The HMC Recovery DVDs for HMCs managing POWER5 servers perform a full installation of the Hardware Management Console. You can perform installation or upgrade tasks by using the Recovery media alone, or by upgrading to or installing HMC over the network. (The recovery media are not always needed for network installation.)

Before you begin any upgrade or installation task, read and follow the instructions in the Prerequisite tasks section.

Upgrading to HMC V7

You can upgrade the HMC from HMC R6 V1.2 (or later) to HMC V7 via the recovery media or over a network. For instructions, choose the link for the upgrade method you want to use.

Upgrading to HMC 6.x

You can upgrade the HMC from HMC 4.3 (or later) to HMC 6.x via the recovery media or over a network. For instructions, choose the link for the upgrade method you want to use.

There are also special upgrade instructions for upgrading HMCs running HMC V4.x. The requirements for the various upgrade methods are listed in the HMC 6.x Readme and cumulative fix history.

Installing a clean version of HMC Version 6, Version 5 or Version 4.5

You can perform a full installation of your HMC by using the Recovery DVDs, or by installing the HMC over a network. For instructions, choose the link for the upgrade method you want to use.

Prerequisite tasks

Complete the following tasks before upgrading to HMC 6 or Version 5.

Task 1. Obtain recovery media

On the Downloads page for the desired HMC Version, find the "Recovery media options" section, and then click the link for the option you prefer for obtaining the recovery media. If you choose the download method, you then need to burn the ISO images onto a DVD. You can use any method you prefer, or you can use the following Linux method:

Burning DVDs from HMC ISO images on Linux

Task 2. Back up critical data

As a safety precaution, IBM recommends that you back up critical console data before performing either of these tasks. See your operations guide for more information on backing up the HMC.

Task 3. Verify internal modem compatibility

Follow these steps to verify internal modem compatibility.

  1. Determine the HMC model.
    The internal modem compatibility check applies to HMC model 7310-C04 and 7310-C05. If your HMC is any other model, or does not contain an internal modem, then proceed with the upgrade. Otherwise, continue with the next step.
  2. Install the monkacpid efix.
    IBM has identified a compatibility issue with the HMC model 7310-C04 and 7310-C05 with some internal modems. The following corrective service packages have been created to check for the compatibility problem:

        HMC Version 4: PTF MH00854
        HMC Version 5: PTF MH00840

    To obtain the appropriate PTF, refer to the "Download" page for your current HMC release: V4.x or V5.x.

    If you have a 7310-C04 or 7310-C05, install the appropriate PTF for your current release. Next, follow the instructions included in the Readme (the "View" link for the PTF) to check for modem compatibility and, if needed, obtain a modem replacement. Do not upgrade to HMC Version 6 unless your modem has passed the compatibility check.
  3. Run the monkacpid command.
    In a restricted shell terminal at the HMC or from a remote client over SSH, run the monkacpid command. Below is a sample output of the command which is refreshed every 4 seconds:
    Every 4s: /usr/bin/top -s -b -n 1 -p 3     Thu Sep 14 14:57:19 2006

    top - 14:57:20 up 53 min, 2 users, load average: 0.17, 0.10, 0.08
    Tasks: 1 total, 0 running, 1 sleeping, 0 stopped, 0 zombie
    Cpu(s): 5.5% user, 1.0% system, 0.0% nice, 93.5% idle
    Mem: 1022096k total, 919596k used, 102500k free, 32516k buffers
    Swap: 2032212k total, 0k used, 2032212k free, 264288k cached

    PID USER      PR NI VIRT RES SHR S %CPU %MEM TIME+ COMMAND
    3 root      15 0 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.02 kacpid
  4. Verify the %CPU value.
    If the number in the %CPU column is greater than 10.0, please contact IBM HW support and reference ECA 832 to order a replacement modem.

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