[geeks] RS/6000 Disk clone

[Andy Wallis]

On Apr 9, 2007, at 6:28 AM, Mark wrote:

> I just got my hands on a very clean and well kept RS/6000 server
> (7046-B50 for those who understand IBM model number gibberish). I was
> wondering what the most effective way to clone and swap out the boot
> drive might be. The disks in it are a pair of well worn IBM 18GBs and
> all I want to do is swap them for some quieter Seagate 18GBs I have
> in my Netra (currently not in use).
>
> I'm running AIX 5.3L and have a pretty-much clean install. Can I just
> 'dd' the raw device to the new disk?
I would suggest running mksysb to a tape or file to back up the root  
volume group and then savevg for every other volume group.  If  
roovtvg is only on one physical volume, use alt_disk_install -C to  
clone it to a new disk. A simple reboot to the new boot device and a  
alt_disk_install -X should complete it.

If you want see something sick, you could always install NIM on a  
spare Linux machine and restore the box from a mksysb or perform a  
reinstall over the network.

-Andy Wallis