New installation process for LIC using USB 3.0 media

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IBM i 7.3 TR 3 and IBM i 7.2 TR 7 introduce a new installation method for Power Systems with POWER8 technology.  USB 3.0 Removable Mass Storage technology is used to make the IBM i installation more convenient. Simply stated, the client can download IBM i images from the Entitled Systems Support (ESS) website, copy them to a USB flash drive, do a D-mode IPL on a managed system, and then install LIC, XPF, and any LPP images that fit onto the media. Note that the new USB-formatted images are in addition to, not in place of, the DVD media images currently available.

Requirements:

• Power System with POWER8 technology
• User supplied USB 3.0 Removable Mass Storage (i.e., USB 3.0 Flash Drive), with capacity from 8 GB up to 128 GB, attached to USB port in a System Unit or to an available USB 3.0 adapter port.  Note that no particular brand of USB 3.0 Flash Drive is recommended; several have been tested at IBM, but if you find one that does not work, try another brand.
• IBM i 7.3 Technology Refresh PTF Group, level 3 or later; or IBM i 7.2 Technology Refresh PTF Group, level 7 or later
• To create the media using a PC, you need Java 7, 32bit or 64bit or higher, on a Windows PC.
• If you are obtaining an image from IBM, you must be a registered IBM customer on the ESS website via a customer number, or a hardware serial number of a machine within your enterprise.    

Supported scenarios:

There are several supported scenarios for this new process:

• Obtaining a bootable LIC media image on a USB 3.0 Flash Drive:
  • You can download the LIC media image (USB image I_BASE_01_*.img, or DVD image I_BASE_01_*.udf) to an existing IBM i partition and use the DUPOPT command to copy it to a USB 3.0 Flash Drive.
  • You can download the LIC media image (USB image I_BASE_01_*.img) to a Windows PC.  Use the IBM-provided program from the ESS website to copy it to a USB 3.0 Flash Drive plugged into the PC.
• Stacking OS and any desired LPPs that fit onto the USB media:
  • If the USB 3.0 Flash drive is plugged into an existing IBM i partition or a Windows PC, you can also copy XPF and any LPP images that fit onto the media.
• Performing D-mode IPL to use the bootable LIC media image:
  • On a managed system (e.g. HMC-managed or IVM-managed), select the USB 3.0 adapter that has the copied LIC media image to perform the D-mode IPL
  • On an unmanaged system, do a D-mode IPL using a DVD image at the same LIC version/modification level as the USB image to be installed.  Then use the "Define alternate installation device" option to select the USB device to install LIC.  Note that the D-mode device and the alternate install device must have the same LIC version/modification level when installing Licensed Internal Code.

More information:

For more detailed information, including specifics about software levels, go to Optical Containers.