PLM can be easily configured using the instructions available from the Hardware InfoCenter. The main document title and links to all the other related steps is as follows.
Configuring resource management for AIX partitions with the Partition Load Manager:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/powersys/v3r1m5/index.jsp?topic=/iphat_p5/iphbkconfigureplm.htm
This URL has links to key topic to assist in the
installation and configuration of PLM.
The topics are:
- Preparing to install the Partition Load Manager
- Installing OpenSSH software tools
- Installing the Partition Load Manager server
- Configuring the policy file
- Querying partition status
- Configuring Resource Monitoring and Control (RMC)
- Starting and stopping the Partition Load Manager server
- Commands for the Partition Load Manager
PLM is only valid for use with System p power 5 servers and typically this will also require a HMC at v6r1.x or lower. The latest patches for PLM should be installed prior to trying to start the PLM server. Additional information regarding PLM can be found at following URL.
Partition Load Manager
Support for System p
http://www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/set2/sas/f/plm/home.html
Related information
Partition Load Manager Support for System p
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Data availability
GPFS is fault tolerant and can be configured for continued access to data
even if cluster nodes or storage systems fail. This is accomplished though
robust clustering features and support for data replication.
GPFS continuously monitors the health of the file system components.
When failures are detected appropriate recovery action is taken automatically.
Extensive logging and recovery capabilities are provided which maintain
metadata consistency when application nodes holding locks or performing
services fail. Data replication is available for journal logs, metadata and data.
Replication allows for continuous operation even if a path to a disk or a disk
itself fails.
GPFS Version 3.2 further enhances clustering robustness with connection
retries. If the LAN connection to a node fails GPFS will automatically try and
reestablish the connection before making the node unavailable. This provides
for better uptime in environments experiencing network issues.
Using these features along with a high availability infrastructure ensures a
reliable enterprise storage solution.
GPFS is fault tolerant and can be configured for continued access to data
even if cluster nodes or storage systems fail. This is accomplished though
robust clustering features and support for data replication.
GPFS continuously monitors the health of the file system components.
When failures are detected appropriate recovery action is taken automatically.
Extensive logging and recovery capabilities are provided which maintain
metadata consistency when application nodes holding locks or performing
services fail. Data replication is available for journal logs, metadata and data.
Replication allows for continuous operation even if a path to a disk or a disk
itself fails.
GPFS Version 3.2 further enhances clustering robustness with connection
retries. If the LAN connection to a node fails GPFS will automatically try and
reestablish the connection before making the node unavailable. This provides
for better uptime in environments experiencing network issues.
Using these features along with a high availability infrastructure ensures a
reliable enterprise storage solution.
GPFS Administration
Administration
GPFS provides an administration model that is consistent with standard
AIX and Linux file system administration while providing extensions for the
clustering aspects of GPFS. These functions support cluster management
and other standard file system administration functions such as quotas,
snapshots, and extended access control lists.
GPFS provides functions that simplify cluster-wide tasks. A single GPFS
command can perform a file system function across the entire cluster and
most can be issued from any node in the cluster. These commands are
typically extensions to the usual AIX and Linux file system commands.
Rolling upgrades allow you to upgrade individual nodes in the cluster while
the file system remains online. With GPFS Version 3.1 you could mix GPFS
3.1 nodes with different patch levels. Continuing that trend in GPFS Version
3.2 you can run a cluster with a mix of GPFS Version 3.1 and GPFS Version
3.2 nodes.
Quotas enable the administrator to control and monitor file system usage
by users and groups across the cluster. GPFS provides commands to
generate quota reports including user, group and fileset inode and data block
usage. In addition to traditional quota management, GPFS has an API that
provides high performance metadata access enabling custom reporting
options on very large numbers of files.
A snapshot of an entire GPFS file system may be created to preserve the
file system's contents at a single point in time. This is a very efficient
mechanism because a snapshot contains a map of the file system at the time
it was taken and a copy of only the file system data that has been changed
since the snapshot was created. This is done using a copy-on-write technique.
The snapshot function allows a backup program, for example, to run
concurrently with user updates and still obtain a consistent copy of the file
system as of the time that the snapshot was created. Snapshots provide an
online backup capability that allows files to be recovered easily from common
problems such as accidental deletion of a file.
An SNMP interface is introduced in GPFS Version 3.2 to allow monitoring
by network management applications. The SNMP agent provides information
on the GPFS cluster and generates traps in the event a file system is mounted,
modified or if a node fails. In GPFS Version 3.2 the SNMP agent runs only on
Linux. You can monitor a mixed cluster of AIX and Linux nodes as long as the
agent runs on a Linux node.
GPFS provides support for the Data Management API (DMAPI) interface
which is IBM’s implementation of the X/Open data storage management API.
This DMAPI interface allows vendors of storage management applications
such as IBM Tivoli® Storage Manager (TSM) to provide Hierarchical Storage
Management (HSM) support for GPFS.
GPFS enhanced access control protects directories and files by providing a
means of specifying who should be granted access. On AIX, GPFS supports
NFS V4 access control lists (ACLs) in addition to traditional ACL support.
Traditional GPFS ACLs are based on the POSIX model. Access control lists
(ACLs) extend the base permissions, or standard file access modes, of read
(r), write (w), and execute (x) beyond the three categories of file owner, file
group, and other users, to allow the definition of additional users and user
groups. In addition, GPFS introduces a fourth access mode, control (c), which
can be used to govern who can manage the ACL itself.
In addition to providing application file service GPFS file systems may be
exported to clients outside the cluster through NFS or Samba. GPFS has
been used for a long time as the base for a scalable NFS file service
infrastructure. Now that feature is integrated in GPFS Version 3.2 and is called
clustered NFS. Clustered NFS provides all the tools necessary to run a GPFS
Linux cluster as a scalable NFS file server. This allows a GPFS cluster to
provide scalable file service by providing simultaneous access to a common
set of data from multiple nodes. The clustered NFS tools include monitoring of
file services, load balancing and IP address fail over.
GPFS provides an administration model that is consistent with standard
AIX and Linux file system administration while providing extensions for the
clustering aspects of GPFS. These functions support cluster management
and other standard file system administration functions such as quotas,
snapshots, and extended access control lists.
GPFS provides functions that simplify cluster-wide tasks. A single GPFS
command can perform a file system function across the entire cluster and
most can be issued from any node in the cluster. These commands are
typically extensions to the usual AIX and Linux file system commands.
Rolling upgrades allow you to upgrade individual nodes in the cluster while
the file system remains online. With GPFS Version 3.1 you could mix GPFS
3.1 nodes with different patch levels. Continuing that trend in GPFS Version
3.2 you can run a cluster with a mix of GPFS Version 3.1 and GPFS Version
3.2 nodes.
Quotas enable the administrator to control and monitor file system usage
by users and groups across the cluster. GPFS provides commands to
generate quota reports including user, group and fileset inode and data block
usage. In addition to traditional quota management, GPFS has an API that
provides high performance metadata access enabling custom reporting
options on very large numbers of files.
A snapshot of an entire GPFS file system may be created to preserve the
file system's contents at a single point in time. This is a very efficient
mechanism because a snapshot contains a map of the file system at the time
it was taken and a copy of only the file system data that has been changed
since the snapshot was created. This is done using a copy-on-write technique.
The snapshot function allows a backup program, for example, to run
concurrently with user updates and still obtain a consistent copy of the file
system as of the time that the snapshot was created. Snapshots provide an
online backup capability that allows files to be recovered easily from common
problems such as accidental deletion of a file.
An SNMP interface is introduced in GPFS Version 3.2 to allow monitoring
by network management applications. The SNMP agent provides information
on the GPFS cluster and generates traps in the event a file system is mounted,
modified or if a node fails. In GPFS Version 3.2 the SNMP agent runs only on
Linux. You can monitor a mixed cluster of AIX and Linux nodes as long as the
agent runs on a Linux node.
GPFS provides support for the Data Management API (DMAPI) interface
which is IBM’s implementation of the X/Open data storage management API.
This DMAPI interface allows vendors of storage management applications
such as IBM Tivoli® Storage Manager (TSM) to provide Hierarchical Storage
Management (HSM) support for GPFS.
GPFS enhanced access control protects directories and files by providing a
means of specifying who should be granted access. On AIX, GPFS supports
NFS V4 access control lists (ACLs) in addition to traditional ACL support.
Traditional GPFS ACLs are based on the POSIX model. Access control lists
(ACLs) extend the base permissions, or standard file access modes, of read
(r), write (w), and execute (x) beyond the three categories of file owner, file
group, and other users, to allow the definition of additional users and user
groups. In addition, GPFS introduces a fourth access mode, control (c), which
can be used to govern who can manage the ACL itself.
In addition to providing application file service GPFS file systems may be
exported to clients outside the cluster through NFS or Samba. GPFS has
been used for a long time as the base for a scalable NFS file service
infrastructure. Now that feature is integrated in GPFS Version 3.2 and is called
clustered NFS. Clustered NFS provides all the tools necessary to run a GPFS
Linux cluster as a scalable NFS file server. This allows a GPFS cluster to
provide scalable file service by providing simultaneous access to a common
set of data from multiple nodes. The clustered NFS tools include monitoring of
file services, load balancing and IP address fail over.
GPFS file system
The file system
A GPFS file system is built from a collection of disks which contain the file
system data and metadata. A file system can be built from a single disk or
contain thousands of disks, storing Petabytes of data. A GPFS cluster can
contain up to 256 mounted file systems. There is no limit placed upon the
number of simultaneously opened files within a single file system. As an
example, current GPFS customers are using single file systems up to 2PB in
size and others containing tens of millions of file.
Application interfaces
Applications can access files through standard UNIX® file system
interfaces or through enhanced interfaces available for parallel programs.
Parallel and distributed applications can be scheduled on GPFS clusters to
take advantage of the shared access architecture. This makes GPFS a key
component in many grid-based solutions. Parallel applications can
concurrently read or update a common file from multiple nodes in the cluster.
GPFS maintains the coherency and consistency of the file system using a
sophisticated byte level locking, token (lock) management and logging.
In addition to standard interfaces GPFS provides a unique set of extended
interfaces which can be used to provide high performance for applications with
demanding data access patterns. These extended interfaces are more
efficient for traversing a file system, for example, and provide more features
than the standard POSIX interfaces.
