Downloading fixes and updates

Understanding SUMA

SUMA sets up an automated interface to download fixes and updates from a fix distribution website to your system. You can configure SUMA to periodically check the availability of specific new fixes and technology levels. With SUMA, you don't have to manually retrieve maintenance updates.

When you configure SUMA in an AIX logical partition (LPAR) or as the NIM master, SUMA establishes a connection to the fix distribution website and downloads the available service update.

To verify that SUMA can get through to the IBM fix servers, run the following command (from the AIX system where you want to download the fixes), /usr/esa/bin/verifyConnectivity -tw. If the tests fail, work with your network security team to determine why you are unable to access the servers.

You can access the SUMA configuration by running the suma command or by using the SMIT suma fast path. When you create a SUMA policy, you must specify one of the following request types that specifies the type of download:

• PTF: Specifies a request to download a program temporary fix (PTF), such as U813941. Only certain PTFs can be downloaded as an individual file set. This limitation applies to PTFs that contain either the bos.rte.install or bos.alt_disk_install.rte file sets as well as those that are released in between Service Packs (SP). Otherwise, you must download the technology level (TL) or SP.
• TL: Specifies a request to download a specific TL (such as 7200-02).
• SP: Specifies a request to download a specific SP (such as 7200-02-00).
• Latest: Specifies a request to download the latest fixes. This value returns the latest SP or TL as specified in the FilterML attribute.

Configuring SUMA to use the proxy settings

Before you run the suma command to download any update, make sure that the AIX LPAR is authenticated to access the internet and that your LPAR knows in which data center it is running.

To make the LPAR aware in which data center it is running, run the following command:

echo “COUNTRY_CODE = **” >> /var/suma/data/config.suma

export SUMA_COUNTRY_CODE=**

Where ** is the country code of your DC based on the following table:

To verify that the LPAR is connected to the internet, enter the following command:

suma -x -a Action=Preview -a RqType=Latest

The suma command allows you to preview only the download operation. When you run this command, files are not downloaded. If the LPAR is not authenticated to access the internet, the command returns an error message. For information on troubleshooting SUMA error messages, see Troubleshooting SUMA error messages.

Complete the following steps to configure SUMA to use the proxy settings:

1. Ensure that the bos.ecc_client.rte file set is installed on the AIX LPAR by running the following command, lslpp -h bos.ecc_client.rte.

2. Determine if the config_conn_path command is available in the bos.ecc_client.rte file set by running the following command, lslpp -w /usr/ecc/bin/config_conn_path.

3. Configure your proxy settings by completing the following steps:

   1. Run the smit srv_conn command.
   2. Select Create/Change Service Configuration and press Enter.
   3. Select Create/Change Primary Service Configuration and press Enter.
   4. Set the following fields in the SMIT interface:

   Configuring proxy settings:

   Type or select values in entry fields.
   Press Enter AFTER making all desired changes.
                                                              [Entry Fields]
     Connection type                                          [HTTP_Proxy]
     Test service configuration                              [Yes]
   
     If type is DIRECT_INTERNET, no entry required.
   
     If type is HTTP_PROXY,
           IP address                                        [xx.xx.xx.xx]
           Port number                                       [5026]
           Authentication user ID                            []
           Authentication password requested interactively.
   

   Where, xx.xx.xx.xx is the IP address of the proxy and 5026 is the port number that is used to connect to the proxy settings. When you press Enter, a test connection determines whether the AIX LPAR is authenticated to access the internet by using the proxy settings. The common values for proxy port number are 3138 or 8080.

4. Run the smit suma_config_base command to access the SUMA base configuration SMIT interface. Verify the fields that are shown in the Base Configuration screen capture.

For the Fixserver protocol field, https is the only option. For the Download protocol field, http is the default option. You can change the default option to https for a secure connection. If you set the Download protocol to https, the downloads are slower but more secure because HTTP provides multi-threaded performance and HTTPS provides single-threaded performance.

Base configuration SMIT:

                     Base Configuration

Type or select values in entry fields.
Press Enter AFTER making all desired changes.
                                                              [Entry Fields]
Screen output verbosity                                   [Info/Warnings/Errors]  +
Logfile output verbosity                                  [Verbose]               +
Notification email verbosity                              [Info/Warnings/Errors]  +
Remove superseded filesets on Clean?                      Yes                    +
Remove duplicate base levels on Clean?                     Yes                    +
Remove conflicting updates on Clean?                       Yes                    +
Fixserver protocol                                        https                   +
Download protocol                                         http                    +
Maximum log file size (MB)                                [1]                       #
Download timeout (seconds)                                [180]                     #

SUMA tasks and the command line

The suma command can be used to perform various operations on a SUMA task or policy. An RqType parameter specifies the type of download that is being requested, such as a TL, SP, or Latest. You can use several flag options with the suma command to perform the following tasks:

• Create
• Edit
• List
• Schedule
• Unschedule
• Delete

To create and save a SUMA task by using the command line, enter the following command:

suma -w -a DisplayName=‘ AIX72TL2SP2‘ -a FilterML=‘7200-00‘

The command returns a task ID after the successful creation of a SUMA task:

Task ID 10 created.

To create and schedule a task that downloads the latest fixes and adds a policy label through the DisplayName field (useful when you are listing policies through SMIT), enter the following command:

suma -s "30 2 15 * *" -a RqType=Latest   \
    -a DisplayName="Latest fixes - 15th Monthly"

The SNDPTFORD command

You can use the SNDPTFORD command to order and receive IBM-supplied fixes (or PTFs) for the IBM i environment and IBM-supplied applications. You can use this command over the electronic customer support configuration that uses TCP/IP connectivity through Universal Connection. You can use the SNDPTFORD command to order the following types of fixes and related information:

• Separate or accompanying cover letters
• Individual fixes
• Multiple fixes
• Cumulative PTF packages
• PTF groups
• PTF summaries
• Cross-reference summary lists
• Preventive service planning tips

For example, the following command sends a request for PTF numbers SI12345 and SI12346:

SNDPTFORD PTFID((SI12345) (SI12346))

For more information, see Send PTF Order (SNDPTFORD) and Ordering fixes by using the Send PTF Order command. If you can't put your IBM i VM on the network, set up a network install server as instructed in the next section.

Setting up an IBM i network install server

Before you can install or upgrade an IBM i system through the network, you must set up a network installation server. The network installation server contains images of the IBM i operating system, its internal code as well as licensed programs and PTFs.