What's new in PowerHA SystemMirror Version 7.2 for AIX
Read about new or significantly changed information for the PowerHA SystemMirror topic collection.
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What's NEW in PowerHA SystemMirror Version 7.2.8 for AIX
- Updated the Tie breaker option for split and merge policies topic with the Site Priority configuration for split and merge policies.
- Added a new Ansible® integration with PowerHA SystemMirror topic.
- Updated a note for the cluster tool support in following topics:
- Added a new section about physical volume encryption in the Physical volumes topic.
- Updated the Logical volumes topic with logical volume encryption in data volume groups that are configured in PowerHA SystemMirror environment.
- Updated the following topics with version information:
- Supported upgrade PowerHA SystemMirror versions
- AIX® Reference Information
- Updated information about WebSphere®® MQSeries®®, IBM® Tivoli®® Directory Server, IBM Lotus®® Domino®® Server, SAP liveCache Hot Standby, and IBM Tivoli Storage Manager for AIX version 7.2 and 7.3 in the Support matrix for PowerHA SystemMirror Smart Assists topic.
- Added a note about HMC ports. For more information, see Configuring HMC or PowerVM®® NovaLink to work with Resource Optimized High Availability.
- Added new Volume Group fields to the Creating a shared volume group by using C-SPOC topic.
- Updated Split and Merge Management Policy fields in the Configuring split and merge policies topic.
- Added Enabling Safeguard function topic about volume group by using C-SPOC under Maintaining shared volume groups
- Added notes about Remote notification method and system events. For more information, see Defining a remote notification method.
- Updated command to reach Configure Remote Notification Methods panel. For more information, see Changing a remote notification method.
- Added a note about using RPM fileset to install Python 3.x.x. and related Boto packages. For more information, see Planning for backing up data by using cloud storage in PowerHA SystemMirror.
- The following updates were made to the command section: :
- Added a new command
clreserveip
in the storage system. For more information, see clreserveip command. - The following updates were made to the clmgr command:
- Updated the
clmgr add volume group
operation for platform keystore (PKS) type of authentication method support in PowerHA SystemMirror. - Updated the
clmgr add storage
in the storage system. - Updated the
clmgr delete storage
in the storage system. - Added new fields in
clmgr modify cluster
operation. - Added a field in
clmgr query cluster
operation.
- Updated the
- Added a new command
- Updated steps to install San Volume Controller (SVC) filesets for PowerHA SystemMirror Enterprise Edition. For more information, see Installing PowerHA SystemMirror Enterprise Edition Metro Mirror for SVC.
- Updated the topic about GLVM disaster recovery (DR) Sizing tool that monitors data replication and provides network latency recommendations by using the iperf tool. For more information, see GLVM DR Sizing tool.
- Removed Cleanup Method attribute from procedure for adding a user-defined resource. For more information see, Configuring user defined resources.Updated Collocation with Persistent Label and Source attribute in procedure for types of distribution for service IP label aliases. For more information, see Types of distribution for service IP label aliases.
- Updated a note on verifying logical volume. For more information, see Parameters automatically corrected.
- Updated a note on support of the Shared processor pool (SPP) with Resource Optimized High Availability (ROHA). For more information, see Resource Optimized High Availability in Cloud.
- Added a new topic for getting arithmetic syntax errors with locale setting. For more information, see Miscellaneous issues.
PowerHA SystemMirror GUI is updated with the following new features and enhancements:
- ROHA on prem
- Resource Optimized High Availability (ROHA) is added as a new feature in the PowerHA SystemMirror GUI. The ROHA feature
automatically and dynamically manages Dynamic Logical Partitions (DLPARs), Enterprise Pool CoD
(EPCoD), and on or off CoD resources. Resources can be acquired and released on demand to manage
those efficiently. HMC is used to manage resources. HMC communication can be established by using
the following two methods.
- SSH
- REST
Prerequisites
The lab administrator must perform the following actions.- The HMC and cluster nodes do not require a password to communicate.
- The HMC details must be updated in the
/etc/hosts
file of all the cluster nodes.
