IBM enhances PowerVM to boost the flexibility and
security of your IBM Power Systems servers
IBM Europe, Middle East, and Africa
Software Announcement ZP08-0508
October 7, 2008
 ENUSZP08-0508.PDF (104KB)
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IBM® PowerVM™ technology
offerings can boost overall system flexibility through virtualization technologies
that can reallocate system resources to where they are needed and tap into
additional resources on demand. Power Systems servers running PowerVM technology
offerings can help clients:
- Consolidate servers
- Reduce server sprawl
- Simplify systems management
- Improve business resiliency
- Potentially reduce total cost of ownership (TOC)
- Enhance performance by automatically reacting to anticipated and unanticipated
spikes in server demand
- Potentially reduce energy consumption
- Increase business flexibility
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IBM PowerVM technology
offerings deliver industrial-strength virtualization for AIX, IBM i, and Linux® environments
on IBM POWER™ processor-based
systems. Power Systems servers coupled with PowerVM technology are designed to help
consolidate and simplify IT environments.
Key capabilities include:
- Improved server utilization and shared I/O resources to help reduce total
cost of ownership and make better use of IT assets
- Improved business responsiveness and operational speed by dynamically
reallocating resources to applications as needed to better match changing
business cycles or handle unexpected surge in demand
- Simplified IT infrastructure management by making workloads independent
of hardware resources, thereby enabling clients to make business-driven policies
to deliver resources based on time, cost, and service-level requirements
PowerVM technology
is enhanced with support for N_Port ID Virtualization (NPIV), virtual tape,
enhancements to Live Partition Mobility support, and enhancements to PowerVM Lx86.
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PowerVM Editions
require a Power Systems server with an IBM POWER5™ or POWER6™ processor running an AIX®, IBM i, or Linux operating
system.
Live Partition Mobility requires systems with a POWER6 processor running AIX or Linux operating
systems and PowerVM Enterprise
Edition.
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- October 17, 2008, for AME SPO feature 2209
- October 31, 2008, for PowerVM Lx86
- November 14, 2008, for PowerVM enhancements
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N Port ID Virtualization (NPIV) provides direct access to Fiber Channel
adapters from multiple client partitions, simplifying the management of Fibre
Channel SAN environments. NPIV support is included with PowerVM Express,
Standard, and Enterprise Edition and supports AIX 5.3 and AIX 6.1 partitions on selected POWER6 processor-based
servers Power 520, 550, 560, and 570, with an 8 GB Fibre Channel Host Bus
Adapter (HBA).
NPIV is a standardized method for virtualizing a physical Fibre Channel
port. An NPIV-capable Fibre Channel HBA can have multiple N_Ports, each with
a unique identity. NPIV coupled with the Virtual I/O Server (VIOS) adapter
sharing capabilities allow a physical Fibre Channel HBA to be shared across
multiple guest operating systems. The PowerVM NPIV implementation enables logical
partitions (LPARs) to have virtual Fibre Channel HBAs, each with a dedicated
worldwide port name. Each virtual Fibre Channel HBA has a unique SAN identity
similar to that of a dedicated physical HBA.
NPIV offers many benefits:
- Ease-of-use allowing storage administrators to use existing tools for
storage management (including SAN managers, copy services, and backup and
restore)
- Simplified storage provisioning using standard zoning and LUN masking
techniques
- Physical and virtual device compatibility
- Access to SAN devices including tape libraries
- Distributed solutions that depend on SCSI heuristics SCSI-2 (Reserve/Release
and SCSI3 Persistent Reserve)
PowerVM partitions
support both physical and virtual I/O enabling dynamic heterogeneous multiple
path I/O. With this support, partitions can have paths to a storage device
that includes both physical (that is, dedicated FC adapters) and virtual (that
is, NPIV) adapters.
This multiple path support is a key enhancement for Live Partition Mobility,
which requires that a partition use virtual I/O resources exclusively. With
this enhancement, a partition can be dynamically changed from using physical
adapters to using only virtual (that is, NPIV) resources, leaving the partition
ready for Live Partition Mobility without an outage. Another benefit of this
multiple path support is efficient redundancy using shared resources. Typically,
redundancy has been achieved with dedicated physical I/O resources in each
partition (that is, two or more HBAs, cables, or switch ports). Although NPIV
is functionally comparable to a physical Fibre Channel HBAs, some may prefer
to use physical paths as the primary access to storage. Multiple path support
allows a configuration to use dedicated resources as the primary paths, and
virtual (that is, NPIV) paths as the failover paths. The failover paths can
be sharing adapter/cable/switch ports with other failover paths for other
partitions .
Multiple path I/O is supported with Live Partition Mobility environments
with AIX 5.3
and AIX 6.1
partitions on POWER6 processor-based
servers.
PowerVM Live
Partition Mobility is supported in environments with two Hardware Management
Consoles (HMCs) supporting larger and more flexible configurations. Partitions
may be migrated between systems that are managed by two different HMCs. This
support is provided for AIX 5.3, AIX 6.1, and Linux partitions on POWER6 processor-based
servers.
