New inst: HP-UX: db2icrt fails: CLP frontend unable to get request handle

Question

We are migrating our installations from the beautiful AIX to ... HP-UX.  I am told I will learn to love it, but probably not until they update df to at least 1988 levels. 
This is the pilot install.  We have never seen this work before (and maybe no-one has...?)
sapinst runs correctly up to the "Create database instance" phase.  At that point it dies with the following:
FUNCTION: DB2 UDB, command line process, clp_start_bp, probe:3
MESSAGE  : CLP frontend unable to get REQUEST handle
DATA #1: Hexdump etc.
DBI1281E: The database manager configuration file could not be read initialized.
No further useful information is provided.
In db2<sid> I have a bunch of dot files (.profile and the like) and the db2_software directory containing the database installation.
During the create database instance phase, I can see that directory sqllib is created, but it is deleted when the phase fails.
There is no litter of any kind in the /db2/<SID> directories, - nothing has been done at all.
I have done the following: <<imagine nice bullets below - they dont seem to be available here>>
checked that the permissions on /tmp and the installation direcctory (redirected by setenv  TEMP  /usr/sap/install) are 777: they are;
checked the OS parameters with db2osconf - they are good
checked the host name resolution with a perl script - gethostbyname and gethostbyaddr agree.
the ip address, simple hostname and FQDN are on a line in the hosts file
there is no litter from previous installations - this is a clean machine
I could not find any reference to required environment variables (such as LD_LIBRARY_PATH) in the install guide or the install note - so I have not set any.
I have been hacking away at this for days.  I have put in a call to SAP, who will get back to me after dark (of course...)
This seems to be a massively popular problem, and the helpful error message ("Sorry, Sport, just can't bring myself to do it") seems to have people jumping from tall buildings and in front of busses all over Google-world.  Furthermore there also seems to be a near-infinite number of possible causes and none of them seem to apply here.
H-PUX version is 11.31.  DB2 is 9V5 patch 4.  sapinst is latest available.  Weekend is fading fast...
Edited by: Russell Day on Mar 5, 2010 7:46 AM

Answer 1

>
Paul Power wrote:
> Hi Russell,
>
> Apologies if some of this has been already tried but please check the following points:
>
> Make sure the machine name is listed in its hosts file.
>
> Make sure to log on directly to root. ie: do not su to root from another without '-'        
>
> Make sure there is no instance created already (find / -name sqllib) for that user 
>
> Using ps -aef and ipc -a, no old db2 ressources should be displayed for db2 instance owner. If there are any, kill/remove it  
>
> You should make sure, that LIBPATH and LD_LIBRARY_PATH of root and db2 instance owner does not point to an path of another db2 version
>
> Regards,
> Paul
No need to apologise for assisting, Paul, but I have dealt with most of these.
The host file contains the unqualified and fully qualified hostnames, on the same line, unqualified first.
I am logging in as root (because there were no other users, and I'm old school, from when everyone logged on as root to do everything.
There is no instance, and in fact there is no sqllib except when the "create database instance" step is running.
The only detectable db2 process running is db2fcmd
I have not been able to find any instructions regarding LD_LIBRARY_PATH and LIBPATH for HP-UX.  They are not mentioned in the installation guide at all.  I cannot find it in any of the installation notes.   I presume sapinst is setting them itself before they are needed.  Neither are set in the enviroment of db2<sid> or <sid>adm.  I have gnawed my fingernails to the elbow over this one, but I cannot see any indication that either should be set for HP-UX.  Anyway, they are definitely not set anywhere, to anything.  This was a clean machine before I started chopping it up to do this install.
I figure it must be complicated - I have been trying to get an answer for 10 days already.  I will absolutely hate myself when it turns out to be something obvious, documented in 10 places, mostly in bold italics.  I shoulda taken my dads advice and been a riverboat gambler or a piano player in a cathouse - its a lot less complicated,