AIX 3.2/3.1 Installation from scratch

Prerequisites

• Minimum amount of swap space for AIX 3.1/3.2 is about twice the amount of RAM. If memory serves me right, a minimal installation would need a 300MB disk. You'd be better off with a 1GB disk, though, in particular if the InfoExplorer CD content is to be stored. If yet more software should be installed, a 2GB disk is recommended.
• A set of the 4 or 5 notorious boot floppies is required to "kickstart" the boot process. Can be found here (and I have copies too).
• To my knowledge tapes (4mm, 8mm, QIC) are the usual installation media. I'm not aware that booting from CD was supported (but could be wrong, of course). A special adapter cable IBM-CN50 is required for external SCSI tape drives to be connected to ancient MCA POWER/POWER2 boxes (e.g. the 7012 series).
  Installation via network is also possible, but requires a dedicated server.
• Installation on workstations, i.e. with mouse, keyboard and monitor attached might require an original RS/6000 keyboard (Model M with speaker). Otherwise it will hang on LED c31, i.e. console selection. Installation via serial console is an alternative option.
• Last but not least, a (physical) key is needed in order to toggle the system hardware from "normal" to "service" mode (and back).

Base system

Via network

From tape

1. Plug in all hardware, including external tape drive.
2. Switch the key into "service" position.
3. Insert first boot diskette, power on.
4. The boot procedure will read the diskettes one by one, and will display a 3-digit LED code together with the blinking floppy LED when the next diskette must be inserted.
   1/5: reads until c07, 2/5: until c07, 3/5: until c09 (be patient), 4/5 until c31.
   At this point the green screen should appear and the definition of the system console is requested. Just follow the instructions, the installation will proceed automatically.

Additional Software

From tape

   INed, X11.dev, bos.adt, bos.ext, bos.net, txtfmt, xlc 1.3, 3270

You may install yet more software, as much as your disk can hold. The AIX 3.2.5 tape file sets comprise approx 1GB. Before doing so, however, one should increase the /tmp filesystem to at least 16MB (32768 512byte blocks):

   smitty 

   System Storage Management - File Systems - 
   Add / Change / Show / Delete File Systems -
   Journaled File Systems - Change / Show Characteristics of a Journaled File System

Basic customizations

1. Some security measures:
   1. In /etc/inetd.conf disable all unnecessary services. If the machine should offer boot services, bootps and tftp must be enabled.
   2. Disable unnecessary yp access:

      chmod o-x /usr/bin/ypcat
      

   3. In /etc/rc.tcpip
      outcomment the start of snmpd.
2. In /etc/inittab the console should be activated before NIS services:

   rctcpip:2:wait:/etc/rc.tcpip > /dev/console 2>&1 # Start TCP/IP daemons
   cons:0123456789:respawn:/usr/sbin/getty /dev/console
   rcnfs:2:wait:/etc/rc.nfs > /dev/console 2>&1 # Start NFS Daemons
   

   otherwise the machine won't boot if NIS can't be activated. Note that the rcnfs line must be present in order for the automount daemon to work.
3. /etc/environment
   should contain

   YPBIND_MAXWAIT=5   # wait only 5 seconds     
   

   to avoid NIS hangs in case of network unavailability.
   Note: not tested if this will work as early as AIX 3.
4. Configure the network
5. Use

   smitty - System Environments - Change Number of Licensed Users
   

   and tab to Greater than 64 to allow other users than root
6. Unlike later versions of AIX, rootvg in 3.1/3.2 has no /opt/ filesystem to hold local freeware und such. Use smitty to create a hd10opt logical volume (32MB minimum) and the respective JFS (at mount point /opt). See example how to create LVs/JFSs. If not sure how large the "logical partition" size is, use size=1 to begin with. Use

   smitty 
   Physical & Logical Storage - File Systems - Add / Change / Show / Delete File Systems - Journaled File Systems
   

   to increase the size if needed.
7. IIrc some early AIX versions needed

   chmod a-t /tmp
   

   to allow xinit (to start X desktop). Can't remember if this is true for AIX 3.2.

Additional local software

InfoExplorer and man pages

   mount -r -vcdrfs /dev/cd0 /cdrom # mount the CD
   ls -l /cdrom                     # list all info available on the CD
   ls -l /usr/lpp/info/lib/En_US/   # list all info already available on the system
                                    # copy info datasets, typically not found on base media
   cp -p -r -h /cdrom/hardware /usr/lpp/info/lib/En_US/
   cp -p -r -h /cdrom/update   /usr/lpp/info/lib/En_US/

   smitty

   Physical & Logical Storage -
   File Systems - 
   Add / Change / Show / Delete File Systems -
   Journaled File Systems -
   Change/Show ... 

AIX version 3 doesn't come with separate man pages, the man command reuses the InfoExplorer datasets. For this to work, the steering file /usr/lpp/info/data/ispaths must exist. After a fresh installation, this file points only to a minimum amount of information. To get more, use:

cp -p /usr/lpp/info/data/ispaths /usr/lpp/info/data/ispaths.save
cp -p /usr/lpp/info/data/ispaths.full /usr/lpp/info/data/ispaths

More

   mount -r rs6kf:/applfs/applb01/AIX /mnt
   /mnt/POWER/32/installopt.sh

Compilers

• C/C++
• FORTRAN
• Pascal
• PL/I

What's next ?