POWER7 information

Upgrade considerations for POWER7 systems

Learn on considerations for upgrading to IBM® POWER7® systems.

The following items are considerations for upgrading to IBM POWER7 systems.

Feature-conversion upgrades from IBM Power Express® 570 (POWER6® 9117-MMA) systems to IBM Power 770 (POWER7 9117-MMB) and IBM Power 780 (POWER7 9179-MHB) systems are supported. These feature-conversion upgrades allow the serial number of the system to be maintained.
Some 12X I/O expansion units are supported for POWER7 systems. For more information on supported and unsupported I/O drawers, contact your IBM Business Partner or IBM marketing representative. For more information on expansion units, see Enclosures and expansion units.
Partition mobility is allowed between POWER6 and POWER7 systems. Partition mobility is an option to move a partition dynamically to POWER7 systems if your partitions meet specified criteria. Correct levels of the PowerVM® hardware feature and VIOS are needed. For more information, see Live Partition Mobility.
If you are using PowerVM, information on planning, installing, configuring, and migrating virtual I/O servers can be found at PowerVM Information Roadmap.
An HMC or Integrated Virtualization Manager (IVM) is required to manage POWER7 processor-based systems implementing partitioning. Multiple POWER7 processor-based systems can be supported by a single HMC. If an HMC is used to manage any POWER7 processor-based system, the HMC needs to be a rack-mounted mode HMC CR3, or later, or a stand-alone HMC C05, or later.
Note: Any unsupported HMC must not be used in POWER7 systems.
If an HMC manages more than 254 partitions, the HMC must have a minimum of 3 GB of RAM. If the HMC is mounted in a rack, it must be model CR3, or later. If the HMC is a stand-alone model, it must be a C06 model, or later.
For minimum HMC levels for the hardware, see IBM Prerequisite .
Customized installation instructions can be found for each feature type in the Installing and configuring POWER7 processor-based systems and system features section of the IBM Power Systems™ Hardware Information Center.
A set of tools to simplify the installation of the Linux operating system is available. For more information, see IBM Installation Toolkit User Manual.
For overview, planning, installation, and download information for the target and source system, see IBM Support Portal. For more planning information, see Upgrade planning.
For warranty information for existing components (features) being migrated to your POWER7 system, refer to your warranty contracts. Also, refer to the service agreement that you signed for those components.

The following items are not supported for POWER7 systems:

Feature conversion upgrades from IBM 550 Express (POWER6 processor) to IBM Power 750 Express (POWER7 processor) are not supported. Serial-preserving upgrades are not supported.
Memory and processor conversions from Power 550 (POWER6 processor) to Power® 750 (POWER7 processor) are not supported.
No serial-preserving upgrades are supported from POWER®5 systems to POWER7 systems.
RIO/HSL is not supported for POWER7 systems. For more RIO/HSL considerations, see Considerations for converting from RIO/HSL to 12X I/O expansion units.
Quarter Inch Cartridge (QIC) tape drives are not supported for POWER7 systems. The QIC media has also been called SLR.

Use this information to plan for your POWER7 system upgrades:

An IBM i Operations Console directly attached to the system is not supported on POWER7 systems. If you currently have an Operations Console directly attached to the system, you must change the console before you start to install or migrate the IBM i software on your system. Failure to do so can cause unpredictable results. For more information on changing consoles, see Working with consoles, terminals, and interfaces for POWER7 processor-based systems.
IBM i twinaxial console is not supported on POWER7 systems because input-output processor (IOP) is not supported on POWER7 systems. For more information on changing consoles, see Working with consoles, terminals, and interfaces for POWER7 processor-based systems.
Some I/O devices and disk units are not supported for POWER7 systems. For more information on supported and unsupported I/O devices, contact your IBM Business Partner or IBM marketing representative. For more information on I/O devices, see Media devices, PCI adapters, and GX 12X channel adapters.
IBM i IOP and IOP-based adapters are not supported for POWER7 systems. IOPless (Smart IOA) options that provide more efficient I/O attachment are available. For more information on supported and unsupported adapters, contact your IBM Business Partner or IBM marketing representative.
For current hardware planning statements, see IBM Power Systems planning statements.
For more details on POWER7 systems, see the Sales Manual Web site.
1. Select country and language. Click Continue.
2. Click the Multiple types tab.
3. In the Keywords field, type the machine type and model number you want information for. For example, 9117-MMB.
4. In the Return to me section, select Sales Manual / RPQ. Click Search.
5. Select the HW/SW Sales Manual associated with your model.
Note: This information is also available from your IBM sales representative.
For IBM i information, see Upgrade planning.

