The document discusses virtual input/output server (VIOS) technology in Power Systems. It begins with an introduction to VIOS and its benefits, such as virtualizing physical adapters to reduce hardware needs and enabling features like logical partition movement. Best practices for VIOS deployment are then covered, including using dual VIOS instances and shared storage pools. Common misconceptions about VIOS are debunked, and its future direction is addressed, such as support for newer technologies. The presentation concludes with a question and answer section.

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All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
with Glenn Robinson and Ash Giddings
Achieving Business
Value Through VIOS

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Ash Giddings
Product Manager
HelpSystems
Today’s Presenters
Glen Robinson
Power Systems Architect
RSI Consulting

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• What Is VIOS?
• Benefits of Using VIOS
• Deployment Best Practices
• VIOS Is Set and Forget, Right?
• Some Misconceptions
• The Future of VIOS
• Q&A and Recap
Agenda

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What Is VIOS?

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What Is VIOS?
• Virtualizes physical network and storage adapters
• Similar to VMware on Intel
VIOS = Virtual I/O Server
• Part of PowerVM
• A superset of AIX
Just because you know AIX doesn’t mean you know VIOS . . . but it helps

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Benefits of Using VIOS

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• Physical adapters are virtualized
– Storage and network adapters are “owned” by the VIOS LPARs
• VIOS provides software adapters to the IBM i, AIX, and Power Linux LPARs
– Can dramatically reduce the number of physical adapters required on a Power server
– Provides virtual Fibre Channel, virtual SCSI, and virtual Ethernet adapters to client LPARs
• VIOS manages Logical Partition Movement
– Similar to VMware vMotion
– LPARs can be “moved” from one Power server to another without downtime
• VIOS manages LPAR hibernation and remote restart
– An active LPAR can be hibernated and restarted later
– An LPAR can be restarted on another Power server after a failure
Benefits of Using VIOS

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• VIOS manages LPAR hibernation and remote restart
– An active LPAR can be hibernated and restarted later
– An LPAR can be restarted on another Power server after a failure
• Provides a Virtual Media Repository (VMR)
– Single storage location ISO images
• These can be any install, PTF, update media from Fix Central, or an ISV
• Presented to client LPARs as a virtual DVD drive
• Similar to Image Catalog on IBM i
Benefits of Using VIOS

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Deployment Best Practices

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• Use dual VIOS LPARs for resilience
– Client LPARs have paths to storage and
network via both VIOS instances
• No downtime is detected by the client
LPARs if a VIOS fails or is restarted after
an update
• Use the new HMC v8 GUI to manage
the VIOS resources
– Easier if you are not familiar with the
VIOS command-line interface
– IBM’s intention is to make VIOS
configuration “no touch”
– Even better, use PowerVC to manage
your Power environment
Deployment Best Practices

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• Separate tape and storage traffic over different FC ports
• Link to AD or LDAP for user authentication
• Use the VMR on a separate disk/volume from the VIOS OS data
• Ensure that you are backing up your VIOS instances to an off-site location
– This is normally an NFS share on a remote LPAR, which can be IBM i, AIX, Linux,
Windows, or a NAS
• Update your VIOS at least once a year
– The whole process normally takes less that 30 minutes, which includes 5-10
minutes restart time
Deployment Best Practices

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• Use Shared Storage Pools unless absolutely necessary
– Simplifies configuration of external storage and SAN switch zoning
– Similar to datastore concept in VMware
– Some LPARs may require NPIV access to the storage
• Use of external storage remote mirroring capabilities
• Extreme I/O requirements
Deployment Best Practices

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• Storage is shared between 2-16
VIOS LPARs
• Creation of virtual disks for LPARs
is done in VIOS
• Virtual disks can be thin or thick
provisioned
• Easy deployment of new LPARs
• LPM is simplified
• It’s fast
Deployment Best Practices

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VIOS Is Set and Forget, Right?

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Pretty much…
– Planning your system up front is key
– Once VIOS is configured, there are no real day-to-day activities
– Monitoring and performance analysis tools are available
VIOS Is Set and Forget, Right?

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Some Misconceptions

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• You need to be an AIX expert to install and manage VIOS
– Not true as installation, configuration, and management can be done
using the HMC GUI
• My access to storage will be slower through VIOS
– Really only likely in extreme I/O cases
– The data to/from the LPAR to the external storage does not pass
through VIOS, only the SCSI control commands are processed by VIOS
• I need lots of memory and CPU for VIOS
– In some systems this is true, but not for most
– Often, it is networking traffic passing through VIOS that determines
the CPU and memory required
• IBM i host LPARs provide the same functionality as VIOS
– Some but certainly not all, e.g. virtual Fibre Channel
Some Misconceptions

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The Future of VIOS

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• Development continues with around 2 updates per year
• SR-IOV adapters provide a replacement for virtual Ethernet
adapters using virtual NICs
• There is an important difference between vETH and vNICs,
especially around network performance and throughput
• Additional SR-IOV capabilities with FC adapters
• SSPv4 brings tiered shared storage pools
• Much less need for CLI access to VIOS
– Simpler implementation and configuration
The Future of VIOS

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About Halcyon

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Q&A and Recap

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• What Is VIOS?
• Benefits of Using VIOS
• Deployment Best Practices
• VIOS Is Set and Forget, Right?
• Some Misconceptions
• The Future of VIOS
Q&A and Recap

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Website:
www.helpsystems.com/halcyon
Telephone:
Presenters:
ash.giddings@helpsystems.com
glenn.robinson@rsipvm.com
800-328-1000
+44 (0) 1733 234995
Thank you for joining us today!