Ansible Role: live_kernel_update

The IBM Power Systems AIX collection provides an Ansible role, referred to as live_kernel_update, which assists in automating live kernel update on AIX systems running version 7.2 or higher.

For guides and reference, see the Docs Site.

Requirements

Minimum AIX version supported is 7.2.

Role Variables

Available variables are listed below, along with default values:

Role Variables
Variable Options Required Default Choices Comments
live_kernel_update_hmc_name false empty string Specifies HMC hostname in case the operation is not running in preview mode.
live_kernel_update_hmc_password false empty string Specifies the HMC password for authentication purpose. For security purposes, it is highly recommended to store this sensitive information in an encrypted secret vault file.
live_kernel_update_preview_mode false true If true, the LKU operation will only run in preview mode and no fixes will be applied. It is highly recommended that user should first run this operation in preview mode.
live_kernel_update_directory false empty string Specifies the source directory of the fixes.
live_kernel_update_file_name false all Specifies the space separated name of the fixes in the provided directory. If not specified, all the fix sources would be applied.

NOTES:

  • AIX version should should be 7.2 or higher.

  • /var/adm/ras/liveupdate/lvupdate.data file is created and has all the necessary details of attributes and stanza

  • Refer LKU documentation for additional information related to live kernel update using HMC.

Dependencies

None.

Example Playbook

- name: Perfrom a LKU operation in preview mode
    hosts: aix
    gather_facts: no
    tasks:
      - include_role:
          name: live_kernel_update
        vars:
          live_kernel_update_directory: /tmp/source
          live_kernel_update_file_name: IZ12345.140806.epkg.Z

- name: Perform actual LKU operation
  hosts: aix
  gather_facts: no
  tasks:
    - include_role:
        name: live_kernel_update
      vars:
        live_kernel_update_hmc_name: test1.hmc.hostname
        live_kernel_update_hmc_password: password123
        live_kernel_update_directory: /tmp/source
        live_kernel_update_file_name: IZ12345.140806.epkg.Z
        live_kernel_update_preview_mode: false