Power Systems IBM Redbooks

Over the years my residents and I have looked for images for our IBM Redbooks publications. It always takes a little digging around to find the resources so I decided it was time to put the links in a place I could find.

These resources will help you create your presentations and all of these libraries can be accessed by anyone outside of IBM.  If you know of any others, feel free to shout out and I will update this post.

VisioCafe

Visio has been used for a long time to create accurate images of IBM servers. Files are generally created from the CAD source used to design the machines.  If you have a Visio license, these import well into PowerPoint or other documents to create professional looking content.  Access to the images requires you to download entire libraries and sort through them yourself.  The last update I've seen for Power Systems dates back to 2014.  You can find the content here: http://www.visiocafe.com/ibm.htm

IBM Interactive Product Catalog

For interactive 3D models of servers complete with annotations of the various features, IBM has loaded several images to its Interactive Product Catalog library.  preselected views allow you to see the product from the front, side, or interior.  By placing your cursor on the image, you can rotate, spin, and zoom.  The library works from inside a typical browser, or you can install a desktop client on Mac or Windows.  A product overview and specifications are available from a drop-down menu.  Find it here: http://m.kaon.com/c/ib

IBM Digital Asset Manager

IBM Digital Asset Manager (IBM DAM) is the new Image Central repository.  You can use your IBM credentials to access if you are inside IBM's firewall, or use your IBM ID if you are outside. Just be sure you don't use a popup blocker on your browser otherwise authentication will fail.  And keep in mind that filters are progressive, so you need to clear your filters if you want to start your search again.  The images stored in this repository are of high quality (large) and are what IBM uses in producing its data sheets and digital marketing materials. You should probably edit them down a bit before using them unless you want to blow up your laptop.  Click on this link to launch it: https://dam.ibm.com/media/

Scott Vetter, IBM Cognitive Redbooks Team Lead

IBM DB2 Web Query for i offers a set of modernized tools for a more robust, extensible, and productive reporting solution than the popular IBM Query for System i tool (also known as IBM Query/400). IBM DB2 Web Query for i preserves investments in the reports that are developed with Query/400 by offering a choice of importing definitions into the new technology or continuing to run existing Query/400 reports as is. But, it also offers significant productivity and performance enhancements by leveraging the latest in DB2 for i query optimization technology.
 

IBM DB2 Web Query for i Dashboard

Through an intuitive dashboard, you are able to create custom queries and build presentation quality reports in a few simple steps.

In the past, DB2 Web Query has been covered in a single large publication.  It contained detailed implementation-specific and how-to information on DB2 Web Query for i as well as a set of Tutorials. "IBM DB2 Web Query for i Version 2.1 Implementation Guide", SG24-8064, was published in 2014.  This publication will be sunset.

The IBM Redbooks organization has released a completely new publication that contains updated implementation-specific and how-to information, which is"IBM DB2 Web Query for i: The Nuts and Bolts", SG24-8379 

The Tutorials content has been removed and updated with the latest screen captures and placed in its own separate publication.  The content, outside of the screen captures, is largely unchanged.  The publication is "IBM DB2 Web Query for i Tutorials", SG24-8378 

The current plan for the Tutorials publication is to update the tutorials one at a time, and post them on the DB2 Web Query blog. 

For the latest IBM Redbooks publications, please visit the IBM Redbooks Power Systems home page.
 

Scott Vetter
IBM Power Systems and Cognitive Team Lead

In my previous blog entry I introduced a new Power Systems and OpenPOWER L and LC Positioning Guide and mentioned there are additional deliverables to go with it.  They are now online.  Skip to the end to see how to get them or read on to find out more about them.

The Presentation

Use the presentation as is or modify it to your liking. At IBM Redbooks, we enjoy knowing people are using our materials. Take a selfie and show us your crazy presentation skills on social media. Just get this in front of as many clients as you can however you can.  Whether you are a partner, an IBMer, or own and manage existing IBM infrastructure, you will appreciate these materials.  There are two presentations, you'll probably want the .pptx, If you are interested in images that were used in the paper, you can find them in the standard .ppt.