Performance and scalability
GPFS provides unparalleled performance especially for larger data objects
and excellent performance for large aggregates of smaller objects. GPFS
achieves high performance I/O by:
• Striping data across multiple disks attached to multiple nodes.
• Efficient client side caching.
• Supporting a large block size, configurable by the administrator, to fit
I/O requirements.
• Utilizing advanced algorithms that improve read-ahead and writebehind
file functions.
• Using block level locking based on a very sophisticated scalable token
management system to provide data consistency while allowing
multiple application nodes concurrent access to the files.
GPFS recognizes typical access patterns like sequential, reverse
sequential and random and optimizes I/O access for these patterns.
GPFS token (lock) management coordinates access to shared disks
ensuring the consistency of file system data and metadata when different
nodes access the same file. GPFS has the ability for multiple nodes to act as
token managers for a single file system. This allows greater scalability for high
transaction workloads.
Along with distributed token management, GPFS provides scalable
metadata management by allowing all nodes of the cluster accessing the file
system to perform file metadata operations. This key and unique feature
distinguishes GPFS from other cluster file systems which typically have a
centralized metadata server handling fixed regions of the file namespace. A
centralized metadata server can often become a performance bottleneck for
metadata intensive operations and can represent a single point of failure.
GPFS solves this problem by managing metadata at the node which is using
the file or in the case of parallel access to the file, at a dynamically selected
node which is using the file.
A GPFS file system is built from a collection of disks which contain the file
system data and metadata. A file system can be built from a single disk or
contain thousands of disks, storing Petabytes of data. A GPFS cluster can
contain up to 256 mounted file systems. There is no limit placed upon the
number of simultaneously opened files within a single file system. As an
example, current GPFS customers are using single file systems up to 2PB in
size and others containing tens of millions of file.
Application interfaces
Applications can access files through standard UNIX® file system
interfaces or through enhanced interfaces available for parallel programs.
Parallel and distributed applications can be scheduled on GPFS clusters to
take advantage of the shared access architecture. This makes GPFS a key
component in many grid-based solutions. Parallel applications can
concurrently read or update a common file from multiple nodes in the cluster.
GPFS maintains the coherency and consistency of the file system using a
sophisticated byte level locking, token (lock) management and logging.
In addition to standard interfaces GPFS provides a unique set of extended
interfaces which can be used to provide high performance for applications with
demanding data access patterns. These extended interfaces are more
efficient for traversing a file system, for example, and provide more features
than the standard POSIX interfaces.
Performance and scalability
GPFS provides unparalleled performance especially for larger data objects
and excellent performance for large aggregates of smaller objects. GPFS
achieves high performance I/O by:
• Striping data across multiple disks attached to multiple nodes.
• Efficient client side caching.
• Supporting a large block size, configurable by the administrator, to fit
I/O requirements.
• Utilizing advanced algorithms that improve read-ahead and writebehind
file functions.
• Using block level locking based on a very sophisticated scalable token
management system to provide data consistency while allowing
multiple application nodes concurrent access to the files.
GPFS recognizes typical access patterns like sequential, reverse
sequential and random and optimizes I/O access for these patterns.
GPFS token (lock) management coordinates access to shared disks
ensuring the consistency of file system data and metadata when different
nodes access the same file. GPFS has the ability for multiple nodes to act as
token managers for a single file system. This allows greater scalability for high
transaction workloads.
Along with distributed token management, GPFS provides scalable
metadata management by allowing all nodes of the cluster accessing the file
system to perform file metadata operations. This key and unique feature
distinguishes GPFS from other cluster file systems which typically have a
centralized metadata server handling fixed regions of the file namespace. A
centralized metadata server can often become a performance bottleneck for
metadata intensive operations and can represent a single point of failure.
GPFS solves this problem by managing metadata at the node which is using
the file or in the case of parallel access to the file, at a dynamically selected
node which is using the file.
What is GPFS?
The IBM General Parallel File System (GPFS) provides unmatched
performance and reliability with scalable access to critical file data. GPFS
distinguishes itself from other cluster file systems by providing concurrent
high-speed file access to applications executing on multiple nodes of an AIX
cluster, a Linux cluster, or a heterogeneous cluster of AIX and Linux nodes. In
addition to providing file storage capabilities, GPFS provides storage
management, information life cycle tools, centralized administration and
allows for shared access to file systems from remote GPFS clusters.
GPFS provides scalable high-performance data access from a two node
cluster providing a high availability platform supporting a database application,
for example, to 2,000 nodes or more used for applications like modeling
weather patterns. Up to 512 Linux nodes or 128 AIX nodes with access to
one or more file systems are supported as a general statement and larger
configurations exist by special arrangements with IBM. The largest existing
configurations exceed 2,000 nodes. GPFS has been available on AIX since
1998 and Linux since 2001. It has proven time and again on some of the
world's most powerful supercomputers1 to provide efficient use of disk
bandwidth.
GPFS was designed from the beginning to support high performance
computing (HPC) and has been proven very effective for a variety of
applications. It is installed in clusters supporting relational databases, digital
media and scalable file serving. These applications are used across many
industries including financial, retail and government applications. Being tested
in very demanding large environments makes GPFS a solid solution for any
size application.
GPFS supports various system types including the IBM System p™ family
and machines based on Intel® or AMD processors such as an IBM System
x™ environment. Supported operating systems for GPFS Version 3.2 include
AIX V5.3 and selected versions of Red Hat and SUSE Linux distributions.
This paper introduces a number of GPFS features and describes core
concepts. This includes the file system, high availability features, information
lifecycle management (ILM) tools and various cluster architectures.
The IBM General Parallel File System (GPFS) provides unmatched
performance and reliability with scalable access to critical file data. GPFS
distinguishes itself from other cluster file systems by providing concurrent
high-speed file access to applications executing on multiple nodes of an AIX
cluster, a Linux cluster, or a heterogeneous cluster of AIX and Linux nodes. In
addition to providing file storage capabilities, GPFS provides storage
management, information life cycle tools, centralized administration and
allows for shared access to file systems from remote GPFS clusters.
GPFS provides scalable high-performance data access from a two node
cluster providing a high availability platform supporting a database application,
for example, to 2,000 nodes or more used for applications like modeling
weather patterns. Up to 512 Linux nodes or 128 AIX nodes with access to
one or more file systems are supported as a general statement and larger
configurations exist by special arrangements with IBM. The largest existing
configurations exceed 2,000 nodes. GPFS has been available on AIX since
1998 and Linux since 2001. It has proven time and again on some of the
world's most powerful supercomputers1 to provide efficient use of disk
bandwidth.
GPFS was designed from the beginning to support high performance
computing (HPC) and has been proven very effective for a variety of
applications. It is installed in clusters supporting relational databases, digital
media and scalable file serving. These applications are used across many
industries including financial, retail and government applications. Being tested
in very demanding large environments makes GPFS a solid solution for any
size application.
GPFS supports various system types including the IBM System p™ family
and machines based on Intel® or AMD processors such as an IBM System
x™ environment. Supported operating systems for GPFS Version 3.2 include
AIX V5.3 and selected versions of Red Hat and SUSE Linux distributions.
This paper introduces a number of GPFS features and describes core
concepts. This includes the file system, high availability features, information
lifecycle management (ILM) tools and various cluster architectures.
IBM General Parallel File System ( GPFS )
GPFS (General Parallel File System) is a high-performance shared-disk clustered file system developed by IBM.
Like some other cluster filesystems, GPFS provides concurrent high-speed file access to applications executing on multiple nodes of clusters. It can be used with AIX 5L clusters, Linux clusters, or a heterogeneous cluster of AIX and Linux nodes. In addition to providing filesystem storage capabilities, GPFS provides tools for management and administration of the GPFS cluster and allows for shared access to file systems from remote GPFS clusters.
GPFS has been available on AIX since 1998 and on Linux since 2001, and is offered as part of the IBM System Cluster 1350.
Versions of GPFS.
Versions:
GPFS 3.2, September 2007
GPFS 3.2.1-2, April 2008
GPFS 3.2.1-4, July 2008
GPFS 3.1
GPFS 2.3.0-29
Architecture
GPFS provides high performance by allowing data to be accessed over multiple computers at once. Most existing file systems are designed for a single server environment, and adding more file servers does not improve performance. GPFS provides higher input/output performance by "striping" blocks of data from individual files over multiple disks, and reading and writing these blocks in parallel. Other features provided by GPFS include high availability, support for heterogeneous clusters, disaster recovery, security, DMAPI, HSM and ILM.
Like some other cluster filesystems, GPFS provides concurrent high-speed file access to applications executing on multiple nodes of clusters. It can be used with AIX 5L clusters, Linux clusters, or a heterogeneous cluster of AIX and Linux nodes. In addition to providing filesystem storage capabilities, GPFS provides tools for management and administration of the GPFS cluster and allows for shared access to file systems from remote GPFS clusters.
GPFS has been available on AIX since 1998 and on Linux since 2001, and is offered as part of the IBM System Cluster 1350.
Versions of GPFS.
Versions:
GPFS 3.2, September 2007
GPFS 3.2.1-2, April 2008
GPFS 3.2.1-4, July 2008
GPFS 3.1
GPFS 2.3.0-29
Architecture
GPFS provides high performance by allowing data to be accessed over multiple computers at once. Most existing file systems are designed for a single server environment, and adding more file servers does not improve performance. GPFS provides higher input/output performance by "striping" blocks of data from individual files over multiple disks, and reading and writing these blocks in parallel. Other features provided by GPFS include high availability, support for heterogeneous clusters, disaster recovery, security, DMAPI, HSM and ILM.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Restoring the Virtual I/O Server
As there are 4 different ways to backup the Virtual I/O Server, so there are 4 ways to restore it.
Restoring from a tape or DVD
To restore the Virtual I/O Server from tape or DVD, follow these steps:
1. specify the Virtual I/O Server partition to boot from the tape or DVD by
using the bootlist command or by altering the bootlist in SMS menu.
2. insert the tape/DVD into the drive.
3. from the SMS menu, select to install from the tape/DVD drive.
