Upgrade procedures

[ogniemi]

Hello,

Is it right way upgrading AIX 5.2 from ML_00 (or not complete ML_01) to ML_02 directly? Or maybe better is to do it sequentially 1)ML00 -> 2)ML01 -> 3)ML02? If yes, should system be rebooted just after ML01 is installed and just before ML02 installation?

Is it right way to put all latest fixes got from IBM Fixes site to ML_02 directory and recreate .toc in the dir?

thx in advance,
regards,m.

 

[Asp7479]

You can upgrade from one ML_00 to ML_02 with out going through the ML_01. The thing you may want to see is the prerequistes. As long as you meet those requiremtns it is a painless upgrade. Also, It is a good idea to do a reboot after any upgrades, since any maintenance level upgrade will change the way kernel acts.

 

[bi]

Other recommendations:

Be sure to do a mksysb before you apply the maintenance level. And make a second mksysb (on a different tape than the first) after you apply the maintenance level.

Select the options to not commit the the changes AND to save the old files. This makes it easier to back out of an upgrade. When you apply the next maintenance level, be sure to commit the previous level (not entirely necessary, but keeps things tidy).

If you download new fixes from IBM to an existing directory you used to install something, yes, you must delete the .toc so installp can regenerate a new one. If you don't delete .toc, the system won't know the new filesets are there.

However, to keep things straight, I usually download filesets to different directories. ML01, ML02, etc. After they are installed, I delete the download directories.

 

[ogniemi]

> However, to keep things straight, I usually download filesets to different directories. ML01, ML02, etc. After they are installed, I delete the download directories.


I would like to keep downloaded fixes in the same directory ML02 is located in to avoid multiple reboots of the machine.
If it is stored in different directory and I would install ML02, afterwards I have to reboot, then install downloaded fixes and reboot again. It lengthens outage on production - I would like to avoid it.

Of course (as you also suggested) I perform system backups everytime before I do update.

best regards, m.