The Handouts

In the handout folder are professional quality PDFs that can also be used as speaker notes to help you brush up on things before the big show. They are aligned to the three comparison categories we used in the paper.  We don't have the source loaded to better maintain the version control.  Sorry, but we've seen some crafty editing in the past using the IBM Redbooks logo in official looking documents and we don't want to tempt those folks any more than needed. If it is in an IBM Redbook it must be true, right?

The ibm.box shared folder

Access or sync. this folder (I'll leave figuring out how to you) on your desktop to ensure you have the latest one -  the app helps, but you can also do basic tasks in a browser on your mobile device -  as we will be making updates to the materials  periodically for corrections and to include new announcements.  That is the plan at least.

You can find them on ibm.box.com

-Scott Vetter @SVatRedbooks

Our first Positioning Guide

The scale-out line of IBM Power System servers is growing and it doesn't look like things will slow down as more partners join the OpenPOWER Foundation.    With all this interaction has come some exciting new POWER8 processor-based servers.

We decided to create a new deliverable type to assist you in your client journey. 

In addition to the normal Introduction and Technical Overview Redpapers, we created a positioning guide to help our clients understand the advantages of each L and LC server, and the major differences between them.

Bold new graphics

Inside are informative spider charts for several competitive markets that make it easier to digest all of the data. For those that like numbers and tables, we included summary charts at the end of the paper.

And, yes, we have words too.  Here is an example:

"The IBM Power Systems Linux only servers are designed and optimized for different workload types with different requirements. In this IBM Redpaper the workloads are considered in categories of Big Data and Analytics, High Performance Computing, and Compute Intensive & Cloud. However, there is some overlap for these workloads, as some applications fall between these categories. Although these servers are optimized for different workload types, this does not exclude them for usage in other areas."

Additional deliverables

Stay tuned.  There will be a chart deck to use in presentations, and custom handouts you can leave on a prospective new client's desk or give to the audience at your next presentation.

Take the jump and I'll be tweeting when the supporting materials are boxed up.

IBM Power Systems L and LC Positioning Guide

-Scott Vetter @SVatRedbooks

The latest edition of PowerVC moves from the DB2 database to a MariaDB.  The formats of the data stored within the database are different.  Those migrating from earlier versions may benefit from the following notes the Redbooks team learned while updating the IBM PowerVC Introduction and Configuration Redbook.

• The PowerVC upgrade   can perform an in-place upgrade of PowerVC to 1.3.1 from versions 1.2.3.1 and 1.3.0.1 and later.
• Upgrade from older versions needs first upgrade to 1.2.3.1 or later or 1.3.0.1 or later and from there you can again perform the in-place upgrade to 1.3.1 version.
• Database migration is performed automatically during the upgrade to 1.3.1 from supported versions.
• Database migrations from older versions than 1.2.3.1 or 1.3.0.1 is NOT supported.   It is possible but requires manual steps and at the time of writing, the team has not discovered a reliable procedure to document.

For more information on PowerVC Version 1.3.1, see the latest Redbook: http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/Redbooks.nsf/RedpieceAbstracts/sg248199.html?Open

-Scott Vetter

Currently in its Version 1.1 edition, the Apple/Android myHMC is an application that lets you connect to and monitor managed objects on your Power Systems Hardware Management consoles (HMCs).

Monitoring includes the status of your Managed Systems, Logical Partitions / Virtual Machines and VIOS servers. This app also allows you to view Resource Groups, Serviceable Events and Performance Data. You can quickly check the build levels of the HMCs in your enterprise and  look up event details of serviceable events as well.

The keyword here is view.  All the operation screens that are available in the myHMC application are only views. No screen is available where you can actually configure something on the HMC, such as stopping or starting a managed system or a logical partition.  But the app. does give you valuable information while on the go.

