Boot List - Overview

BOOT LIST/MODE:

There are 2 types of boot.
a) Normal mode
b) Service mode.

They are explained below

Normal Boot:

A normal boot is represented by the runlevel 2. This is the type of boot which is used while the system is in running/ production state.

To view bootlist for service mode,
# bootlist -m service -o hdisk0
hdisk1

To set bootlist for normal mode boot use the below command,

bootlist -m normal hdisk0 hdisk1 rmt0 cd0

You can also change this in SMS menu.

Service Boot:
The service boot list is used when booting the system for maintenance tasks. No applications or network services will be started.

To view bootlist for service mode,
# bootlist -m service -o fd0 cd0 rmt0 hdisk2 ent0

Another feature introduced with AIX Version 4.2 is the use of generic device names. Instead of pointing out the specified disk, with hdisk0 or hdisk1, you can use the generic definition of SCSI disks.

For example: # bootlist -m service cd rmt scdisk

This will cause the system to probe any CD, then probe any tape drive, and finally, probe any SCSI disk for a BLV. The actual probing of the disk is a check of sector 0 for a boot record, which, in turn, will point out the boot image.

You can also change bootlist using diag.

At the Diag Main Menu, select Task Selections, choose Display or Change Bootlist. Finally, you have to choose whether to change the Normal mode bootlist or the Service mode bootlist.