Managing the properties of a Virtual I/O Server

You can view, remove, or change the resources that are allocated to a Virtual I/O Server (VIOS) by using the PowerVM function in the Hardware Management Console.

To view and change resources and the configuration for a VIOS, complete the following steps:

1. In the navigation pane, click the Resources icon .
2. Click All Systems. The All Systems page is displayed.
3. In the work pane, select the server name that has the VIOS that you want to change.
4. In the PowerVM area, click Virtual I/O Servers. The Virtual I/O Servers that are available on the system are displayed.
5. In the work pane, select the VIOS for which you want to view and change properties.
6. Click Actions > View Virtual I/O Server Properties.
7. In the navigation pane, ensure that Properties is expanded and General Properties is selected.
   1. In the General Properties page, you can view or change the VIOS name, VIOS version, IP address, boot mode, resource configuration, key lock position, view the machine serial number and machine type, and change the description and group tags.
      Note: If the Resource Monitoring and Control (RMC) connection is active, and if you want to accept the VIOS license, click License not accepted in the VIOS Version field to accept the VIOS license. The Accept License for VIOS window is displayed. Click Accept to accept the VIOS license. Alternatively, click Cancel to reject the changes and to close the window.
   2. In the General Properties page, click Advanced to enable or disable automatic start of the managed system, to enable or disable the mover service partition (MSP), to enable connection monitoring, to enable redundant error path reporting, to enable time reference, to enable VTPM, to allow performance information collection, to enable or disable the secure boot feature by selecting a value from the Secure Boot list, to specify the GZIP Quality of Service (QoS) credits, or to select the processor compatibility mode for a partition. You can also save the current configuration of the VIOS to a new partition profile, if you are a super administrator, service representative, operator, or product engineer. Click Save to apply the changes. Alternatively, click Cancel to reject the changes and close the page.
8. In the navigation pane, click Processors.
   1. In the Processors page, select the values for virtual processors and values for processing units for the VIOS. You can set the VIOS to be either capped or uncapped. Click Advanced to select the processor compatibility mode and choose when to share a processor.
   2. Click Save to apply the changes. Alternatively, click Cancel to reject the changes and close the page.
9. In the navigation pane, click Memory.
   1. In the Memory page, you can view the properties of the VIOS that is using dedicated or shared memory. You can also allocate the required amount of dedicated or shared memory to the VIOS. Click Advanced to change the Assigned Barrier Synchronization Register (BSR) Array.
      Note: POWER8® or POWER9™processor-based servers do not support BSR.
   2. Click Save to apply the changes. Alternatively, click Cancel to reject the changes and close the page.
10. In the navigation pane, click Physical I/O Adapters.
    1. The Physical I/O Adapters page lists the physical I/O adapters that are assigned to the VIOS partition with the adapter physical location code and description. Click Add Adapter to open the Add Physical I/O Adapters page. In the Add Physical I/O Adapters page, select a drawer to list the available adapters or filter the adapters by their physical location. Select an adapter from the table and click OK. Right-click an adapter in the Physical I/O Adapter page and select Remove Adapter to remove an adapter after confirmation.
    2. Click Save to apply the changes. Alternatively, click Cancel to reject the changes and close the page.
11. In the navigation pane, expand Virtual I/O > Virtual Storage. The Virtual Storage page is displayed with the Virtual SCSI Adapters and Virtual Fibre Channel Adapters tabs. By default, the Virtual SCSI Adapters tab is selected.
    1. Virtual SCSI Adapters
       1. In the Virtual SCSI Adapters section, click Create Adapter. The Create Virtual SCSI Adapter window is displayed.
       2. In the Server Adapter ID field, enter the server adapter ID.
          Note: If you do not want to specify the server adapter ID, you can continue the procedure with the server adapter ID that is populated automatically in the Server Adapter ID field. The server adapter ID displayed in this field is the next available slot ID for the virtual SCSI server adapter that is being created.
       3. From the Remote Partition list, select the logical partition to which the virtual SCSI adapter connects. The list displays all the logical partitions that are available in the managed system for creating the virtual SCSI adapter.
       4. From the Remote Adapter ID list, select the remote adapter ID. The remote slot number of the selected logical partition is displayed in the Remote Partition ID field. This field is populated automatically with the next available slot ID which is based on the logical partition that is selected for creating the virtual SCSI adapter. Alternatively, you can click Populate existing usable Remote Adapter IDs. All the client adapters that exist in the selected logical partition, and which are not connected to any Virtual I/O Server are displayed in the Remote Adapter ID field.
       5. By default, both the virtual SCSI server adapter and the corresponding client adapter will be created. If you do not want to create the virtual SCSI client adapter, clear the Create Remote Adapter check box.
       6. Click OK to apply the changes. Alternatively, you can click Cancel to reject the changes and to close the window.
    2. Virtual Fibre Channel Adapters
       1. In the Virtual Storage page, select Virtual Fibre Channel Adapters tab.
       2. In the Virtual FC Adapters section, click Create Adapter. The Create Virtual Fibre Channel Adapter window is displayed.
       3. In the Server Adapter ID field, enter the server adapter ID.
          Note: If you do not want to specify the server adapter ID, you can continue the procedure with the server adapter ID that is populated automatically in the Server Adapter ID field. The server adapter ID displayed in this field is the next available slot ID for the virtual Fibre Channel server adapter that is being created.
       4. From the Remote Partition list, select the logical partition to which the virtual Fibre Channel adapter connects. The list displays all the logical partitions that are available in the managed system for creating the virtual Fibre Channel adapter.
       5. From the Remote Adapter ID list, select the remote adapter ID. The remote slot number of the selected logical partition is displayed in the Remote Partition ID field. This field is populated automatically with the next available slot ID, which is based on the logical partition that is selected for creating the virtual Fibre Channel adapter. Alternatively, you can click Populate existing usable Remote Adapter IDs. All the client adapters that exist in the selected logical partition, and which are not connected to any Virtual I/O Server, are displayed in the Remote Adapter ID field.
       6. By default, both the virtual Fibre Channel server adapter and the client adapter will be created. If you do not want to create the virtual Fibre Channel client adapter, clear the Create Remote Adapter check box.
       7. Click OK to apply the changes. Alternatively, you can click Cancel to reject the changes and to close the window.
12. In the navigation pane, expand Virtual I/O > Hardware Virtualized I/O. The Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV) page for the selected Virtual I/O Server is displayed in the work pane.
    1. The SR-IOV page lists all of the SR-IOV logical ports that are connected to the VIOS. Right-click a logical port and select Modify Port or Remove Port to change or remove the selected port. Click Add Port to add an SR-IOV logical port to the VIOS partition. Click Select and SR-IOV physical port to view a list of available physical ports. After you select a physical port, a table is displayed that lists the configuration details of the physical port. You can also configure additional settings for the logical port in the advanced settings section.
    2. The HEA page lists all of the Logical Host Ethernet Adapters (LHEAs) connected to the VIOS. Click Add Adapter to assign more adapters to the VIOS partition. You can modify the adapter to use dedicated resources by selecting Yes in the Dedicated column. Click Advanced Settings to set the Media Access Control (MAC) address settings and virtual LAN (VLAN) ID settings.
       You can select the following values for operating system-defined MAC address.

