AIX (Advanced Interactive eXecutive) is a Unix port originally developed by IBM and released in 1986 for the IBM RT 6150, a RISC based desktop workstation. It was later ported to the RS/6000, POWER, and PowerPC platforms as well as IBM System i, System/370 mainframes, and the PS/2 personal computers, and the Apple Network Server.
Wanted: «IBM RT PC Advanced Interactive Executive Operating System 1.00»
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IBM PPC Platform only
IBM AIX 7.2 TL04 SP02 (pSeries) Media
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- 2022-01-22 01:17:15
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- aix_7200-04-02-2027_072020
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Reviewer:
zorglub007
—
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September 20, 2022
Subject:
QEMU / AIX CPU clock speed
Thanks
It works (Debian 11) with
QEMU emulator version 7.1.0
Copyright (c) 2003-2022 Fabrice Bellard and the QEMU Project developers.
Unfortunately, the processor clock speed is 1 Ghz, do you have an idea ?
The physical host is Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-10510U CPU @ 1.80GHz 2.30 GHz
Reviewer:
Maverick15
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favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite —
August 22, 2022
Subject:
avoids «Illegal Trap Instruction Interrupt in Kernel»
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Uploaded by
trn0
on January 22, 2022
AIX is the UNIX proprietary Operating System (OS) of IBM and unless you have access to IBM expensive machines (Power Series), you won’t have a chance of using or trying the IBM powerful OS.
Nowadays, we virtualize or containerize almost everything on our personal machines or laptops. However, the virtualization is only possible when the processor architecture of the host (your PC) and the guest (the Virtual Machine or VM) is the same.
I have a common Intel (x86) laptop running linux (of course). And I want to run AIX on top of it. AIX is an OS solely purposed for PPC (PowerPC) architecture. Therefore, I knew from inception that there won’t be any virtualization solution for this, but in theory it might be possible to achieve my goal through emulation.
I decided to try it with the best emulator ever: QEMU. I would be forever grateful to Fabrice Bellard, the French brilliant hacker who built this opensource tool that is literally the Swiss Army knife of emulation.
1 – Prerequisites
- Be Patient during the whole process !!!
the following procedures can take several minutes or hours and you are likely to start over at many times, so the key word here is: Patience.
- Download and compile a recent version of Qemu
wget https://download.qemu.org/qemu-5.1.0.tar.xz tar xvJf qemu-5.1.0.tar.xz cd qemu-5.1.0 ./configure make
It will take some time …
- Obtain AIX 7.2 installation media
Download AIX DVD iso from IBM ESS (Entitlement System Support):
https://www.ibm.com/servers/eserver/ess/index.wss
You can create a free account on IBM but you may have to provide details on an existing serial number and Power Series machine model prior to downloading.
Save the iso file with an adequate name, for e.g. AIX72.iso
2 – Creation of the hard drive of our VM
Create an empty virtual disk:
(in my case I created a folder aixVM where I am creating the disk and dropping the ISO file)
qemu-img create -f qcow2 hdisk0.qcow2 20G
3 – Creation of the AIX VM
Define the VM with the below parameters:
cpu = 1 (it can support many cores via the smp parameter as well)
memory = 4G (you can set it to 2G as well)
boot from the CDROM (the AIX 7.2 iso file)
qemu-system-ppc64 -cpu POWER8 -machine pseries -m 4096 -serial stdio -drive file=hdisk0.qcow2,if=none,id=drive-virtio-disk0 -device virtio-scsi-pci,id=scsi -device scsi-hd,drive=drive-virtio-disk0 -cdrom AIX72.iso -prom-env "boot-command=boot cdrom:" -prom-env "input-device=/vdevice/vty@71000000" -prom-env "output-device=/vdevice/vty@71000000"
Take a long coffee break here …
4 – Boot from the disk
The installation from the CDROM is likely to enter an infinite loop. You’ll notice it by observing the VM monitor. If that’s the case, interrupt the process with CTRL-C.
Then, launch the same command with the disk as boot device instead of the CDrom:
qemu-system-ppc64 -cpu POWER8 -machine pseries -m 4096 -serial stdio -drive file=hdisk0.qcow2,if=none,id=drive-virtio-disk0 -device virtio-scsi-pci,id=scsi -device scsi-hd,drive=drive-virtio-disk0 -cdrom AIX72.iso -prom-env "boot-command=boot disk:" -prom-env "input-device=/vdevice/vty@71000000" -prom-env "output-device=/vdevice/vty@71000000"
At this stage after a successful load of the OS kernel, the process may hang after the activation of the swap partition, like in the below screenshot:
To solve the problem we need to restart the process by setting the verbose flag as in the command below:
qemu-system-ppc64 -cpu POWER8 -machine pseries -m 4096 -serial stdio -drive file=hdisk0.qcow2,if=none,id=drive-virtio-disk0 -device virtio-scsi-pci,id=scsi -device scsi-hd,drive=drive-virtio-disk0 -cdrom AIX72.iso -prom-env "boot-command=boot disk: -s verbose" -prom-env "input-device=/vdevice/vty@71000000" -prom-env "output-device=/vdevice/vty@71000000"
It appears the fsck64 program is the one crashing.
5 – Solve the fsck64 issue
- Boot from the CDrom and go into the Maintenance Mode:
- Go to /sbin/helpers/jfs2 and empty the file fsck64 :
cd /sbin/helpers/jfs2 > fsck64
- Edit the fsck64 file with the following lines:
#!/bin/ksh
exit 0 - Save and quit the file.
- Sync the changes to the disk and shutdown the VM
6 – Boot from the disk drive and access the system
qemu-system-ppc64 -cpu POWER8 -machine pseries -m 4096 -serial stdio -drive file=hdisk0.qcow2,if=none,id=drive-virtio-disk0 -device virtio-scsi-pci,id=scsi -device scsi-hd,drive=drive-virtio-disk0 -cdrom AIX72.iso -prom-env "boot-command=boot disk:" -prom-env "input-device=/vdevice/vty@71000000" -prom-env "output-device=/vdevice/vty@71000000"
Accept the license agreements, change the root password and this time, you should get (finally) the AIX console login prompt.
7 – Post installation tasks : Services, SSH & Network setup
Some default services are not necessarily needed and should be disabled to enable a faster boot of the VM.
You’ll also notice that the VM CPU is almost at 100% utilization; this is also due to some of those services.
rmitab cron rmitab clcomd rmitab naudio2 rmitab pfcdaemon stopsrc -s clcomd stopsrc -s pfcdaemon
- Install OpenSSH
Mount the CDROM, copy the required filesets and install:
mount -v cdrfs -o ro /dev/cd0 /mnt mkdir /tmp/ssh_install cd /mnt/installp/ppc cp openssh* /tmp/ssh_install cd /tmp/ssh_install installp -acgXYd . openssh.base openssh.license openssh.man.en_US openssh.msg.en_US
Check if sshd is up and running:
- Network Setup
The network activation is a very important piece as you would have noticed that every time we CTRL-C our VM, it shuts it down.
To setup the VM, we are going to use another magic possibility of QEMU:
use of a tap device to emulate network bridge.
1 – Add a new tap device in your Linux Host machine
ip tuntap add dev tap0 mode tap
2 – Enable proxy_arp on both devices (the tap device and your LAN/WLAN interface)
echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/conf/tap0/proxy_arp echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/conf/wlp0s20f3/proxy_arp
3 – Setup IP settings for the tap device
(My WLAN IP is 192.168.100.4 and I want to give 192.168.100.151 to the AIX VM)
ip addr add 192.168.100.4 dev tap0 ip link set up tap0 ip link set up dev tap0 promisc on ip route add 192.168.100.151 dev tap0 arp -Ds 192.168.100.151 wlp0s20f3 pub
4 – Restart the AIX VM with the NIC interface defined as tap0
qemu-system-ppc64 -cpu POWER8 -machine pseries -m 4096 -serial stdio -drive file=hdisk0.qcow2,if=none,id=drive-virtio-disk0 -device virtio-scsi-pci,id=scsi -device scsi-hd,drive=drive-virtio-disk0 -cdrom AIX72.iso -net nic -net tap,script=no,ifname=tap0 -prom-env "boot-command=boot disk:" -prom-env "input-device=/vdevice/vty@71000000" -prom-env "output-device=/vdevice/vty@71000000"
5 – Assign the IP address to the network interface inside the AIX VM
chdev -l en0 -a netaddr=192.168.100.151 -a netmask=255.255.255.0 -a state=up
8 – Final step
Now with SSH active and Network working, we can run our so long QEMU command line in the background !
