AIX commands you should not leave home without

Skill Level: Intermediate

Shiv Dutta
Senior Software Engineer
IBM

14 Oct 2008

Do you ever wish you could answer some of your own questions when you work with
AIX® and your System p® server? Do you ever feel you could save time by not
having to call on the support professionals all the time? Well, wish no more. Shiv
Dutta discusses some of the AIX commands that answer those questions and tells
you how to enlarge the list of such answers.

Introduction
As you know, AIX has a vast array of commands that enable you to do a multitude of
tasks. Depending on what you need to accomplish, you use only a certain subset of
these commands. These subsets differ from user to user and from need to need.
However, there are a few core commands that you commonly use. You need these
commands either to answer your own questions or to provide answers to the queries
of the support professionals.

In this article, I'll discuss some of these core commands. The intent is to provide a
list that you can use as a ready reference. While the behavior of these commands
should be identical in all releases of AIX, they have been only tested under AIX
V5.3.

Note:
The bootinfo command discussed in the following paragraphs is NOT a user-level
command and is NOT supported in AIX V4.2 or later.

Commands

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Kernel

How would I know if I am running a 32-bit kernel or 64-bit kernel?

To display if the kernel is 32-bit enabled or 64-bit enabled, type:

bootinfo -K

How do I know if I am running a uniprocessor kernel or a multiprocessor

kernel?

/unix is a symbolic link to the booted kernel. To find out what kernel mode is
running, enter ls -l /unix and see what file /unix it links to. The following are
the three possible outputs from the ls -l /unix command and their
corresponding kernels:

/unix -> /usr/lib/boot/unix_up # 32 bit uniprocessor kernel

/unix -> /usr/lib/boot/unix_mp # 32 bit multiprocessor kernel
/unix -> /usr/lib/boot/unix_64 # 64 bit multiprocessor kernel

Note:
AIX 5L Version 5.3 does not support a uniprocessor kernel.

How can I change from one kernel mode to another?

During the installation process, one of the kernels, appropriate for the AIX version
and the hardware in operation, is enabled by default. Use the method from the
previous question and assume that the 32-bit kernel is enabled. Also assume that
you want to boot it up in the 64-bit kernel mode. This can be done by executing the
following commands in sequence:

ln -sf /usr/lib/boot/unix_64 /unix

ln -sf /usr/lib/boot/unix_64 /usr/lib/boot/unix
bosboot -ad /dev/hdiskxx
shutdown -r

The /dev/hdiskxx directory is where the boot logical volume /dev/hd5 is located. To
find out what xx is in hdiskxx, run the following command:

lslv -m hd5

Note:
In AIX V5.2, the 32-bit kernel is installed by default. In AIX V5.3, the 64-bit kernel is
installed on 64-bit hardware and the 32-bit kernel is installed on 32-bit hardware by

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default.

Hardware

How do I know if my machine is capable of running AIX 5L Version 5.3?

AIX 5L Version 5.3 runs on all currently supported CHRP (Common Hardware
Reference Platform)-based POWER™ hardware.

How do I know if my machine is CHRP-based?

Run the prtconf command. If it's a CHRP machine, the string chrp appears on
the Model Architecture line.

How do I know if my System p machine (hardware) is 32-bit or 64-bit?

To display if the hardware is 32-bit or 64-bit, type:

bootinfo -y

How much real memory does my machine have?

To display real memory in kilobytes (KB), type one of the following:

bootinfo -r

lsattr -El sys0 -a realmem

Can my machine run the 64-bit kernel?

64-bit hardware is required to run the 64-bit kernel.

What are the values of attributes for devices in my system?

To list the current values of the attributes for the tape device, rmt0, type:

lsattr -l rmt0 -E

To list the default values of the attributes for the tape device, rmt0, type:

lsattr -l rmt0 -D

To list the possible values of the login attribute for the TTY device, tty0, type:

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lsattr -l tty0 -a login -R

To display system level attributes, type:

lsattr -E -l sys0

How many processors does my system have?

