4.10 ExercisesThe ODM has many purposes. Its primary functions are to maintain the RISC System/6000 configuration, associated devices, and the vital product database. In addition, it provides a more robust, secure, and sharable resource than the ASCII files previously used in AIX.
System data managed by the ODM includes:
Most system object classes and objects are stored in the /usr/lib/objrepos directory; however, ODM information is stored in three directories as follows:
The basic components of the ODM are object classes and objects. To manage object classes and objects, you use the ODM commands and subroutines. Specifically, you use the create and add features of these interfaces to build object classes and objects for storage and management of your own data.
A summary of the ODM concepts is provided in Table 23.
Table 23: ODM Concepts
An object class comprises one or more descriptors. Values are associated with the descriptors of an object when the object is added to an object class. The descriptors of an object and their associated values can be located and changed with the ODM facilities.
In the area of device configuration, the ODM contains information about all configured physical volumes, volume groups, and logical volumes. This information mirrors the information found in the VGDA. The process of importing a VGDA, for example, involves copying the VGDA data for the imported volume group into the ODM. When a volume group is exported, the data held in the ODM about that volume group is removed from the ODM database.
5.1 ODM Commands