Tag: aix

Where can I buy an IBM dumb terminal for my IBM pSeries server?

NOTE: The IBM 3151 or 3153 dumb terminals are end-of-life and therefore not supported by IBM or Eclipse.

The IBM 3151 and 3153 ASCSII Display Stations typically deployed with older, standalone IBM pSeries servers have long since been discontinued and are unavailable from IBM for purchase or support. If you are looking for a replacement console for system administration, you have a few options:

  • Hyperterminal/PuTTY (supported by IBM): you may simply connect the console serial port of the IBM pSeries server to a Windows workstation or server and use Hyperterm to open a console session.
  • IBM Hardware Management Console (supported by IBM): the IBM Hardware Management Console is the only supported method for administering current-generation pSeries servers. It provides local and network interfaces to the service processor of your pSeries server. If you would like a quote, please contact your Epicor Direct sales representative. The HMC connects to a standard VGA monitor and PS/2 keyboard or KVM switch for local administration.
  • Boundless ADDS 3153 LF (supported by Boundless): this is a replacement text terminal from the company that designed manufactured the original IBM 3151/3153 terminals. This terminal connects to a standard VGA monitor and PS/2 keyboard or KVM switch for local administration. Please contact Boundless for more information.
  • IBM 3151/3153 (unsupported): you may be able to find refurbished IBM 3151/3153 terminals on sites like eBay.

How do I check disk usage on my AIX server?

View a step-by-step screencast of this process:

  • Log into the AIX server as root via Eterm
  • To see the total size of each filesystem in gigabytes:
df -Pg
  • The standard Eclipse filesystems are located under /u2. Add the “Used” column for each of these filesystems, plus any non-standard Eclipse filesystems that you may have (/train, /backup, etc.)

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: