The Integrated Virtualization Manager is a browser-based system management interface for the Virtual I/O Server. The Integrated Virtualization Manager allows you to create and manage AIX® and Linux® logical partitions on a single IBM® System p® server. On OpenPower® servers, the Integrated Virtualization Manager supports only Linux logical partitions.
The Integrated Virtualization Manager is supported only on specific server models.
Virtual I/O Server is software that provides virtual storage and shared Ethernet resources to the other logical partitions on the managed system. Virtual I/O Server is not a general purpose operating system that can run applications. Virtual I/O Server is installed on a logical partition in the place of a general purpose operating system, and is used solely to provide virtual I/O resources to other logical partitions with general purpose operating systems. You use the Integrated Virtualization Manager to specify how these resources are assigned to the other logical partitions.
To use the Integrated Virtualization Manager, you must first install Virtual I/O Server on an unpartitioned server. Virtual I/O Server automatically creates a logical partition for itself, which is called the management partition for the managed system. The management partition is the Virtual I/O Server logical partition that controls all of the physical I/O resources on the managed system. After you install Virtual I/O Server, you can configure a physical Ethernet adapter on the server so that you can connect to the Integrated Virtualization Manager from a computer with a Web browser.
This figure illustrates Virtual I/O Server in its own logical partition, and the AIX and Linux logical partitions that are managed by the Virtual I/O Server logical partition. The browser on the PC connects to the Integrated Virtualization Manager interface over a network, and you can use the Integrated Virtualization Manager to create and manage the logical partitions on the server.
When you use the Integrated Virtualization Manager to create a logical partition, then you assign memory and processor resources directly to logical partitions. If you use dedicated processors, then you specify the exact number of dedicated processors. If you use shared processors, then you specify the number of virtual processors for the logical partition, and the Integrated Virtualization Manager calculates the number of processing units it assigns to the logical partition based on the number of virtual processors. In all cases, the amount of resources that you assign is committed to the logical partition from the time that you create the logical partition until the time that you change this amount or delete the logical partition. You therefore cannot overcommit processor resources to logical partitions using the Integrated Virtualization Manager.
A logical partition that is created using the Integrated Virtualization Manager has minimum and maximum memory and processor values. The minimum and maximum values are used when you use a workload management application on the managed system, when you restart the managed system after a processor failure, or when you dynamically move resources to or from the Virtual I/O Server management partition. By default, the minimum and maximum values are set to the same value as the actual amount of committed resources. You can change the minimum and maximum processor values at any time, but you can change the minimum and maximum memory values only while the logical partition is not running.
When you use the Integrated Virtualization Manager to partition your managed system, a fraction of the memory and a fraction of the processors on the managed system are assigned to the Virtual I/O Server management partition. If desired, you can change the memory and processor resources that are assigned to the management partition to match your Virtual I/O Server workload. Physical disks can be assigned directly to logical partitions, or they can be assigned to storage pools, and virtual disks (or logical volumes) can be created from these storage pools and assigned to logical partitions. Physical Ethernet connections are generally shared by configuring the physical Ethernet adapter as a virtual Ethernet bridge between the virtual LAN on the server and an external, physical LAN. Host Ethernet Adapter Other types of I/O devices
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