To display the number of processors on your system, type:

lscfg | grep proc

How many hard disks does my system have and which ones are in use?

To display the number of hard disks on your system, type:

lspv

How do I list information about a specific physical volume?

To find details about hdisk1, for example, run the following command:

lspv hdisk1

How do I get a detailed configuration of my system?

Type the following:

lscfg

The following options provide specific information:

-p Displays platform-specific device information.
The flag is applicable to AIX V4.2.1 or later.
-v Displays the VPD (Vital Product Database) found
in the customized VPD object class.

For example, to display details about the tape drive, rmt0, type:

lscfg -vl rmt0

You can obtain similar information by running the prtconf command.

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How do I find out the chip type, system name, node name, model number, and
so forth?

The uname command provides details about your system.

uname -p Displays the chip type of the system. For
example, PowerPC®.
uname -r Displays the release number of the operating
system.
uname -s Displays the system name. For example, AIX.
uname -n Displays the name of the node.
uname -a Displays the system name, nodename, version,
machine ID.
uname -M Displays the system model name. For example,
IBM, 9114-275.
uname -v Displays the operating system version.
uname -m Displays the machine ID number of the hardware
running the system.
uname -u Displays the system ID number.

AIX

What version, release, and maintenance level of AIX is running on my system?

Type one of the following:

oslevel -r

lslpp -h bos.rte

How can I determine which fileset updates are missing from a particular AIX
level?

To determine which fileset updates are missing from 5300-04, for example, run the
following command:

oslevel -rl 5300-04

What SP (Service Pack) is installed on my system?

To see which SP is currently installed on the system, run the oslevel -s

command. Sample output for an AIX 5L Version 5.3 system, with TL4, and SP2

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installed, would be:

oslevel –s
5300-04-02

Is a CSP (Concluding Service Pack) installed on my system?

To see if a CSP is currently installed on the system, run the oslevel -s command.
Sample output for an AIX 5L Version 5.3 system, with TL3, and CSP installed, would
be:

oslevel –s
5300-03-CSP

How do I create a file system?

The following command will create, within volume group testvg, a jfs file system of
10MB with mounting point /fs1:

crfs -v jfs -g testvg -a size=10M -m /fs1

The following command will create, within volume group testvg, a jfs2 file system of
10MB with mounting point /fs2 and having read-only permissions:

crfs -v jfs2 -g testvg -a size=10M -p ro -m /fs2

How do I change the size of a file system?

To increase the /usr file system size by 1000000 512-byte blocks, type:

chfs -a size=+1000000 /usr

Note:
In AIX V5.3, the size of a JFS2 file system can be shrunk, as well.

How do I mount a CD?

Type the following:

mount -V cdrfs -o ro /dev/cd0 /cdrom

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How do I mount a file system?

The following command will mount file system /dev/fslv02 on the /test directory:

mount /dev/fslv02 /test

How do I mount all default file systems (all standard file systems in the
/etc/filesystems file marked by the mount=true attribute)?

The following command will mount all such file systems:

mount {-a|all}

How do I unmount a file system?

Type the following command to unmount /test file system:

umount /test

How do I display mounted file systems?

Type the following command to display information about all currently mounted file
systems:

mount

How do I remove a file system?

Type the following command to remove the /test file system:

rmfs /test

How can I defragment a file system?

The defragfs command can be used to improve or report the status of contiguous
space within a file system. For example, to defragment the file system /home, use
the following command:

defragfs /home

Which fileset contains a particular binary?

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To show bos.acct contains /usr/bin/vmstat, type:

lslpp -w /usr/bin/vmstat

Or to show bos.perf.tools contains /usr/bin/svmon, type:

which_fileset svmon

How do I display information about installed filesets on my system?

Type the following:

lslpp -l

How do I determine if all filesets of maintenance levels are installed on my

system?

Type the following:

instfix -i | grep ML

How do I determine if a fix is installed on my system?

