Planning SR-IOV networks

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Review this information to learn about SR-IOV requirements and restrictions before managing a virtual machine that uses SR-IOV technology.

Requirements

  • POWER8® or later system
  • The adapter must be in SR-IOV mode.
    • On NovaLink hosts, use pvmctl sriov to view and update the adapter mode.
    • On HMC hosts, in the HMC user interface, modify the SR-IOV adapter, then choose Shared mode.

    See vNIC FAQ for a list of vNIC supported adapters that are SR-IOV capable.

  • The operating system on the virtual machine must be supported. See vNIC FAQ for the supported operating systems.

Restrictions

  • You cannot directly connect the SR-IOV adapter or physical ports to a virtual machine.
  • Deploy templates do not support SR-IOV networks.
  • Activation engine is not supported.