Configuration requirements and restrictions for the remote restart capability of a logical partition

An AIX®, Linux, or IBM® i logical partition that is capable of remote restart must have its configuration information and persistent data stored external to the server on persistent storage.

With the Hardware Management Console (HMC) Version 7.6.0, or later, a logical partition can be enabled for remote restart on any server that supports the remote restart capability. To perform a remote restart operation by using the HMC command line, the HMC must be at version 8.1.0 or later. A logical partition can recover from a server outage by starting on another server.

The following are the configuration requirements for creating a logical partition with the remote restart capability:
  • By using the reserved storage device pool:
    • A reserved storage device from the reserved storage device pool must be assigned to the logical partition before the logical partition is activated. It can be assigned during the creation of the logical partition. You must also specify the primary and an optional secondary Virtual I/O server partition, based on the redundancy requirement and the redundancy capability of the device, to provide access to the device. You must specify a reserved storage device which is marked for manual device selection. When you want to assign a reserved storage device to the storage pool, you must consider the size of the storage device that is required. The size is based on several configuration attributes. You can run the lsrsdevsize command from the Hardware Management Console (HMC) command line.
    • The HMC validates the availability and the size of the specified reserved storage device based on the default profile of the logical partition. The HMC associates the device with the logical partition.
    • The HMC ensures that the reserved storage device pool is configured with at least one active Virtual I/O Server partition available in the pool. Two active Virtual I/O Server partitions are required for redundancy.
  • When the HMC is at Version 8.2.0, or later, and when you select the PowerVM® simplified remote restart feature, you need not assign a reserved storage device from the reserved storage device pool to the logical partition before the logical partition is activated.
  • At a given time, a logical partition can support the simplified remote restart capability or the remote restart capability, but cannot support both the capabilities.
  • With the Hardware Management Console (HMC) Version 8.4.0, or later, and the Virtual I/O Server (VIOS) at Version 2.2.4.0, or later, the remote restart of logical partitions that use shared storage pool devices is supported.
Restriction:
The following are the restrictions for a logical partition that is capable of remote restart:
  • The logical partition must not have physical I/O adapters.
  • The logical partition must not be a full system partition, or a Virtual I/O Server (VIOS) partition.
  • The logical partition must not be enabled for redundant error path reporting.
  • The logical partition must not have a barrier-synchronization register (BSR).
  • The logical partition must not have huge pages.
  • The logical partition must not have its rootvg volume group on a logical volume or have any exported optical devices.
  • The logical partition must not be set to automatically start with the server.
  • The logical partition must not have any Host Channel Adapter resources.
  • The logical partition must not be set as the service partition for the server.
  • The logical partition must not have any Host Ethernet Adapter resources.
  • The logical partition must not belong to a workload group.
  • The logical partition must not use shared memory.
  • The logical partition must not have a Virtual Trusted Platform Module (VTPM) enabled.
  • The logical partition must not use Virtual Station Interface.
In addition to the restrictions mentioned above, IBM i partitions have some additional restrictions.
Restriction:
The following list illustrates the restrictions for an IBM i logical partition that is capable of remote restart:
  • The logical partition must not have a virtual server SCSI adapter. Also, the logical partition must not have a virtual SCSI client adapter associated with a server adapter that is not on a VIOS partition.
  • The logical partition must not have HSL (High Speed Link) OptiConnect or Virtual OptiConnect enabled.
Parent topic: Planning for logical partitions
Related tasks:
Assigning a reserved storage device to a logical partition


Last updated: Fri, July 05, 2019