IBM AIX 7.3 – Common Problem 230 – 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

Commands like lsdev or cfgmgr fail with ODM database errors or hang at boot.

Environment & Reproduction

Seen after unclean shutdown, full /etc, or interrupted installp updates.

Root Cause Analysis

ODM object class files under /etc/objrepos are truncated or out of sync with /dev.

Quick Triage

Run odmget -q name=hdisk0 CuDv and check /etc/objrepos for zero-length files.

Step-by-Step Diagnosis

Boot to maintenance and run /usr/lib/methods/cfgmgr -v with logging to identify failing class.

Solution – Primary Fix

Restore ODM from the last mksysb or savevg using restbyname against /etc/objrepos.

Solution – Alternative Approaches

Rebuild specific entries with odmadd from a known-good LPAR of the same level.

Verification & Acceptance Criteria

lsdev -Cc disk lists devices cleanly and cfgmgr completes without ODM errors.

Rollback Plan

Revert /etc/objrepos to the pre-change tar snapshot and reboot.

Prevention & Hardening

Take a tar of /etc/objrepos before installp and protect /etc from filling.

Related Errors & Cross-Refs

May trigger bosboot failures and SRC subsystem startup errors.

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

IBM AIX 7.3 ODM commands – odmget, odmadd, odmdelete documentation.