Capturing a system configuration

Capturing a system gathers the current configuration of the system that is in the running state and includes information about the Virtual I/O Server (VIOS), virtual network, virtual storage, and system settings. You can capture these details of a running system and save the information as a user-defined system template by using the Hardware Management Console (HMC). This function is useful if you want to deploy multiple systems with the same configuration. If you want to use a quick-start template, you need not complete this task.

1. In the navigation pane, click System resources.
   1. Click Systems. The Systems page is displayed.
   2. In the work pane, select the system to view its properties.
      The System settings page is displayed. You can choose only one system at a time.
   3. Expand System actions > Templates > Capture Configuration as Template > with Physical I/O, for capturing the configuration with physical I/O information. The option to capture physical I/O information is available only when the system is in the running state. Alternatively, for capturing the configuration without physical I/O information, expand System Actions > Capture Configuration as Template > without Physical I/O. Information about the system configuration such as Virtual I/O Servers, Virtual Networks, and Virtual Storage is displayed in the Template Details page. All non-target specific data is contained in the appropriate fields of the system template.
2. In the Capture as System Template page, specify the name for the template file in the Template Name field.
3. Enter a description for the template in the Template Description field and click OK to save the captured template, or click Cancel if you want to cancel the operation.
   In the Capture as System Template page, you can also view the progress of the capture operation. A message indicates the successful completion of the capture operation. Appropriate warning or error messages are displayed when applicable and errors result in a failure of the capture operation.