Possible backup console configurations

It is important to consider as much redundancy as possible for your console needs.

If you consider "what if this fails?" and you have another method to provide a console, you can reduce your exposure to an unrecoverable console failure condition. You might need to make adjustments to your hardware requirements to address a potential console failure.

Several backup console configurations can fit your environment. The following table lists possible solutions.

Table 1. Possible backup console configurations
If	Then
If your server is accessed remotely	consider an off-site console capability or another connectivity for the console. A local console on a network (LAN) can be backed up with additional local console on a network (LAN) PC's.
If your system is configured with an HMC, but you are running Operations Console	you can quickly switch to the HMC 5250 console if Operations Console fails, without having to change hardware.
If you are using multiple local consoles on a network (LAN) on a single PC	consider additional PC's using this same type of configuration. Important: The PC resources can become overwhelmed when supporting multiple consoles and remote control panels.
If you are using multiple local consoles on a network (LAN) on multiple PC's	consider assigning each PC a core set of console responsibilities and then overlap coverage of backup configurations with each other. For example, if you have a PC that supports 10 local consoles on a network (LAN) and another PC with the same number of primary consoles for another 10 logical partitions, instead of backing up each PC with the other's configuration, you add a third PC and distribute the 20 consoles so that two PC's back up a portion of each PC's primary console configurations. consider having a dedicated PC to be the backup of a certain number of consoles, but not connect it until necessary.

Note: If more than one local console on a network (LAN) is planned, you no longer need to create additional service tools device ID's on the server before you start configuring the Operations Console PC. Each PC connecting to the same target server or logical partition must have a unique service tools device ID and will be given an auto-created service tools device ID upon connecting. A device ID is not required when you are using the IBM® i Access Client Solutions to connect the Operations Console PC. If you are using Client Access Operations Console, then a device ID is required. The Client Access Operations Console is supported up to version 7.1. From version 7.2 onwards, IBM i Access Client Solutions is recommended.

Last updated: Thu, June 14, 2018