4. follow the installation steps according to the system prompts
Restoring the Virtual I/O Server from a remote file system using a nim_resources.tar file
To restore the Virtual I/O Server from a nim_resources.tar image in a file system, perform the following steps:
1. run the installios command without any flag from the HMC command line.
a) Select the Managed System where you want to restore your Virtual I/O Server
from the objects of type "managed system" found by installios command.
b) Select the VIOS Partition where you want to restore your system from the
objects of type "virtual I/O server partition" found
c) Select the Profile from the objects of type "profile" found.
d) Enter the source of the installation images [/dev/cdrom]:
server:/exported_dir
e) Enter the client's intended IP address:
f) Enter the client's intended subnet mask:
g) Enter the client's gateway:
h) Enter the client's speed [100]:
i) Enter the client's duplex [full]:
j) Would you like to configure the client's network after the installation
[yes]/no?
2. when the restoration is finished, open a virtual terminal connection (for
example, using telnet) to the Virtual I/O Server that you restored. Some
additional user input might be required
Note: The ability to run the installios command from the NIM server against the nim_resources.tar file is enabled with APAR IY85192.
Restoring the Virtual I/O Server from a remote file system using a mksysb image
To restore the Virtual I/O Server from a mksysb image in a file system using NIM, complete the following tasks:
1. define the mksysb file as a NIM object, by running the nim command.
#nim -o define -t mksysb -a server=master –a
location=/export/ios_backup/filename.mksysb objectname
objectname is the name by which NIM registers and recognizes the mksysb
file.
2. define a SPOT resource for the mksysb file by running the nim command.
#nim -o define -t spot -a server=master -a location=/export/ios_backup/
SPOT -a source=objectname SPOTname
SPOTname is the name of the SPOT resource for the mksysb file.
3. install the Virtual I/O Server from the mksysb file using the smit command.
#smit nim_bosinst
The following entry fields must be filled:
“Installation type” => mksysb
“Mksysb” => the objectname chosen in step1
“Spot” => the SPOTname chosen in step2
4. start the Virtual I/O Server logical partition.
a) On the HMC, right-click the partition to open the menu.
b) Click Activate. The Activate Partition menu opens with a selection of
partition profiles. Be sure the correct profile is highlighted.
c) Select the Open a terminal window or console session check box to open a
virtual terminal (vterm) window.
d) Click (Advanced...) to open the advanced options menu.
e) For the Boot mode, select SMS.
f) Click OK to close the advanced options menu.
g) Click OK. A vterm window opens for the partition.
h) In the vterm window, select Setup Remote IPL (Initial Program Load).
i) Select the network adapter that will be used for the installation.
j) Select IP Parameters.
k) Enter the client IP address, server IP address, and gateway IP address.
Optionally, you can enter the subnet mask. After you have entered these
values, press Esc to return to the Network Parameters menu.
l) Select Ping Test to ensure that the network parameters are properly
configured. Press Esc twice to return to the Main Menu.
m) From the Main Menu, select Boot Options.
n) Select Install/Boot Device.
o) Select Network.
p) Select the network adapter whose remote IPL settings you previously
configured.
q) When prompted for Normal or Service mode, select Normal.
r) When asked if you want to exit, select Yes.
Integrated Virtualization Manager (IVM) Consideration
If your Virtual I/O Server is managed by the IVM, prior to backup of your system, you need to backup your partition profile data for the management partition and its clients as IVM is integrated with Virtual I/O Server, but the LPARs profile is not saved with the backupios command.
There are two ways to perform this backup:
From the IVM Web Interface
1) From the Service Management menu, click Backup/Restore
2) Select the Partition Configuration Backup/Restore tab
3) Click Generate a backup
From the Virtual I/O Server CLI
1) Run the following command
#bkprofdata -o backup
Both these ways generate a file named profile.bak with the information about the LPARs configuration. While using the Web Interface, the default path for the file is /home/padmin. But if you perform the backup from CLI, the default path will be /var/adm/lpm. This path can be changed using the –l flag. Only ONE file can be present on the system, so each time the bkprofdata is issued or the Generate a Backup button is pressed, the file is overwritten.
To restore the LPARs profile you can use either the GUI or the CLI
From the IVM Web Interface
1) From the Service Management menu, click Backup/Restore
2) Select the Partition Configuration Backup/Restore tab
3) Click Restore Partition Configuration
From the Virtual I/O Server CLI
1) Run the following command
#rstprofdata –l 1 –f /home/padmin/profile.bak
It is not possible to restore a single partition profile. In order to restore LPARs profile, none of the LPARs profile included in the profile.bak must be defined in the IVM.
Restoring from a tape or DVD
To restore the Virtual I/O Server from tape or DVD, follow these steps:
1. specify the Virtual I/O Server partition to boot from the tape or DVD by
using the bootlist command or by altering the bootlist in SMS menu.
2. insert the tape/DVD into the drive.
3. from the SMS menu, select to install from the tape/DVD drive.
4. follow the installation steps according to the system prompts
Restoring the Virtual I/O Server from a remote file system using a nim_resources.tar file
To restore the Virtual I/O Server from a nim_resources.tar image in a file system, perform the following steps:
1. run the installios command without any flag from the HMC command line.
a) Select the Managed System where you want to restore your Virtual I/O Server
from the objects of type "managed system" found by installios command.
b) Select the VIOS Partition where you want to restore your system from the
objects of type "virtual I/O server partition" found
c) Select the Profile from the objects of type "profile" found.
d) Enter the source of the installation images [/dev/cdrom]:
server:/exported_dir
e) Enter the client's intended IP address:
f) Enter the client's intended subnet mask:
g) Enter the client's gateway:
h) Enter the client's speed [100]:
i) Enter the client's duplex [full]:
j) Would you like to configure the client's network after the installation
[yes]/no?
2. when the restoration is finished, open a virtual terminal connection (for
example, using telnet) to the Virtual I/O Server that you restored. Some
additional user input might be required
Note: The ability to run the installios command from the NIM server against the nim_resources.tar file is enabled with APAR IY85192.
Restoring the Virtual I/O Server from a remote file system using a mksysb image
To restore the Virtual I/O Server from a mksysb image in a file system using NIM, complete the following tasks:
1. define the mksysb file as a NIM object, by running the nim command.
#nim -o define -t mksysb -a server=master –a
location=/export/ios_backup/filename.mksysb objectname
objectname is the name by which NIM registers and recognizes the mksysb
file.
2. define a SPOT resource for the mksysb file by running the nim command.
#nim -o define -t spot -a server=master -a location=/export/ios_backup/
SPOT -a source=objectname SPOTname
SPOTname is the name of the SPOT resource for the mksysb file.
3. install the Virtual I/O Server from the mksysb file using the smit command.
#smit nim_bosinst
The following entry fields must be filled:
“Installation type” => mksysb
“Mksysb” => the objectname chosen in step1
“Spot” => the SPOTname chosen in step2
4. start the Virtual I/O Server logical partition.
a) On the HMC, right-click the partition to open the menu.
b) Click Activate. The Activate Partition menu opens with a selection of
partition profiles. Be sure the correct profile is highlighted.
c) Select the Open a terminal window or console session check box to open a
virtual terminal (vterm) window.
d) Click (Advanced...) to open the advanced options menu.
e) For the Boot mode, select SMS.
f) Click OK to close the advanced options menu.
g) Click OK. A vterm window opens for the partition.
h) In the vterm window, select Setup Remote IPL (Initial Program Load).
i) Select the network adapter that will be used for the installation.
j) Select IP Parameters.
k) Enter the client IP address, server IP address, and gateway IP address.
Optionally, you can enter the subnet mask. After you have entered these
values, press Esc to return to the Network Parameters menu.
l) Select Ping Test to ensure that the network parameters are properly
configured. Press Esc twice to return to the Main Menu.
m) From the Main Menu, select Boot Options.
n) Select Install/Boot Device.
o) Select Network.
p) Select the network adapter whose remote IPL settings you previously
configured.
q) When prompted for Normal or Service mode, select Normal.
r) When asked if you want to exit, select Yes.
Integrated Virtualization Manager (IVM) Consideration
If your Virtual I/O Server is managed by the IVM, prior to backup of your system, you need to backup your partition profile data for the management partition and its clients as IVM is integrated with Virtual I/O Server, but the LPARs profile is not saved with the backupios command.
There are two ways to perform this backup:
From the IVM Web Interface
1) From the Service Management menu, click Backup/Restore
2) Select the Partition Configuration Backup/Restore tab
3) Click Generate a backup
From the Virtual I/O Server CLI
1) Run the following command
#bkprofdata -o backup
Both these ways generate a file named profile.bak with the information about the LPARs configuration. While using the Web Interface, the default path for the file is /home/padmin. But if you perform the backup from CLI, the default path will be /var/adm/lpm. This path can be changed using the –l flag. Only ONE file can be present on the system, so each time the bkprofdata is issued or the Generate a Backup button is pressed, the file is overwritten.
To restore the LPARs profile you can use either the GUI or the CLI
From the IVM Web Interface
1) From the Service Management menu, click Backup/Restore
2) Select the Partition Configuration Backup/Restore tab
3) Click Restore Partition Configuration
From the Virtual I/O Server CLI
1) Run the following command
#rstprofdata –l 1 –f /home/padmin/profile.bak
It is not possible to restore a single partition profile. In order to restore LPARs profile, none of the LPARs profile included in the profile.bak must be defined in the IVM.
Backup of Virtual I/O Server
Backing up the Virtual I/O Server
There are 4 different ways to backup/restore the Virtual I/O Server as illustrated in the following table.
Backup method Restore method
To tape From bootable tape
To DVD From bootable DVD
To remote file system From HMC using the NIMoL facility and installios
To remote file system From an AIX NIM server
Backing up to a tape or DVD-RAM
To backup the Virtual I/O Server to a tape or a DVD-RAM, the following steps must be performed
1. check the status and the name of the tape/DVD drive
#lsdev | grep rmt (for tape)
#lsdev | grep cd (for DVD)
2. if it is Available, backup the Virtual I/O Server with the following command
#backupios –tape rmt#
#backupios –cd cd#
If the Virtual I/O Server backup image does not fit on one DVD, then the backupios command provides instructions for disk replacement and removal until all the volumes have been created. This command creates one or more bootable DVDs or tapes that you can use to restore the Virtual I/O Server
Backing up the Virtual I/O Server to a remote file system by creating a nim_resources.tar file
The nim_resources.tar file contains all the necessary resources to restore the Virtual I/O Server, including the mksysb image, the bosinst.data file, the network boot image, and SPOT resource.
The NFS export should allow root access to the Virtual I/O Server, otherwise the backup will fail with permission errors.
