Network Installation Manager (NIM) is an
object-oriented system management framework
A framework is a generic term commonly referring to an essential supporting structure which other things are built on top of.
Framework may refer to:
Computing
* Application framework, used to implement the structure of an application for an op ...
on the
IBM AIX operating system that
installs and manages
systems
A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment, is described by its boundaries, structure and purpose and express ...
over a
network. NIM is analogous to
Kickstart in the Linux world.
NIM is a client-server system in which a NIM server provides a boot image to client systems via the BOOTP and TFTP protocols. In addition to boot images, NIM can manage software updates and third-party applications. The SUMA command can be integrated with NIM to automate system updates from a central server and subsequent distribution to clients.
NIM data is organized into object classes and object types.
Classes include machines, networks and resources while types refer to the kind of object within a class, e.g., script or image resources.
References
IBM operating systems
{{computing-stub
Network booting
Booting
Provisioning