When we created our consolidated HMC IBM Redbook (yes, it is a single publication) we were curious enough to feature it in Appendix A of the publication.  We worked with the Android edition which requires Android 4.4 or higher.

It contains a virtual demo that is part of the app which after you watch it, can be deleted.

You can find the application in Google Play, or iTunes.  IBM includes a feedback email (ibmmobilehmc@gmail.com) to help you answer any questions, and the app has a feedback menu built into it.  Give the app a try and find out more about the latest IBM Power Systems Hardware Management Console software in our latest IBM Redbook:

http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/Redbooks.nsf/RedbookAbstracts/sg248334.html?Open

-Scott Vetter, IBM Power System Redbooks

For the recent April 12 Power System announcement I found myself updating all of the Technical Overview Redpapers for the various changes in each model family.  What that means is shifting through something internally we call the feature matrix.  The feature matrix has been around for while and is the central source of what feature goes with what server, when it was announced, and what it should be called both before announcement and after announcement.   It takes business justification to get access to because it contains a lot of sensitive information, but it is vital for my teams when creating the tables used in the Technical Overview papers.  And, in the 10 or so years I've been using it, I think I've found only a single error.

It isn't very user friendly, so I typically load the information into a spreadsheet, and sift and sort to find out what is coming or going.  Occasionally I find some curious feature codes -  so here are this blog's set:

1. EU19 - How many of you know this one?.  It is Cable Ties & Labels 
   A set of 10 hook and loop fabric ties 35.5 cm (14-inch) in length to conveniently attach cables or cords to rack or other cables. Set of 16 labels 2x4 inches (5x10 cm) in sized to identify cables when installing or moving or servicing equipment.  
   
   The maximum supported on a system is 9999! But you only can get 254 on your initial order.  Label away!
    
2. ECW0 - Optical Wrap Plug  <- Memorize this one, they used to be included with an adapter and now they are not.
   A wrap plug is a small connector designed to perform a diagnostic test called a loopback test. This wrap plug is inserted into a SR optical port on a PCIe Fibre Channel adapter or a SR or LR optical port on a PCIe Ethernet adapter 
   
   This is a multi-mode LC fiber optic wrap plug with an inside/outside optics diameter of 50/125. Its IBM part number as of early 2016 is 12R9314. An earlier equivalent function IBM part number which is no longer shipped is 11P3847.
   
   It is strongly recommended that Fibre Channel adapters (HBAs) fill any empty adapter ports with a wrap plug. There is no technical issue leaving a port empty. However, filling all ports with a cable to a device/switch or with a wrap plug can speed the booting/IPLing of a partition and can avoid error messages uselessly pointing to a planned empty port.
   
   There is no technical issue leaving an Ethernet port empty. Whether an Ethernet port is empty or contains a wrap plug should not impact boot/IPL time or impact empty-port messages.  
    
3. EHKE - CAPI Flash NoSQL
   This feature is added anytime feature EJ16 is selected. This is for CAPI Flash NoSQL  Impress your peers with this one.
    
4. ECSO - Made in China
   Not all models support this feature, such as the 8335-GTA.  Tell your family during dinner about this one.  Best served with a hot soup.
    
5. EL7V - 1.6TB SFF-2 SSD 4k eMLC4 for Linux

   NOTE: This feature is for ESS only.

   This SFF (2.5") SAS Solid State Drive (SSD) is shipped from IBM with 1.6TB capacity formatted with 4096 byte sectors. The drive is supported in SFF Gen2 SAS bays in the #5887 or #EL1S EXP24S I/O drawer. CCIN is 59C2

   Limitation: JBOD mode is not supported

   This SSD is restricted and not generally available. It is for use only in 8247-22L for systems with FC EGSB (which is a solution offering - not sure which)

-Scott Vetter

Here is a look at what is to come in 2016 from the IBM Redbooks Team

 See the news letter or Web site for the official announcements:

https://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redbooks.nsf/subscribe?OpenForm

RAID disk arrays are one of those things you learn and think you will never forget, but with so many combinations, it takes practice to keep things straight.  Here is some handy information on RAID you know, and RAID you may not know!

