Commands Reference, Volume 4

nimclient Command

Purpose

Allows Network Installation Management (NIM) operations to be performed from a NIM client.

Syntax

To Enable or Disable the NIM Master's Push Permissions

nimclient { -p } | { -P }

To List Information about the NIM Environment

nimclient -l LsnimParameters

To Set the Date and Time to That of the NIM Master

nimclient -d

To Perform a NIM Operation

nimclient -o Operation [ -a Attribute=Value ] ...

The nimclient command is used by workstations that are NIM clients to pull NIM resources. This command can enable or disable the NIM master server's ability to initiate workstation installation and customization for the workstation. The nimclient command can be used to generate a list of available NIM resources or display the NIM resources that have already been allocated to the client. A limited set of NIM operations can also be performed by the nimclient command using the -o flag.

Flags

-a Attribute=Value	Passes information to NIM operations. From the master Use the lsnim -q Operation -t Type command to get a list of valid attributes for a specific operation. From the client Use the nimclient -l -q Operation -t Type command to get a list of valid attributes for a specific operation.
-d	Sets the client's date and time to that of the master.
-l Lsnim parameters	Executes the lsnim command on the master using the lsnim parameters that you specify. All the parameters which you use with this option must adhere to the syntax rules of the lsnim command. Note that some lsnim syntax requires the use of a NIM object name. To find out what the NIM name is for your machine, look in the /etc/niminfo file.
-o Operation	Performs the specified operation. The possible operations are: allocate Allocates a resource for use. bos_inst Performs a BOS installation. change Changes an object's attributes. check Checks the status of a NIM object. cust Performs software customization. deallocate Deallocates a resource. diag Enables a machine to boot a diagnostic image.

AIX 4.2 or later Operations:

maint_boot	Enables a machine to boot in maintenance mode. This operation only applies to AIX 4.2 or later.
reset	Resets an object's NIM state.
showres	Displays the contents of a NIM resource. This operation applies only to AIX 4.2 or later.

-p

Enables the NIM master to push commands.

-P

Removes the NIM master's permissions to push commands.

Note: The master can override this restriction by using the -F flag.

Security

Access Control: You must have root authority to run the nimclient command.

Examples

To list all the NIM resources which are available to this machine when its NIM name is pluto, enter:
```
nimclient -l -L pluto
```
To list all the Shared Product Object Trees (SPOTs) which are available to this machine when its NIM name is pluto, enter:
```
nimclient -l -L -t spot pluto
```
To list the operations which may be initiated from this machine, enter:
```
nimclient -l -p -s pull_ops
```
To prevent the NIM master from running commands locally on the client, enter:
```
nimclient -P
```
To allocate a spot resource named myspot, an lpp_source resource named images, and an installp bundle file name dept_bundle, enter:
```
nimclient -o allocate -a spot=myspot -a lpp_source=images \
-a installp_bundle=dept_bundle
```
To perform a base system installation after the required resources have been allocated, enter:
```
nimclient -o bos_inst
```
From a standalone client, to allocate an lpp_source and install a software product such that the image for the installable option, adt, is contained in the lpp_source, images, enter:
```
nimclient -o allocate -a lpp_source=images
```
Then enter:
```
nimclient -o cust -a filesets="adt"
```
From a standalone client, to allocate an lpp_source and install a software product such that the image for the installable option, adt, is contained in the lpp_source, images, and the name of the installable option is contained in the installp_bundle, bundle3, enter:
```
nimclient -o allocate -a lpp_source=images \
-a installp_bundle=bundle3
```
Then enter:
```
nimclient -o cust
```
To install all fileset updates associated with APAR IX12345, residing in the lpp_source updt_images, enter:
```
nimclient -o allocate -a lpp_source=updt_images
nimclient -o cust -afixes=IX12345
```
To update all installed software on the client with the latest updates from the updt_images lpp_source, enter:
```
nimclient -o allocate -a lpp_source=updt_images
nimclient -o cust -afixes=update_all
```

AIX 4.2 or later Examples

To enable the system to boot in maintenance mode using a SPOT resource named spot1, enter:
```
nimclient -o maint_boot -a spot=spot1
```
This sets up the maintenance boot operation, but you must initiate the network boot locally.
To show the contents of the config script script1, enter:
```
nimclient -o showres -a resource=script1
```
To show the contents of the bosinst.data resource bosinst_data1, enter:
```
nimclient -o showres -a resource=bosinst_data1
```
To list all the filesets in the lpp_source lpp_source1 relative to what is currently installed on the machine machine1, from the NIM client machine machine1, enter:
```
nimclient -o showres -a resource=lpp_source1
```
The reference attribute is automatically supplied by the nimclient command.

To list user instructions for the bos.INed and xlC.rte filesets on the lpp_source lpp_source1, enter:

nimclient -o showres -a filesets="bos.INed xlC.rte" \
-a resource=lpp_source1 -a installp_flags="qi"

To list all problems fixed by software on the lpp_source lpp_source1, use:
```
nimclient -o showres -a instfix_flags="T" -a resource=lpp_source1
```
To install the filesets listed in the NIM installp_bundle client_bundle using the lpp_source client_images, while automatically allocating these resources during the installation operation, enter:
```
nimclient -o cust -a installp_bundle=client_bundle \
-a lpp_source=client_images
```
To perform a base system installation while automatically allocating all applicable resources from the NIM resource group named client_grp, enter:
```
nimclient -o bos_inst -a group=client_grp
```
To perform a base system installation while automatically allocating all applicable resources from the NIM group defined as the default resource group on the master, enter:
```
nimclient -o bos_inst 
```

Files

/etc/niminfo

Contains variables used by NIM.

Related Information

The lsnim command, nim command, nimconfig command, niminit command.

The .info file.