AIX - NIM - Fichiers importants

/etc/bootptab
This file will exist on the NIM master. In a quiet NIM environment with no operations that require a client to boot, this file will be empty (except for the pre-existing commented section). This file gets updated automatically by the NIM master when a NIM operation is executed that requires the client machine to boot from a NIM SPOT. If this file contains incorrect information about either the master or the client, the boot operation will fail. While this file “can” be edited manually to fix a bootp issue - it should not be, as you are only applying a “band-aid” fix to an existing issue in your NIM environment....but, sometimes it’s 5pm on a Friday and you’re ready to go home, right ?
(Also note related entry ‘bootp’)

/etc/exports
This is not a “NIM specific” file, it is a NIM critical file. Any sort of installation, boot, mksysb, savevg....etc operation requires the use of NFS. This file will be updated with which locations are NFS exported from the master to the client and the permissions associated with those exports. If these entries are incorrect or incomplete you will run into boot failures, permission problems, and other errors commonly associated with NFS. This is a text file and also “can” be edited manually to sometimes “band-aid” a problem, but should only be done so with care in knowing exactly what you’re doing. The good thing is, if we mess up this file we can remove it and recycle NFS. The file can be recreated.

/etc/hosts
While not a “NIM specific” file, it is also a NIM critical file. This file is sort of like a phone book. It gives a relationship between a system’s hostname and an ip address. Much like a telephone, if you dial the wrong number you get the wrong person. In NIM, if your ip address does not match up to the correct hostname, your install fails. This is a text file and can be edited manually. There should also only be 1 entry per ip/hostname. I personally prefer to make sure my NIM master has all entries in the /etc/hosts file and are of the following format :
<ipadress> <shortname> <longname>
If the client machine is up and running, it should also have a good entry in there for the NIM master as well.

/etc/niminfo
This file should always exist on the NIM master and sometimes will exist on a NIM client.
On the Master : This file is built when you first initialize the NIM environment. This is simply a text file so feel free to ‘cat’ or ‘more’ the file and look at the entries included in there. You do not want to manually edit this file if there is a mistake in the definition of the master. In this case you will want to redefine the master, or use the feature in NIM to change the master’s attributes (hostname, gateway....etc).
On the Client : This file is “optional” depending on what sort of operations you are performing on the client. If the NIM client is up and running, and you intend to perform operations on the client (like take backups, or install maintenance) you will want to make sure this file exists. This file contains not only hostname information for the client, but tells the client who its master is.
This also should not be edited manually. If there is incorrect information in the file, it should be removed and recreated.

/tftpboot
This directory should always exist on the NIM master. The main purpose of this directory is to hold the boot images that are created by NIM when a boot or installation is initiated. This directory also holds informational files about the clients that are having a boot or installation operation performed. The file names that are generated in both cases are very descriptive file names For example :
The boot image created might be named : 53_spot.chrp.mp.ent.
The format of the file name is <spotname>.<system_architecture>.<processor>.<adapter_type>
The client info files are aptly named : <clientname>.info
The NIM master will create the <client_hostnamename> file and link it to the boot image. This boot image is what is sent over to the NIM client during a boot/installation operation.