Installing Precisely Assure MIMIX™ Software on Skytap VMs

The Precisely Assure MIMIX™ Software package supports the following IBM i OS release levels (note the Technology Refresh level as well):

7.5 Base release
7.4 TR 5
7.3 TR 11

7.2 and older levels aren’t supported.

Prerequisites

Before you install Assure MIMIX™ Software:

Contact Skytap Support to enable HA/DR support for your account.
For each Skytap VM that you plan to install Assure MIMIX™ Software on, make sure that Enable Assure MIMIX for IBM i is checked.
Assure MIMIX™ Software requires an automatic network in the Skytap environment for both installation and operation. If your environment doesn’t have one, you can add a Skytap automatic network.
Review the System values required for installing.
Use high-power user profiles on both the local and remote systems to install Assure MIMIX™ Software.

The *SECOFR user profile has the required permissions.

Step 1 – Apply recommended PTFs

Apply current recommended PTFs to both VMs.

Run CHKIBMPTF on your partitions to determine which PTFs you should apply. More information can be found here: Checking systems for recommended IBM PTFs

The Assure MIMIX™ Software installation process automatically runs the included version of CHKIBMPTF on both Skytap VMs—local and remote—and notes any missing PTFs.

The version of CHKIBMPTF included with the installer may not be the most current version. We strongly recommended that you download and run the most recent stand-alone version.

Step 2 – Install Precisely Assure MIMIX™ Software

Every Assure MIMIX™ Software installation requires both a local Skytap VM and a remote Skytap VM. The local system can be the production system, but it doesn’t have to be. If you have an existing Assure MIMIX™ Software installation and configuration, the configuration must reside on the primary system. You don’t need to manually download the Assure MIMIX™ Software installer.

Skytap supports four distinct configurations of Assure MIMIX™ Software

New Precisely Assure MIMIX™ Software instance on two Skytap VMs(where Assure MIMIX™ Software has not been previously installed).
Precisely Assure MIMIX™ Software instance on two Skytap VMs where Assure MIMIX™ Software was previously installed using a Precisely-provided installation method. Assure MIMIX™ Software uses the configuration on the node where installation is performed.
Precisely Assure MIMIX™ Software instance on a single Skytap VM, and then the addition of an external node. You must manually configure other nodes and you set RMTNODE(*NONE) on the INSCFGMMX prompt.
Addition of a Skytap VM to an existing Precisely Assure MIMIX™ Software instance. Assure MIMIX™ Software uses the configuration on the previously installed node and you set RMTNODE(*INSTALLED) on the INSCFGMMX prompt.

To start the installation

For all installations except for single VM, run these commands on the remote system (where the installation is not being run):

Type STRTCPSVR *REXEC and press Enter to start the REXEC server.
Type STRTCPSVR *FTP and press Enter to start the FTP server.

If the remote system has an existing Assure MIMIX™ Software configuration, it must be a management (*MGT) system.

On the local install system:

Sign in using a high-power profile (as described in Prerequisites).
Type CALL QCMD and press Enter.
Press F11 to expand the command input to full screen.
Type CHGJOB CCSID(37) and press Enter to change the CCSID of the job to 37.
Copy the following command, paste it to the command window, and then press Enter:

Runsql Commit(*NONE)
/*  +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  */
/*  ++++             BE SURE JOB IS USING CCSID 37.              ++++  */
/*  ++++    USE CHGJOB CCSID(37) BEFORE RUNNING THIS COMMAND.    ++++  */
/*  +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  */
                                                              SQL('BEGIN 
Declare c Clob(2g) CCSID 1208;  SET C = REPEAT(ux''0020'', 690000000); 
Call Qcmdexc(
  ''QSH CMD(''''rm -rf /qsys.lib/qgpl.lib/inscfgmmx.file'''')'');
Call Qcmdexc(''CRTSAVF QGPL/INSCFGMMX'');
Set c = QSYS2.HTTP_GET(
''http://gw/skytap?feature=hadr&request=installer&provider=precisely'');
Call QSYS2.IFS_WRITE_BINARY(''/qsys.lib/qgpl.lib/inscfgmmx.file'', 
line => BASE64_DECODE( TRIM(T UX''000D'' FROM TRIM(T UX''000A'' 
FROM C))), file_ccsid=>37,overwrite=>''REPLACE''); SET C = '''';
Call Qcmdexc(''LODRUN *SAVF SAVF(QGPL/INSCFGMMX)''); END')

This command downloads the main installer from the Skytap repository. After a short delay, the INSCFGMMX command displays:

If Assure MIMIX™ Software isn’t installed, you’ll see the default values.
If Assure MIMIX™ Software is already installed, type the name of the Assure MIMIX™ Software installation library and press Enter. The installer uses the values from the existing configuration.
Provide the required values and press Enter.

