iles are open )ithin a file system. Close these files before the file system
can be unmounted. The 'user command is often the best )ay to determine
21. What is a pa!in! space ?
To accommodate a large virtual memory space )ith a limited real memory space,
the system uses real memory as a )or- space and -eeps inactive data and
programs on a dis-. The area of the dis- that contains this data is called the
system paging space.
A paging space, also called a s)ap space, is a logical volume )ith the attribute
type e8ual to paging.
The installation creates a default paging logical volume #hdD$ on drive hdis-/,
also referred as primary paging space.
22. What is !eneral recommen%ation 'or pa!in! space?
The general recommendation is that the sum of the si3es of the paging spaces
should be e8ual to at least t)ice the si3e of the real memory of the machine, up
to a memory si3e of 19D M7 #901 M7 of paging space$. 6or memories larger than
19D M7, the follo)ing rule is recommended!
Total paging space ? 901 M7 B #memory si3e , 19D M7$ E 0.19
The lsps 9a command provides a snapshot of the current utili3ation of each of
the paging spaces on a system, )hile the lsps 9s command provides a
summary of the total active paging space and its current utili3ation.
23. Mention %i''erent s5itches 'or m&sys( ?
24. 4o5 to e-clu%e a 'ile 'rom m&sys( (ac&up ?
4hen you need to ma-e a m&sys( bac-up of a system, and you )ant to e+clude
some data file systems from the system, you need to edit the 'etc'e+clude.rootvg
file. If, for e+ample, you )ant to e+clude the file systems 'usr and 'tmp from your
m&sys( bac-up, add the follo)ing!
'usr'
'tmp'
Ma-e sure there are no empty lines in this file. Fou can list the contents of the file
as follo)s!
G cat 'etc'e+clude.rootvg
'usr'
'tmp'
Then run the m&sys( command using the ,e flag to e+clude the contents of the
e+clude.rootvg file as follo)s!
m-sysb ,e 'dev'rmt/
2. What is :;< 7 enhance% :;< an% 5hat is the main %i''erence?
Aournaled 6ile System, or A6S, is the default file system for AI )hen running on a >1,bit -ernel. A &ournaling file
system allo)s for 8uic- file system recovery after a crash occurs by logging the metadata of files. 7y enabling file
system logging, the system records every change in the metadata of the file into a reserved area of the file
system. The actual )rite operations are performed after the logging of changes to the metadata has been
completed.
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*nhanced A6S, or A6S1, is another native AIH &ournaling file system that )as introduced in AI 9.0. *nhanced
A6S is the default file system for DC,bit -ernel environments. Due to address space limitations of the >1;bit
-ernel, *nhanced A6S is not recommended for use in >1,bit -ernel environments.
Differences ,,,
=ernel a%%ress space
AI offers t)o different types of -ernels, a >1,bit -ernel and a DC,bit -ernel. The >1,bit and DC,bit -ernels have common
libraries, commands, utilities, and header files. Io)ever, the DC,bit -ernel offers a degree of scaling for DC,bit hard)are
that the >1,bit -ernel cannot.
A6S is optimi3ed for the >1,bit -ernel, and )ill run on >1,bit and DC,bit hard)are. *nhanced A6S is optimi3ed to run on
the DC,bit -ernel, allo)ing it to ta-e advantage of DC,bit functionality.
:ournalin!
7efore )riting actual data, a &ournaling file system logs the metadata, thus incurring an overhead penalty that slo)s )rite
throughput. One )ay of improving performance under A6S is to disable metadata logging by using the nointe!rity mount
option. =ote that the enhanced performance is achieved at the e+pense of metadata integrity. Therefore, use this option
)ith e+treme caution because a system crash can ma-e a file system mounted )ith this option unrecoverable.
In contrast to A6S, *nhanced A6S does not allo) you to disable metadata logging. Io)ever, the implementation of
&ournaling on *nhanced A6S ma-es it more suitable to handle metadata,intensive applications. Thus, the performance
penalty is not as high under *nhanced A6S as it is under A6S.
Directory or!ani8ation
An inde+ node, or i,node, is a data structure that stores all file and directory properties. 4hen a program loo-s up a file,
it searches for the appropriate i,node by loo-ing up a file name in a directory. 7ecause these operations are performed
often, the mechanism used for searching is of particular importance.
A6S employs a linear organi3ation for its directories, thus ma-ing searches linear as )ell. In contrast, *nhanced A6S
employs a binary tree representation for directories, thus greatly accelerating access to files.
<calin!
The main advantage of using *nhanced A6S over A6S is scaling. *nhanced A6S provides the capability to store much larger
files than the e+isting A6S. The ma+imum si3e of a file under A6S is DC gigabytes. Jnder *nhanced A6S, AI currently
supports files up to 0D terabytes in si3e, although the file system architecture is set up to eventually handle file si3es of
up to C petabytes.