To determine if IY24043 is installed, type:

instfix -ik IY24043

How do I install an individual fix by APAR?

To install APAR IY73748 from /dev/cd0, for example, enter the command:

instfix -k IY73748 -d /dev/cd0

How do I verify if filesets have required prerequisites and are completely

installed?

To show which filesets need to be installed or corrected, type:

lppchk -v

How do I get a dump of the header of the loader section and the symbol
entries in symbolic representation?

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Type the following:

dump -Htv

How do I determine the amount of paging space allocated and in use?

Type the following:

lsps -a

How do I increase a paging space?

You can use the chps -s command to dynamically increase the size of a paging
space. For example, if you want to increase the size of hd6 with 3 logical partitions,
you issue the following command:

chps -s 3 hd6

How do I reduce a paging space?

You can use the chps -d command to dynamically reduce the size of a paging
space. For example, if you want to decrease the size of hd6 with four logical
partitions, you issue the following command:

chps -d 4 hd6

How would I know if my system is capable of using Simultaneous

Multi-threading (SMT)?

Your system is capable of SMT if it's a POWER5®-based system running AIX 5L

Version 5.3.

How would I know if SMT is enabled for my system?

If you run the smtctl command without any options, it tells you if it's enabled or not.

Is SMT supported for the 32-bit kernel?

Yes, SMT is supported for both 32-bit and 64-bit kernel.

How do I enable or disable SMT?

You can enable or disable SMT by running the smtctl command. The following is

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the syntax:

smtctl [ -m off | on [ -w boot | now]]

The following options are available:

-m off Sets SMT mode to disabled.

-m on Sets SMT mode to enabled.
-w boot Makes the SMT mode change effective on next
and subsequent reboots if you run the bosboot
command before the next system reboot.
-w now Makes the SMT mode change immediately but
will not persist across reboot.

If neither the -w boot or the -w now options are specified, then the mode change is
made immediately. It persists across subsequent reboots if you run the bosboot
command before the next system reboot.

How do I get partition-specific information and statistics?

The lparstat command provides a report of partition information and utilization

statistics. This command also provides a display of Hypervisor information.

Volume groups and logical volumes

How do I know if my volume group is normal, big, or scalable?

Run the lsvg command on the volume group and look at the value for MAX PVs.
The value is 32 for normal, 128 for big, and 1024 for scalable volume group.

How can I create a volume group?

Use the following command, where s partition_size sets the number of megabytes
(MB) in each physical partition where the partition_size is expressed in units of MB
from 1 through 1024. (It's 1 through 131072 for AIX V5.3.) The partition_size variable
must be equal to a power of 2 (for example: 1, 2, 4, 8). The default value for
standard and big volume groups is the lowest value to remain within the limitation of
1016 physical partitions per physical volume. The default value for scalable volume
groups is the lowest value to accommodate 2040 physical partitions per physical
volume.

mkvg -y name_of_volume_group -s partition_size list_of_hard_disks

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How can I change the characteristics of a volume group?

You use the following command to change the characteristics of a volume group:

chvg

How do I create a logical volume?

Type the following:

mklv -y name_of_logical_volume name_of_volume_group number_of_partition

How do I increase the size of a logical volume?

To increase the size of the logical volume represented by the lv05 directory by three
logical partitions, for example, type:

extendlv lv05 3

How do I display all logical volumes that are part of a volume group (for
example, rootvg)?

You can display all logical volumes that are part of rootvg by typing the following
command:

lsvg -l rootvg

How do I list information about logical volumes?

Run the following command to display information about the logical volume lv1:

lslv lv1

How do I remove a logical volume?

You can remove the logical volume lv7 by running the following command:

rmlv lv7

The rmlv command removes only the logical volume, but does not remove other

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entities, such as file systems or paging spaces that were using the logical volume.

How do I mirror a logical volume?

