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Abstract
IBM i Migrate While Active provides the capability to safely and easily migrate an IBM i partition. A new instance of the IBM i partition, otherwise known as the target node, is established and maintained by Migrate While Active until such time that a client decides to finalize the migration.
This wiki page aggregates resources and enhancements for IBM i Migrate While Active.
Content
IBM i Migrate While Active helps organizations relocate workloads, modernize infrastructure, and perform operating system upgrades with minimal disruption to business operations. Whether migrating an IBM i logical partition (LPAR) within the same server, across data centers, or to a remote environment such as IBM Power® Virtual Server in IBM Cloud®, Migrate While Active is designed to reduce downtime and simplify migration planning.
Migrate While Active uses a combination of IBM i and storage replication technologies to create a copy of a source LPAR and then continuously synchronize changes with a target LPAR. By keeping the source and target environments synced throughout the migration process, organizations can perform a planned cutover at a convenient time and significantly reduce downtime compared to traditional migration methods.
Multiple migration methods are available to accommodate different infrastructure configurations, operational requirements, and availability objectives. Each method uses a different approach to establish and synchronize the target LPAR, allowing organizations to select the strategy that best fits their environment. The following sections provide an overview of each migration method and links to detailed implementation guidance.
Quick links to individual migration methods:
Migrate While Active using partition mirroring
As shown in the following figure, host-based storage replication technology is used to copy SYSBAS from the source node to the target node. This method has several key advantages:
- No initial outage on the source node is needed because the creation of install media or a full system save is not necessary.
- The host-based storage replication occurs below the technology-independent machine interface (TIMI) so there are no locking considerations or conflicts with on-going production workloads.
- Test mode is available, which allows the user to freely and fully evaluate the target node before finalizing the migration.
- The status and progress of partition mirroring is easy to observe, monitor, and estimate from within the Db2 Mirror GUI.
To understand Migrate While Active using partition mirroring, start here: Migrating using partition mirroring.
Migrate While Active using using external storage
As shown in following figure, the source node is first migrated to a separate partition using external storage copy functionality. The newly established target node can have its IBM i operating system level upgraded, while the production partition continues to operate on the source node. Changes are tracked on the source node, and replication to the target node begins when synchronization is started. When the two nodes are nearly synchronized, a cutover can be performed to switch the system IP addresses and other attributes.
To understand Migrate While Active using external storage, start here: Migrating using external storage.
Migrate While Active using assisted save and restore
As shown in following figure, migrating using assisted save and restore technology approaches the migration differently than partition mirroring.
An initial outage on the source node facilitates the creation of install media and user data save media, which are used to provision the target node. The newly established target node can have its IBM i operating system level upgraded while the production partition continues to operate on the source node. Changes are tracked on the source node, and replication to the target node begins when synchronization is started. When the two nodes are nearly synchronized, a cutover can be performed to switch the system IP addresses and other attributes.
To understand Migrate While Active using assisted save and restore, start here: Migrating using assisted save and restore.
Migrate While Active using manual migration
Manual migration provides users with the following alternative methods for creating a copy of the source node to establish the target node:
- Storage replication (FlashCopy or remote copy)
- Save and restore
- Storage replication and save/restore
The newly established target node can have its IBM i operating system level upgraded while the production partition continues to operate on the source node. Changes are tracked on the source node, and replication to the target node begins when synchronization is started. When the two nodes are nearly synchronized, a cutover can be performed to switch the system IP addresses and other attributes.
The manual storage replication and save/restore migration method reduce source node downtime compared to the assisted save and restore method. Additionally, the manual save and restore migration method provides users with more options for taking a full system save. During a manual migration, options for taking a full system save include but are not limited to: GO SAVE option 21 or the QSRMIGRATE program.
To understand Migrate While Active using manual migration, start here: Migrating using manual migration.
Recent IBM i Migrate While Active Enhancements
See IBM i Migrate While Active updates by PTF Group and year for a description of the Migrate While Active enhancements and improvements.
IBM i Migrate While Active resources
IBM Documentation
- IBM i Migrate While Active for i 7.6 Documentation
- IBM i Migrate While Active for i 7.5 Documentation
- IBM i Migrate While Active for i 7.4 Documentation
IBM Group PTF information and Requirements
IBM Product Information
Technical Notes & Related Information
IBM Technology Expert Labs
- Comments, questions, and requests for assistance can be made by sending an email to iessspt@us.ibm.com , which is the email address for IBM's Technology Expert Labs (formerly Lab Services).
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Modified date:
14 July 2026
UID
ibm17172591