PowerVM has
two virtualization methods for using tape devices on POWER6 processor-based servers, simplifying
backup and restore operations. Both methods are supported with PowerVM Express,
Standard, or Enterprise Edition and supports AIX 5.3 and AIX 6.1 partitions on POWER6 processor-based
servers.
- NPIV enables PowerVM LPARs
to access SAN tape libraries using shared physical HBA resources.
- Virtual tape support allows serial sharing of selected SAS tape devices
PowerVM VIOS
monitoring has been enhanced with new function:
- topasrec tool: A new tool named topasrec is introduced to do topas or
nmon style recordings. This tool supersedes the functionality of xmwlm.
- LVM / volume group monitoring monitors Logical Volume and Volume Group
statistics.
- Disk / multipath I/O monitoring monitors Disk Service Time metrics along
with its Path statistics in a single screen.
- Adapter statistics monitors an adapter's throughput statistics and also
displays associated disk service time metrics.
- VIOS Server / Client I/O throughput monitoring provides screen panels
to view VIOS Server / Client throughput summary and also Server / Client association
and also provides screen panels to view Host Adapter / Target Device / Client
Device statistics with its association.
- Detailed network adapter monitoring provides detailed network statistics
and Shared Ethernet Adapter (SEA) statistics along with the association of
physical network adapters.
For more information, visit
- http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/power/software/virtualization/ index.html
The new PowerVM Lx86
V1.3 offers the potential to improve the performance of certain 32-bit x86 Linux applications1 enabled
with PowerVM Lx86
compared to prior versions, particularly on POWER6 processor-based systems. With additional POWER6 server
support, PowerVM Lx86
V1.3 is now designed to support the installation and running of most 32-bit
x86 Linux applications
on IBM Power
520, 550, 560, 570, and 595 server platforms, and IBM BladeCenter® JS21, JS22, JS12, and
System p servers with POWER6, POWER5+™, or POWER5 processors.
With new operating system support, PowerVM Lx86 V1.3 now supports SUSE Linux Enterprise
Server 9 Service Pack 4 for POWER, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 Service Pack
2 for POWER,
and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 update 7 for POWER.
PowerVM Lx86
V1.3 offers the following additional enhancements:
- Enhanced PowerVM Lx86
installer supports archiving the previously installed environment for backup
or migration to other systems.
- Automate installation for non-interactive installation.
- Automate installation from an archive.
- Support installation using the IBM Installation Toolkit for Linux.
- SELinux is supported by PowerVM Lx86 when running on RHEL.
- Enhancements to GDB for improved debugging of x86 applications.
The IBM Installation
Toolkit for Linux provides
a set of tools that greatly simplifies the installation and management of Linux on IBM POWER processor-based
servers. The IBM Installation
Toolkit for Linux,
V3.1 has been enhanced to include the installation of PowerVM Lx86 V1.3.
The x86 command line debugging tools gdb, strace, and ltrace are supported
within a VxE. It is possible to debug an x86 application from within a translated
x86 gdb session. It is also possible to attach a translated x86 gdb to a running
x86 process.
PowerVM Lx86
is offered as a standard feature of all PowerVM Editions.
For more information on PowerVM Lx86, visit
- http://www.ibm.com/systems/power/software/linux/
For more information on IBM Installation Toolkit for Linux, V3.1, visit
- https://www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/set2/sas/f/lopdiags/ installtools/home.html
- 1
- PowerVM Lx86
runs most x86 Linux applications; however, PowerVM Lx86 cannot run certain applications.
Refer to the Limitations section for further information.
Accessibility by people with disabilities
A U.S. Section 508 Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) containing
details on accessibility compliance can be requested at
- http://www.ibm.com/able/product_accessibility/index.html
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IBM intends
to enhance PowerVM with Active
Memory™ Sharing, an advanced memory virtualization technology, in 2009. Active
Memory Sharing will intelligently flow memory from one partition to another
for increased utilization and flexibility of memory.
IBM intends
to support N_Port ID Virtualization (NPIV) on the POWER6 processor-based Power 595, BladeCenter JS12,
and BladeCenter JS22
in 2009. IBM intends
to support NPIV with IBM i and Linux environments in 2009.
IBM intends
to support VIOS virtual tape capabilities with IBM i and Linux environments in 2009.
All statements regarding IBM's plans, directions, and intent are subject
to change or withdrawal without notice.
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Refer to Software Announcement ZP08-0187, dated April 08, 2008, for Power Systems Software
Enhancements.
Refer to Software Announcement ZP08-0444, dated October 07, 2008, for IBM Sytems
Director for Power Systems, V6.1.
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Previously announced products that are being updated.
Program Program
number VR name
5765-PVX 2.1 PowerVM Express
5765-PVS 2.1 PowerVM Standard Edition
5765-PVE 2.1 PowerVM Enterprise Edition
5765-WPM 1.2 IBM Workload Partitions Manager
5765-AVE 1.3 PowerVM Lx86
5692-A6P 6.1 AIX V6 SIPO
5692-A5L 5.3 AIX V5 SIPO
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IBM System
Planning Tool (SPT):
- Supports the ability to plan for adapters that are not assigned to a partition.
- Allows the expansion units in a system plan to be renamed and placed in
a specific order by the user.
- Can now be used to plan for the installation of AIX and Linux operating systems in partitions
managed by the Integrated Virtualization Manager 2.1. When the system plan
is deployed by the Integrated Virtualization Manager, it will install AIX or Linux in
the new partitions.
- Provides an estimate of the energy consumption of the system configuration
for POWER6 systems.
The IBM Workload
Estimator (WLE) can now save sized system configuration to a file that can
be read by the SPT, making it easier to size a system independent of the SPT
and providing the ability to later configure the system with SPT.
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Product information is available via the Offering Information Web site
- http://www.ibm.com/common/ssi
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No publications are shipped with this program.
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Specified operating environment
Hardware requirements
For hardware and software requirements and limitations for PowerVM Enterprise
and PowerVM Standard
Editions including VIOS, refer to Software Announcement ZP08-0187, dated April 08, 2008,
for Power Software Enhancements.
Software requirements
The program's specifications and specified operating environment information
may be found in documentation accompanying the program, if available, such
as a readme file, or other information published by IBM, such as an announcement letter. Documentation
and other program content may be supplied only in the English language.
Limitations
PowerVM Lx86
runs most x86 Linux applications, but PowerVM Lx86 cannot run applications
that:
- Directly access hardware (for example, 3D graphics adapters)
- Require nonstandard kernel module access or use kernel modules not provided
by the Linux on POWER operating
system distribution
- Do not use only the Intel® IA-32 instruction set architecture
as defined by the 1997 Intel Architecture Software Developer's Manual consisting
of Basic Architecture (Order Number 243190), Instruction Set Reference Manual
(Order Number 243191), and the System Programming Guide (Order Number 243192)
dated 1997
- Do not run correctly on Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 4 for POWER starting with Version 4.3 or Novell
SUSE Linux Enterprise
Server 9 (SLES) for POWER, starting with SP3, or Novell SLES 10
- Are Linux/x86 specific system administration or configuration tools
- Require x86 real-mode
In addition, the performance of some x86 Linux applications running on PowerVM Lx86
may significantly vary from the performance obtained when these applications
are run as a native port. There are various architectural differences between
x86 and Power
Architecture® that can impact performance of translated applications.
For example, translating dynamically generated code like Java™ byte
codes is an ongoing translation process, which can be expected to impact the
performance of x86 Java applications using an x86 Java virtual
machine.
Floating point applications running under x86 have a different default
precision level from Power Architecture, so translating between
these levels can have additional performance penalties. Also, translating
and protecting multi-threaded applications can incur an additional performance
overhead as the translator works to manage shared memory accesses. IBM suggests that
clients carefully consider these performance characteristics when selecting
the best method for enabling applications for their environment.
Planning information
Security, auditability, and control
The customer is responsible for evaluation, selection, and implementation
of security features, administrative procedures, and appropriate controls
in application systems and communication facilities.
Global Technology Services
Contact your IBM representative
for the list of selected services available in your country, either as standard
or customized offerings for the efficient installation, implementation, or
integration of this product.
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Consult your IBM representative.
Software Maintenance
This software license includes Software Maintenance, previously referred
to as Software Subscription and Technical Support.
Extending coverage for a total of three years from the date of acquisition
may be elected. Order the program number, feature number, and quantity to
extend coverage for your software licenses. If maintenance has expired, specify
the after license feature number.
System Program Order (SPO): An order for SPO 5692-A5L or 5692-A6P
is mandatory for shipments of program distribution. The individual licensed
program orders are for registration and billing purposes only. No shipment
occurs under these orders.
The SPO feature number 2209 is now available under 5692-A6P and 5692-A5L.
The supply feature for Management Edition for AIX was originally set up to deliver under
the licensed PID 5765-AME. The supply feature for this offering now will be
delivered under the 5692-A6P and 5692-A5L SPOs. The old supply feature for
5765-AME will be withdrawn on October 7, 2008.
5692-A5L 5692-A6P
SPO SPO
feature feature
Program number Program name number number
5765-AME IBM Management Edition for AIX 2209 2209
The following feature will announce IBM Workload Partitions Manager™ for AIX,
V1.2, The configurator will not release the feature for ordering until November
14, 2008.
5692-A6P
SPO
feature
Program number Program name number
5765-WPM WPM for AIX V1.2 2219
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All European, Middle Eastern and African countries.
Trademarks
PowerVM, POWER, POWER5, POWER6, POWER5+, Active Memory and Workload Partitions Manager are trademarks of IBM Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.
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Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the United States, other countries, or both.
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