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Specifications required to create the Virtual I/O Server
This topic defines the range of configuration possibilities, including the minimum number of resources needed and the maximum number of resources allowed to create the Virtual I/O Server (VIOS).
To activate the VIOS, the PowerVM® Editions (or Advanced POWER® Virtualization) hardware feature is required. A logical partition with enough resources to share with other logical partitions is required. The following is a list of minimum hardware requirements that must be available to create the VIOS.
| Resource | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Hardware Management Console or Integrated Virtualization Manager | The HMC or Integrated Virtualization Manager is required to create the logical partition and assign resources. |
| Storage adapter | The server logical partition needs at least one storage adapter. |
| Physical disk | The disk must be at least 30 GB. This disk can be shared. |
| Ethernet adapter | If you want to route network traffic from virtual Ethernet adapters to a Shared Ethernet Adapter, you need an Ethernet adapter. |
| Memory | For POWER7® processor-based systems, at least 768 MB of memory is required. |
| Processor | At least 0.05 processor use is required. |
The following table defines the limitations for storage management.
| Category | Limit |
|---|---|
| Volume groups | 4096 per system |
| Physical volumes | 1024 per volume group |
| Physical partitions | 1024 per volume group |
| Logical volumes | 1024 per volume group |
| Logical partitions | No limit |
