I/O devices

I/O devices allow your managed system to gather, store, and transmit data. I/O devices are found in the server unit itself and in expansion units that are attached to the server. I/O devices can be embedded into the unit, or they can be installed into physical slots.

Not all types of I/O devices are supported for all operating systems or on all server models. For example, Switch Network Interface (SNI) adapters are supported only on certain server models, and are not supported for IBM® i logical partitions.

Single root I/O virtualization (SR-IOV) allows virtualization of the physical ports of an adapter so that the ports can be shared by multiple partitions that are running simultaneously. To share the ports of an SR-IOV capable adapter, the adapter must first be enabled for the SR-IOV shared mode. After an adapter is enabled for SR-IOV shared mode, SR-IOV logical ports can be assigned to logical partitions.

Attention: Some PCI adapters and embedded controllers require multiple PCI or PCI-E slots to be associated with them. Carefully review the PCI or PCI-E slot assignments for each logical partition to ensure that the slot configuration of the logical partition meets the adapter functional requirements. For details, see Managing PCI adapters, and PCI adapter placement.
Parent topic: Physical and virtual hardware resources


Last updated: Fri, July 05, 2019