RAID 6

RAID 6 consists of block level striping with the same distributed parity disk as RAID 5, and adds an additional or extended parity disk in the array configuration. This level can provide better disk failure protection rate than RAID 5. In comparison to RAID 5 performance, RAID 6 offers better performance for reads than writes because of the extra processing required by the additional parity disk. RAID 6 requires at least four raw disks to configure RAID 6.

Figure 1-1 shows the logical diagram for RAID 6.

Figure 1-1 RAID 6 logical diagram

Summary of RAID levels

Table 1-1 provides a summary of RAID levels, with an overview of their benefits and economics.

Table 1-1Summary of RAID levels

Supported hardware RAID levels in Power Systems

POWER8 based systems support various levels of hardware RAID configurations. The RAID levels that are supported depend on the SAS RAID adapters used. One of the factors while selecting the RAID adapter in the configuration depends on the RAID level that is required for the configuration. There are other factors in the adapter selection process, such as support for Easy Tier, Internal Cache in the RAID adapters, High Availability configurations, and operating system support. For more information, see Chapter 3, “RAID adapters for IBM Power Systems” on page 45.

RAID level options:

RAID 0                       Striping

RAID 1                       Mirroring

RAID 5                       Striping with distributed parity

RAID 6                       Striping with Multiple distributed parity

RAID 10                     Striping with Mirroring

Easy Tier options:

RAID 5T2                   RAID5 with Easy Tier

RAID 6T2                   RAID6 with Easy Tier

RAID 10T2                 RAID10 with Easy Tier

Supported software RAID levels in Power Systems

Apart from the RAID Levels supported using hardware RAID controllers, Power Systems also support software RAID configured in the operating systems running in the logical partitions.

Power Systems allow Logical Partitions to be installed with one of the three supported operating systems:

• AIX
• Linux on Power
• IBM i

Each of the operating systems support software RAID levels. AIX and Linux allow configuring RAID levels using their Logical Volume Manager. For more information on software RAID levels.

For more information on RAID, and the software capabilities, see: http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/redp5234.html?Open

My current set of projects allows me to dive deep into what is going on with IBM and the OpenPower Foundation.  You may have heard the news about the ties with Google.  Here is a recent article worth reading:

http://www.theplatform.net/2015/09/22/ibm-draws-openpower-line-in-the-x86-sand/

More interesting is that some companies have already rolled out their product.  Have a close look at the following page.  I think every person who supports Power Systems should become familiar with this content:

http://www.tyan.com/solutions/tyan_openpower_system.html

If you click the details link, you will be presented with a wealth of detailed information down to pin-level diagrams of the mother boards.

The overall design follows requirements that disk access is given a priority on the cool side of the rack.  This means the centrally located fans pull air through the SATA drives and push that air over the heat sinks of the POWER8 chips. A USB on one side and a small Operator control panel on the other on the front of the server protrude from the flanges that secure the server in the rack, similar to systems offered by other vendors.

General purpose computing appears to be the target of this Habanero model, but with NVIDIA being part of the OpenPower Foundation, expect to see some serious plays in the HPC market.

Keep an eye on the Power Systems Redbook site for more information.

http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/portals/power

PowerVP Exposed!

Be sure to download the recently published Redbook:  http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/Redbooks.nsf/RedbookAbstracts/redp5112.html?Open

PowerVP collects performance data directly from the Hypervisor, which offers the most
accurate performance information about logical partitions that are running on IBM Power
Systems. This performance information is then displayed on a real-time, continuous graphical
dashboard. Data collection is available for historical review.
PowerVP has these major features:

• Real-time monitor

PowerVP can collect, update, and display the performance information as frequent as one second.

• Easy to use GUI

PowerVP graphical monitor (dashboard) produces an easy-to-read display that shows an overall performance state of the Power server.

• Customizable GUI

PowerVP uses colorized heat technique to display the utilization metrics. It allows you to define the colors and the performance thresholds to modify the dashboard to match your monitoring requirements.

• Power platform support

PowerVP supports all Power virtualized workloads like AIX, VIOS, IBM i, and Linux. Background data collection PowerVP can collect the performance data in the background even when the real-time monitor is not active.

• DVR-like replay

PowerVP can play back historical data. It enables you to replay performance data sequences to figure out performance bottlenecks. During the play back, DVR-like functions, fast forward, rewind, pause, and stop are available to navigate through the data.

• Multiple dynamic views:

– System Level view

PowerVP system level view depicts overall performance status of virtualized workload of the entire system.

– Logical Partition view

PowerVP partition drill-down views portray performance details of individual virtual machines. Along with the CPU and Memory utilization, this view shows more details that include Disk transfer rate, Ethernet adapter transfer rate, and a detailed view of Load/Store Unit (LSU CPI).

– Hardware Topology view

PowerVP illustrates Power System hardware topology along with the resource
measurement views.

PowerVP is designed to compliment existing performance monitoring utilities. The
operating system performance monitoring tools can still be used to understand resource
utilization of the LPAR and applications running on it. PowerVP produces a visual that
shows overall utilization of a Power System.

PowerVP provides the following benefits:

• A simplified performance monitoring and analysis of physical and virtual workloads with a graphical user interface.

• An easy way to understand, manage, and optimize the performance of a Power System or group of Power Systems in Cloud computing.

• A means to view resource utilization of individual processor cores and their mapping to Logical Partitions that can be useful in effectively balancing system resources on a Power System.

• An approach to understand the affinity and optimize the performance of Logical Partitions using the utilization of internal buses.

• A graphical view into real-time workload that highlights possible contentions and overcommitted resources.

• A way to define user preferred performance thresholds, colors, and customize dashboard specific to a Power System.

• Understanding Memory Access Latency and Thread Locality A simple way to validate the performance improvement of Dynamic Platform Optimizer (DPO).

Performance and Capacity Monitor (PCM) is a new Hardware Management Console (HMC) Graphical User Interface (GUI) to display performance and capacity data for managed servers and Logical Partitions (LPAR). PCM displays data for a single physical server in a new browser window.

The purpose of PCM is to allow the HMC to gather performance data allowing a System Administrator to monitor current performance and capacity changes in their IBM Power Systems environment over time.

Using the PCM information of physical servers and LPAR, a System Administrator can understand whether there are any performance problems, and correct the causes of the performance problems. A System Administrator can also gather capacity information to support capacity planning and optimize resource allocation.

Additional information on new HMC features can be found in IBM Power Systems Hardware Management Console Version 8 Release 8.1.0 Enhancements, SG24-8232 available at:

http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redpieces/abstracts/sg248232.html?Open

Table 0-1 lists the available features available based on firmware and VIOS levels.

Table 0-1Available performance and capacity monitor data

The following image is the monitor's home screen.

Power Integrated Facility for Linux

Power Integrated Facility for Linux (Power IFL) is an optional lower cost per processor core activation feature for Linux only workloads on IBM Power Systems servers. Processor cores that are activated for general-purpose workloads can run any supported operating system. If you choose to activate Power IFL processor cores, the systems need to be in compliance with the license terms.

Additional information on new HMC features can be found in IBM Power Systems Hardware Management Console Version 8 Release 8.1.0 Enhancements, SG24-8232 available at:

http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redpieces/abstracts/sg248232.html?Open

What is new in Power IFL

Since the previous update, changes have been introduced in Hardware Management Console (HMC) Version 8 Release 8.1 to assist with managing the compliance of Power IFL processors.

The changes are:

• Enabled Power IFL processors can be viewed from the HMC Graphical User Interface
• Updated Command Line Interface (CLI) commands
• Updated compliance monitoring assistance feature

Command line and graphical interface updates

Power IFL was introduced in HMC 7.9.0 and only had command line tools for monitoring the activated processor allocation and activation.

