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Troubleshooting why vfchost is reporting NOT_LOGGED_IN on VIOS

Question & Answer


Question

Executing the lsmap command on the Virtual I/O Server (VIOS), the virtual fibre channel adapter (vfchost) returns "NOT_LOGGED_IN" status.
$ lsmap -all -npiv
Name          Physloc                            ClntID ClntName       ClntOS 
------------- ---------------------------------- ------ -------------- -------
vfchost0      <MachineType.SerialNumber>-V4-C8     12                 

Status:NOT_LOGGED_IN
FC name:                    FC loc code:<MachineType.SerialNumber>-P1-C7-T1
Ports logged in:0
Flags:4<NOT_LOGGED>
VFC client name:                VFC client DRC:

Cause

N_Port ID Virtualization (NPIV) is an industry-standard technology that allows an NPIV capable fibre channel adapter to be configured with multiple virtual worldwide port names (WWPNs). The VIOS does not own or see the LUNs from the storage side, it just creates a virtual fibre channel adapter (vfchost) and connects to the physical fibre channel adapter (fcs) and acts as a pass-through for the Fibre Channel Protocol I/O traffic through the POWER Hypervisor.
A logged in status on the VIOS is an indication of establishing a connection between the client LPAR virtual fibre channel adapter and VIOS virtual fibre channel adapter when it is logged into the SAN fabric using the client LPAR WWPN.
Generally there are three prerequisites in order to achieve a "logged in" status.
  1. The virtual fibre channel adapters are created correctly on the HMC profile on both the VIOS and the client logical partition (client LPAR)
  2. The physical channel adapter that is used in the virtual fibre channel adapters is attached correctly to the switch and the managed system and is reported a "link up" status.
  3. The client logical partition is active on the HMC Enhanced GUI.

Answer

Troubleshooting step #1 Check virtual fibre channel adapter in HMC profile

The recommended way to add a virtual fibre channel adapter to the client logical partition is by using the DLPAR Using the HMC Enhanced GUI. This procedure ensures that the virtual fibre channel adapters are created on the VIOS and client partition profiles. Make sure the Save Current Configuration is Enabled on the VIOS and client LPAR, otherwise the change will be lost after rebooting the VIOS or client LPAR

To ensure the virtual fibre channel adapters are created on the HMC profile, run the following command on the HMC command-line interface (CLI) twice once for the VIOS and the other for the client LPAR. Make sure the "slot_num" attribute and the "remote_slot_num" match the output for the VIOS and the client LPAR

    lshwres -r virtualio -m "managed_system_name" --rsubtype fc --level lpar --filter lpar_ids="LPAR/VIOS ID"

Here is an example of the lshwres command

~> lshwres -r virtualio -m ManagedSystemName --rsubtype fc --level lpar --filter lpar_ids=8
lpar_name=IBM-example-LPAR,lpar_id=8,slot_num=5,adapter_type=client,state=1,is_required=0,remote_lpar_id=5,remote_lpar_name=viosexample,remote_slot_num=11,"wwpns=c050XXXXXXXXXXXX,c050XXXXXXXXXXXX"

~> lshwres -r virtualio -m ManagedSystemName --rsubtype fc --level lpar --filter lpar_ids=5
lpar_name=viosexample,lpar_id=5,slot_num=11,adapter_type=server,state=1,is_required=0,remote_lpar_id=8,remote_lpar_name=IBM-example-LPAR,remote_slot_num=5

If the slot numbers do not match, go to the HMC profile and change the adapter ID then shut down the LPAR/VIOS and activate it using the profile

If there is a virtual adapter missing from the output, shut down the LPAR/VIOS and go to the HMC profile and add the adapter ID then activate it using the profile

Troubleshooting step #2 Check physical fibre channel adapter on the VIOS

When executing the lsmap command on the Virtual I/O Server (VIOS), the "FC name" is not set as the following example.

    $ lsmap -all -npiv
    Name          Physloc                                  ClntID ClntName       ClntOS 
    ------------- ----------------------------------       ------ -------------- -------
    vfchost0      <MachineType.SerialNumber>-V4-C8          12                 

    Status:NOT_LOGGED_IN
    FC name:                    FC loc code:<MachineType.SerialNumber>-P1-C7-T1
    Ports logged in:0
    Flags:4<NOT_LOGGED>
    VFC client name:                VFC client DRC:

Make sure that the VIOS has a physical fibre channel adapter that is NPIV capable, execute the lsnports command to show which adapters can be used for the virtual fibre channel adapter




    $ lsnports
    name             physloc                                       fabric tports aports swwpns  awwpns
    fcs0             <MachineType.SerialNumber>-P1-C11-T1      1     64     64   2048    2044
    fcs1             <MachineType.SerialNumber>-C11-T2         1     64     64   2048    2044

Once the physical fibre channel adapter is identified, assign the physical fibre channel adapter to the virtual fibre channel adapter by using the following commands to more effectively clear internal structures of the virtual fibre channel adapter



$ vfcmap -vadapter vfchostX -fcp
$ rmdev -dev vfchostX -ucfg
$ cfgdev
$ vfcmap -vadapter vfchostX -fcp fcsY

Where "vfchostX" is the virtual fibre channel adapter in question and the "fcsY" is physical fibre channel chosen from the lsnports command

Troubleshooting step #3 The client logical partition is active on the HMC Enhanced GUI

When the client logical partition is activated, the virtual FC adapter will initate a login operation from the VIOS into the SAN fabric. To activate the client logical partition, navigate to the HMC Enhanced GUI and check the client logical partition is running and active in order to achieve a logged in status.

Creating a new virtual Fibre channel adapter, the Hardware Management Console (HMC) generates a new virtual World Wide Port Name (WWPN). Initiating the Login Operation for Virtual Fibre Channel Client Adapters in HMC allows the SAN Administrator to allocate, log in, and zone the virtual WWPN before the client partition is activated.

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Document Information

Modified date:
04 August 2025

UID

ibm16988505

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