Before you start

About this tutorial

Learn how to use the virtualization functions available for Linux on IBM POWER5 processor-based servers. This tutorial demonstrates how to install SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server 9 Service Pack 1 (SLES9SP1) on a partition and configure it as a virtual I/O server. It also describes, with practical examples, how client partitions can use virtual I/O resources, such as

• virtual SCSI,
• virtual Ethernet, and
• virtual console.

Before you complete the exercises in this tutorial, you should already have a good understanding of typical Linux installation concepts and system administration skills. This guide is not intended to cover all virtualization concepts or configuration steps in detail. See Resources for pointers to more in-depth discussion of these topics.

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Summary of tasks

Learn how to create profiles for each partition using a Hardware Management Console (HMC). Set up one virtual I/O server partition and four client partitions using different virtual I/O techniques and practices. Highlights of the relationship and mappings between the virtual I/O server and the client partitions are included throughout the tutorial. The specific virtual I/O techniques you'll learn are:

• Installation using a shared disk
• Network installation using virtual Ethernet
• Duplicating an existing disk image
• Network installation using virtual Ethernet and bridging to an external network to pull in installation sources from the Internet

Before you begin the exercises, the following requirements should be met:

• The HMC should have the latest version of microcode.
• Your system should be properly cabled to the HMC.
• Your system should have the latest version of microcode.
• Micro-partitioning and Virtual I/O Server feature codes should be enabled. Figure 1 below shows the Properties screen of a system with these feature codes enabled.
• The system should be powered on to Standby state to create the partitions.

For your reference, the following diagram shows you what your network will look like after you've completed the exercises in this tutorial.

Figure 2. Network topology

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Prerequisites

To complete the exercises covered in this tutorial, I used a 2-way OpenPower 710 system with four 73GB SCSI drives, 8GB of RAM, a dual-port Gigabit Ethernet adapter, and one CD/DVD-ROM drive. At a minimum, you'll need:

• An OpenPower or pSeries system
• SLES9SP1
• The latest version of microcode for the HMC and your system, which you can download from ibm.com/eserver/support/fixes/fcgui.jsp.
• RHEL3 or later and Gentoo, if you want to try all the examples in this guide. You could also use SLES9SP1 for all the exercises with slight modifications to the instructions.

John Engel is a Linux technical consultant for the IBM eServer Solutions Enablement organization at IBM. He is based in Rochester, MN. John's main role is to help solution developers bring their applications to Linux on POWER. While working at IBM, he has also held various positions in Linux software development.

For technical questions or comments about the content of this tutorial, contact John at engel@us.ibm.com.

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Table of contents

• Before you start
• Introduction to Linux on POWER virtualization
• Create the virtual I/O server partition profile
• Create the client partition profiles
• Update the virtual I/O server partition profile
• Set up the virtual I/O server
• Set up the client partitions
• Summary
• Resources
• About the author

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