Shared Storage Pools is the next big thing to owed systems admin time and boost flexibility for Power Systems, PowerVM and controlling SAN disks from the VIOS and HMC. I will not go on about SSP here but I particular like the fact Live Partition Mobility even with SAN disks is ready to go with SSP and there is no need to reZone the SAN disks.
To start using the new and improved SSP, you need the latest Virtual I/O Server (VIOS) - the version name is a nightmare! Who ever thought VIOS 2.2.1.3 FP25 SP01 with iFix was a sensible name for a major functional upgrade ?
I have been using the internal beta version of SSP phases 2 for months now. Beta versions have both a very strange install process (you don't need to know the details) and it means I can't upgrade to the official GA released version. Such is the price in man-power of beta testing. So I have performed a fresh install of all my Virtual I/O Servers from scratch to start from VIOS 2.2 FP24 with SP02 - this release was from an official DVD that came with our recently purchased machine but I could have also downloaded that over the Internet from the IBM ESS website. For ESS (Entitled Software Support):
- Go to the website - http://www.ibm.com/servers/eserver/ess
- You will need an IBM id (simple enough to create one), your IBM customer number, machine Serial Number and a current SWMA.
With this older release it reports the VIOS release as
$ ioslevel
2.2.0.12-FP24 SP-2
Next you go to Fix Central to download the updates and to get installation details. At this time (and you need to check for yourself as this will change with time)
- Go to the website - http://www-933.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/
- Then fill in the form of what you want as below:
- Then click Continue and you are told you first need the Fix Pack 25.If installing from DVD there is guidance of some fixes you need - I am using NFS.
- This Fix pack will take your VIOS from VIOS 2.2.0.12 to VIOS 2.2.1.1 as reported by the VIOS padmin command ioslevel
- But note: it no longer reports the FP and SP numbers at this release.
- You need to download this update and it is big at 3.2 GB - so allow time for this download.
- I use an NFS server to perform the VIOS updates for speed and have the directory with the 795 files mounted at /mnt/VIOS/FP25
- The padmin command is updateios -dev /mnt/VIOS/FP25 -install -accept
- Warning: this took 90 minutes
- Then you need to reboot the VIOS to activate the new kernel
- Next, on Fix Central you need the matching Service Pack (SP01) and Intermediate Fix (iFix IV11852m13)
- Down load these two in to different directories:
- Service Pack (SP01) is 95 files and 750 MB
- Fix1 is 5 files and 2.6 MB
- Next upgrade to the FP25_SP01
- First commit the previous changes: updateios -commit
- Then the Service pack (assuming the NFS directory FP25_SP01) using the updateios -dev /mnt/VIOS/FP25_SP01 -install -accept
- And reboot the VIOS with: shutdown -force -restart
- You will now find: ioslevel reports 2.2.1.3
- Now the fix
- First commit the previous changes: updateios -commit
- Then the Service pack (assuming the NFS directory FP25_SP01_fix1) using the updateios -dev /mnt/VIOS/FP25_SP01_fix1 -install -accept
- No need to reboot this time
- You will now find: ioslevel reports 2.2.1.3 - Oh dear!! You can't tell you have the fix or not so ...
- Get to the root user with: oem_setup_env
- Then list the fixes with: emgr -l
- It should report
- ID STATE LABEL INSTALL TIME UPDATED BY ABSTRACT
- 1 S IV11852m13 12/21/11 19:26:50 Fix for multiple vios apars
- STATE codes: S = STABLE
OK, you are ready for Shared Storage Pools phase 2 but as a Service Pack does not come with new manual pages it means you will not find updated manual pages on the VIOS itself. You can find these manuals on the WWW.
- So "man cluster" does not list the new command options, just the phase 1 options.
- Fortunately, the command themselves know about the Shared Storage Pools phase 2 options so try: "cluster -?" and you get to see the phase 2 only options like -addnode see below
$ cluster -?
Command requires one of the following options: -create -addnode -rmnode -delete -list -status -sync
Usage: cluster -create -clustername ClusterName -repopvs PhysicalVolume -spname StoragePool -sppvs PhysicalVolume ... -hostname HostName
cluster -addnode -clustername ClusterName -hostname HostName
cluster -rmnode [-f] -clustername ClusterName {-hostname HostName | -uuid HostUuid}
cluster -delete -clustername ClusterName
cluster -status -clustername ClusterName [-field FieldName ...] [-fmt Delimiter] [-verbose]
cluster -list
cluster -sync -clustername ClusterName
$
By the way, this VIOS 2.2.1.3 Fix Pack 25 with Service Pack 01 gets you to an underlying AIX release of AIX 6.1 TL7 SP1
You need to know that if you want to NIM install as the NIM server needs to be at
but AIX 7.1 TL0 will not work as it came out before AIX 6.1 TL07 (I got burnt by that one earlier in the year). You will find the NIM command erors to extract from the VIOS mksysb will give you no clues of the problem.
By the way, I have to use "lslpp -L | grep bos.mp64" to work out the AIX version used, as the regular AIX command "oslevel -s" does not work).
Well I hope that makes your upgrade a lot simpler and less confusing than my first attempt
Thanks Nigel Griffiths
Tags:
power6
power7
aix
powervm
vios
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