Basic Power IFL configuration techniques

A Power® IFL processor core is licensed for using only IFL-compliant workloads. The Virtual I/O Server (VIOS) or Linux partitions are IFL-compliant workloads. Power IFL processing capacity can’t be used to satisfy the licensed processor core requirement for non-IFL compliant workloads.

The server firmware determines which workloads can use Power IFL processor cores on a managed system. You can verify whether the server firmware categorizes VIOS partitions as IFL workloads by using the Hardware Management Console (HMC) command lssyscfg -r sys -F capabilities on HMC version 9.2.0, or later. If the server firmware categorizes VIOS partitions as IFL workloads, the output lists the ifl_vios_capable attribute.

Verifying the Power IFL license configuration for a managed server by using the HMC

You can see the license configuration for a managed server that has Power IFL activations in the Processors tab when you view the HMC server properties. Two categories are listed in the Configurable section. Processors that are listed as Linux or VIOS 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.

You can also use the lscod and lshwres HMC commands to display the number of Power IFL processor cores and general-purpose processor cores.

The lscod command displays the number of processors that are permanently licensed for Power IFL and general-purpose workloads. Depending upon the HMC version and server firmware version, the number of permanently licensed Power IFL processors is listed in either the perm_procs_linux_vios parameter or the perm_procs_linux parameter. The perm_procs_linux parameter is always displayed for HMC version 9.2.0, or earlier, even if the server has server firmware level FW920, or later. For example,

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

perm_procs=10,perm_procs_linux_vios=3,perm_procs_all_os=7

Where the perm_procs_linux_vios=3 parameter value indicates that three processor cores are licensed for IFL-compliant workloads. If the perm_procs_linux_vios parameter value is 0, the workload is not displayed in the command output unless you specify the -F flag. The perm_procs_all_os=7 parameter value indicates that seven processor cores can be used for any workload. If the value of the perm_procs_all_os parameter is equal to the value of the perm_procs parameter, the perm_procs_all_os parameter value isn’t displayed in the command output unless you specify the -F flag.

The lshwres command can also show the number of processor units that are licensed for Power IFL or general-purpose workloads. Depending on the HMC version and server firmware version, the number of configurable processors for IFL-compliant workloads is listed in either the configurable_sys_proc_units_linux_vios parameter or the configurable_sys_proc_units_linux parameter. The configurable_sys_proc_units_linux parameter is always displayed for HMC version 8.3.0, or earlier, even if the server has server firmware level FW920, or later. For example,

# 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_linux_vios=3.0,configurable_sys_proc_units_all_os=7.0

The backslash (\) character in the preceding example represents line continuation.

Where the configurable_sys_proc_units_linux_vios=3.0 parameter value indicates that 3.0 processor cores are configurable for IFL-compliant workloads. If the configurable_sys_proc_units_linux_vios parameter value is 0, it’s not displayed in the command output unless you specify the -F flag. The configurable_sys_proc_units_all_os=7.0 parameter value indicates that 7.0 processor cores are configurable for general-purpose workloads. If the value of the configurable_sys_proc_units_all_os parameter is equal to the value of the configurable_sys_proc_units parameter, the configurable_sys_proc_units_all_os parameter value isn’t displayed in the command output unless you specify the -F flag.

Ensuring Power IFL license compliance for a managed system

The number of general-purpose processor cores is the total number of cores that have licensed activations minus any cores that have Power IFL activations. The result represents the processing capacity that is available for non-IFL workloads.

You don’t need to limit the usage of CPU for partitions that are running IFL workloads to satisfy licensing requirements. Any licensed processor core can be used to supply processor capacity for IFL workloads. Therefore, IFL workloads that are targeted to run on Power IFL processor cores can overflow onto the general-purpose processor cores when that capacity is available.

You can create a shared processor pool for Linux partitions to control software licensing costs. Set the maximum processing capacity of this shared processor pool to minimize your software licensing costs. The maximum processing capacity of a Linux-only shared processor pool has no effect on Power IFL licensing.

Responsibility for ensuring Power IFL license compliance

The server firmware automatically ensures that the total entitled capacity used by active AIX® and IBM® i partitions doesn’t exceed the number of general-purpose processor cores. An AIX or IBM i partition can start only if the available number of general-purpose processor cores can satisfy the partition minimum requirement. If the available number of general-purpose processor cores is less than the required number of processors, the available number of general-purpose processor cores is used. You can add processor resources dynamically to an AIX or IBM i partition only if general-purpose processor cores are available. If you request more general-purpose processor cores than the available number of general-purpose processor cores, the available number of general-purpose processor cores is added to the partition. The PowerVM® hypervisor automatically ensures that uncapped AIX and IBM i partitions don’t exceed the number of general-purpose processor cores.

Server firmware periodically determines whether the system is in compliance with the Power IFL license terms. If the system isn’t in compliance, the HMC displays a message every hour, and the server firmware logs system reference codes (SRCs). For more information about compliance monitoring assistance, see Compliance monitoring assistance.