Upgrading Virtual I/O Servers

When the Virtual I/O Server (VIOS) partition is in a running state with an active Resource Monitoring and Control (RMC) connection, you can upgrade the VIOS by using the Hardware Management Console (HMC). You can select the target resource from where the VIOS installation image needs to be copied. You can also save the downloaded image file for future use.

1. In the navigation area, click System resources.
2. Click Virtual I/O servers. The Virtual I/O Servers that are available on the system are displayed.
3. In the work pane, select the VIOS with an active RMC that you want to upgrade and click Operations > Ugrade VIOS. The Upgrade VIOS window is displayed. Alternatively, in the work pane, click a VIOS with an active RMC that you want to upgrade and click Virtual IO Server actions > Upgrade VIOS.
4. In the Choose disk space step, select one or more disks from the displayed list.
   Note: To upgrade VIOS, the disk size must be equal to or greater than 30 GB.
5. Click Next.
6. In the Choose image location step, select one of the following image file locations to upgrade the VIOS:
   • HMC: Select the HMC option to upgrade the VIOS from an HMC image file location. The HMC option displays the available image files with the corresponding file sizes and file names. You can select HMC as the image file location and choose an image file from the displayed list.
   • NFS server: If you select the Network File System (NFS) server option, the following fields are mandatory:
     • Remote server hostname or IP address: You must enter the remote server hostname or IP address of the remote NFS server.
     • Mount location: You must enter the mount location of the remote NFS server.
     • File names: You must enter the ISO file name.

     Select the Save install image to HMC checkbox to save the downloaded image file for future use.

     • Enter a name in the VIOS image name field.
   • SFTP server: If you select the Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) server option, you must specify the Password or Keyfile as the authentication type.
     • For password authentication, the following fields are mandatory:
       • Remote server hostname or IP address: You must enter the remote server hostname or IP address of the remote SFTP Server.
       • User ID: You must enter the username of the remote SFTP Server.
       • File names: You must enter the file name.
     • For keyfile authentication, the following fields are mandatory:
       • Remote server hostname or IP address: You must enter the remote server hostname or IP address of the remote SFTP Server.
       • Keyfile: You must enter the SSH Keyfile name.
       • File names: You must enter the ISO file name.

       Select the Save install image to HMC checkbox to save the downloaded image file for future use.

       • Enter a name in the VIOS image name field.
         Note: The name that you specify must consist of 1 - 40 characters. You can use the characters A - Z and a - z, the numbers of 0 - 9, the dot (.), the dash (-) and the underscore (_) characters.
   • USB: Select the Universal Serial Bus (USB) option to upgrade the VIOS image from a Universal Serial Bus (USB) device. You can select USB as the image file location and select a USB device from the USB Input list.

     Select the Save install image to HMC checkbox to save the downloaded install image file for future use. Enter a name in the VIOS image name field.

   Note:

   • You cannot save more than three image files at a time.
   • The VIOS upgrade operation can take up to two hours to complete.
7. Click Next. In the Summary step, you can view the total chosen disk space for the upgrade operation and also the download location, the remote server, the user ID, the file names, and the name of the VIOS.
8. Click Upgrade to upgrade the VIOS. The Upgrade VIOS window displays the status of upgrade operation in a console message.
9. Click Close.