qemu-system-ppc64 -cpu POWER8 -machine pseries -m 4096 -drive file=hdisk0.qcow2,if=none,id=drive-virtio-disk0 -device virtio-scsi-pci,id=scsi -device scsi-hd,drive=drive-virtio-disk0 -cdrom AIX72.iso -net nic -net tap,script=no,ifname=tap0 -prom-env "boot-command=boot disk:" -prom-env "input-device=/vdevice/vty@71000000" -prom-env "output-device=/vdevice/vty@71000000" --daemonize
Wait for the VM to boot up completely and you can enjoy: now you have the best operating system running on your laptop !!
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#1
AIX is an open, UNIX operating system that allows you to run the applications you want, on the hardware you want-IBM UNIX servers. AIX in combination with IBM’s Virtualization offerings, provides you with new levels of flexibility and performance. AIX delivers high levels of security, integration, flexibility and reliability-essential for meeting the demands of today’s information technology environments. AIX operates on the IBM System p , BladeCenter , IntelliStation POWER , and System i5 platforms, as well as predecessor IBM UNIX products including the IBM RS/6000 server and workstation product lines.
AIX 5L is an award winning operating system, delivering superior scalability, reliability, and manageability. Best of all, AIX 5L comes from IBM, the world’s leading technology company.
No one can match IBM’s experience in providing solutions to businesses of every size, in every industry, in every corner of the world. And no one can match IBM’s reputation for service and support. Whether you’re looking for planning services, integration and installation, tuning, migration, or everyday support, IBM provides service and support to help keep your business running.
AIX 5L is an open, standards-based operating system that conforms to The Open Group’s Single UNIX Specification Version 3. It provides fully integrated support for 32- and 64-bit applications. AIX 5L provides binary compatible support for the entire IBM UNIX product line including the IBM System p5 and Bladecenter JS21 servers and IntelliStation POWER workstations, AIX 5L also supports qualified systems offered by hardware vendors participating in the AIX Multiple Vendor Program. So, as you move to newer versions of AIX 5L, its excellent history of binary compatibility provides confidence that your critical applications will continue to run. More information on AIX 5L binary compatibility can be found at http://www.ibm.com/servers/aix/os/compatibility/.
But scalability goes far beyond simply running on larger systems or faster processors. True scalability requires a comprehensive design that’s easily adaptable to changing business needs, permitting you to harness increased processing power with a minimum of disruption. The latest version of AIX 5L Version 5.3, fully exploits the advanced virtualization and performance of IBM System p UNIX servers to insure that the IBM UNIX solutions that your deploy are scalable and efficient.
View at TechPowerUp Main Site
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#2
Wow, hasnt IBM been out of the OS business since OS2?
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#3
I think they also made AIX 5….Not sure since im not into Non-Windows Operating Systems….
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#4
Now if only I could make the rs/6000 sitting in the next room fullfill its duties while I try this out………. 
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#5
Most countries high security, hospitals, airports all use IBM e-series servers (AS/400) and OS/400. Dealerships for many different brands Toyota, Mercedes, GMC, etc…. as well as many others also use the same.
Apple wants to talk about things just working? Try one of these and you will see just work. Ours handles 5 printers at two locations, over 100 client sessions, communications from our parent vendors, inventory tracking on over $1.5million of parts, 300 active pieces of wholegoods, payroll, taxes, archives of 5 years on parts sold accessible about 20 different ways, archive of sold wholegoods for the life of a customer.
