AIX Tips & tricks
Below are few of the AIX commands which will be useful for AIX admins.
1. To list machines configured in a NIM Server,
# lsnim -c machines
2. To list networks configured in a NIM Server,
# lsnim -c networks
3. To reset a machine (return to ready state)
# nim -Fo reset MachineName
4. To list core file settings for a user,
# lscore user1
The output will look like:
compression: on
path specification: default
corefile location: default
naming specification: off
5. To list the default settings for the system,
# lscore -d
The output will look like:
compression: off
path specification: on
corefile location: /corefiles
naming specification: off
6. To make any process run by root dump compressed core files and restore the location of the core files to the system default,
# chcore -c on -p default root
Note: If no default is specified, cores will dump in the current directory.
7. To enable a default core path for the system, type:
# chcore -p on -l /corefiles -d
8. To scan logical volume lv01, report the status of each partition, and have every block of each partition read to determine whether it is capableof performing I/O operations, type:
# mirscan -l lv01
9. To do the above operation in a PV,
# mirscan -p hdisk1
10. To do the above operation in a VG,
# mirscan -v vg01
11. To determine if the 64-bit kernel extension is loaded,
# genkex grep 64
12. To list all JFS file systems,
# lsjfs
13. To list all JFS2 file systems
# lsjfs2
14. To mirror a terminal1 on terminal2
a. Open terminal 1 and find the pts value (ps -ef grep pts)
b. Open terminal 2 and enter 'portmir -t pts/1'
c. Now you will see commands and outputs from terminal 1 in terminal 2.
This is basically monitor a terminal.
d. Say "portmir -o" to end the mirroring after the use
15. To identify the current run level,
# cat /etc/.init.state
16. To list the available CD ROM drives,
# lsdev -Cc cdrom
17. To find out the speed of your network adapter,
# entstat -d ent0 grep "Media Speed"
18. To find out when your system was last installed/updated
# lslpp -f bos.rte
19. To list the status of your tape drive,
# tctl -f /dev/rmt0 status
20. How to setup anonymous ftp in AIX
Run the below script to setup anon ftp,
# /usr/lpp/tcpip/samples/anon.ftp
21. If telnet takes more time to produce a prompt, do the below checks
a. do nslookup of the client ip from the aix serverb.
b. Check the nameservers in /etc/resolv.confc.
c. Check the 'hosts' entry in /etc/netsvc.conf or NSORDER variable
This issue might be due to the DNS configuration issue. Pointing to a good nameserver should solve the problem.
22. How to shutdown the system to maintenance mode ?
# shutdown -Fm
23. How to log ftp accesses to a file
a. Add the below line in /etc/syslog.confdaemon.debug /tmp/daemon.log
b. # touch /tmp/daemon.log
c. # refresh syslogd
d. Modify your inetd.conf so that ftpd is called with the "-l" flag.
