Changing partition properties and capabilities

You can view and change the partition name, view general properties of the partition, and change the virtualization capabilities by using the Hardware Management Console (HMC).

You can view the following general properties:

Type, version, and IP address of the operating system.
Machine type and serial number of the system.
Resource configuration of a logical partition. It indicates whether all the resources that are necessary to activate the partition are available. When the Resource Configuration field displays Configured, the partition can be activated by using the current configuration. When the Resource Configuration field displays Not Configured and the partition has a last valid configuration profile, that profile is used to activate the partition. Otherwise, the partition can be activated by using a profile.
Note: When a user, who has access to the partition but does not have access to the partition profile, tries to view the properties of the partition, the user is prompted to Apply Partition Configuration, before proceeding to view and manage the partition.

You can view or change the partition name and keylock position, add a description, and assign group tags.

You can view or change the virtualization capabilities of a partition. The virtualization capabilities of a partition include the following features:

Live partition mobility: Live Partition Mobility is a component of the PowerVM® Enterprise Edition hardware feature that enables moving AIX®, IBM® i, and Linux partitions from one system to another. The mobility process transfers the system environment, including the processor state, memory, attached virtual devices, and connected users.; With the active partition mobility feature, you can move AIX, IBM i, and Linux partitions that are running, including the operating system and applications, from one system to another. The partition and the applications that run on that migrated partition do not need to be shut down.; With the inactive partition mobility feature, you can move a powered off AIX, IBM i, or Linux partition from one system to another.

Suspend/Resume

Certain models of IBM Power Systems™ servers support the suspend and resume feature. On supported models, you can suspend and resume an AIX or Linux partition with its operating system and applications.

Notes:

You must not suspend the partition when the alt_disk_install command is running in the VIOS on which the storage is provisioned for the client.
When a partition is suspended, the state of the partition is saved on persistent storage, and the server resources that were in use by that partition are made available for use by other partitions. Later, you can resume the operation of the suspended partition and the applications.
On client logical partitions backed by VIOS SSP LUs, HMC supports the suspend and resume feature on the same managed system. However, HMC does not support the suspend and resume feature, if you try to migrate the client to a different managed system, after it is suspended.

Note: The Suspend/Resume feature is excluded from the initial introduction of the POWER8® 8286-41A, 8286-42A, 8286-42A, 8247-21L, and 8247-22L Power Systems™ servers. This feature is fully supported on other models of Power Systems servers with appropriate levels of the management console, firmware, and PowerVM.

Remote restart: Certain models of IBM Power Systems servers support the remote restart feature. On supported models, you can restart an AIX or Linux partition remotely if the partition supports an attribute that is called an encapsulated state. An encapsulated state partition is a partition in which the configuration information and the persistent data are stored external to the server on persistent storage. A partition that supports remote restart can be restarted remotely. You can recover from a server outage by allowing a partition to start on another server.

Simplified Remote Restart: Unlike the remote restart feature, when this capability is enabled, the partition state and partition configuration data is automatically stored on an HMC that manages the server. Any change to the partition configuration or profile is automatically synchronized with the data that is stored on the HMC. You can enable or disable the simplified remote restart capability only when the partition is in an inactive state.
Note: When the HMC is at Version 8.6.0, or later, and the firmware is at level FW860, or later, you can enable or disable the simplified version of the remote restart capability when the logical partition is in the Running state. The logical partition must not be in the Suspended, Resuming, Migrating, or Remote Restarting states.

This option is available only when the server is enabled with PowerVM Enterprise Edition and the level of firmware on your server supports the simplified remote restart capability. If a managed system is both Remote Restart Capable and PowerVM Partition Simplified Remote Restart Capable, the page displays the option to manage a simplified remote restart partition only. Also, if the remote restart capability is already enabled for the partition, a message is displayed to indicate that the partition is enabled with the remote restart capability and the capability is disabled when you enable the PowerVM Partition Simplified Remote Restart function.; You can view the remote restart status for the logical partition, if the partition is simplified remote restart capable. You can also refresh the remote restart data. The partition and profile data, referred to as remote restart data, is stored on the HMC hard drive for partitions that are simplified remote restart capable. For more information on the different states of the remote restart operation, see Remote Restart State.

To view and change the properties and capabilities of the partition by using the HMC, complete the following steps:

Choose one of the following navigation options depending on the interface type of the Hardware Management Console (HMC):
- If you are using an HMC Enhanced interface, complete the following steps:
  1. In the navigation pane, expand Systems Management > Servers.
  2. Select the server on which the logical partition is located.
  3. Select Manage by using one of the following options:
    - Click the menu next to the partition name and select Manage. The Manage page opens.
    - In the work pane, select Manage. The Manage page opens.
- If you are using an HMC Enhanced+ interface, complete the following steps:
  1. In the navigation pane, click the Resources icon .
  2. Click All Systems. The All Systems page is displayed.
  3. In the work pane, select a system and click Actions > View System Partitions. In the Partitions page, you can view all the partitions that belong to the system.
  4. In the work pane, select the partition for which you want to view or change the properties and capabilities and click Actions > View Partition Properties. The Properties page is displayed. You can view and change the properties that are listed under the Properties area.
In the Properties area, click Properties > General Properties to view and change the properties of the selected partition.
Enter a name in the Partition Name field to change the name of the partition.
Select the Key Lock Position to be either Manual or Normal.
Enter an optional description in the Description field to further identify the logical partition.
In the Group Tags field, select from the list of available tag assignments for the groups to which the partition belongs. If the partition does not belong to any group, the group tags list is empty.
Choose from the following options to enable the virtualization capabilities for the selected partition:
- Suspend / Resume to suspend and resume the partition with its operating system and applications.
  Note:
  - You must not suspend the partition when the alt_disk_install command is running in the VIOS partition on which storage is provisioned for the client.
  - The Suspend/Resume feature is excluded from the initial introduction of the POWER8 8286-41A, 8286-42A, 8286-42A, 8247-21L, and 8247-22L Power Systems™ servers. This feature is fully supported on other models of Power Systems servers with appropriate levels of the management console, firmware, and PowerVM.
- Remote Restart for the server to restart the partition remotely.
  The remote restart capability of the partition can be enabled only when the following requirements are met:
  - The server supports the remote restart capability. The check box to enable the feature is available only when the server supports the feature.
  - The partition is shut down or in a not activated state.
  - The partition must not have physical I/O adapters that are assigned to the partition.
  - The partition must not be a full system partition, or a Virtual I/O Server.
  - The partition must not be an alternative error-logging partition.
  - The partition must not have a barrier-synchronization register (BSR).
  - The partition must not have huge pages (applicable only if PowerVM Active Memory™ Sharing is enabled).
  - The partition must not have its rootvg volume group on a logical volume or have any exported optical devices.
Note: The check box to enable or disable remote restart is displayed only when the server supports enabling and disabling the remote restart feature.
- To disable the remote restart capability of a partition, clear the Remote Restart check box.
- To enable or disable the simplified remote restart capability of the logical partition, use the Simplified Remote Restart check box.
Click Apply/OK or Save to apply the changes. Alternatively, click Cancel to reject the changes and close the page.

Last updated: Tue, June 12, 2018