1. mklvcopy LogicalVolumeName Numberofcopies

2. syncvg VolumeGroupName

How do I remove a copy of a logical volume?

You can use the rmlvcopy command to remove copies of logical partitions of a
logical volume. To reduce the number of copies of each logical partition belonging to
logical volume testlv, enter:

rmlvcopy testlv 2

Each logical partition in the logical volume now has at most two physical partitions.

Queries about volume groups

To show volume groups in the system, type:

lsvg

To show all the characteristics of rootvg, type:

lsvg rootvg

To show disks used by rootvg, type:

lsvg -p rootvg

How to add a disk to a volume group?

Type the following:

extendvg VolumeGroupName hdisk0 hdisk1 ... hdiskn

How do I find out what the maximum supported logical track group (LTG) size
of my hard disk?

You can use the lquerypv command with the -M flag. The output gives the LTG
size in KB. For instance, the LTG size for hdisk0 in the following example is 256KB.

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/usr/sbin/lquerypv -M hdisk0
256

You can also run the lspv command on the hard disk and look at the value for MAX
REQUEST.

What does the syncvg command do?

The syncvg command is used to synchronize stale physical partitions. It accepts

names of logical volumes, physical volumes, or volume groups as parameters.

For example, to synchronize the physical partitions located on physical volumes

hdisk6 and hdisk7, use:

syncvg -p hdisk4 hdisk5

To synchronize all physical partitions from volume group testvg, use:

syncvg -v testvg

How do I replace a disk?

1. extendvg VolumeGroupName hdisk_new

2. migratepv hdisk_bad hdisk_new

3. reducevg -d VolumeGroupName hdisk_bad

How can I clone (make a copy of) the rootvg?

You can run the alt_disk_copy command to copy the current rootvg to an
alternate disk. The following example shows how to clone the rootvg to hdisk1.

alt_disk_copy -d hdisk1

Network

How can I display or set values for network parameters?

The no command sets or displays current or next boot values for network tuning
parameters.

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How do I get the IP address of my machine?

Type one of the following:

ifconfig -a
host Fully_Qualified_Host_Name

For example, type host cyclop.austin.ibm.com.

How do I identify the network interfaces on my server?

Either of the following two commands will display the network interfaces:

lsdev -Cc if

ifconfig -a

To get information about one specific network interface, for example, tr0, run the
command:

ifconfig tr0

How do I activate a network interface?

To activate the network interface tr0, run the command:

ifconfig tr0 up

How do I deactivate a network interface?

For example, to deactivate the network interface tr0, run the command:

ifconfig tr0 down

How do I display routing table, interface, and protocol information?

To display routing table information for an Internet interface, type:

netstat -r -f inet

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To display interface information for an Internet interface, type:

netstat -i -f inet

To display statistics for each protocol, type:

netstat -s -f inet

How do I record packets received or transmitted?

To record packets coming in and going out to any host on every interface, enter:

iptrace /tmp/nettrace

The trace information is placed into the /tmp/nettrace file.

To record packets received on an interface en0 from a remote host airmail over the
telnet port, enter:

iptrace -i en0 -p telnet -s airmail /tmp/telnet.trace

The trace information is placed into the /tmp/telnet.trace file.

Workload partitions

How do I create a workload partition?

To create a workload partition named temp with the IP Address xxx.yyy.zzz.nnn,

type:

mkwpar -n temp -N address= xxx.yyy.zzz.nnn

To create a workload partition with the specification file wpar1.spec, type:

mkwpar -f /tmp/wpar1.spec

How do I create a new specification file for an existing workload partition

wpar1?

To create a specification file wpar2.spec for an existing workload partition wpar1,

type:

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mkwpar -e wpar1 -o /tmp/wpar2.spec -w

How do I start a workload partition?

To start the workload partition called temp, type:

startwpar temp

How do I stop a workload partition?

To stop the workload partition called temp, type:

stopwpar temp

How do I view the characteristics of workload partitions?

