Determine storage area before installing fixes

Start of changeThis information defines storage areas A and B and describes how to determine which one to use when you install fixes.End of change

The system maintains two copies of all Licensed Internal Code on the system. One copy is considered the permanent copy and is stored on system storage area A. The other copy is considered the temporary copy and is stored on system storage area B. When the system is running, it uses the copy that was selected before the last IPL (initial program load).
Parent topic: Step 2: Prepare your server to install fixes

System storage areas A and B

A B in the Data display on the front panel of the system unit indicates that the next system IPL will be made from the B or temporary storage area. The B storage area contains any Licensed Internal Code fixes that have been temporarily or permanently applied. Temporarily applied Licensed Internal Code fixes can be applied permanently (copied to the A storage area) or be permanently removed.

For the system to use the latest Licensed Internal Code fixes that are temporarily applied, you must be using the B storage area. The B storage area is what you normally use. Select the A storage area if the IPL to the B storage area fails because of a temporarily applied Licensed Internal Code fix.

Determining the storage area

  1. On any command line, type dspptf 5722999 and press Enter.
  2. On the Display PTF Status display, the storage area is identified in the IPL source field. ##MACH#A is the A storage area and ##MACH#B is the B storage area.
  3. If you are not running on the B storage area, type the following command on any command line and press Enter: PWRDWNSYS *IMMED RESTART(*YES) IPLSRC(B)

Selecting the A or B storage area

You can change the storage area from the command line or the control panel:

  1. On the command line, type PWRDWNSYS *IMMED RESTART(*YES) IPLSRC(X), where X is the storage area you want to select. If you are using the control panel, continue with step 3.
  2. Start of changeIf you are using Hardware Management Console (HMC), go to Changing the IPL type for an i5/OS™ logical partition for further instructions.End of change
  3. On the control panel, perform these tasks:
    1. For systems with a mode button, set the system to the Manual mode. For systems without a mode button, start at step 3.b.
    2. Press the Increment/Decrement buttons until 02 is displayed in the Function/Data display on the control panel.
    3. Press the Enter pushbutton on the control panel.
    4. For systems with a mode button, press the Increment/Decrement buttons until the character that represents the storage area you want to use for your IPL source (A or B) appears in the Function/Data display. For systems without a mode button, press the Increment/Decrement buttons until you see Normal (N) and the character (A or B) for the IPL storage area you want to appear in the Function/Data display.
    5. Press the Enter pushbutton on the control panel to save the IPL settings.
    6. For systems with a mode button, set the mode to Normal.
    7. Power off the system using option 4 (Power off the system and immediately power on) on the Power On and Off Tasks (POWER) menu. Wait for the system to power down and automatically start an IPL. You see the Sign On display when the IPL is complete. The storage area is now changed.