Changing virtual Fibre Channel for a Virtual I/O Server by using the HMC

You can use the Hardware Management Console (HMC) to dynamically manage virtual Fibre Channel on your managed system and the partition connections for the associated physical Fibre Channel ports. Assigning one or more physical ports to a logical partition enables the partition to communicate with storage devices in a storage area network (SAN). Configuring this type of storage resource is available only when the system supports the use of virtual Fibre Channel adapters and has a physical Fibre Channel adapter installed and connected that supports N_Port ID Virtualization (NPIV) ports.

Before you begin

To assign the virtual Fibre Channel adapter to a physical port, ensure that the client logical partition owns one or more virtual Fibre Channel adapters and that the Virtual I/O Server owns corresponding virtual Fibre Channel adapters to host the client adapter.

To change a port connection assignment for a logical partition, the partition must be either in the Not activated or the Running state. If the partition is in the Running state, the partition must also be capable of dynamic partitioning (DLPAR).

To avoid configuring the physical Fibre Channel adapter to be a single point of failure for the connection between the client logical partition and its physical storage on the SAN, do not connect two virtual Fibre Channel adapters from the same client logical partition to the same physical Fibre Channel adapter. Instead, connect each virtual Fibre Channel adapter to a different physical Fibre Channel adapter.

To change virtual Fibre Channel, be sure you meet the following requirements:
  • The HMC must be at version 7 release 3.4.2 or later.
  • The Virtual I/O Server must be at version 2.1.1.0 or later.
  • Ensure that there is a resource monitoring and control connection between the HMC and the Virtual I/O Server.

About this task

To configure the physical port connections for virtual Fibre Channel, complete the following steps in the HMC:

Procedure

  1. In the navigation pane, click the Resources icon The icon represents the Resources function of the HMC.
  2. Click All Systems. The All Systems page is displayed.
  3. In the PowerVM area, click Virtual Storage. The Virtual Storage page opens with the VIOS partitions listed in a table, in the Virtual Storage Management tab.
  4. Select a VIOS and click Action > Manage Virtual Storage.
  5. Select a Virtual I/O Server logical partition.
  6. Click the Virtual Fibre Channel tab.
  7. Select a port with at least one available connection and click Modify partition connections.
    The Modify Virtual Fibre Channel Partition Assignment page is displayed.
  8. Select one or more logical partitions that you want to connect to the Fibre Channel port, and click OK.
    Note: If you delete the client virtual Fibre Channel adapter from the partition or the partition profile, the worldwide port names associated with the port and the storage area network (SAN) are lost. If you only change the port assignment, the worldwide port names are preserved inside the partition profile. The HMC does not reuse them when it generates port names in the future. If you run out of port names, you must obtain a code key to enable an additional prefix and range of port names for use on your system.
  9. Click OK.
    To determine the actual number of port names available on the managed system, use the HMC to view the partition properties or partition profile properties of the client logical partition.