;unction :;< >nhance% :;<
Optimi3ation >1,bit -ernel DC,bit -ernel
Ma+imum file system si3e 0 terabyte C petabytes
0
Ma+imum file si3e DC gigabytes C petabytes
0
=umber of I,nodes 6i+ed at file system creation Dynamic, limited by dis- space
5arge file support As mount option Default
Online defragmentation Fes Fes
=amefs Fes Fes
DMA.I =o Fes
Compression Fes =o
Kuotas Fes Fes
Deferred update Fes =o
Direct I'O support Fes Fes
2". What #o!ical Partitionin! (#P+3)?
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A logical partition #5.A<$ is the division of a computerLs processors, memory, and hard)are resources into
multiple environments so that each environment can be operated independently )ith its o)n operating system
and applications. The number of logical partitions that can be created depends on the systemLs processor model
and resources available. Typically, partitions are used for different purposes, such as database operation,
client'server operations, 4eb server operations, test environments, and production environments. *ach partition
can communicate )ith the other partitions as if each partition is a separate machine.
27. What is Dynamic #o!ical Partitionin! (D#P+3)?
.rior to the enablement of D5.A<, you rebooted a partition to add additional resources to a system. D5.A<
increases the fle+ibility of logically partitioned systems by allo)ing you to dynamically add and remove
processors, memory, I'O slots, and I'O dra)ers from active logical partitions. Fou can reassign hard)are
resources and ad&ust to changing system capacity demands )ithout impacting the availability of the partition.
Fou can perform the follo)ing basic operations )ith D5.A<!
Move a resource from one partition to another
<emove a resource from a partition
Add a resource to a partition
.rocessors, memory, and I'O slots that are not currently assigned to a partition e+ist in a Mfree pool.M *+isting
partitions on the system have no visibility to the other partitions on the system or the free pool. 4ith D5.A<,
)hen you remove a processor from an active partition, the system releases it to the pool, and that processor can
then be added to an active partition. 4hen a processor is added to an active partition, it has full access to all of
the partition@s memory, I'O address space, and I'O interrupts. The processor can participate completely in that
partition@s )or-load.

2$. What is Micro Partitionin!?

5ogical partitions allo) you to run multiple operating systems on the same system )ithout interference. .rior to
AI 9.>, you )ere not able to share processors among the different partitions. Starting )ith AI 9.>, you can use
shared processor partitions, or S.5.A<, also -no)n as Micro,.artitioning.
Micro,.artitioning maps virtual processors to physical processors and the virtual processors are assigned to the
partitions instead of the physical processors. Fou can use the Iypervisor to specify )hat percentage of processor
usage to grant to the shared partitions, )hich is defined as an entitlement. The minimum processor entitlement is
0/N.
Fou can reali3e the follo)ing advantages )ith micro partitioning!
Optimal resource utili3ation
<apid deployment of ne) servers
Application isolation
Micro,.artitioning is available on .O4*<9,based pSeries systems. It is possible to run a variety of partitions )ith
varying levels of operating systems, but you can only use Micro,.artitioning on partitions running AI 9.> or later.
2*. What are the ne5 'eatures o' +?@ .3?
4ar%5are support
AI 95 %ersion 9.> supports the follo)ing .O4*<9 hard)are features!
Micro,.artitioning! Allo)s a single processor to be shared by up to 0/ partitions and supports up to 19C such
partitions.
%irtual I'O! Supports the I'O needs of client partitions #AIH and 5inu+O$ )ithout having to dedicate separate
I'O slots for net)or- connections and storage devices for each client partition. Fou can boot and run the
partitions from %irtual SCSI devices and achieve net)or- connections using the %irtual *thernet and Shared
*thernet Adapter.
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%irtual SCSI! <educes the need for dedicated physical dis- resources for client partitions.
%irtual *thernet! Supports in,memory net)or- connections bet)een partitions and reduces or eliminates the
need for separate physical *thernet adapters, e+cept for e+ternal connections. Security of partition,to,partition
communications is guaranteed by uni8ue %5A= configurations.
Shared *thernet! <educes the need for physical *thernet adapters by providing a )ay to move net)or- traffic
outside the server by routing it through a soft)are,based layer 1 s)itch running in the I'O Server partition.
Shared *thernet Adapter #S*A$ 6ailover! .rovides Shared *thernet Adapter Iigh Availability by offering the ability
to create a bac-up S*A on a different %irtual I'O server that )ill bridge, should the primary S*A become inactive
#9>//,/>$.
