AIX 5.2L media

[foobar13]

I have two sets of install CD's for AIX 5.2, both of which are missing a single CD. This is very frustrating. I'm wanting to migrate our AIX 5.2L installations to WPARs under AIX 7.1, and I'd like to do a clean 5.2 install.

The sets I have are the 11/2004 pressing, LCD4_1133_06, and the 08/2004 pressing, LCD4_1133_04.

I'm missing volume 5 from the 11/2004 pressing; it should have a CD label of LCD4_1133_06_VOLUME5.

I'm missing volume 1 from the 08/2004 pressing; it should have a CD label of LCD4_1133_04_VOLUME1.

There's a nice page describing the releases here:

http://www.cschwab.de/AIX_Docs/AIX_5_2_CDs_Reference_Sheet/aix_5_2_cds_reference_sheet.html

IBM can't/won't help because AIX 5.2 is long out of support. Nobody else in my organization seems to have media anymore.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[DukeSSD]

I didn't think you could do a clean 5.2 install in a WPAR, I thought they only supported migration installs - from an existing system.

Given the hassle of clean installing on AIX 5.2 supporting hardware and then migrating, along with the cost overhead of WPARs:

http://passivenet.com/server/aix-7-1-moves-forward-to-power7-iron

"$60 per core on small Power machines, $170 per core on medium machines, and $310 per core on large machines"

- and AIX 7.1 being binary compatible with AIX 5.2, is it worth the trouble?

 

[foobar13]

Thinking logically isn't helping the situation.

1) The client is a large government organization.

2) The client is vendor-locked into AIX 5.2 because that is the end-of-the-road in the application's support matrix.

IBM has recognized that enough of its clients are in the exact position that they have not only provided "versioned WPAR's", but come up with a supported PowerHA configuration under AIX 7.1 to run them. Can you believe it?

The guys that originally installed AIX 5.2 on our ancient (and now gone) p690's did a pretty poor job of it. We're going to be stuck on this platform for the foreseeable future and I was hoping to do a clean install to fix all those little problems that have been bugging us for over 6 years.

Maybe I care too much.

But then again, maybe I'm too lazy. I probably should have done the clean install when I got the systems and AIX 5.2 was still supported. I never thought that the application would linger this long.

Nevertheless, you are correct, wpar-5.2 can only be established from a mksysb of a functioning system. That's what's going to happen if I can't resolve this soon.

Thanks,
Foo

 

[mrn]

I'll have a look through my many copies of old AIX cd's this weekend, if I've got one of the missing one's; I'll burn you an ISO and upload it somewhere. Will let you know.

Mike

"Whenever I dwell for any length of time on my own shortcomings, they gradually begin to seem mild, harmless, rather engaging little things, not at all like the staring defects in other people's characters."

 

[DukeSSD]

foobar13,

Logic always applies.

So "A" government is now leaning on the likes of your company / your reputation to "procure" some "lost" licensed install media to migrate their "end-of-the-road" software. Hmm, wouldn't be the UK government by any chance?

AIX 5.2 went EOS in 2009, April, but 5.2 service extensions are available until just about the end of 2011 so just tell them to stump up for some IBM support extension or they are bust!

They'll only need to buy it on the one box to get their hands on the media refresh.

HTH.

 

[foobar13]

Fixor'd.

I found a copy of LCD4-1133-02, the 05/2003 pressing in the back of a cabinet. Funny quirk with this pressing: Each CD has a label of LCD4_1133_02_VOLUME1. But, it's complete.

Now I have a clean full install of AIX 5.2.

DukeSSD, you make a good point. The whole reason the client wanted to stay in the supported matrix, despite the fact that neither the application nor the OS have been in support for quite some time is because if something were to go wrong, the chances of finding a solution are greatly improved. You can still Google about it, but if one were to deviate from the support matrix, then the odds of finding a canned solution diminish.

Now enter WPAR-5.2. Is running the application in this new environment really providing the benefit I just mentioned? Why not just run it on AIX 7.1 and regression test the hell out of it? And then spot check after every patch bundle? Is WPAR-5.2 really just like running inside a true AIX 5.2 system? Having read over what the WPAR installer does, I don't think it's an exact AIX 5.2 install.

As well, adding WPARs adds complexity to the system, which can only have a negative impact on uptime.

Not that it matters. The client's already decided which direction to take.

BTW, not UK, but from judging from the Register, it probably could have been.

Thanks for your attention and help.

Foo

 

[DukeSSD]

Good luck Foo,

I'm glad you found your disks.

Please let us know how it works out, both your "clean install" and the whole wpar 5.2 on 7.1 experience - maybe in a new thread though.

Duke.