To view the characteristics of all workload partitions, type:

lswpar
Name State Type Hostname Directory
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
bar A S bar.austin.ibm.com /wpars/bar
foo D S foo.austin.ibm.com /wpars/foo
trigger A A trigger /

How do I log in to a workload partition?

To log in to the workload partition named wpar1 as user foo, type:

clogin wpar1 -l foo

How do I run a command in a workload partition?

To run the /usr/bin/ps command as user root in a workload partition named howdy,
type:

clogin howdy -l root /usr/bin/ps

How do I remove a workload partition?

To remove the workload partition called temp, type:

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rmwpar temp

To stop and remove the workload partition called temp preserving data on its file
system, type:

rmwpar -p -s temp

Note: Workload Partitions (WPARs), a set of completely new software-based system

virtualization features, were introduced in IBM AIX Version 6.1.

Performance monitoring tools

How do I display virtual memory statistics?

To display a summary of the virtual memory statistics since boot, type:

vmstat

To display five summaries at 2-second intervals, type:

vmstat 2 5

To display a summary of the statistics for all of the workload partitions after boot,
type:

vmstat -@ ALL

To display all of the virtual memory statistics available for all of the workload
partitions, type:

vmstat -vs -@ ALL

How do I display statistics for all TTY, CPU, and Disks?

To display a single set of statistics for all TTY, CPU, and Disks since boot, type:

iostat

To display a continuous disk report at 2-second intervals for the disk with the logical
name disk1, type:

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iostat -d disk1 2

To display 6 reports at 2-second intervals for the disk with the logical name disk1,
type:

iostat disk1 2 6

To display 6 reports at 2-second intervals for all disks, type:

iostat -d 2 6

To display only file system statistics for all workload partitions, type:

iostat -F -@ ALL

To display system throughput of all workload partitions along with the system, type:

iostat -s -@ ALL

How do I display detailed local and remote system statistics?

Type the following command:

topas

To go directly to the process display, enter:

topas -P

To go directly to the logical partition display, enter:

topas -L

To go directly to the disk metric display, enter:

topas -D

To go directly to the file system display, enter:

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topas -F

How do I report system unit activity?

Type the following command:

sar

To report processor activity for the first two processors, enter:

sar -u -P 0,1

This produces output similar to the following:

cpu %usr %sys %wio %idle

0 45 45 5 5
1 27 65 3 5

Conclusion
Admittedly, a list such as this can be helpful in quickly answering some of your own
questions. However, it does not cover everything that you might need. You can
extend the usefulness of such a list by adding other commands that answer
additional questions not addressed here.

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Resources
Learn
• AIX Information Center: This site provides the latest documentation on AIX.
• Introduction to Workload Partition Management in IBM AIX Version 6.1: This
Redbook presents Workload Partitions (WPARs), a set of completely new
software-based system virtualization features introduced in IBM AIX Version
6.1.
• The AIX and UNIX developerWorks zone provides a wealth of information
relating to all aspects of AIX systems administration and expanding your UNIX
skills.
• developerWorks technical events and webcasts: Stay current with
developerWorks technical events and webcasts.
• AIX Wiki: Visit this collaborative environment for technical information related to
AIX.
• Podcasts: Tune in and catch up with IBM technical experts.
• Browse the technology bookstore for books on these and other technical topics.
Get products and technologies
• IBM trial software: Build your next development project with software for
download directly from developerWorks.
Discuss
• Participate in the AIX and UNIX forums:
• AIX Forum
• AIX Forum for developers
• Cluster Systems Management
• IBM Support Assistant Forum
• Performance Tools Forum
• Virtualization Forum
• More AIX and UNIX Forums
• AIX Networking

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About the author

Shiv Dutta
Shiv Dutta is a Senior Software Engineer in the IBM Systems and Technology Group,
where he assists independent software vendors with the enablement of their
applications on System p servers. He has co-authored a couple of IBM Redbooks on
AIX. You can reach him at sdutta@us.ibm.com.

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