Will my AIX operating system run 64-bit software ?

this blog topics is about if your version of AIX will run 64-bit software, including a test to see if the operating system is running on 64-bit hardware. It does not cover how to determine if your Machine is running in 64bit only mode or other OS operation modes.



How do you determine if the AIX® version 4.3 and higher operating system is running in 64-bit mode or 32-bit mode?

Enter this command on the command line:


genkex|grep syscalls64.ext


If syscalls64.ext is found in the output then the 64 bit Application Environment is in use and you can run 64 bit software. AIX® version 4.3 and higher allows 64-bit software to be run as long as the 64-bit Application Environment is in use.

The 64 bit Application Environment can be used whether the kernel is 32-bit or 64-bit as long as the hardware is 64-bit. To determine if your hardware is 64-bit, log in as user root and enter this command at the command line:


bootinfo -y

This will print 32 if the hardware is 32-bit. If the hardware is 64-bit then 64 will be printed.

A true 64-bit kernel is available only in AIX 5.x and higher. If you are running AIX 5.x or higher you can find out if your kernel is 64-bit by running this command at the command line as root:


bootinfo -K
 
This will print 32 if the kernel is 32-bit. If the kernel is 64-bit then 64 will be printed.