Re: SAVSYS to IMGCLG then to DVD on PC

Yep they have been doing this since 2003!!! This support came with model 800 family of machines.

And if you do a SAVSYS to OPTxx which is a DVD-RAM drive in your power system it will be a bootable disk.

The key thing as Jim has mentioned many times is that it AM SLOW! Since SAVSYS requires dedicated system you need a couple hours at least to pull it off. So does it work? Yep. Will you like it? Probably not.


- Larry "DrFranken" Bolhuis

www.frankeni.com
www.iDevCloud.com
www.iInTheCloud.com

On 8/8/2013 10:57 AM, Gqcy wrote:

just askin...

Couldn't IBM put DVD burners on the power systems?
so a option on the LICPGM menu would be to perform a
SAVSYS directly to a DVD?

That would address the "multiple ways to mess it up",
and the benefit of a very easy boot could outweigh the
time needed to create the image...




On 8/8/2013 9:34 AM, Jim Oberholtzer wrote:

Yes, you will get a fully bootable instance of LIC, followed by IBM i on
the DVD. The reason IBM does not support SAVSYS to a DVD is it is just
too slow (always will be) and there are multiple ways to mess it up
making it unreliable for folks that do not test properly.

Keep in mind Larry and I are mostly using option 40 from the LICPGM menu
to create our distributions which we tend to use for upgrades etc. You
can take an Image Catalog that has been setup for DVD sizes and burn
those as well.

Jim Oberholtzer
Chief Technical Architect
Agile Technology Architects

On 8/8/13 8:14 AM, fbocch2595@xxxxxxx wrote:

Well folks, my feet are riddled with holes so I'm gonna take your
advice and use the IMGBURN and then try to find a machine to test on.
The reason I posted with you folks is that IBM says that SAVSYS to DVD
is not documented or supported but I told them it should be. They then
told me that they recommend saving to tape...and said that in order
for the system to be restored using a SAVSYS, the file "QFILEIML" file
must be found on the D-manual IPL. I'm not sure I'll see that when I
create the DVD and put it in the drive...do you folks see QFILEIML on
your DVD's?
Thank, Frank
.



-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Oberholtzer<midrangel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion<midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Mon, Aug 5, 2013 10:32 am
Subject: Re: SAVSYS to IMGCLG then to DVD on PC


I've never used the CenterField Product but because of the company and
t's reputation I would guess it can handle everything needed.
Doing a save to any optical media (DVD or RDX) is very doable, but leave
ourself plenty of time, it's sssslllllooooowwwwww. (slow).
Personally I use my IBM i instance on Power Systems, I do have an
Series in the data center but it's rarely turned on anymore. ( sorry
ould not resist )
Jim Oberholtzer
hief Technical Architect
gile Technology Architects

n 8/5/2013 8:36 AM, Jack Kingsley wrote:
Couple of things on this.

What about this product:

http://www.centerfieldtechnology.com/CDROM-Studio/

What about doing your saves to a dvd drive on the ISERIES.


On Mon, Aug 5, 2013 at 9:28 AM, Jim
Oberholtzer<midrangel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

wrote:
One additional point for those of us that create our own

distribution

media ( Which by the way saves many hours at upgrade time since you
don't have to apply PTFs after the upgrade ). If you need to use

option

5, then "Work with licensed programs for target release" from

the LICPGM

menu, the presence of the QIAM400 file will stop that option from
working, with a message that says something like, IBM did not

create

this install media, you can't use it. I get by that by putting

the most

recent LIC spin in the image catalog along with the custom DVD

images.

Then you can build the installation script. ( remove it before

you do

the actual upgrade or you loose the value of the newly created
distribution media ).


Jim Oberholtzer
Chief Technical Architect
Agile Technology Architects


On 8/5/2013 8:07 AM, DrFranken wrote:

HA! Yeah I thought that at some point myself, special hidden

files or

some bootloader magic in a particular track in sector 0.

The secret seems to be this block of files:

QFILEBT
QFILELDS
QFILEMCD
QFILESCR
QIAMXXX

Where QIAMXXX is QIAM400 if you create the disk with LICPGM

option 40

r

look at old version of the O/S.

Clearly if you use a standard burner or Jim's or My favorite

program

those files will all be on the disk, that's not the issue. I

believe

he

issue is that at the time the disk is written certain parts

of the

directory or other important things are not always done in a

way that

the Power System firmware recognizes that there is anything

at all on

the disk.

What I can tell you is that when it's going to fail, it's

going to

ail

FAST. You get like one blink on the DVD drive and done. It's

as if the

disk is seen as completely empty or perhaps just blank. When

it's

oing

to work you see multiple blinking fits and after 30 or so

seconds it

goes on steady as these files are loaded to memory.

Popping the disk into a machine that is up and running and

you CAN see

the files. I suspect there is less 'intelligence' in the

firmware so

t

spends less time interrogating the disk. With the O/S up and

running

t

either works harder or has code that recognizes a disk

that's not

'perfectly' burned.

- Larry "DrFranken" Bolhuis

-