Question & Answer
Question
What is the recommended order to update PowerVM Virtual I/O Server (VIOS), system firmware, and AIX?
Cause
I need to update the VIOS, system firmware, and AIX client OS with respect to August 2026 release . Does it matter which one is updated first?
Answer
AIX and VIOS Bulletin :- Security Bulletin: Vulnerabilities in IBM AIX and PowerVM VIOS
Power System Firmware Bulletins :- https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/bulletin/search/?q=IBM%20Power%20Systems (Filter with "2026-08-15")
- Install August Firmware SP.
- Install August VIOS FP (Assuming dual VIOS).
- Reboot VIOS 1.
- All the clients are running on redundant VIOS 2.
- Reboot VIOS 2.
- All clients are now running on VIOS 1.
- Install August AIX SP.
- Reboot AIX client (we want to mention boot the ones with the largest CPU/Mem footprint and go down to the smallest. Otherwise, we might see a perf issue and would have to run DPO).
- Reboot the CEC.
- If reboot the CEC is done and all LPARS are going down at the same time after SP/FP install, we would just recommend boot the VIOSes and then start with largest CPU/Mem LPAR.
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Document Information
Modified date:
15 August 2026
UID
ibm17283901