1) ".bff" is for "backup file format" and it means the file contains a fileset intallable by the standard AIX package manager installp. Read the link i provided above and follow the procedure laid out there. It should do exactly what you want.

2) "Commit" is a status of a package where it is not possible any more to step back to the revision installed before.

Normally, when installing a package, it is in status "applied", which means the files replaced by this fileset have been saved. By uninstalling it the version which was installed before will be there again. By "COMMIT"ing the package you basically remove these backup copies and when you uninstall the fileset it will be removed completely from the system.

If you just want to use the files in the fileset there is absolutely no difference for you. You can install the filesets to state "APPLIED" and commit them later at any time. You can do the "COMMIT" step via installp directly, but you probably are easier off using "smitty install" for that purpose.

3) Of course it does the affect (change) the OS, but this should be no problem. The software from IBM is usually very well tested and it won't affect your system negatively. Still, you can withhold the "commit" step and bring the software in status "applied" only to retain the opportunity of a rollback in case anything goes wrong.

I hope this helps.

bakunin