How do I delete old data off my AIX server?

There are two basic options:

Format (Simple, Less Secure Method)

Use the AIX format utility on each individual disk.

  • Run:
diag -T format
  • Use the arrow keys to navigate to each disk in your database volume group.
  • Press ENTER to select each disk that needs to be formatted, and a “+” sign will indicate selection
    • NOTE: You cannot format the disks in your root volume group (OS), because those disks are currently active. (If you need to wipe all rootvg disks as well, you will need to reboot into rescue mode off a mksysb or AIX installation media.)
  • When all disks are selected, press F7 or ESC-7 to start formatting the disks.

Additional details about using the AIX diag commands can be found here: http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/aix/v6r1/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.aix.cmds/doc/aixcmds2/diag.htm

Shred (Costly, More Secure Method)

Use a shredding company to physically destroy the disks. Here are some example companies that turned up in a Google search, but have not been verified by Epicor: