Chapter 6. Introduction to Tasks and ServiceAids
The AIX Diagnostic Package contains programs that are called

Tasks

. Taskscan be
thought of as performing a specific function on a resource; for example, running
diagnostics or performing a service aid on a resource. This chapter describes the Tasks
available in AIX Diagnostics Version 4.2 and later.
Note: Many of these programs work on all system model architectures. Some
programs are only accessible from Online Diagnostics in Service or Concurrent
mode, while others might be accessible only from Standalone Diagnostics. Still
other programs might only be supported on a particular system architecture,
such as CHRP (Common Hardware Reference Platform) or RSPC (PowerPC
Reference Platform).
Note: If the system is running on a logically partitioned system, the following tasks may
only be executed in a partition with service authority:
vConfigure Reboot Policy
vConfigure Remote Maintenance Policy
vConfigure Ring Indicate Power-On Policy
vUpdate System or Service Processor Flash
vConfigure Scan Dump Policy
Toperform one of these tasks, use the Task Selection option from the FUNCTION
SELECTION menu.
After a task is selected, a resource menu may be presented showing all resources
supported by the task.
A fast path method is also available to perform a task by using the diag command and
the -T flag. By using the fast path, the user can bypass most of the introductory menus
to access a particular task. The user is presented with a list of resources available to
support the specified task. The fast path tasks are as follows:
vCertify - Certifies media
vChkspares - Checks for the availability of spare sectors
vDownload - Downloads microcode to an adapter or device
vDisp_mcode - Displays current level of microcode
vFormat - Formats media
vIdentify - Identifies the PCI RAID physical disks
vIdentifyRemove - Identifies and removes devices (Hot Plug)
Torun these tasks directly from the command line, specify the resource and other
task-unique flags. Use the descriptions in this chapter to understand which flags are
needed for a given task.
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