Press F1 to see the available help.

                    Install and Configure MIMIX (INSCFGMMX)
Type choices, press Enter.
Installation library . . . . . . > MIMIX         Name
Local node information:
  System def. name for MIMIX . . LPAR1         Name
  Role for replication . . . . . *PRIMARY      *PRIMARY, *BACKUP, *SAME
  Host name or address . . . . . *NODE
  Port number or alias . . . . . 50410
Remote node information:
  System def. name for MIMIX . . LPAR2         Name
  Role for replication . . . . . *BACKUP       *PRIMARY, *BACKUP, *SAME
  Host name or address . . . . . *NODE
  Port number or alias . . . . . 50410
  User profile . . . . . . . . . *CURRENT      Character value, *CURRENT
  Password . . . . . . . . . . . ________
Product-level sec. additions:   _
  User profile . . . . . . . .   *NONE         *NONE, Name
  MIMIX PLS level. . . . . . .   _____         *OPR, *DSP, *MGT, *ADM...
  Lic Mgr. PLS level . . . . .   _____         *NONE, *DSP, *OPR, *MGT...
             + for more values _
System to start AUI server . .   *NONE         *NONE, *ALL

F3=Exit  F4=Prompt  F5=Refresh  F12=Cancel  F13=How to use this display

Assure MIMIX™ Software is installed on the remote system first, unless you specify *INSTALLED for Remote node information (RMTNODE). Information displays on the local system about how to find the job where this occurs.

After Assure MIMIX™ Software is successfully installed on the remote system (if required), installation begins on the local system. Status messages display at the bottom of the screen during this process.

The installation process may take several minutes depending upon the available resources on both systems.

If installation is complete for two nodes, the Assure MIMIX™ Software system managers start. You can use the Assure MIMIX™ Software WRKSYS command to verify the status of the system managers.

If you requested it on the INSCFGMMX prompt, the AUI VSP servers start.

The AUI servers may take a few minutes until they are ready to accept connections.

If the Assure MIMIX™ Software installation fails with a file size or timeout error

Determine if the failure occurred during the API request.

From an IBM i 5250 session (SSH Secure Shell Protocol – A cryptographic protocol that provides a secure channel over an unsecured network. You can use an SSH connection during an SRA browser session. view for IBM i VMs in Skytap):

Type SIGNOFF and press Enter.
Type SIGNON and press Enter.
Type CHGJOB CCSID(37) and press Enter.
Type STRSQL and press Enter.

Paste the following 3 lines:

 select cast( QSYS2.HTTP_GET(
 'http://gw/skytap?feature=hadr&request=installer&provider=precisely') AS VARCHAR(1000) CCSID
 1208) RESPONSE from sysibm.sysdummy1

Press Enter to view the first 1000 characters of the installer file. If you see an error value similar to {"error":"An error occurred. Contact Skytap support. (ECCAFFA7)"}, see Alternate Mimix/Skytap Silent Install notes for alternate installation instructions.

Next steps

You may have to update additional settings, based on your configuration of Precisely Assure MIMIX™ Software.

New Assure MIMIX™ Software configuration

If this is a new Assure MIMIX™ Software installation, the installation process automatically creates an initial configuration based on system replication best practices. You may need to create additional replication configurations as appropriate. See the Assure MIMIX™ Software product documentation or engage a certified Assure MIMIX™ Software consultant.

Added Assure MIMIX™ Software node configuration

If this is a new Assure MIMIX™ Software node that you added to an active Assure MIMIX™ Software installation with the option RMTNODE(*INSTALLED) set, this new node will be added to the existing configuration and the system manager activated. You may need to create additional replication configurations. See the Assure MIMIX™ Software product documentation or engage a certified Assure MIMIX™ Software consultant.

Single Assure MIMIX™ Software node installation

If this is a new, single Precisely Assure MIMIX™ Software node, installed with the option RMTNODE(*NONE) set, you must manually configure the installation to combine it with other Assure MIMIX™ Software nodes. See the Assure MIMIX™ Software product documentation or engage a certified Assure MIMIX™ Software consultant.

Connecting to Assure Unified Interface (AUI) with a browser

After the Assure Unified Interface (AUI) server is running, you can use a web browser to view the AUI server at: https://<hostname>:8410. You’ll need to add a portal connection to access the Assure MIMIX™ Software installation. See the Before configuring from the Assure UI portal for more details about using the AUI.

Getting more help

Assure MIMIX™ Software documentation

Assure MIMIX™ Software product documentation.

The Skytap-specific information provided by this document supersedes some information in the general Assure MIMIX™ Software documentation set.