The following table shows the devices and adapters that are not supported for POWER7 systems.

Table 1. Devices and adapters not supported for POWER7 systems
Feature	Name	CCIN	Feature code replacement
Storage controllers
2749	PCI Ultra Magnetic Media Controller	2749	PCI-X SCSI 5736
2757	PCI-X Ultra RAID Disk Controller	2757	SCSI 5782 SAS 5903, 5908
2780	PCI-X Ultra4 RAID Disk Controller	2780	SCSI 5782 SAS 5903, 5908
5580	2780 Controller with auxiliary Write Cache	2780 5708	SCSI 5782 SAS 5903, 5908
5581	2757 Controller with auxiliary Write Cache	2757 5708	SCSI 5782 SAS 5903, 5908
5583	5777 Controller with auxiliary Write Cache	571E 574F	SCSI 5782 SAS 5903, 5908
5590	2780 Controller with auxiliary Write Cache	2780 574F	SCSI 5782 SAS 5903, 5908
5591	2757 Controller with auxiliary Write Cache	2757 574F	SCSI 5782 SAS 5903, 5908
5702	PCI-X Ultra Tape Controller	5702	PCI-X SCSI 5736
5712	PCI-X Dual Channel Ultra320 SCSI Adapter	5702	PCI-X SCSI 5736
5776	PCI-X Disk Controller 90 MB no IOP	571B	SCSI 5782 SAS 5903, 5908
5777	PCI-X Disk Controller 1.5 GB no IOP	571E	SCSI 5782 SAS 5903, 5908
5778	PCI-X EXP24 Controller 1.5 GB no IOP	571F	SCSI 5782 SAS 5903, 5908
5806	PCI-X DDR Dual Channel Ultra320 SCSI Adapter	571A	PCI-X SCSI 5736
5911	SAS adapter for internal Split DASD option	57BA	None
Fibre Channel controllers
2787	PCI-X Fibre Channel Disk Controller	2787	PCI-X 4 GB 5774 8 GB 5735
5704	PCI-X Fibre Channel Tape Controller	5704	PCI-X 4 GB 5774 8 GB 5735
5760	PCI-X Fibre Channel Disk Controller	280E	PCI-X 4 GB 5774 8 GB 5735
5761	PCI-X Fibre Channel Tape Controller	280D	PCI-X 4 GB 5774 8 GB 5735
IXS
4812	PCI Integrated xSeries Server	4812-001	iSCSI attach 5713
4813	PCI Integrated xSeries Server	4812-001	iSCSI attach 5713
Ethernet controllers
1981 5718	10 GB Ethernet-SR PCI-X Adapter	1981 5718	PCI-X 5769
1982 5719	IBM 10 GB Ethernet-LR PCI-X Adapter	1982 5719	PCI-X 5772
1984 5707	IBM 2-Port GB Ethernet-SX PCI-X Adapter	1984 5707	PCI-X 5768
3709	PCI 100/10 Mbps Ethernet IOA (System i® 2748)	2849	None
IOPs
2844	PCI IOP	2844	None
2847	PCI IOP for SAN Load Source	2847	None
3705	PCI IOP (System i 2843)	2843	None
DTTA
6312	Quad Digital Trunk Telephony PCI Adapter	6312	None
Cryptographic
4801	PCI Cryptographic Coprocessor	4758-023	AIX and Linux 4807 IBM i 4764
4805	PCI Cryptographic Accelerator	2058-001	AIX and Linux 4807 IBM i 4764