SMT! %ersion 9.> supports the SMT mode of .O4*<9 processors. 4hen you enable this mode, a single physical
.O4*<9 processor appears to the operating system to be t)o logical processors, independent of the partition
type. A partition )ith one dedicated processor )ould behave as a logical 1,)ay by default. A shared partition
)ith t)o virtual processors )ould behave as a logical C,)ay by default. Fou can turn the mode on or off for a
specific partition either immediately or on a subse8uent boot of the system.
Integrated %irtuali3ation Manager! .rovides logical partitioning support )ithout an IMC by integrating
functionality into the %irtual I'O Server partition. Supports entry pSeriesH and Open.o)erO servers )ith S61>9
firm)are. All I'O is virtuali3ed using the I7M %irtual I'O Server. .rovides a subset of the IMC service functionality
and a 4eb,based interface )ith seamless integration of 5.A< and virtual I'O management #9>//,/>$.
<tora!e mana!ement
Scalable volume groups
AI 95 %ersion 9.> offers a ne) volume group type called scalable volume group #%2$. The scalable %2 can
accommodate a ma+imum of 0/1C physical volumes and raises the limit for the number of logical volumes #5%s$
to C/PD. The ma+imum number of physical partitions #..s$ is no longer defined on a per dis- basis, but applies
to the entire %2. The scalable %2 can hold up to 1,/P:,091 #1/CQ R$ ..s. The range of the .. si3e starts at 0 M7
and goes up to 0>0,/:1 #01Q 27$, )hich is more than t)o orders of magnitude above the 0/1C #0 27$ ma+imum
available in AI 95 %ersion 9.1.
.erformance improvement of 5%M commands
A large number of changes and enhancements have been implemented in AI 95 %ersion 9.> to reduce the
e+ecution times of the follo)ing 5%M commands!
o e+tendvg
o importvg
o m-vg
o varyonvg
o chlvcopy
o m-lvcopy
o lslv
o lspv
<emoval of classical concurrent mode support
The support for classical concurrent mode %2s has been removed from AI 95 %ersion 9.>. 4hen trying to import
a classical concurrent mode %2, an error message informs the system administrator to convert the %2 to an
enhanced concurrent mode capable %2.
Dis- 8uotas support for A6S1
AI 95 %ersion 9.> e+tends the A6S1 functionality by implementing dis- usage 8uotas to control usage of
persistent storage.
Dis- 8uotas might be set for individual users or groups on a per file system basis.
Shrin- a file system
AI 95 %ersion 9.> supports shrin-ing a A6S1 file system. 4hen the si3e of the file system is decreased, the 5% on
)hich the file system resides is also decreased.
3elia(ility7 +,aila(ility7 <er,icea(ility
*rror log hardening
An error log might occasionally get corrupted )hen a system is terminated )ithout stopping error logging. The
current recovery strategy is to ma-e a copy of the log and then reset the log as if it )ere a ne) log, rather than
attempt to recover the e+isting log entries. AI 95 %ersion 9.> introduces a recovery method )herein the log is
recovered )hen the errdemon is started. It chec-s for the error log consistency. If the errdemon detects a
corrupted error log, it ma-es a bac-up copy of the e+isting error log file to 'tmp'errlog.save and then repairs the
e+isting log.
System dump enhancements
Dump information is displayed on the TTF during the creation of the system dump.
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6ollo)ing a system crash, there e+ist scenarios )here a system dump might crash or fail )ithout one byte of
data )ritten out to the dump device. 6or cases )here a failed dump doesn@t include the dump minimal table, the
failures cannot be easily diagnosed. In AI 95 %ersion 9.>, the dump procedure is enhanced to use the =%<AM to
store minimal dump information. In case the dump fails, you can use the sysdumpdev ,v5 command to discover
the reason for the failure.
Per'ormance mana!ement
AI 95 %ersion 9.> has introduced a ne) command called lparstat. It provides a report of partition,related
information and utili3ation statistics. If run in a micro,partition, information li-e! number of physical processors
consumed, percentage of the entitled capacity consumed, percentage of logical processor#s$ utili3ation that
occurred )hile e+ecuting at the user and system level, and available physical processors in the shared pool are
sho)n.
AI 95 %ersion 9.> has introduced a ne) command called mpstat. It collects and displays performance statistics
for all logical C.Js in the system. 4hen the mpstat command is invo-ed, it displays t)o sections of statistics.
The first section displays the system configuration, )hich is displayed )hen the command starts and )henever
there is a change in the system configuration. The second section displays the utili3ation statistics, )hich )ill be
displayed at user,specified intervals and at any time the values of these metrics are deltas from the previous
interval.
The topas tool has been enhanced to )or- for micro,partitions. 6or such partitions, topas report on the number
of physical processors and percentage of entitled capacity granted to the partitions. The tool has also been
enhanced to display C*C monitoring screen #9>//,/>$.
The vmstat, iostat, and sar commands have been enhanced to support Micro,.artitioning and SMT environments.
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