To backup the Virtual I/O Server to a filesystem, the following steps must be performed
1. Create a mount directory where the backup file will be written
#mkdir /backup_dir
2. Mount the exported remote directory on the directory created in step 1.
#mount server:/exported_dir /backup_dir
3. Backup the Virtual I/O Server with the following command
#backupios –file /backup_dir
The above command creates a nim_resources.tar file that you can use to restore the Virtual I/O Server from the HMC.
Note: The ability to run the installios command from the NIM server against the nim_resources.tar file is enabled with APAR IY85192.
The backupios command empties the target_disk_data section of bosinst.data and sets RECOVER_DEVICES=Default. This allows the mksysb file generated by the command to be cloned to another logical partition. If you plan to use the nim_resources.tar image to install to a specific disk, then you need to repopulate the target_disk_data section of bosinst.data and replace this file in the nim_resources.tar. All other parts of the nim_resources.tar image must remain unchanged.
Procedure to modify the target_disk_data in the bosinst.data
1. Extract from the nim_resources.tar the bosinst.data
#tar -xvf nim_resources.tar ./bosinst.data
2. The following is an example of the target_disk_data stanza of the bosinst.data generated by backupios.
target_disk_data:
LOCATION =
SIZE_MB =
HDISKNAME =
3. Fill the value of HDISKNAME with the name of the disk to which you want to restore to
4. Put back the modified bosinst.data in the nim_resources.tar image
#tar -uvf nim_resources.tar ./bosinst.data
If you don't remember on which disk your Virtual I/O Server was previously installed, you can also view the original bosinst.data and look at the target_disk_data stanza.
Use the following steps
1. extract from the nim_resources.tar the bosinst.data
#tar -xvf nim_resources.tar ./bosinst.data
2. extract the mksysb from the nim_resources.tar
#tar -xvf nim_resources.tar ./5300-00_mksysb
3. extract the original bosinst.data
#restore -xvf ./5300-00_mksysb ./var/adm/ras/bosinst.data
4. view the original target_disk_data
#grep -p target_disk_data ./var/adm/ras/bosinst.data
The above command displays something like the following:
target_disk_data:
PVID = 00c5951e63449cd9
PHYSICAL_LOCATION = U7879.001.DQDXYTF-P1-T14-L4-L0
CONNECTION = scsi1//5,0
LOCATION = 0A-08-00-5,0
SIZE_MB = 140000
HDISKNAME = hdisk0
5. replace ONLY the target_disk_data stanza in the ./bosinst_data with the original one
6. add the modified file to the nim_resources.tar
#tar -uvf nim_resources.tar ./bosinst.data
Backing up the Virtual I/O Server to a remote file system by creating a mksysb image
You could also restore the Virtual I/O Server from a NIM server. One of the ways to restore from a NIM server is from the mksysb image of the Virtual I/O Server. If you plan to restore the Virtual I/O Server from a NIM server from a mksysb image, verify that the NIM server is at the latest release of AIX.
To backup the Virtual I/O Server to a filesystem the following steps must be performed
1. Create a mount directory where the backup file will be written
#mkdir /backup_dir
2. Mount the exported remote directory on the just created directory
#mount NIM_server:/exported_dir /backup_dir
3. Backup the Virtual I/O Server with the following command
#backupios –file /backup_dir/filename.mksysb -mksysb
There are 4 different ways to backup/restore the Virtual I/O Server as illustrated in the following table.
Backup method Restore method
To tape From bootable tape
To DVD From bootable DVD
To remote file system From HMC using the NIMoL facility and installios
To remote file system From an AIX NIM server
Backing up to a tape or DVD-RAM
To backup the Virtual I/O Server to a tape or a DVD-RAM, the following steps must be performed
1. check the status and the name of the tape/DVD drive
#lsdev | grep rmt (for tape)
#lsdev | grep cd (for DVD)
2. if it is Available, backup the Virtual I/O Server with the following command
#backupios –tape rmt#
#backupios –cd cd#
If the Virtual I/O Server backup image does not fit on one DVD, then the backupios command provides instructions for disk replacement and removal until all the volumes have been created. This command creates one or more bootable DVDs or tapes that you can use to restore the Virtual I/O Server
Backing up the Virtual I/O Server to a remote file system by creating a nim_resources.tar file
The nim_resources.tar file contains all the necessary resources to restore the Virtual I/O Server, including the mksysb image, the bosinst.data file, the network boot image, and SPOT resource.
The NFS export should allow root access to the Virtual I/O Server, otherwise the backup will fail with permission errors.
To backup the Virtual I/O Server to a filesystem, the following steps must be performed
1. Create a mount directory where the backup file will be written
#mkdir /backup_dir
2. Mount the exported remote directory on the directory created in step 1.
#mount server:/exported_dir /backup_dir
3. Backup the Virtual I/O Server with the following command
#backupios –file /backup_dir
The above command creates a nim_resources.tar file that you can use to restore the Virtual I/O Server from the HMC.
Note: The ability to run the installios command from the NIM server against the nim_resources.tar file is enabled with APAR IY85192.
The backupios command empties the target_disk_data section of bosinst.data and sets RECOVER_DEVICES=Default. This allows the mksysb file generated by the command to be cloned to another logical partition. If you plan to use the nim_resources.tar image to install to a specific disk, then you need to repopulate the target_disk_data section of bosinst.data and replace this file in the nim_resources.tar. All other parts of the nim_resources.tar image must remain unchanged.
Procedure to modify the target_disk_data in the bosinst.data
1. Extract from the nim_resources.tar the bosinst.data
#tar -xvf nim_resources.tar ./bosinst.data
2. The following is an example of the target_disk_data stanza of the bosinst.data generated by backupios.
target_disk_data:
LOCATION =
SIZE_MB =
HDISKNAME =
3. Fill the value of HDISKNAME with the name of the disk to which you want to restore to
4. Put back the modified bosinst.data in the nim_resources.tar image
#tar -uvf nim_resources.tar ./bosinst.data
If you don't remember on which disk your Virtual I/O Server was previously installed, you can also view the original bosinst.data and look at the target_disk_data stanza.
Use the following steps
1. extract from the nim_resources.tar the bosinst.data
#tar -xvf nim_resources.tar ./bosinst.data
2. extract the mksysb from the nim_resources.tar
#tar -xvf nim_resources.tar ./5300-00_mksysb
3. extract the original bosinst.data
#restore -xvf ./5300-00_mksysb ./var/adm/ras/bosinst.data
4. view the original target_disk_data
#grep -p target_disk_data ./var/adm/ras/bosinst.data
The above command displays something like the following:
target_disk_data:
PVID = 00c5951e63449cd9
PHYSICAL_LOCATION = U7879.001.DQDXYTF-P1-T14-L4-L0
CONNECTION = scsi1//5,0
LOCATION = 0A-08-00-5,0
SIZE_MB = 140000
HDISKNAME = hdisk0
5. replace ONLY the target_disk_data stanza in the ./bosinst_data with the original one
6. add the modified file to the nim_resources.tar
#tar -uvf nim_resources.tar ./bosinst.data
Backing up the Virtual I/O Server to a remote file system by creating a mksysb image
You could also restore the Virtual I/O Server from a NIM server. One of the ways to restore from a NIM server is from the mksysb image of the Virtual I/O Server. If you plan to restore the Virtual I/O Server from a NIM server from a mksysb image, verify that the NIM server is at the latest release of AIX.
To backup the Virtual I/O Server to a filesystem the following steps must be performed
1. Create a mount directory where the backup file will be written
#mkdir /backup_dir
2. Mount the exported remote directory on the just created directory
#mount NIM_server:/exported_dir /backup_dir
3. Backup the Virtual I/O Server with the following command
#backupios –file /backup_dir/filename.mksysb -mksysb
Backup of Virtual I/O Server
Backing up the Virtual I/O Server
There are 4 different ways to backup/restore the Virtual I/O Server as illustrated in the following table.
Backup method Restore method
To tape From bootable tape
To DVD From bootable DVD
To remote file system From HMC using the NIMoL facility and installios
To remote file system From an AIX NIM server
Backing up to a tape or DVD-RAM
To backup the Virtual I/O Server to a tape or a DVD-RAM, the following steps must be performed
1. check the status and the name of the tape/DVD drive
#lsdev | grep rmt (for tape)
#lsdev | grep cd (for DVD)
2. if it is Available, backup the Virtual I/O Server with the following command
#backupios –tape rmt#
#backupios –cd cd#
If the Virtual I/O Server backup image does not fit on one DVD, then the backupios command provides instructions for disk replacement and removal until all the volumes have been created. This command creates one or more bootable DVDs or tapes that you can use to restore the Virtual I/O Server
Backing up the Virtual I/O Server to a remote file system by creating a nim_resources.tar file
The nim_resources.tar file contains all the necessary resources to restore the Virtual I/O Server, including the mksysb image, the bosinst.data file, the network boot image, and SPOT resource.
The NFS export should allow root access to the Virtual I/O Server, otherwise the backup will fail with permission errors.
To backup the Virtual I/O Server to a filesystem, the following steps must be performed
1. Create a mount directory where the backup file will be written
#mkdir /backup_dir
2. Mount the exported remote directory on the directory created in step 1.
#mount server:/exported_dir /backup_dir
3. Backup the Virtual I/O Server with the following command
#backupios –file /backup_dir
The above command creates a nim_resources.tar file that you can use to restore the Virtual I/O Server from the HMC.
Note: The ability to run the installios command from the NIM server against the nim_resources.tar file is enabled with APAR IY85192.
The backupios command empties the target_disk_data section of bosinst.data and sets RECOVER_DEVICES=Default. This allows the mksysb file generated by the command to be cloned to another logical partition. If you plan to use the nim_resources.tar image to install to a specific disk, then you need to repopulate the target_disk_data section of bosinst.data and replace this file in the nim_resources.tar. All other parts of the nim_resources.tar image must remain unchanged.
Procedure to modify the target_disk_data in the bosinst.data
1. Extract from the nim_resources.tar the bosinst.data
#tar -xvf nim_resources.tar ./bosinst.data
2. The following is an example of the target_disk_data stanza of the bosinst.data generated by backupios.
target_disk_data:
LOCATION =
SIZE_MB =
HDISKNAME =
3. Fill the value of HDISKNAME with the name of the disk to which you want to restore to
4. Put back the modified bosinst.data in the nim_resources.tar image
#tar -uvf nim_resources.tar ./bosinst.data
If you don't remember on which disk your Virtual I/O Server was previously installed, you can also view the original bosinst.data and look at the target_disk_data stanza.