24. How to find a file name from inode number ?
# ncheck -i xxxx /mountpoint
where xxxx -> inode number of the file
25. How to redirect the system console to a file or tty temporarily
# swcons /tmp/console.out
or
# swcons /dev/tty5
26. How to recreate a deleted /dev/null file ?
# /bin/mknod /dev/null c 2 2
27. How to add commands that should get executed during every system shutdown ?
Add them to /etc/rc.shutdown
28. How to reduce the size or do cleanup of /var/adm/wtmp ?
# > /var/adm/wtmp
29. How to find out the fileset a file belongs to ?
# which_fileset command_name
30. In which file, the mapping of file Vs fileset stored ?
# /usr/lpp/bos/AIX_file_list
31. How to set maximum logins for a user in a system ?
Change the value of "maxlogins" under "usw" stanza in /etc/security/login.cfg
32. How to change the initial message that prints while logging in ?
Change the value of "herald" in /etc/security/login.cfg
33. How to set the # of seconds the user is given to enter their password ?
Change the value of "logintimeout" under "usw" stanza in /etc/security/login.cfg
1. To list machines configured in a NIM Server,
# lsnim -c machines
2. To list networks configured in a NIM Server,
# lsnim -c networks
3. To reset a machine (return to ready state)
# nim -Fo reset MachineName
4. To list core file settings for a user,
# lscore user1
The output will look like:
compression: on
path specification: default
corefile location: default
naming specification: off
5. To list the default settings for the system,
# lscore -d
The output will look like:
compression: off
path specification: on
corefile location: /corefiles
naming specification: off
6. To make any process run by root dump compressed core files and restore the location of the core files to the system default,
# chcore -c on -p default root
Note: If no default is specified, cores will dump in the current directory.
7. To enable a default core path for the system, type:
# chcore -p on -l /corefiles -d
8. To scan logical volume lv01, report the status of each partition, and have every block of each partition read to determine whether it is capableof performing I/O operations, type:
# mirscan -l lv01
9. To do the above operation in a PV,
# mirscan -p hdisk1
10. To do the above operation in a VG,
# mirscan -v vg01
11. To determine if the 64-bit kernel extension is loaded,
# genkex grep 64
12. To list all JFS file systems,
# lsjfs
13. To list all JFS2 file systems
# lsjfs2
14. To mirror a terminal1 on terminal2
a. Open terminal 1 and find the pts value (ps -ef grep pts)
b. Open terminal 2 and enter 'portmir -t pts/1'
c. Now you will see commands and outputs from terminal 1 in terminal 2.
This is basically monitor a terminal.
d. Say "portmir -o" to end the mirroring after the use
15. To identify the current run level,
# cat /etc/.init.state
16. To list the available CD ROM drives,
# lsdev -Cc cdrom
17. To find out the speed of your network adapter,
# entstat -d ent0 grep "Media Speed"
18. To find out when your system was last installed/updated
# lslpp -f bos.rte
19. To list the status of your tape drive,
# tctl -f /dev/rmt0 status
20. How to setup anonymous ftp in AIX
Run the below script to setup anon ftp,
# /usr/lpp/tcpip/samples/anon.ftp
21. If telnet takes more time to produce a prompt, do the below checks
a. do nslookup of the client ip from the aix serverb.
b. Check the nameservers in /etc/resolv.confc.
c. Check the 'hosts' entry in /etc/netsvc.conf or NSORDER variable
This issue might be due to the DNS configuration issue. Pointing to a good nameserver should solve the problem.
22. How to shutdown the system to maintenance mode ?
# shutdown -Fm
23. How to log ftp accesses to a file
a. Add the below line in /etc/syslog.confdaemon.debug /tmp/daemon.log
b. # touch /tmp/daemon.log
c. # refresh syslogd
d. Modify your inetd.conf so that ftpd is called with the "-l" flag.
24. How to find a file name from inode number ?
# ncheck -i xxxx /mountpoint
where xxxx -> inode number of the file
25. How to redirect the system console to a file or tty temporarily
# swcons /tmp/console.out
or
# swcons /dev/tty5
26. How to recreate a deleted /dev/null file ?
# /bin/mknod /dev/null c 2 2
27. How to add commands that should get executed during every system shutdown ?
Add them to /etc/rc.shutdown
28. How to reduce the size or do cleanup of /var/adm/wtmp ?
# > /var/adm/wtmp
29. How to find out the fileset a file belongs to ?
# which_fileset command_name
30. In which file, the mapping of file Vs fileset stored ?
# /usr/lpp/bos/AIX_file_list
31. How to set maximum logins for a user in a system ?
Change the value of "maxlogins" under "usw" stanza in /etc/security/login.cfg
32. How to change the initial message that prints while logging in ?
Change the value of "herald" in /etc/security/login.cfg
33. How to set the # of seconds the user is given to enter their password ?
Change the value of "logintimeout" under "usw" stanza in /etc/security/login.cfg