4746	PCI Twinaxial Workstation IOA	2746	None
Hard Disk Devices
3273	36.4 GB 10,000 RPM Ultra320 SCSI Disk Drive Assembly	1967	SAS SFF 1881
4319 4326	35.16GB 10k rpm Disk Unit	4326	SAS SFF 1883
3277	36.4 GB 15,000 RPM Ultra320 SCSI Disk Drive Assembly	1970	SAS SFF 1883
1968 3274	73.4 GB 10,000 RPM Ultra320 SCSI Disk Drive Assembly	1968	SAS SFF 1881
1969 3275	146.8 GB 10,000 RPM Ultra320 SCSI Disk Drive Assembly	1969	SAS SFF 1882
1973 3578	300 GB 10,000 RPM Ultra320 SCSI Disk Drive Assembly	3578	SAS SFF 1885
Optical devices
3706	DVD-ROM (System i 4631)	6336	DVD RAM 5762
4430 4630	DVD-RAM	6330-002	DVD RAM 5762
4633	DVD-RAM	6333	DVD RAM 5762
5756	IDE Slimline DVD-ROM Drive	6337-002 6337-003	DVD RAM 5762
5757	IBM 4.7 GB IDE Slimline DVD-RAM Drive	6331-002	DVD RAM 5762
Tape devices
3707	30 GB 1/4 in. Cartridge Tape (System i 4684)	No record	DAT 5907, 5619 LTO 5746
3708 4487	50 GB 1/4 in. Cartridge Tape (System i 4687)	63A0	DAT 5907, 5619 LTO 5746
5907	36/72 GB 4 mm DAT72 SAS Tape Drive	N/A	DAT 5907, 5619
Diskette devices
2591	External USB 1.44 MB Diskette Drive	N/A	None
Displays
3636	L200P Flat Panel Monitor	N/A	22 in. wide screen 3632

The following table shows the I/O upgrade options for the 9117-MMB and 9179-MHB systems.

Table 2. I/O Upgrade options
I/O expansion unit type	Attachment	9117-MMB		9179-MHB
I/O expansion unit type	Attachment	Migrate	New Attachment	Migrate	New Attachment
5786	SCSI	Yes	No	Yes	No
5787	SCSI	No	No	No	No
5796	12X SDR (Single data rate)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
5802	12X DDR (Double data rate)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
5877	12X DDR (Double data rate)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
5886	SAS	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
7031-D24	SCSI	Yes	No	Yes	No
7031-T24	SCSI	No	No	No	No
7214-1U2	SAS	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
7311-G30	12X SDR	Yes	No	Yes	No

The following table shows the I/O upgrade options for the 9119-FHB system.

Table 3. I/O Upgrade Options for the 9119-FHB system.
I/O expansion unit type	Attachment	Drawers sold as new and supported	Only drawers supported
5803 12X I/O Drawer PCle	12X DDR	Yes	No
5803 12X I/O Drawer PCle	12X DDR	Yes	No
5886 EXP 12X Expansion Drawer	SAS	Yes	No
5724 DVD/Tape SAS External Storage Unit	SAS	Yes	No
7214-1U2 Tape and Optical Storage Device Enclosure	SAS	Yes	No
5797 12X I/O Drawer PCI-X with repeater	12X SDR	Yes	No
5720 DVD/Tape SAS External Storage Unit	SAS	Yes	No
5798 12X I/O Drawer PCI-X no repeater	12X SDR	No	Yes
5786 7043-D24 TotalStorage EXP24 Disk Drawer	SCSI	No	Yes

The following table shows the I/O upgrade options for 8231-E2B, 8202-E4B and 8205-E6B systems.

Table 4. I/O Upgrade Options for 8231-E2B, 8202-E4B and 8205-E6B
I/O expansion unit type	Attachment	System Model	Drawers sold as new and supported	Drawers supported Only
5802, 5877	12X DDR	8202-E4B and 8205-E6B	Yes	No
5796	12X SDR	8202-E4B and 8205-E6B	Yes	No
5886	SAS	8231-E2B, 8202-E4B and 8205-E6B	Yes	No
7214-1U2	SAS	8202-E4B and 8205-E6B	Yes	No
7612-1U2	SAS/USB	8231-E2B, 8202-E4B and 8205-E6B	Yes	No
7314-G30	12X SDR	8202-E4B and 8205-E6B	No	Yes
I (5786, 7031-D24)	SCSI	8202-E4B and 8205-E6B	No	Yes
I (5787, 7031-T24)	SCSI	8202-E4B and 8205-E6B	No	Yes

For more detailed information on POWER7 systems, see System upgrade information for POWER7 systems.

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Last updated: Tue, June 10, 2014