Use the following steps
1. extract from the nim_resources.tar the bosinst.data
#tar -xvf nim_resources.tar ./bosinst.data
2. extract the mksysb from the nim_resources.tar
#tar -xvf nim_resources.tar ./5300-00_mksysb
3. extract the original bosinst.data
#restore -xvf ./5300-00_mksysb ./var/adm/ras/bosinst.data
4. view the original target_disk_data
#grep -p target_disk_data ./var/adm/ras/bosinst.data
The above command displays something like the following:
target_disk_data:
PVID = 00c5951e63449cd9
PHYSICAL_LOCATION = U7879.001.DQDXYTF-P1-T14-L4-L0
CONNECTION = scsi1//5,0
LOCATION = 0A-08-00-5,0
SIZE_MB = 140000
HDISKNAME = hdisk0
5. replace ONLY the target_disk_data stanza in the ./bosinst_data with the original one
6. add the modified file to the nim_resources.tar
#tar -uvf nim_resources.tar ./bosinst.data
Backing up the Virtual I/O Server to a remote file system by creating a mksysb image
You could also restore the Virtual I/O Server from a NIM server. One of the ways to restore from a NIM server is from the mksysb image of the Virtual I/O Server. If you plan to restore the Virtual I/O Server from a NIM server from a mksysb image, verify that the NIM server is at the latest release of AIX.
To backup the Virtual I/O Server to a filesystem the following steps must be performed
1. Create a mount directory where the backup file will be written
#mkdir /backup_dir
2. Mount the exported remote directory on the just created directory
#mount NIM_server:/exported_dir /backup_dir
3. Backup the Virtual I/O Server with the following command
#backupios –file /backup_dir/filename.mksysb -mksysb
There are 4 different ways to backup/restore the Virtual I/O Server as illustrated in the following table.
Backup method Restore method
To tape From bootable tape
To DVD From bootable DVD
To remote file system From HMC using the NIMoL facility and installios
To remote file system From an AIX NIM server
Backing up to a tape or DVD-RAM
To backup the Virtual I/O Server to a tape or a DVD-RAM, the following steps must be performed
1. check the status and the name of the tape/DVD drive
#lsdev | grep rmt (for tape)
#lsdev | grep cd (for DVD)
2. if it is Available, backup the Virtual I/O Server with the following command
#backupios –tape rmt#
#backupios –cd cd#
If the Virtual I/O Server backup image does not fit on one DVD, then the backupios command provides instructions for disk replacement and removal until all the volumes have been created. This command creates one or more bootable DVDs or tapes that you can use to restore the Virtual I/O Server
Backing up the Virtual I/O Server to a remote file system by creating a nim_resources.tar file
The nim_resources.tar file contains all the necessary resources to restore the Virtual I/O Server, including the mksysb image, the bosinst.data file, the network boot image, and SPOT resource.
The NFS export should allow root access to the Virtual I/O Server, otherwise the backup will fail with permission errors.
To backup the Virtual I/O Server to a filesystem, the following steps must be performed
1. Create a mount directory where the backup file will be written
#mkdir /backup_dir
2. Mount the exported remote directory on the directory created in step 1.
#mount server:/exported_dir /backup_dir
3. Backup the Virtual I/O Server with the following command
#backupios –file /backup_dir
The above command creates a nim_resources.tar file that you can use to restore the Virtual I/O Server from the HMC.
Note: The ability to run the installios command from the NIM server against the nim_resources.tar file is enabled with APAR IY85192.
The backupios command empties the target_disk_data section of bosinst.data and sets RECOVER_DEVICES=Default. This allows the mksysb file generated by the command to be cloned to another logical partition. If you plan to use the nim_resources.tar image to install to a specific disk, then you need to repopulate the target_disk_data section of bosinst.data and replace this file in the nim_resources.tar. All other parts of the nim_resources.tar image must remain unchanged.
Procedure to modify the target_disk_data in the bosinst.data
1. Extract from the nim_resources.tar the bosinst.data
#tar -xvf nim_resources.tar ./bosinst.data
2. The following is an example of the target_disk_data stanza of the bosinst.data generated by backupios.
target_disk_data:
LOCATION =
SIZE_MB =
HDISKNAME =
3. Fill the value of HDISKNAME with the name of the disk to which you want to restore to
4. Put back the modified bosinst.data in the nim_resources.tar image
#tar -uvf nim_resources.tar ./bosinst.data
If you don't remember on which disk your Virtual I/O Server was previously installed, you can also view the original bosinst.data and look at the target_disk_data stanza.
Use the following steps
1. extract from the nim_resources.tar the bosinst.data
#tar -xvf nim_resources.tar ./bosinst.data
2. extract the mksysb from the nim_resources.tar
#tar -xvf nim_resources.tar ./5300-00_mksysb
3. extract the original bosinst.data
#restore -xvf ./5300-00_mksysb ./var/adm/ras/bosinst.data
4. view the original target_disk_data
#grep -p target_disk_data ./var/adm/ras/bosinst.data
The above command displays something like the following:
target_disk_data:
PVID = 00c5951e63449cd9
PHYSICAL_LOCATION = U7879.001.DQDXYTF-P1-T14-L4-L0
CONNECTION = scsi1//5,0
LOCATION = 0A-08-00-5,0
SIZE_MB = 140000
HDISKNAME = hdisk0
5. replace ONLY the target_disk_data stanza in the ./bosinst_data with the original one
6. add the modified file to the nim_resources.tar
#tar -uvf nim_resources.tar ./bosinst.data
Backing up the Virtual I/O Server to a remote file system by creating a mksysb image
You could also restore the Virtual I/O Server from a NIM server. One of the ways to restore from a NIM server is from the mksysb image of the Virtual I/O Server. If you plan to restore the Virtual I/O Server from a NIM server from a mksysb image, verify that the NIM server is at the latest release of AIX.
To backup the Virtual I/O Server to a filesystem the following steps must be performed
1. Create a mount directory where the backup file will be written
#mkdir /backup_dir
2. Mount the exported remote directory on the just created directory
#mount NIM_server:/exported_dir /backup_dir
3. Backup the Virtual I/O Server with the following command
#backupios –file /backup_dir/filename.mksysb -mksysb
Updating VIO server Patch level update
Applying updates from a local hard disk
To apply the updates from a directory on your local hard disk, follow one of these two procedures, depending on your currently installed level of VIOS.
A. If the current level of the VIOS is earlier than V1.2.0.0 (V1.0 or V1.1):
NOTE:
If you are updating from VIOS level 1.1, you must update to the 10.1 level of the Fix Pack before updating to the 11.1 level of Fix Pack. In other words, if you are at level 1.1, updating to the 11.1 Fix Pack is a two-step process: First, update to version 10.1 Fix Pack, and then update to the 11.1 Fix Pack.
Contact your IBM Service Representative to obtain the VIOS 10.1 Fix Pack.
After you install the 10.1 Fix Pack, follow these steps to install the 11.1 Fix Pack.
Login to the VIOS as the user padmin.
Create a directory on the Virtual I/O Server.
$ mkdir
Using ftp, transfer the update file(s) to the directory you created.
Apply the update by running the updateios command
$ updateios -accept -dev
Verify that update was successful by checking results of the updateios command and running the ioslevel command. It should indicate the ioslevel is now V1.5.2.1-FP-11.1.
$ ioslevel
B. If the current level of the VIOS is V1.2 through V1.5:
Login to the VIOS as the user padmin.
Create a directory on the Virtual I/O Server.
$ mkdir
Using ftp, transfer the update file(s) to the directory you created.
Apply the update by running the updateios command
$ updateios -accept -install -dev
Verify that update was successful by checking results of the updateios command and running the ioslevel command. It should indicate the ioslevel is now V1.5.2.1-FP-11.1.
$ ioslevel
NOTE:- If you are updating from an ioslevel prior to 1.3.0.1, the updateios command may indicate several failures (i.e. missing requisites) during fix pack installation. These messages are expected. Proceed with the update if you are prompted to "Continue with the installation [y/n]".
Applying updates from a remotely mounted file system
If the remote file system is to be mounted read-only, follow one of these two procedures, depending on your currently installed level of VIOS.
A. If the current level of the VIOS is earlier than V1.2.0.0 (V1.0 or V1.1):
NOTE:
If you are updating from VIOS level 1.1, you must update to the 10.1 level of the Fix Pack before updating to the 11.1 level of Fix Pack. In other words, if you are at level 1.1, updating to the 11.1 Fix Pack is a two-step process: First, update to version 10.1 Fix Pack, and then update to the 11.1 Fix Pack.
Contact your IBM Service Representative to obtain the VIOS 10.1 Fix Pack.
After you install the 10.1 Fix Pack, follow these steps to install the 11.1 Fix Pack.
Login to the VIOS as the user padmin.
Mount the remote directory onto the Virtual I/O Server.
$ mount remote_machine_name:directory /mnt
Apply the update by running the updateios command.
$ updateios -accept -dev /mnt
Verify that update was successful by checking results of the updateios command and running the ioslevel command. It should indicate the ioslevel is now V1.5.2.1-FP-11.1.
$ ioslevel
B. If the current level of the VIOS is V1.2 through V1.5:
Login to the VIOS as the user padmin.
Mount the remote directory onto the Virtual I/O Server.
$ mount remote_machine_name:directory /mnt
Apply the update by running the updateios command
$ updateios -accept -install -dev /mnt
Verify that update was successful by checking results of the updateios command and running the ioslevel command. It should indicate the ioslevel is now V1.5.2.1-FP-11.1.
$ ioslevel
Back to top
Applying updates from the CD/DVD driveThis fix pack can be burned onto a CD by using the ISO image file(s). After the CD has been created, follow one of these two procedures, depending on your currently installed level of VIOS.
A. If the current level of the VIOS is earlier than V1.2.0.0 (V1.0 or V1.1):
NOTE:
If you are updating from VIOS level 1.1, you must update to the 10.1 level of the Fix Pack before updating to the 11.1 level of Fix Pack. In other words, if you are at level 1.1, updating to the 11.1 Fix Pack is a two-step process: First, update to version 10.1 Fix Pack, and then update to the 11.1 Fix Pack.
Contact your IBM Service Representative to obtain the VIOS 10.1 Fix Pack.
After you install the 10.1 Fix Pack, follow these steps to install the 11.1 Fix Pack.
