IBM AIX 7.3 – Common Problem 002 – Diagnosis and Fix

📖 ~1 min read

Table of contents

1. Symptom & Impact
2. Environment & Reproduction
3. Root Cause Analysis
4. Quick Triage
5. Step-by-Step Diagnosis
6. Solution – Primary Fix
7. Solution – Alternative Approaches
8. Verification & Acceptance Criteria
9. Rollback Plan
10. Prevention & Hardening
11. Related Errors & Cross-Refs
12. References & Further Reading

Symptom & Impact

rootvg filesystems hit 100% and applications fail to write logs.

Environment & Reproduction

IBM AIX 7.3 LPAR exhibiting rootvg full / filesystem issues under standard PowerVM workloads.

df -g
lsvg rootvg

Root Cause Analysis

Log growth in /var or /tmp without rotation exhausts JFS2 filesystem space.

Quick Triage

Confirm scope with errpt, recent changes, and subsystem state via lssrc.

df -g | sort -k4
lsvg -l rootvg

Step-by-Step Diagnosis

Identify largest consumers and confirm JFS2 inline log isn’t fragmented.

du -sg /var/* | sort -n
fsck -n /dev/hd9var

Solution – Primary Fix

Extend the filesystem with chfs after confirming free PPs in rootvg.

chfs -a size=+2G /var
lsvg rootvg

Solution – Alternative Approaches

Move large directories to a new JFS2 filesystem on datavg.

Verification & Acceptance Criteria

Confirm subsystem returns to RUNNING state and errpt shows no new entries.

df -g /var
lsfs /var

Rollback Plan

Restore prior configuration from mksysb or alt_disk_install clone if the fix regresses.

chfs -a size=-2G /var  # only if PPs available

Prevention & Hardening

Encode the fix in NIM customisation scripts and monitor via topas/nmon.

smit chfs  # set autoextend policy and monitor with topas

Related Errors & Cross-Refs

JFS2 log full (errpt J2_LOG_WRAP)

Related tutorial: View the step-by-step tutorial for aix-7.3.

View all aix-7.3 tutorials on the Tutorials Hub →

Browse all common problems & solutions on the Tutorials Hub.

References & Further Reading

AIX Logical Volume Manager from A to Z