How to create an alternate root disk in aix?

petulia3478

Use the alt_disk_install command, it uses the mksysb command to create a alternate boot environment. Similar to live upgrade on solaris.

Verify you have the packages to perform alt disk install. You will see Alternate disk installation "APPLIED"

# lslpp -l bos.alt_disk*

Verify the disk currently holding the currently active root disk. It will be under "rootvg"

# lspv

Verify settings

# lsvg -l rootvg
and 
# lsvg rootvg

Perform the cloning; this assumes your active root disk is on hdisk0 and you want to clone to hdisk1

# alt_disk_install -C hdisk1

Verify cloniing, check volume groups

# lsvg
altinst_rootvg
rootvg

Verify physical disks

# lspv

Verify bootlist is going to boot from your newly created clone, bootlist is the list of device to boot from in the order listed.

# bootlist -m normal -o

If "hdisk1" is not listed first, change it to boot from hdisk1 using:

# bootlist -m normal hdisk1 hdisk0

Reboot the system, note the -F option does a fast reboot, no warning to users, ok if only testing.

# shutdown -Fr

When the system comes back, verify disk booted from:

# lspv

If you want to remove the old rootvg, you can use the -X option of alt_disk_install