Login to the VIOS as the user padmin.
Place the CD-ROM into the drive assigned to VIOS.
Apply the update by running the updateios command
$ updateios -accept -dev /dev/cdX
where X is the device number 0-N assigned to VIOS
Verify that update was successful by checking results of the updateios command and running the ioslevel command. It should indicate the ioslevel is now V1.5.2.1-FP-11.1.
$ ioslevel
B. If the current level of the VIOS is V1.2 through V1.5:
Login to the VIOS as the user padmin
Place the CD-ROM into the drive assigned to VIOS
Apply the update by running the following updateios command:
$ updateios -accept -install -dev /dev/cdX
where X is the device number 0-N assigned to VIOS
Verify that update was successful by checking results of the updateios command and running the ioslevel command. It should indicate the ioslevel is now V1.5.2.1-FP-11.1.
$ ioslevel
To apply the updates from a directory on your local hard disk, follow one of these two procedures, depending on your currently installed level of VIOS.
A. If the current level of the VIOS is earlier than V1.2.0.0 (V1.0 or V1.1):
NOTE:
If you are updating from VIOS level 1.1, you must update to the 10.1 level of the Fix Pack before updating to the 11.1 level of Fix Pack. In other words, if you are at level 1.1, updating to the 11.1 Fix Pack is a two-step process: First, update to version 10.1 Fix Pack, and then update to the 11.1 Fix Pack.
Contact your IBM Service Representative to obtain the VIOS 10.1 Fix Pack.
After you install the 10.1 Fix Pack, follow these steps to install the 11.1 Fix Pack.
Login to the VIOS as the user padmin.
Create a directory on the Virtual I/O Server.
$ mkdir
Using ftp, transfer the update file(s) to the directory you created.
Apply the update by running the updateios command
$ updateios -accept -dev
Verify that update was successful by checking results of the updateios command and running the ioslevel command. It should indicate the ioslevel is now V1.5.2.1-FP-11.1.
$ ioslevel
B. If the current level of the VIOS is V1.2 through V1.5:
Login to the VIOS as the user padmin.
Create a directory on the Virtual I/O Server.
$ mkdir
Using ftp, transfer the update file(s) to the directory you created.
Apply the update by running the updateios command
$ updateios -accept -install -dev
Verify that update was successful by checking results of the updateios command and running the ioslevel command. It should indicate the ioslevel is now V1.5.2.1-FP-11.1.
$ ioslevel
NOTE:- If you are updating from an ioslevel prior to 1.3.0.1, the updateios command may indicate several failures (i.e. missing requisites) during fix pack installation. These messages are expected. Proceed with the update if you are prompted to "Continue with the installation [y/n]".
Applying updates from a remotely mounted file system
If the remote file system is to be mounted read-only, follow one of these two procedures, depending on your currently installed level of VIOS.
A. If the current level of the VIOS is earlier than V1.2.0.0 (V1.0 or V1.1):
NOTE:
If you are updating from VIOS level 1.1, you must update to the 10.1 level of the Fix Pack before updating to the 11.1 level of Fix Pack. In other words, if you are at level 1.1, updating to the 11.1 Fix Pack is a two-step process: First, update to version 10.1 Fix Pack, and then update to the 11.1 Fix Pack.
Contact your IBM Service Representative to obtain the VIOS 10.1 Fix Pack.
After you install the 10.1 Fix Pack, follow these steps to install the 11.1 Fix Pack.
Login to the VIOS as the user padmin.
Mount the remote directory onto the Virtual I/O Server.
$ mount remote_machine_name:directory /mnt
Apply the update by running the updateios command.
$ updateios -accept -dev /mnt
Verify that update was successful by checking results of the updateios command and running the ioslevel command. It should indicate the ioslevel is now V1.5.2.1-FP-11.1.
$ ioslevel
B. If the current level of the VIOS is V1.2 through V1.5:
Login to the VIOS as the user padmin.
Mount the remote directory onto the Virtual I/O Server.
$ mount remote_machine_name:directory /mnt
Apply the update by running the updateios command
$ updateios -accept -install -dev /mnt
Verify that update was successful by checking results of the updateios command and running the ioslevel command. It should indicate the ioslevel is now V1.5.2.1-FP-11.1.
$ ioslevel
Back to top
Applying updates from the CD/DVD driveThis fix pack can be burned onto a CD by using the ISO image file(s). After the CD has been created, follow one of these two procedures, depending on your currently installed level of VIOS.
A. If the current level of the VIOS is earlier than V1.2.0.0 (V1.0 or V1.1):
NOTE:
If you are updating from VIOS level 1.1, you must update to the 10.1 level of the Fix Pack before updating to the 11.1 level of Fix Pack. In other words, if you are at level 1.1, updating to the 11.1 Fix Pack is a two-step process: First, update to version 10.1 Fix Pack, and then update to the 11.1 Fix Pack.
Contact your IBM Service Representative to obtain the VIOS 10.1 Fix Pack.
After you install the 10.1 Fix Pack, follow these steps to install the 11.1 Fix Pack.
Login to the VIOS as the user padmin.
Place the CD-ROM into the drive assigned to VIOS.
Apply the update by running the updateios command
$ updateios -accept -dev /dev/cdX
where X is the device number 0-N assigned to VIOS
Verify that update was successful by checking results of the updateios command and running the ioslevel command. It should indicate the ioslevel is now V1.5.2.1-FP-11.1.
$ ioslevel
B. If the current level of the VIOS is V1.2 through V1.5:
Login to the VIOS as the user padmin
Place the CD-ROM into the drive assigned to VIOS
Apply the update by running the following updateios command:
$ updateios -accept -install -dev /dev/cdX
where X is the device number 0-N assigned to VIOS
Verify that update was successful by checking results of the updateios command and running the ioslevel command. It should indicate the ioslevel is now V1.5.2.1-FP-11.1.
$ ioslevel
Expanding rootvg disk in VIO environment where 2 VIO servers have been implemented for redundancy.
This article depicts the procedure for expanding a rootvg volume group for a POWER5 LPAR where two VIO Servers have been implemented for redundancy. It also assumes that the rootvg is mirrored across both VIO Servers. This procedure is not supported by IBM, but does work.
POWER5 LPAR:
• Begin by unmirroring your rootvg and remove hdisk1 from the rootvg volume group. If there are any swap or dump devices on this disk you may need to remove them first before you can remove hdisk1 from the rootvg volume group.
• Once the disk has been removed from the rootvg, remove it from the LPAR by executing the following:
#rmdev -l hdisk1 - d
• Now you execute the bosboot command and update your bootlist now that hdisk1 has been removed and is no longer part of the system:
#bosboot -a bootlist -o -m normal hdisk0
VIO Server (where hdisk1 was created):
• Remove the device from the VIO Server using the rmdev command:
#rmdev -dev < bckcnim_hdisk1 >
• Next you will need to access the AIX* OS part of the VIO Server by executing:
#oem_setup_env
• Now you have two options: you can extend the existing logical volume or create a new one if there is more than enough disk space left. In this example I will be using bckcnim_lv. smitty extendlv and add additonal LP's or smitty mklv
• Exit out of oem_setup_env by just typing "exit" at the OS prompt.
• Now that you are back within the restricted shell of the VIO Server, execute the following command. You can use whatever device name you wish. I used bckcnim_hdisk1 just for example purposes:
#mkvdev -vdev bckcnim_lv -vadapter < vhost# > -dev bckcnim_hdisk1
POWER5 LPAR:
• Execute cfgmgr to add the new hdisk1 back to LPAR:
#cfgmgr
• Add hdisk1 back to the rootvg volume group using the extendvg or smitty extendvg.
• Mirror rootvg using the mirrorvg command or smitty mirrorvg
• Sync the mirroring process to the background and wait to complete. This is very important and must complete before dealing with what represents the hdisk0 logical volume.
• Now you must execute bosboot again and update the bootlist again:
#bosboot -a
#bootlist -o -m normal hdisk0 hdisk1
POWER5 LPAR:
• Begin by unmirroring your rootvg and remove hdisk1 from the rootvg volume group. If there are any swap or dump devices on this disk you may need to remove them first before you can remove hdisk1 from the rootvg volume group.
• Once the disk has been removed from the rootvg, remove it from the LPAR by executing the following:
#rmdev -l hdisk1 - d
• Now you execute the bosboot command and update your bootlist now that hdisk1 has been removed and is no longer part of the system:
#bosboot -a bootlist -o -m normal hdisk0
VIO Server (where hdisk1 was created):
• Remove the device from the VIO Server using the rmdev command:
#rmdev -dev < bckcnim_hdisk1 >
• Next you will need to access the AIX* OS part of the VIO Server by executing:
#oem_setup_env
• Now you have two options: you can extend the existing logical volume or create a new one if there is more than enough disk space left. In this example I will be using bckcnim_lv. smitty extendlv and add additonal LP's or smitty mklv
• Exit out of oem_setup_env by just typing "exit" at the OS prompt.
• Now that you are back within the restricted shell of the VIO Server, execute the following command. You can use whatever device name you wish. I used bckcnim_hdisk1 just for example purposes:
#mkvdev -vdev bckcnim_lv -vadapter < vhost# > -dev bckcnim_hdisk1
POWER5 LPAR:
• Execute cfgmgr to add the new hdisk1 back to LPAR:
#cfgmgr
• Add hdisk1 back to the rootvg volume group using the extendvg or smitty extendvg.
• Mirror rootvg using the mirrorvg command or smitty mirrorvg
• Sync the mirroring process to the background and wait to complete. This is very important and must complete before dealing with what represents the hdisk0 logical volume.
• Now you must execute bosboot again and update the bootlist again:
#bosboot -a
#bootlist -o -m normal hdisk0 hdisk1
Friday, August 15, 2008
Recovering a Failed VIO Disk
Recovering a Failed VIO Disk
Here is a recovery procedure for replacing a failed client disk on a Virtual IO
server. It assumes the client partitions have mirrored (virtual) disks. The
recovery involves both the VIO server and its client partitions. However,
it is non disruptive for the client partitions (no downtime), and may be
non disruptive on the VIO server (depending on disk configuration). This
procedure does not apply to Raid5 or SAN disk failures.
The test system had two VIO servers and an AIX client. The AIX client had two
virtual disks (one disk from each VIO server). The two virtual disks
were mirrored in the client using AIX's mirrorvg. (The procedure would be
the same on a single VIO server with two disks.)
