Creating the management virtual machine

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If you want to run IBM® Power® Virtualization Center in a virtual machine, follow these steps to create a virtual machine on the host. This is the virtual machine into which you will install PowerVC.

Read the following information before you create the virtual machine on your management server.

Installing other software
Be aware of the following considerations when you install other software.
  • It is recommended that PowerVC is the only server application that is hosted on the virtual machine. However, PowerVC can generally coexist with other software on the same instance, assuming that there is no resource or dependency conflict between PowerVC and the other software. Potential conflicts include port contention, user namespace, file system capacity, firewall settings, and so on. It is recommended not to version lock RPMs except when directed to do so by IBM support.
  • Do not install any third party RPM packages before you install PowerVC as it might cause conflicts and leave out certain packages that are necessary for successful installation of PowerVC.

  • Also consider performance implications to PowerVC and to the other software when you install other software on the same instance. For example, PowerVC memory usage might grow and cause problems with applications that coexist with PowerVC.

  • PowerVC resource requirements are sized assuming that PowerVC is the only workload that is running on the management instance. If other applications are using resources, adjust the sizing as per the requirement.

  • It is recommended not to use these commands as it erases PowerVC packages and causes functional impacts.
    • RHEL OS

      yum install -y <package_name> --allowerasing

      dnf install -y <package_name> --allowerasing

  • Before you proceed with any package operation such as installation or upgrade operation on a PowerVC system with Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) or any other external recommendation, make sure to check with the IBM team if an alternative approach is available.
  • Do not remove version locks of PowerVC related packages except when directed to do so by IBM support.

Creating the management virtual machine on PowerVM

Ensure that you are familiar with the performance and scale considerations for your environment. For details, see the planning topics for your environment.

The virtual machine that you create for PowerVC should have the following resources, at a minimum:

Note: Processor capacity refers to either the number of processor units of entitled capacity or the number of dedicated processors.
Table 1. Minimum space and processor requirements for PowerVC management server - Up to 5 hosts, 2 storage providers, and 2 fabrics
Number of managed virtual machines or volumes (whichever is higher) Up to 500 501-1000 1001-2000 2001-3000 3001-6000
Processor capacity 2 4 8 8 12
Virtual CPUs1 2 4 8 8 12
Memory (GB) 32 35 40 45 55
Note: Allocate the swap space according to the OS recommendations.
Disk used (GB) 100 120 140 160 180
CPU (MHz) x86: 2000ppc64le: 2500        
  1. These can be shared or dedicated.
  2. In a case where monitoring is enabled, ensure that sufficient memory and swap space are available along with proportionate changes for other resources as well.
PowerVC has the following minimum space requirements:
  • /tmp - 5 GiB
  • /usr - 5 GiB
  • /opt - 15 GiB
  • /srv - 8 GB
  • /var - 10 GB
If /var/log/ is used as a separate partition, you must assign a minimum of 5 GB memory.
To create the virtual machine on a PowerVM® host by using the Hardware Management Console (HMC), complete the following steps:
  1. In the navigation pane, open Systems Management and click Servers.
  2. In the work pane, select the managed system, click the Tasks button, and click Configuration > Create Partition.
  3. Follow the steps in the Create Partition wizard to create a logical partition and a partition profile.

After the virtual machine is created, you need to install the operating system into the management virtual machine.

Creating the management virtual machine on x86

Ensure that you are familiar with the performance and scale considerations for your environment. For details, see the planning topics for your environment.

The virtual machine that you create for PowerVC should have the following resources, at a minimum:

Note: Processor capacity refers to the number of physical cores.
Table 2. Minimum space and processor requirements for PowerVC management server - Up to 5 hosts, 2 storage providers, and 2 fabrics
Number of managed virtual machines or volumes (whichever is higher) Up to 500 501-1000 1001-2000 2001-3000 3001-6000
Processor capacity 2 4 8 8 12
Virtual CPUs1 2 4 8 8 12
Memory (GB) 32 35 40 45 55
Note: Allocate the swap space according to the OS recommendations.
Disk used (GB) 100 120 140 160 180
CPU (MHz) x86: 2000ppc64le: 2500        
  1. These can be shared or dedicated.
  2. In a case where monitoring is enabled, ensure that sufficient memory and swap space are available along with proportionate changes for other resources as well.
To create the management virtual machine on a System x server, follow the instructions for your server.

After the virtual machine is created, you need to install the operating system into the management virtual machine.

PowerVC has the following minimum space requirements:
  • /tmp - 5 GiB
  • /usr - 5 GiB
  • /opt - 15 GiB
  • /srv - 8 GB
  • /var - 10 GB
If /var/log/ is used as a separate partition, you must assign a minimum of 5 GB memory.