Troubleshooting
Problem
This document describes how to mirror rootvg for PowerVM Virtual I/O Server (VIOS) using mirrorios command.
This applies to VIOS 3.1 and 4.1.
Cause
Rootvg is not mirrored and needs to create mirror copy on a second disk for disk or adapter redundancy.
Environment
VIOS 3.1 or 4.1
Diagnosing The Problem
To check whether VIOS is mirrored, login as padmin, and run:
$ lsvg -lv rootvg If # of LPs = # of PPs, then rootvg is not mirrored as in the example below.
Resolving The Problem
To mirror rootvg use mirrorios command.
In the following example, hdisk0 is the only physical volume in rootvg and hdisk1 will be added to the volume to be used as the target disk.
To list current physical volumes in rootvg:
In the following example, hdisk0 is the only physical volume in rootvg and hdisk1 will be added to the volume to be used as the target disk.
To list current physical volumes in rootvg:
$ lsvg -pv rootvg
Note 1: To free up hdisk after the VIOS upgrade, you can use one of the following options, depending on your VIOS version.
Run alt_root_vg command with -remove flag. For more details, see VIOS extendvg fails with 0516-029, 0516-1397 and 0516-792
If alt_root_vg does not include -remove option at your VIOS version, use alt_rootvg_op from oem_setup_env as noted at Why can't i perform viosupgrade on my alternate disk ?
To add hdisk1 to rootvg:
$ extendvg rootvg hdisk1
Note 2: If rootvg is being remirrored after replacing a bad disk and the Virtual Media Repository, /var/vio/VMLibrary, had to be removed, it can be re-created at this point.
To mirror rootvg:
$ mirrorios <target_hdisk#>To confirm mirroring:
$ lsvg -lv rootvg Notice # of PPs is double the # of LPs
Note 3: By default, the dump device, lg_dumplv, is the only logical volume that is not mirrored.
Note 4: By default,
mirrorios command automatically updates the bootlist to include the new mirrored disk (hdisk1 in this case). To verify, use bootlist command:$ bootlist -mode normal -ls
To modify the
bootlist, to remove the network adapter, ent0, and leave the mirrored disks, run:$ bootlist -mode normal hdisk0 hdisk1
To unmirror rootvg use
unmirrorios command.$ unmirrorios hdisk# Removes the mirror copy from the specified hdisk#
Related Information
[{"Type":"MASTER","Line of Business":{"code":"LOB57","label":"Power"},"Business Unit":{"code":"BU058","label":"IBM Infrastructure w\/TPS"},"Product":{"code":"SSPHKW","label":"PowerVM Virtual I\/O Server"},"ARM Category":[{"code":"a8m0z0000001i2sAAA","label":"PowerVM VIOS-\u003ELVM"}],"ARM Case Number":"","Platform":[{"code":"PF025","label":"Platform Independent"}],"Version":"3.1.1;3.1.2;3.1.3"}]
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Document Information
Modified date:
22 August 2025
UID
isg3T1010980