The software levels were:
p520: Firmware SF230_145 VIO Version 1.2.0 Client: AIX 5.3 ML3
We had simulated the disk failure by removing the client LV on one VIO server. The
padmin commands to simulate the failure were:
#rmdev -dev vtscsi01 # The virtual scsi device for the LV (lsmap -all)
#rmlv -f aix_client_lv # Remove the client LV
This caused "hdisk1" on the AIX client to go "missing" ("lsvg -p rootvg"....The
"lspv" will not show disk failure...only the disk status at the last boot..)
The recovery steps included:
VIO Server
Fix the disk failure, and restore the VIOS operating system (if necessary)mklv -lv aix_client_lv rootvg 10G # recreate the client LV mkvdev -vdev aix_client_lv -vadapter vhost1 # connect the client LV to the appropriate vhost
AIX Client
# cfgmgr # discover the new virtual hdisk2
replacepv hdisk1 hdisk2
# rebuild the mirror copy on hdisk2
# bosboot -ad /dev/hdisk2 ( add boot image to hdisk2)
# bootlist -m normal hdisk0 hdisk2 ( add the new disk to the bootlist)
# rmdev -dl hdisk1 ( remove failed hdisk1)
The "replacepv" command assigns hdisk2 to the volume group, rebuilds the mirror, and
then removes hdisk1 from the volume group.
As always, be sure to test this procedure before using in production.
Here is a recovery procedure for replacing a failed client disk on a Virtual IO
server. It assumes the client partitions have mirrored (virtual) disks. The
recovery involves both the VIO server and its client partitions. However,
it is non disruptive for the client partitions (no downtime), and may be
non disruptive on the VIO server (depending on disk configuration). This
procedure does not apply to Raid5 or SAN disk failures.
The test system had two VIO servers and an AIX client. The AIX client had two
virtual disks (one disk from each VIO server). The two virtual disks
were mirrored in the client using AIX's mirrorvg. (The procedure would be
the same on a single VIO server with two disks.)
The software levels were:
p520: Firmware SF230_145 VIO Version 1.2.0 Client: AIX 5.3 ML3
We had simulated the disk failure by removing the client LV on one VIO server. The
padmin commands to simulate the failure were:
#rmdev -dev vtscsi01 # The virtual scsi device for the LV (lsmap -all)
#rmlv -f aix_client_lv # Remove the client LV
This caused "hdisk1" on the AIX client to go "missing" ("lsvg -p rootvg"....The
"lspv" will not show disk failure...only the disk status at the last boot..)
The recovery steps included:
VIO Server
Fix the disk failure, and restore the VIOS operating system (if necessary)mklv -lv aix_client_lv rootvg 10G # recreate the client LV mkvdev -vdev aix_client_lv -vadapter vhost1 # connect the client LV to the appropriate vhost
AIX Client
# cfgmgr # discover the new virtual hdisk2
replacepv hdisk1 hdisk2
# rebuild the mirror copy on hdisk2
# bosboot -ad /dev/hdisk2 ( add boot image to hdisk2)
# bootlist -m normal hdisk0 hdisk2 ( add the new disk to the bootlist)
# rmdev -dl hdisk1 ( remove failed hdisk1)
The "replacepv" command assigns hdisk2 to the volume group, rebuilds the mirror, and
then removes hdisk1 from the volume group.
As always, be sure to test this procedure before using in production.
Configuring MPIO for the virtual AIX client
Virtual SCSI Server Adapter and Virtual Target Device.
The mkvdev command will error out if the same name for both is used.
$ mkvdev -vdev hdiskpower0 -vadapter vhost0 -dev hdiskpower0
Method error (/usr/lib/methods/define -g -d):
0514-013 Logical name is required.
The reserve attribute is named differently for an EMC device than the attribute
for ESS or FasTt storage device. It is “reserve_lock”.
Run the following command as padmin for checking the value of the attribute.
$ lsdev -dev hdiskpower# -attr reserve_lock
Run the following command as padmin for changing the value of the attribute.
$ chdev -dev hdiskpower# -attr reserve_lock=no
•Commands to change the Fibre Channel Adapter attributes And also change the following attributes of the fscsi#, fc_err_recov to “fast_fail” and dyntrk to “yes”
$ chdev -dev fscsi# -attr fc_err_recov=fast_fail dyntrk=yes –perm
The reason for changing the fc_err_recov to “fast_fail” is that if the Fibre
Channel adapter driver detects a link event such as a lost link between a storage
device and a switch, then any new I/O or future retries of the failed I/Os will be
failed immediately by the adapter until the adapter driver detects that the device
has rejoined the fabric. The default setting for this attribute is 'delayed_fail’.
Setting the dyntrk attribute to “yes” makes AIX tolerate cabling changes in the
SAN.
The VIOS needs to be rebooted for fscsi# attributes to take effect.
The mkvdev command will error out if the same name for both is used.
$ mkvdev -vdev hdiskpower0 -vadapter vhost0 -dev hdiskpower0
Method error (/usr/lib/methods/define -g -d):
0514-013 Logical name is required.
The reserve attribute is named differently for an EMC device than the attribute
for ESS or FasTt storage device. It is “reserve_lock”.
Run the following command as padmin for checking the value of the attribute.
$ lsdev -dev hdiskpower# -attr reserve_lock
Run the following command as padmin for changing the value of the attribute.
$ chdev -dev hdiskpower# -attr reserve_lock=no
•Commands to change the Fibre Channel Adapter attributes And also change the following attributes of the fscsi#, fc_err_recov to “fast_fail” and dyntrk to “yes”
$ chdev -dev fscsi# -attr fc_err_recov=fast_fail dyntrk=yes –perm
The reason for changing the fc_err_recov to “fast_fail” is that if the Fibre
Channel adapter driver detects a link event such as a lost link between a storage
device and a switch, then any new I/O or future retries of the failed I/Os will be
failed immediately by the adapter until the adapter driver detects that the device
has rejoined the fabric. The default setting for this attribute is 'delayed_fail’.
Setting the dyntrk attribute to “yes” makes AIX tolerate cabling changes in the
SAN.
The VIOS needs to be rebooted for fscsi# attributes to take effect.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
VIO Commands
VIO command from HMC
#viosvrcmd -m
(this works only with IBM VIO Server)
see man viosvrcmd for more information
VIO Server Installation & Configuration
IBM Virtual I/O Server
The Virtual I/O Server is part of the IBM eServer p5 Advanced Power Virtualization hardware feature. Virtual I/O Server allows sharing of physical resources between LPARs including virtual SCSI and virtual networking. This allows more efficient utilization of physical resources through sharing between LPARs and facilitates server consolidation.
Installation
You have two options to install the AIX-based VIO Server:
1. Install from CD
2. Install from network via an AIX NIM-Server
Installation method
#1 is probably the more frequently used method in a pure Linux environment as installation method #2 requires the presence of an AIX NIM (Network Installation Management) server. Both methods differ only in the initial boot step and are then the same. They both lead to the following installation screen:
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to the Virtual I/O Server. boot image timestamp: 10:22 03/23 The current time and date: 17:23:47 08/10/2005 number of processors: 1 size of memory: 2048MB boot device: /pci@800000020000002/pci@2,3/ide@1/disk@0:\ppc\chrp\bootfile.exeSPLPAR info: entitled_capacity: 50 platcpus_active: 2This system is SMT enabled: smt_status: 00000007; smt_threads: 2 kernel size: 10481246; 32 bit kernel
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The next step then is to define the system console. After some time you should see the following screen:
******* Please define the System Console. *******Type a 1 and press Enter to use this terminal as the system console.
Then Choose language of installation
>>> 1 Type 1 and press Enter to have English during install.
This is the main installation menu of the AIX-based VIO-Server:
Welcome to Base Operating System
Installation and Maintenance
Type the number of your choice and press Enter. Choice is indicated by >>>.>>>
1 Start Install Now with Default Settings
2 Change/Show Installation Settings and Install
3 Start Maintenance Mode for System Recovery
88 Help ? 99 Previous Menu
>>> Choice [1]:
Select Hard disk where you need to install VIO base operating system as we do in AIX Base operating system.
Once the installation is over. You will get login Prompt similar to AIX server.
VIO server is nothing but AIX on top of that Virtualisation software loaded on it. Generally on VIO server we do not host any application. Its basically used for sharing I/O resources ( DISK & Network ) to the client LPAR hosted in same Physical server.
Initial setup
After the reboot you are presented with the VIO-Server login prompt. You can't login as user root as you have to use the special user id padmin. No initial default password is set. Immediately after login you are forced to set a new password.
Before you can do anything you have to accept the I/O Server license.
This is done with the license command
#license -accept
Once you are logged in as user padmin you find yourself in a restricted Korn shell with only a limited set of commands. You can see all available commands with the command help. All these commands are shell aliases to a single SUID-binary called ioscli which is located in the directory /usr/ios/cli/bin. If you are familiar with AIX you will recognize most commands but most command line parameters differ from the AIX versions.
As there are no man pages available you can see all options for each command separately by issueing the command help. Here is an example for the command lsmap:
$ help lsmap
Usage: lsmap {-vadapter ServerVirtualAdapter -plc PhysicalLocationCode
-all}
[-net] [-fmt delimiter]
Displays the mapping between physical and virtual devices.
-all Displays mapping for all the server virtual adapter
devices.
-vadapter Specifies the server virtual adapter device
by device name.
-plc Specifies the server virtual adapter device
by physical location code.
-net Specifies supplied device is a virtual server
Ethernet adapter.
-fmt Divides output by a user-specified delimiter.
A very important command is oem_setup_env which gives you access to the regular AIX command line interface. This is provided solely for the installation of OEM device drivers
Virtual SCSI setup
To map a LV
# mkvg: creates the volume group, where a new LV will be created using the mklv command
# lsdev: shows the virtual SCSI server adapters that could be used for mapping with the LV
# mkvdev: maps the virtual SCSI server adapter to the LV
# lsmap -all: shows the mapping information
To map a physical disk
# lsdev: shows the virtual SCSI server adapters that could be used for mapping with a physical disk
# mkvdev: maps the virtual SCSI server adapter to a physical disk
# lsmap -all: shows the mapping information
Client partition commands
No commands needed, the Linux kernel is notified immediately
Create new volume group datavg with member disk hdisk1
# mkvg -vg datavg hdisk1
Create new logical volume vdisk0 in volume group
# mklv -lv vdisk0 datavg 10G
Maps the virtual SCSI server adapter to the logical volume
# mkvdev -vdev vdisk0 -vadapter vhost0
Display the mapping information
#lsmap -all
Virtual Ethernet setup
To list all virtual and physical adapters use the lsdev -type adapter command.
