Activating Virtual I/O Servers

You can activate Virtual I/O Servers by using the Hardware Management Console (HMC).

1. In the navigation pane, click Resources.
2. Click All Systems. The All Systems page is displayed.
3. In the work pane, select the server name where you want to activate the VIOS and click Actions > View System Properties.
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 and click Actions > Activate. The Activate <VIOS partition name> wizard is displayed.
6. From the Select VIOS Configuration list, select the required partition configuration profile.
   You can select only the profile that is associated to the selected partition. When you create a partition a default profile is always associated to the partition. This is indicated with the profile name being followed by default in parentheses.

   Note: If you choose Current Configuration, the Advanced Settings are unavailable.
7. From the Activation Options list, select the activation option for the partition.
   • Select Activate to activate the partition.
     Note: If you select Activate, the Next button is not available and you can only click Finish to activate and close the wizard after you make all your choices in the wizard.
   • Select Install to install the operating system on the partition. The HMC enables the network installation. Alternatively, you can select the operating system that you want to install from the work pane and click Actions > Install. The Install wizard is displayed. click Next to configure the network settings for the logical partition.
8. Click Advanced Settings if you want to view and modify the following options for the selected partition:
   • Keylock Position establishes the power-on and power-off modes that are allowed for the system. You can select the following keylock values - Do not override configuration, Manual (attended), and Normal (unattended).
     Attention: The Manual (attended) value is not preferred value for security reasons.
   • Boot Mode indicates the activation type for a partition. This activation type is applicable only for AIX®, Linux®, or Virtual I/O Server partitions. This option is not displayed for IBM® i partitions.
   • Open vterm opens a virtual terminal console.
   • Use VSI Profile activates the partition with Virtual Station Interface (VSI) profiles.
     Note: If the VSI attributes are not set correctly, the activation fails.
9. If you selected Activate from the Activation Options list, click Finish to activate the VIOS partition and close the activation wizard.
10. If you selected Install from the Activation Options list, click Next to configure the network settings for the VIOS partition and to install the VIOS software. The VIOS Installation Configuration page opens.
11. In the VIOS Installation Configuration page, select one of the following methods from the Installation Method list to install a VIOS software on the VIOS partition:
    • NIM Server. You must enter the NIM server IP address to be accessed by the HMC. The NIM server IP address is the HMC IP address from which the VIOS IP address can be accessed. Additionally, you can view the MAC address of the system.
    • Management Console Image. You must enter the HMC IP address. You must also select VIOS image from the list.
    • Management Console Session. You must specify the boot mode to start the operating system on the logical partition. The valid boot modes are - Normal, System Management Services (SMS), and Open Firmware OK.
    • USB Image. You must enter the HMC IP address to specify which Ethernet adapter must be used for communication with the VIOS. The VIOS Installation Image field lists all the Universal Serial Bus (USB) flash drives that are attached to your system. Select the VIOS image that you have saved in the USB flash drive and proceed with the VIOS installation.
12. Click Advanced Settings to view and change the following network configuration settings for the selected partition:
    1. From the Adapter Speed list, select the speed of the Ethernet adapter for the target partition. By default, Auto is selected to enable the system to determine the required speed for the adapter. You can also select the following values - 10, 100, or 1000.
    2. From the Adapter Duplex list, select duplex value for the Ethernet adapter. By default, Auto is selected to enable the system to determine the required duplex for the adapter. You can also select the Full or Half values.
    3. In the BOOTP Retries and TFTP Retries fields, enter a value in the range 0 - 9. These values are used for increasing the chances of a successful installation of the operating system. The default value for the BOOTP Retries and the TFTP Retries fields is 5.
13. Click Next. The VIOS Installation Progress page is displayed.
14. In the VIOS Installation Progress page, you can install and activate the VIOS software and activate a VIOS partition on the managed system.
15. Click Start to start the VIOS software installation on the VIOS partition and then accept the licenses for each VIOS.
16. Click Finish to complete the VIOS software installation and close the activation wizard.