- Email notifications Enhancement for System Based Events and Multiple email Configuration
- The PowerHA SystemMirror GUI version
7.2.7, has the email notification feature, which configures a single email notification setting for
multiple events, for example, events like Admin Op, Site Up, RG Move. All email IDs configured in
the PowerHA SystemMirror GUI are notified
whenever one of the specified events occurs.
Starting PowerHA SystemMirror GUI 7.2.8, the user can create multiple email groups by using the Set email ID option. A user can also set up multiple email profiles for a single cluster.
A new system-specific AIX Shutdown event is added to the list of events. Before configuring the email notification, the user can also test the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) configuration by sending a test email.
Prerequisite
The lab administrator must perform the following actions.- SMTP configuration on the cluster nodes.
- MFA with Voice call, TOTP, and Signature authentication methods
- The IBM Security Verify feature supports two-factor
authentication. The first authentication factor is the username and password. The second
authentication factor is a system-generated numeric or alphanumeric code that the user must provide
to prove their identity.
In the PowerHA SystemMirror GUI 7.2.6 version, Multi Factor Authentication (MFA) was introduced with the provision of sending One Time Password (OTP) to the user’s phone number or to email address. An OTP is valid for a specific time. It becomes invalid after a successful user login or when it expires.
Starting PowerHA SystemMirror GUI 7.2.8 version, the GUI supports MFA with the following features.
- Voice Call: The user receives OTP through a phone call.
- Time-Based One-Time Password (TOTP): TOTP authentication is supported by any authenticator application, for example: Microsoft Authenticator or Google Authenticator.
- Signature Authentication: Signature authentication uses IBM Verify application.
- File Collection
- Starting PowerHA SystemMirror GUI 7.2.8
version, the user has provision to create, view, modify, and delete a file collection by using the
PowerHA
SystemMirror File Collection GUI feature. Two default
file collections are available.
- Configuration_files
- HACMP_files
- Fix Central Installation support for the Service Pack (SP)
- In the PowerHA SystemMirror GUI version
7.2.7, users might download Service pack (SP) packages directly from the GUI to discovered clusters
with one click, instead of downloading from Fix Central. However, after installation the user had to
manually install the SP filesets. With the introduction of PowerHA SystemMirror GUI version 7.2.8, the GUI allows users to install downloaded files directly from the user interface. Users select the cluster from the drop-down menu and select their preferred installation for the available downloads. With these enhancements, the PowerHA simplifies the update process by using the following upgrade options.
- NDU (Non-Disruptive Update)
- Offline Update
- Orphan Resources (Service IP and Application controller)
- In PowerHA GUI version 7.2.7 and prior releases, users could create the resources only from the Resource Group page, which was associated with that Resource Group. But starting PowerHA SystemMirror GUI version 7.2.8, the GUI allows users to create independent resources, such as Service IP and Application controller that are not associated with any Resource Groups (RGs). This feature is now available in the Service IP and Application controller GUI. Users can create, edit, delete, and view these resources. Also, users have the flexibility to add these newly created or existing Orphan Resources to a specific RG. Users can either use the Cluster (Resource Page) or the Resource Group (Resource Page).
- GLVM Sizing Tool Enhancement for Network Latency
- In the previous releases, the Geographic Logical Volume Manager (GLVM) Sizing tool provided the
network bandwidth and cache recommendations for the Asynchronous Volume Group(VG).
The GLVM sizing tool in PowerHA version 7.2.8 enhancement provides network latency information and recommendation in the GUI.
Following are some of the additional minor enhancements that are added to the PowerHA SystemMirror GUI 7.2.8 version:
- User can select multiple hostnames for Cloud Backup Restoration (CBR). The multiple selections allows the user to initiate the restoration process for the cloud images on multiple nodes (hostname) by selecting the check boxes.
- Delete function for storage devices (part of Cloud Backup Management (CBM)) is now supported which helps the user to remove the storage devices from the GUI itself.
- Node version is upgraded from Node 16 to Node 18.3.