Creating an IBM i logical partition that uses IBM i virtual I/O resources

You can create an IBM® i logical partition that uses IBM i virtual I/O resources on servers that are managed by a Hardware Management Console (HMC). This allows you to maximize utilization of the physical hardware and simplify the backup procedure for your managed system.

1. Create a virtual server SCSI adapter on the IBM i logical partition that will provide virtual I/O resources to the new IBM i logical partition (if there is not already an available virtual server SCSI adapter). To create the virtual server SCSI adapter, complete the following:
   1. In the navigation pane, open Systems Management, open Servers, and click the managed system on which the IBM i logical partition resides.
   2. Select the IBM i logical partition that will provide virtual I/O resources to the new IBM i logical partition, click the Tasks button, and choose Dynamic Partitioning > Virtual Adapters.
   3. Click Actions and choose Create > SCSI Adapter.
   4. In Type of adapter, select Server, and click OK.
   5. Click OK. Ensure that you also create the virtual server SCSI adapter within the partition profile for the IBM i logical partition that provides virtual I/O resources so that the virtual server SCSI adapter continues to exist after you restart the IBM i logical partition. When you create the virtual server SCSI adapter within the partition profile, specify the logical partition and slot of the virtual client SCSI adapter for better performance. For more information, see Changing partition profile properties.

   The HMC Classic interface is not supported in Hardware Management Console (HMC) Version 8.7.0, or later. The functions that were previously available in the HMC Classic interface are now available in the HMC Enhanced+ interface.

   For more information about creating a logical partition when the HMC is at version 8.7.0, or later, see Creating logical partitions. For more information about adding IBM i hosted virtual SCSI adapters when the HMC is at version 8.7.0, or later, see Managing virtual storage for a partition.

2. In the navigation pane, open Systems Management and click Servers.
3. In the work pane, select the managed system, click the Tasks button, and choose Configuration > Create Logical Partition.
4. Follow the steps in the Create Logical Partition wizard to create the logical partition and partition profile of the IBM i logical partition that uses IBM i virtual I/O resources. Review the following points and bear them in mind when using the Create Logical Partition wizard:
   • At the step where you create virtual adapters, create a virtual client SCSI adapter for the new logical partition, and specify that it is a required adapter. Also, if you want to use virtual Ethernet on the new logical partition, create two virtual Ethernet adapters on the new logical partition. Both virtual Ethernet adapters on the IBM i logical partition that uses virtual I/O resources must be set to connect to a virtual Ethernet adapter on the IBM i logical partition that provides the virtual I/O resources. In other words, all three virtual Ethernet adapters must be set to the same virtual LAN ID.
   • At the step where you select the load source device for the new logical partition, select Virtual Adapter in the Adapter Type field and choose the virtual client SCSI adapter that you created for the new logical partition.
   • At the step where you select the alternate restart device for the new logical partition, you can select the same virtual client SCSI adapter as the adapter used by the load source device if you plan to use virtual tape or virtual optical disk for your alternate restart device.
5. Create a network server description (NWSD) and network-server storage space on the IBM i logical partition that provides resources to the other IBM i logical partition. For more information, see Creating a network-server description and a network-server storage space for an IBM i logical partition that uses IBM i resources.
6. Connect to the console for the IBM i logical partition that uses the virtual I/O resources. For more information, see Connecting to the virtual console for an IBM i logical partition that uses IBM i virtual I/O resources.
7. Start the NWSD. For more information, see Starting the network-server description for an IBM i logical partition that uses IBM i virtual I/O resources.
8. Install the IBM i operating system on your new logical partition. For installation procedures, see Installing IBM i and related software on a new system or logical partition.