Reasons for AIX bare metal restore

The bare metal software is a powerful and flexible tool. In many cases, you do not really need to use all of its features. However, you should understand how to apply bare metal in the quickest and most effective way. Let’s consider a few common cases when a system may need to be restored.

     An important file (directory) on the system has been corrupted or removed.

If your system is on the network, you do not need your bare metal media. Simply perform a Selective Restore from the backup system and select only the file(s) you need.

     The system is dead. The root drive has been formatted or replaced. Something unknown happened to the computer and now it does not work, it cannot be booted.

Boot your system using the AIX bare metal boot CD. From the main menu select Restore > Smart Restore. This reconfigures all of the disks and restore all the files.

Important things to know about bare metal restores:

     The option Smart Restore destroys all of the existing data on all disks. Please be sure that you really need this step. Make sure also that you have a valid master backup and your bare metal media was tested successfully.

     The option Create filesystems on the Restore menu removes all of the files from that filesystem. You will be prompted if you really wish to do this.

     The option Format Partitions (Automated) removes all existing data.

     The choice Make disk bootable in the Restore menu cannot damage anything on your disk.