       • Allow all: Allows any operating-system defined MAC address. This value is the default value that is displayed.
       • Deny all: Does not allow any operating-system defined MAC addresses.
       • Allow specified: Specifies a maximum of four operating-system defined MAC addresses that are allowed. You can add the MAC addresses to the Allowed MAC Addresses list.

       You can set the adapters to accept packets with any virtual LAN ID (VLAN ID) or to accept only packets with specific VLAN IDs.

       • Allow all: Allows the logical port to accept packets with any VLAN ID.
       • Deny all: Does not allow the logical port to accept packets with any VLAN ID.
       • Allow specified: Allows the logical port to accept packets with only specific VLAN IDs.

       Note:

       You must use the following configuration settings when you specify the MAC address and VLAN ID for the configuration to be valid:

       • If MAC Address Settings is set to Allow all, the VLAN ID Settings must also be set to Allow all. Any other value that is specified for the VLAN ID is not valid.
       • If MAC Address Settings is set to Deny all, the VLAN ID Settings can either be set to Deny all or Allow Specified.
       • If MAC Address Settings is set to Allow Specified, the VLAN ID Settings can either be Deny all or Allow Specified.
    3. In the HCA page click Launch Manage Host Channel Adapters to open the HMC panel with a list of available Host Channel Adapters (HCA). Select an HCA to display the current partition usage for the selected HCA.