HMC-managed systems: Firmware support matrix for partition mobility

Ensure that the firmware levels on the source and destination servers are compatible before upgrading.

In the following table, you can see that the first column represent the firmware level you are migrating from, and the values in the top row represent the firmware level you are migrating to. The table lists each combination of firmware levels that support migration.
Table 1. Firmware level
Migrating from firmware level Migrating to firmware level

POWER6® 350_xxx

POWER6 350_xxx

POWER7®

730_xxx - 783_xxx

POWER8®

810_xxx - 860_xxx

POWER7 730_xxx

POWER6 350_xxx

POWER7

730_xxx - 783_xxx

POWER8

810_xxx - 860_xxx

POWER7 740_xxx

POWER6 350_xxx

POWER7

730_xxx - 783_xxx

POWER8

810_xxx - 860_xxx

POWER7 760_xxx

POWER6 350_xxx

POWER7

730_xxx - 783_xxx

POWER8

810_xxx - 860_xxx

Note: 840_xxx is supported only when you have installed the enablement Service Pack 840_113.
POWER7 763_xxx

POWER6 350_xxx

POWER7

730_xxx - 783_xxx

POWER8

810_xxx - 860_xxx

POWER7 770_xxx

POWER6 350_xxx

POWER7

730_xxx - 783_xxx

POWER8

810_xxx - 860_xxx

POWER7 773_xxx

POWER6 350_xxx

POWER7

730_xxx - 783_xxx

POWER8

810_xxx - 860_xxx

POWER7 780_xxx

POWER6 350_xxx

POWER7

730_xxx - 783_xxx

POWER8

810_xxx - 860_xxx

POWER7 783_xxx

POWER6 350_xxx

POWER7

730_xxx - 783_xxx

POWER8

810_xxx - 860_xxx

POWER8 810_xxx

POWER6 350_xxx

POWER7

730_xxx - 783_xxx

POWER8

810_xxx - 860_xxx

POWER8 820_xxx

POWER6 350_xxx

POWER7

730_xxx - 783_xxx

POWER8

810_xxx - 860_xxx

POWER8 830_xxx

POWER6 350_xxx

POWER7

730_xxx - 783_xxx

POWER8

810_xxx - 860_xxx

POWER8 840_xxx

POWER6 350_xxx

POWER7

730_xxx - 783_xxx
Note: 840_xxx is supported only when you have installed the enablement Service Pack 840_113.

POWER8

810_xxx - 860_xxx

POWER8 860_xxx

POWER6 350_xxx

POWER7

730_xxx - 783_xxx

POWER8

810_xxx - 860_xxx

The following table shows the number of concurrent migrations that are supported per system. The corresponding minimum levels of firmware, Hardware Management Console (HMC), and Virtual I/O Server (VIOS) that are required are also shown.
Table 2. Concurrent migrations
Concurrent migrations per system Firmware level HMC version VMControl VIOS version Maximum concurrent migrations per VIOS
4 All All All All 4
8 All Version 7 Release 7.4.0, Service Pack 1, with mandatory fix MH01302, or later VMControl Version 1.1.2, or later Version 2.2.0.11, Fix Pack 24, Service Pack 1, or later 4
16 FW760, or later Version 7 Release 7.6.0, or later VMControl V2.4.2 Version 2.2.2.0, or later 8
The following table shows the number of supported mover service partition (MSP) pairs, the corresponding minimum levels of firmware, minimum versions of HMC, and VIOS that are required for supporting MSP redundancy.
Table 3. Multiple MSP pairs
Number of supported MSP pairs Firmware level HMC version VIOS version
1 All All All
2 FW860, or later Version 8 Release 8.6.0, or later Version 2.2.5.0, or later
Restrictions:
  • Firmware levels FW720 and FW730 are restricted to eight concurrent migrations.
  • Certain applications such as clustered applications, high availability solutions, and similar applications have heartbeat timers, also referred to as Dead Man Switch (DMS) for node, network, and storage subsystems. If you are migrating these types of applications, you must not use the concurrent migration option as it increases the likelihood of a timeout. This is especially true on 1 GB network connections.
  • You must not perform more than four concurrent migrations on a 1 GB network connection. With VIOS Version 2.2.2.0 or later, and a network connection that supports 10 GB or higher, you can run a maximum of eight concurrent migrations.
  • From VIOS Version 2.2.2.0, or later, you must have more than one pair of VIOS partitions to support more than eight concurrent mobility operations.
  • Systems that are managed by the Integrated Virtualization Manager (IVM) support up to 8 concurrent migrations.
  • The Suspend/Resume feature for logical partitions is supported on POWER8 processor-based servers when the firmware is at level FW840, or later. To support the migration of up to 16 active or suspended mobile partitions from the source server to a single or multiple destination servers, the source server must have at least two VIOS partitions that are configured as MSPs. Each MSP must support up to 8 concurrent partition migration operations. If all 16 partitions are to be migrated to the same destination server, then the destination server must have at least two MSPs configured, and each MSP must support up to 8 concurrent partition migration operations.
  • When the configuration of the MSP on the source or destination server does not support 8 concurrent migrations, any migration operation that is started by using either the graphical user interface or the command line will fail when no concurrent MSP migration resource is available. You must then use the migrlpar command from the command line with the -p parameter to specify a comma-separated list of logical partition names, or the --id parameter to specify a comma-separated list of logical partition IDs.
  • You can migrate a group of logical partitions by using the migrlpar command from the command line. To perform the migration operations, you must use -p parameter to specify a comma-separated list of logical partition names, or the --id parameter to specify a comma-separated list of logical partition IDs.
  • You can run up to four concurrent Suspend/Resume operations.
  • You cannot perform Live Partition Mobility that is both bidirectional and concurrent. For example:
    • When you are moving a mobile partition from the source server to the destination server, you cannot migrate another mobile partition from the destination server to the source server.
    • When you are moving a mobile partition from the source server to the destination server, you cannot migrate another mobile partition from the destination server to some other server.
  • When the HMC is at version 8.6.0, or later and the firmware is at level FW860, or later, redundant MSPs are supported as the default configuration for partition mobility operations. If you are using redundant MSPs and you are running 16 concurrent partition migration operations, you must have four MSPs on the source server and four MSPs on the destination server.

For more information about recommendations for partition mobility operations based on source and target input values, see Live Partition Mobility Recommendations




Last updated: Tue, March 12, 2019