Subscribe to this informationPlanning for Virtual I/O Server and client logical partitions by using system plans
You can use the System Planning Tool (SPT) to create a system plan that includes some basic configuration specifications for a Virtual I/O Server and client logical partitions. You can also use the Hardware Management Console (HMC) to create a system plan based on an existing system configuration.
SPT is a PC-based browser application that can assist you in planning and designing a new system. SPT validates your plan against system requirements and prevents you from creating a plan that exceeds those requirements. It also incorporates the IBM® Systems Workload Estimator (WLE) to help you plan for workloads and performance. The output is a system-plan file that you can deploy to a managed system.
You can use a system plan to do some basic configuration at the logical partition profile level for items such as virtual Ethernet adapters and virtual local area network (VLAN)s and the mappings between them. You also can use a system plan to configure virtual Small Computer Serial Interface (SCSI) adapter mappings between the Virtual I/O Server and its client logical partitions. However, you must configure manually any connections or mappings between these virtual adapters and the physical networking or storage devices.
- Create a system plan by using SPT. For instructions, see the System Planning Tool Web
site. With SPT, you can create a system plan that includes the following
information:
- Configuration specifications for a Virtual I/O Server logical partition
- Configuration specifications for AIX®, IBM i, and Linux client logical partitions.
- Create a system plan based on an existing system configuration
by using the Create System Plan task in the HMC. For instructions,
see Creating a system plan using
the HMC.
Alternatively, you can use the mksysplan command on the HMC to create a system plan based on an existing system configuration.
After you have a system plan, you can deploy the system plan to the managed system. For instructions, see Deploying a system plan by using the HMC.
- Creates the Virtual I/O Server logical partition and logical partition profile.
- Creates the client logical partitions and logical partition profiles.
After you deploy the system plan you must manually configure all Virtual I/O Server provisioning items, such as Shared Ethernet Adapters, EtherChannel adapters (or Link Aggregation devices), storage pools, and backing devices. For more detailed information about the restrictions that apply, see System plan validation for the HMC.