And we are only using 30% of the systems capability’s on average, and ours is SMALL.
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#7
Most countries high security, hospitals, airports all use IBM e-series servers (AS/400) and OS/400. Dealerships for many different brands Toyota, Mercedes, GMC, etc…. as well as many others also use the same.
Apple wants to talk about things just working? Try one of these and you will see just work. Ours handles 5 printers at two locations, over 100 client sessions, communications from our parent vendors, inventory tracking on over $1.5million of parts, 300 active pieces of wholegoods, payroll, taxes, archives of 5 years on parts sold accessible about 20 different ways, archive of sold wholegoods for the life of a customer.
And we are only using 30% of the systems capability’s on average, and ours is SMALL.
Our xServe manages around 1200 LDAP users, currently now 
Although I don’t know where you got apple from 
We also use a handful of just dell poweredge xeons to run a multi million dollar factory pumping out over 13k units/day
Aside from a few rs/6000’s for 2 certain programs.
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#8
Apple, it just works. But not when compared to these workhorses.
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#9
Apple, it just works. But not when compared to these workhorses.
Seems a bit… random… 
I can safely say a Dell Poweredge doesn’t either 
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#10
I thought it was funneh, mebey it is just meh……..
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#11
I don’t think large companies would want to use Apple software for their servers since they have no need to run iMovie or iPhoto. Besides, I don’t know how reliable MacOS is anyway. My GFs iMac is a total piece of shit. The OS freezes at least twice a week. The CD tray stoppd opening so we had to get an external drive, and there are several dead pixels — and since it’s so user friendly, it’s not like we can just go out and buy her a new monitor. If an OS can’t handle web browsing, and word processing, then it definately can’t handle server work.
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#12
I don’t think large companies would want to use Apple software for their servers since they have no need to run iMovie or iPhoto. Besides, I don’t know how reliable MacOS is anyway. My GFs iMac is a total piece of shit. The OS freezes at least twice a week. The CD tray stoppd opening so we had to get an external drive, and there are several dead pixels — and since it’s so user friendly, it’s not like we can just go out and buy her a new monitor. If an OS can’t handle web browsing, and word processing, then it definately can’t handle server work.
Yeah, I’m sure your 12 year old PC’s work just as well too 
Apple hasn’t used a tray loading CDROM in an imac since the G3 days, which means your mac is O.A.F. (Old as FUDGE)
OS X Server is just as reliable as the desktop OS, and then some. Our xServe’s ONLY downtime is if our RAID craps out, or hardware dies. 
OS X Server is a very very robust OS in comparison to Linux and Solaris….
I think IBM’s AIX is targetted at a more higher end server spectrum than Windows server and OS X Server are, though.
I wonder if this would run on a G5….
Last edited: Jul 14, 2007
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#13
@Dip- He said dead pixels. It’s a G4 if it has a tray and an LCD.
@Benpi — Assuming it is a G4 iMac, how can you compare a 5yr old desktop computer, vs a high dollar server? Here’s a question, when the last time somebody opened it up and cleaned it out? Freezing usually means a heat problem on those. The exhaust fan could have also crapped out, check that, it’s at the base of the LCD arm. Also, my drive tray wouldn’t open for a while, then I figured out that a little plastic faceplate fell off of the CDROM’s tray. Reattached it and the CDROM worked fine. Look to see if that’s the issue. And if the crashing is software related, when is the last time somebody repaired permissions using Disk Utility?
I just sold a 1GHz iMac G4. I had it for 2yrs, and it was in my company’s design department before that. I only restarted after an update that required it, or to install a new OS, or any other similar tasks. I once had it on for 2 1/2months straight, with nary a hiccup. No freezes or crashes, app or OS, and only restarted because I did my updates.
What you have is hardware issues on an aging, (and I’m willing to bet, never maintained) computer . Hardly Apple or OS X’s fault.
Your hatred of Macs is unfounded, or at least founded on misinformation.
Last edited: Jul 15, 2007