$ lsdev -type adapter
name status description
ent0 Available 2-Port 10/100/1000 Base-TX PCI-X Adapter (14108902)
ent1 Available 2-Port 10/100/1000 Base-TX PCI-X Adapter (14108902)
ent2 Available Virtual I/O Ethernet Adapter (l-lan)
ide0 Available ATA/IDE Controller Device
sisscsia0 Available PCI-X Dual Channel Ultra320 SCSI Adapter
vhost0 Available Virtual SCSI Server Adapter
vhost1 Available Virtual SCSI Server Adapter
vhost2 Available Virtual SCSI Server Adapter
vhost3 Available Virtual SCSI Server Adapter
vsa0 Available LPAR Virtual Serial Adapter
Choose the virtual Ethernet adapter we want to map to the physical Ethernet adapter.
$ lsdev -virtualname status description
ent2 Available Virtual I/O Ethernet Adapter (l-lan)
vhost0 Available Virtual SCSI Server Adapter
vhost1 Available Virtual SCSI Server Adapter
vhost2 Available Virtual SCSI Server Adapter
vhost3 Available Virtual SCSI Server Adapter
vsa0 Available LPAR Virtual Serial Adapter
The command mkvdev maps a physical adapter to a virtual adapter, creates a layer 2 network bridge and defines the default virtual adapter with its default VLAN ID. It creates a new Ethernet interface, e.g., ent3.
Make sure the physical and virtual interfaces are unconfigured (down or detached).
Scenario A (one VIO server)
Create a shared ethernet adapter ent3 with a physical one (ent0) and a virtual one (ent2) with PVID 1:
$ mkvdev -sea ent0 -vadapter ent2 -default ent2 -defaultid 1
ent3 Available
en3
et3
This has created a new shared ethernet adapter ent3 (you can verify that with the lsdev command). Now configure the TCP/IP settings for this new shared ethernet adapter (ent3). Please note that you have to specify the interface (en3) and not the adapter (ent3).
$ mktcpip -hostname op710-1-vio -inetaddr 9.156.175.231 -interface en3 -netmask 255.255.255.0 -gateway 9.156.175.1 -nsrvaddr 9.64.163.21 -nsrvdomain ibm.com
Scenario B (two VIO servers)
Create a shared ethernet adapter ent3 with a physical one (ent0) and a virtual one (ent2) with PVID 1:
$ mkvdev -sea ent0 -vadapter ent2 -default ent2 -defaultid 1
Configure the TCP/IP settings for the new shared ethernet adapter (ent3):
$mktcpip -hostname op710-1-vio -inetaddr 9.156.175.231 -interface en3 -netmask 255.255.255.0 -gateway 9.156.175.1 -nsrvaddr 9.64.163.21 -nsrvdomain ibm.com
Client partition commands
No new commands needed just the typical TCP/IP configuration is done on the virtual Ethernet interface that it is defined in the client partition profile on the HMC
The Virtual I/O Server is part of the IBM eServer p5 Advanced Power Virtualization hardware feature. Virtual I/O Server allows sharing of physical resources between LPARs including virtual SCSI and virtual networking. This allows more efficient utilization of physical resources through sharing between LPARs and facilitates server consolidation.
Installation
You have two options to install the AIX-based VIO Server:
1. Install from CD
2. Install from network via an AIX NIM-Server
Installation method
#1 is probably the more frequently used method in a pure Linux environment as installation method #2 requires the presence of an AIX NIM (Network Installation Management) server. Both methods differ only in the initial boot step and are then the same. They both lead to the following installation screen:
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to the Virtual I/O Server. boot image timestamp: 10:22 03/23 The current time and date: 17:23:47 08/10/2005 number of processors: 1 size of memory: 2048MB boot device: /pci@800000020000002/pci@2,3/ide@1/disk@0:\ppc\chrp\bootfile.exeSPLPAR info: entitled_capacity: 50 platcpus_active: 2This system is SMT enabled: smt_status: 00000007; smt_threads: 2 kernel size: 10481246; 32 bit kernel
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The next step then is to define the system console. After some time you should see the following screen:
******* Please define the System Console. *******Type a 1 and press Enter to use this terminal as the system console.
Then Choose language of installation
>>> 1 Type 1 and press Enter to have English during install.
This is the main installation menu of the AIX-based VIO-Server:
Welcome to Base Operating System
Installation and Maintenance
Type the number of your choice and press Enter. Choice is indicated by >>>.>>>
1 Start Install Now with Default Settings
2 Change/Show Installation Settings and Install
3 Start Maintenance Mode for System Recovery
88 Help ? 99 Previous Menu
>>> Choice [1]:
Select Hard disk where you need to install VIO base operating system as we do in AIX Base operating system.
Once the installation is over. You will get login Prompt similar to AIX server.
VIO server is nothing but AIX on top of that Virtualisation software loaded on it. Generally on VIO server we do not host any application. Its basically used for sharing I/O resources ( DISK & Network ) to the client LPAR hosted in same Physical server.
Initial setup
After the reboot you are presented with the VIO-Server login prompt. You can't login as user root as you have to use the special user id padmin. No initial default password is set. Immediately after login you are forced to set a new password.
Before you can do anything you have to accept the I/O Server license.
This is done with the license command
#license -accept
Once you are logged in as user padmin you find yourself in a restricted Korn shell with only a limited set of commands. You can see all available commands with the command help. All these commands are shell aliases to a single SUID-binary called ioscli which is located in the directory /usr/ios/cli/bin. If you are familiar with AIX you will recognize most commands but most command line parameters differ from the AIX versions.
As there are no man pages available you can see all options for each command separately by issueing the command help
$ help lsmap
Usage: lsmap {-vadapter ServerVirtualAdapter -plc PhysicalLocationCode
-all}
[-net] [-fmt delimiter]
Displays the mapping between physical and virtual devices.
-all Displays mapping for all the server virtual adapter
devices.
-vadapter Specifies the server virtual adapter device
by device name.
-plc Specifies the server virtual adapter device
by physical location code.
-net Specifies supplied device is a virtual server
Ethernet adapter.
-fmt Divides output by a user-specified delimiter.
A very important command is oem_setup_env which gives you access to the regular AIX command line interface. This is provided solely for the installation of OEM device drivers
Virtual SCSI setup
To map a LV
# mkvg: creates the volume group, where a new LV will be created using the mklv command
# lsdev: shows the virtual SCSI server adapters that could be used for mapping with the LV
# mkvdev: maps the virtual SCSI server adapter to the LV
# lsmap -all: shows the mapping information
To map a physical disk
# lsdev: shows the virtual SCSI server adapters that could be used for mapping with a physical disk
# mkvdev: maps the virtual SCSI server adapter to a physical disk
# lsmap -all: shows the mapping information
Client partition commands
No commands needed, the Linux kernel is notified immediately
Create new volume group datavg with member disk hdisk1
# mkvg -vg datavg hdisk1
Create new logical volume vdisk0 in volume group
# mklv -lv vdisk0 datavg 10G
Maps the virtual SCSI server adapter to the logical volume
# mkvdev -vdev vdisk0 -vadapter vhost0
Display the mapping information
#lsmap -all
Virtual Ethernet setup
To list all virtual and physical adapters use the lsdev -type adapter command.
$ lsdev -type adapter
name status description
ent0 Available 2-Port 10/100/1000 Base-TX PCI-X Adapter (14108902)
ent1 Available 2-Port 10/100/1000 Base-TX PCI-X Adapter (14108902)
ent2 Available Virtual I/O Ethernet Adapter (l-lan)
ide0 Available ATA/IDE Controller Device
sisscsia0 Available PCI-X Dual Channel Ultra320 SCSI Adapter
vhost0 Available Virtual SCSI Server Adapter
vhost1 Available Virtual SCSI Server Adapter
vhost2 Available Virtual SCSI Server Adapter
vhost3 Available Virtual SCSI Server Adapter
vsa0 Available LPAR Virtual Serial Adapter
Choose the virtual Ethernet adapter we want to map to the physical Ethernet adapter.
$ lsdev -virtualname status description
ent2 Available Virtual I/O Ethernet Adapter (l-lan)
vhost0 Available Virtual SCSI Server Adapter
vhost1 Available Virtual SCSI Server Adapter
vhost2 Available Virtual SCSI Server Adapter
vhost3 Available Virtual SCSI Server Adapter
vsa0 Available LPAR Virtual Serial Adapter
The command mkvdev maps a physical adapter to a virtual adapter, creates a layer 2 network bridge and defines the default virtual adapter with its default VLAN ID. It creates a new Ethernet interface, e.g., ent3.
Make sure the physical and virtual interfaces are unconfigured (down or detached).
Scenario A (one VIO server)
Create a shared ethernet adapter ent3 with a physical one (ent0) and a virtual one (ent2) with PVID 1:
$ mkvdev -sea ent0 -vadapter ent2 -default ent2 -defaultid 1
ent3 Available
en3
et3
This has created a new shared ethernet adapter ent3 (you can verify that with the lsdev command). Now configure the TCP/IP settings for this new shared ethernet adapter (ent3). Please note that you have to specify the interface (en3) and not the adapter (ent3).
$ mktcpip -hostname op710-1-vio -inetaddr 9.156.175.231 -interface en3 -netmask 255.255.255.0 -gateway 9.156.175.1 -nsrvaddr 9.64.163.21 -nsrvdomain ibm.com
Scenario B (two VIO servers)
Create a shared ethernet adapter ent3 with a physical one (ent0) and a virtual one (ent2) with PVID 1:
$ mkvdev -sea ent0 -vadapter ent2 -default ent2 -defaultid 1
Configure the TCP/IP settings for the new shared ethernet adapter (ent3):
$mktcpip -hostname op710-1-vio -inetaddr 9.156.175.231 -interface en3 -netmask 255.255.255.0 -gateway 9.156.175.1 -nsrvaddr 9.64.163.21 -nsrvdomain ibm.com
Client partition commands
No new commands needed just the typical TCP/IP configuration is done on the virtual Ethernet interface that it is defined in the client partition profile on the HMC
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