In HMC V8.8.1.0 the Capacity on Demand (CoD) Processor Capacity Settings and managed system properties in the Graphical User Interface (GUI) have been updated to show the activations and enable the monitoring of Power IFL processor allocation and activation.

The CLI commands have also been updated to show IFL activations and available IFL processor cores.

Capacity on Demand CLI and graphical interface changes

The lscode command displays the permanent Linux only and all Operating System processors. In Example 0-1 the syntax of the lscod command and the output is displayed.

The syntax of lscode command syntax and output is as follows

lscod -t cap -c cuod -r proc -m <managed system>

perm_procs=10,perm_procs_linux=3,perm_procs_all_os=7

The perm_procs_linux=3 parameter indicates that three processor cores are licensed for Linux only workloads.

Support for Power IFL has been added in HMC V8.8.1.0 to easily show information about CoD Capacity Processor Settings as shown in Figure 0-1.

Figure 0-1 CoD Processor Capacity Settings showing activated IFL processors

The lshwres command has been updated to show the number of processor units that are configurable for either Linux only or all Operating System workloads as shown in Example 0-2.

Example 0-2Syntax of lshwres command and output.

lshwres -m <managed system> -r proc --level sys configurable_sys_proc_units=10.0,curr_avail_sys_proc_units=1.0,pend_avail_sys_proc_units=0.0

installed_sys_proc_units=16.0,deconfig_sys_proc_units=0,min_proc_units_per_virtual_proc=0.05,max_virtual_procs_per_lpar=256,

max_procs_per_lpar=256,max_curr_virtual_procs_per_aixlinux_lpar=64,max_curr_virtual_procs_per_vios_lpar=64,

max_curr_virtual_procs_per_os400_lpar=64,max_curr_procs_per_aixlinux_lpar=64,max_curr_procs_per_vios_lpar=64

,max_curr_procs_per_os400_lpar=64,max_shared_proc_pools=64,configurable_sys_proc_units_all_os=7.0,configurable_sys_proc_units_linux=3.0

The configurable_sys_proc_units_linux=3.0 parameter indicates that 3.0 processor cores are configured for Linux only workloads.

The updated managed system properties tab now displays the number of Linux only and any Operating System processors that have been licensed in the system as shown in Figure 0-2.

Figure 0-2 GUI window output to display the Linux-only and all OS processors.

Compliance monitoring assistance

For certain models of IBM Power Systems servers, the HMC displays a message if the managed system is not in compliance with the Power IFL license terms.

Compliance monitoring assistance is available on following models with firmware version 7.8.1, or later.

•     9119-FHB
•     9117-MMD
•     9179-MHD

System firmware on supported models periodically computes the actual processor core consumption.

On HMC V8.8.1.0, or later, you can see the license configuration for a managed server with Power IFL activations in the HMC server properties Processors tab.

Two categories are listed in the Configurable section such as:

•     Processors that are listed as Linux-only represent the number of Power IFL processor cores.
•     Processors that are listed as Any can be used for any (general purpose) workload.

This same information is available in the CoD Processor Capacity Settings window.

Compliance conditions

The system records an entry in the CoD history log when an out of compliance condition is first detected.

When the number of out of compliance processor units changes, an A7004735 system reference code (SRC) is logged.

If a system is out of compliance for 24 continuous hours, an A7004736 SRC is logged as a serviceable event.

If you determine that your system is out of compliance, you must correct the problem. Reduce the processor usage of one or more of the running AIX, IBM i, or Virtual I/O Server partitions on the managed system. Reduce processor usage through dynamic partitioning, or shut down or suspend a partition.

The following table shows the compatibility modes for a Power Systems active and inactive partition mobility.

For more information, see IBM Power Systems Hardware Management Console Version 8 release 8.1.0 Enhancements, SG24-8232 at:

http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redpieces/abstracts/sg248232.html?Open