After three weeks working with IBM PowerVC there's something that I can tell for sure is one of the most valuable recommendations that we are including in the new Redbook.
If you want to experience the value proposition from solutions like IBM Power Virtualization Center, and let me tell you from previous experiences, from any cloud environment management solution, you must have a consistent host naming standard in your environment.
So start by following three simple tips:
1. If you are working without a DNS, a rare thing if your are going the cloud path, all your /etc/hosts files in your solution must have the information for al the components of your virtualization infrastructure, including, for example, SAN switches host names.
2. On a Domain Name Server (DNS) present environment you must have all the host names for all the hardware components that make your infrastructure on the DNS, and both forward and reverse resolution need to work correctly.
3. And last but not least, all the host names for all the hardware components that you want to manage must be the same than the ones present on your DNS. This includes, for example, SAN switches and HMCs hostnames.
You Have Been Warned