Update manager task for AIX fails though operating system levels are updated correctly

Explanation

The update manager for AIX extension deems an update installation successful when both of the following conditions are satisfied:

• The nimclient command completes with a return code of zero.
• The oslevel -s command returns a value that matches the expected AIX level.

The update manager for AIX extension uses the nimclient command to update AIX. This process installs AIX file sets in the update package. If one or more file sets are not correctly installed, the installp command fails with a nonzero return code. Update manager then considers the task not totally successful and sets the status of the task to "Complete with errors".

The result of the oslevel -s command returns the AIX operating system level. The command checks only certain file sets, though, and some are overlooked. So, even if the level of the AIX operating system appears to be updated when you use this method to check it, some file sets in the update package were potentially still not installed correctly.

Resolution

If the installp command returns a status of "Complete with errors" when you apply updates to AIX, run the oslevel -s command on the target system to see if the level value has changed, then take the appropriate action depending on the results:

The level value has changed

If the level value has changed, then most likely the major updates were applied successfully but some packages failed to install. Packages can fail to install for many reasons, including because prerequisites are missing or the packages were not previously installed and therefore not eligible for update. Complete either or both of the following sets of steps to determine and solve the problem:

Check the logs

1. See the /var/adm/ras/nim.installp log file for details about the packages that failed. The following example excerpt from that file shows clustering packages that were not applied because they were not previously installed on the operating system:

   cluster.hativoli.server   5.5.0.0   USR    APPLY     FAILED
   cluster.hativoli.server   5.5.0.0   USR    CLEANUP   SUCCESS
   cluster.hativoli.client   5.5.0.0   USR    APPLY     FAILED
   cluster.es.server.rte     5.5.0.0   ROOT   APPLY     FAILED
   cluster.es.server.rte     5.5.0.0   ROOT   CLEANUP   FAILED

   This information is usually located at the end of the log file, or you can search the log file for the name of the file set.
2. Take the appropriate action based on what you find in the log file.

Check for missing file sets

1. Run the instfix -i | grep ML command to list all levels and whether all file sets were found for each. For example, you will receive the following output if you cannot reach level 6100-06:

   #instfix -i | grep ML
       All filesets for 6100-00_AIX_ML were found.
       All filesets for 6100-01_AIX_ML were found.
       All filesets for 6100-02_AIX_ML were found.
       All filesets for 6100-03_AIX_ML were found.
       All filesets for 6100-04_AIX_ML were found.
       All filesets for 6100-05_AIX_ML were found.
       Not all filesets for 6100-06_AIX_ML were found.

2. Run the oslevel -rl level_ID command, where level_ID is the ID of the level for which not all file sets were found, to list the missing file sets for that level. For example, you will receive the following output it you run the command to determine which file sets are missing from level 6100-06:

   #oslevel -rl 6100-06
   Fileset             Actual Level        Recommended ML
   ------------------------------------------------------
   Java6.sdk           6.0.0.200           6.0.0.215

   In this example, Java6.sdk version 6.0.0.215 was missed, so the operating system cannot reach level 6100-06 and it remains at 6100-06-05-1115.
3. Update manager failed to install whichever file set is listed, so you need to install it manually. Go to Fix Central and enter in all the applicable information for your missing file set to determine which .bff file contains the missing file set. For example, to manually install Java6.sdk, select "AIX" for the product group, "6.1" for the version, and "Fix search" for the fix type. Enter "Java™ 6 sdk" in the search field and select "Fileset information" as the document type. Follow the link that is provided to find that the individual fix is U831435 (U831435.bff).
4. Run the following command on the NIM master to find the needed .bff file:

   # find /export/um_lpp_source/ -name fix_name.bff
   /export/um_lpp_source/path1_to_fix/fix_name.bff
   /export/um_lpp_source/path2_to_fix/fix_name.bff

   where fix_name is the fix name that you previously determined, and the path_to_fix values are version directories in which the fix potentially resides.
5. Copy the .bff file to the managed server.
6. On the managed server, run the following command to manually install the fix:

   # installp -acgN -d fix_name.bff all

7. Run oslevel -s again to confirm that the operating system level is now listed correctly.
8. Using IBM® Flex System Manager, collect inventory on the managed server, check for updates, and retry the installation of the desired AIX level. The task should complete without errors, and the managed server should possess the expected operating system level.

The level value has not changed

If the level value has not changed, then the update was not applied at all. Complete the following steps to solve the problem:

1. See the /var/adm/ras/nim.installp log file for details about the failure.
2. Resolve the failure, or satisfy the dependencies, based on what you find in the log file.
3. Apply the update again.