Chapter 6. Introduction to Tasks and Service AidsThe AIX Diagnostic Package contains programs that are called Tasks. Tasks can bethought of as performing a specific function on a resource; for example, runningdiagnostics, or performing a service aid on a resource. This chapter describes theTasks available in AIX Diagnostics Version 4.2 and later.Note: Many of these programs work on all system model architectures. Someprograms are only accessible from Online Diagnostics in Service or Concurrentmode, others may be accessible only from Standalone Diagnostics, while stillother programs may only be supported on a particular system architecture, suchas CHRP (Common Hardware Reference platform).Use the FUNCTION SELECTION menu to perform tasks.Once a task is selected, a resource menu may be presentedYou can use a fast-path method to perform a task by using the diag command and the-T flag. This means the user does not have to go through most of the introductorymenus just to get to a particular task. Instead, the user is presented with a list ofresources available to support the specified task. The fast-path tasks are:v certify - certifies mediav chkspares - checks for the availability of spare sectorsv download - downloads microcode to an adapter or devicev disp_mcode - displays current level of microcodev format - formats mediav identify - identifies the PCI RAID physical disks.To run these tasks directly from the command line, specify the resource and othertask-unique flags. Use the descriptions in this chapter to understand which flags areneeded for a given task.141
