Friday, January 18, 2013

Backup on Virtual I/O Server

BACKUP OF VG STRUCTURE :

You can backup the structure of any volume group so that the configuration data will be stored under /tmp/vgdata. This will be automatically done if you run backupios (and even the configuration data will be automatically backed up).

Here are some commands.

To backup the structure of datavg :
# savevgstruct datavg

To display a list of saved volume groups
# restorevgstruct -ls

To restore the structure of datavg on 2 available disks :
# restorevgstruct -vg datavg hdisk2 hdisk3



BACKUP OF USER-DEFINED VIRTUAL DEVICES :

You can take a backup of all the user-defined virtual devices using the viobr command. But it requires minimum VIOS level 2.1.2.0.  Backup file includes logical devices like storage pools, SEA, virtual server SCSI/FC/Ethernet adapters, device attributes for disks, optical devices, tape devices, LHEA, ethernet devices/interfaces.

Here are some commands

To take a backup of user-defined virutal devices in an XML file :
# viosbr -backup -file filename

To view the backup information :
# viosbr -view -file filename

To restore the virtual device configuration :
# viosbr -restore -file filename

To validate the backup file :
# viosbr -restore -validate -file filename


BACKUP OF VO SERVER :

To perform backup on a tape media :
# backupios -tape /dev/rmt0

To perform backup on a DVD media :
# backupios -cd /dev/cd0 -udf

To perform backup on a DVD-RAM disk :
# backupios -cd /dev/cd0 -udf -accept

To take backup on a file (Creates a file called nim_resources.tar) :
# backupios -file /mnt

To perform mksysb backup :
# backupios -file /mnt/vioserver1.mksysb -mksysb

How to update Virtual I/O Server ?

Follow the below steps to update your VIO server :

1. Shutdown the VIO clients. This would not be required in case of dual VIO setup.

2. Apply the update using the below command (you have to use the proper syntax)

# updateios

3. Reboot the Virtual I/O server

# shutdown -restart

4. Once the server comes back online, login and check the OS level

# ioslevel

5. After few weeks, you may have to commit the applied filesets

# updateios -commit


Here are the various ways of updating a Virtual I/O server

To update Virtual I/O server from a local directory :
# updateios -dev /tmp/viopack -install -accept


To update Virtual I/O servers from remote filesystem :
# mount NFS-server:/share-name /mnt
# updateios -dev /mnt -install -accept


To update Virtual I/O server from an optical drive :
# updateios -dev /dev/cd0 -install -accept


To commit all the uncommited filesets and then to update Virtual I/O server from an optical drive :
# updateios -f -dev /dev/cd0 -install -accept


Now let us look at the various uses of updateios command.

To commit  all the applied filesets :
# udpateios -commit

To clean up after an interrupted installation :
# updateios -cleanup

To reject all the applied (uncommited) filesets :
# updateios -reject

To remove a fileststem from Virtual I/O server :
# updateios -remove fileset-name

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Open Firmware on POWER Systems

                                                                    
                                                                    
                                                                    
                                            
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          1 = SMS Menu                          5 = Default Boot List
          8 = Open Firmware Prompt              6 = Stored Boot List


     Memory      Keyboard     Network     SCSI     Speaker  ok

Here you need to press 8 to get into ok prompt.

0 >   ok
0 >   ok

Below procedure will help you to list all the disks available thru the FC adapter.

0 > ioinfo

!!! IOINFO: FOR IBM INTERNAL USE ONLY !!!
This tool gives you information about SCSI,IDE,SATA,SAS,and USB devices attached
to the system

Select a tool from the following

 1. SCSIINFO
 2. IDEINFO
 3. SATAINFO
 4. SASINFO
 5. USBINFO
 6. FCINFO
 7. VSCSIINFO

q - quit/exit

==> 6



FCINFO Main Menu
Select a FC Node from the following list:
  #  Location Code                Pathname
---------------------------------------------------------------
  1. U8233.E8B.0681C1R-V30-C29-T1   /vdevice/vfc-client@3000001d
  2. U8233.E8B.0681C1R-V30-C30-T1   /vdevice/vfc-client@3000001e

  q - Quit/Exit

==> 1

FC Node Menu
FC Node String: /vdevice/vfc-client@3000001d
FC Node WorldWidePortName: c506000000000009
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1. List Attached FC Devices
2. Select a FC Device
3. Enable/Disable FC Adapter Debug flags

q - Quit/Exit

==> 1

1. 500507680120d43b,0                - 8192 MB Disk drive
2. 500507680120d442,0                - 8192 MB Disk drive
3. 500507680130b855,0                - Unrecognized device type: 3f
4. 500507680130b97c,0                - Unrecognized device type: 3f
5. 500507680120b97c,0                - Unrecognized device type: 3f
6. 500507680120b855,0                - Unrecognized device type: 3f
7. 500507680120581e,0                - Unrecognized device type: 3f
8. 500507680120598e,0                - Unrecognized device type: 3f
9. 500507680130581e,0                - Unrecognized device type: 3f
10. 500507680130598e,0                - Unrecognized device type: 3f
11. 500507680130d43b,0                - 8192 MB Disk drive
12. 500507680130d442,0                - 8192 MB Disk drive

Hit a key to continue...

FC Node Menu
FC Node String: /vdevice/vfc-client@3000001d
FC Node WorldWidePortName: c506000000000009
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1. List Attached FC Devices
2. Select a FC Device
3. Enable/Disable FC Adapter Debug flags

q - Quit/Exit

==> q

FCINFO Main Menu
Select a FC Node from the following list:
  #  Location Code                Pathname
---------------------------------------------------------------
  1. U8233.E8B.0681C1R-V30-C29-T1   /vdevice/vfc-client@3000001d
  2. U8233.E8B.0681C1R-V30-C30-T1   /vdevice/vfc-client@3000001e

  q - Quit/Exit

==> q

Below procedure will help you to list all the disks available thru the
VSCSI adapter.

!!! IOINFO: FOR IBM INTERNAL USE ONLY !!!
This tool gives you information about SCSI,IDE,SATA,SAS,and USB devices attached
to the system

Select a tool from the following

 1. SCSIINFO
 2. IDEINFO
 3. SATAINFO
 4. SASINFO
 5. USBINFO
 6. FCINFO
 7. VSCSIINFO

q - quit/exit

==> 7



VSCSIINFO Main Menu
Select a VSCSI Node from the following list:
  #  Location Code                Pathname
---------------------------------------------------------------
  1. U8233.E8B.0681C1R-V30-C10-T1 /vdevice/v-scsi@3000000a
  2. U8233.E8B.0681C1R-V30-C20-T1 /vdevice/v-scsi@30000014

  q - Quit/Exit

==> 1

VSCSI Node Menu
VSCSI Node String: /vdevice/v-scsi@3000000a
-----------------------------------------------------------------

1. List Attached VSCSI Devices
2. Select a VSCSI Device

3. Enable/Disable VSCSI Adapter Debug flags

q - Quit/Exit

==> 1

1. 8100000000000000 - 10240 MB Disk drive (bootable)

Hit a key to continue...

VSCSI Node Menu
VSCSI Node String: /vdevice/v-scsi@3000000a
-----------------------------------------------------------------

1. List Attached VSCSI Devices
2. Select a VSCSI Device

3. Enable/Disable VSCSI Adapter Debug flags

q - Quit/Exit

==> q

VSCSIINFO Main Menu
Select a VSCSI Node from the following list:
  #  Location Code                Pathname
---------------------------------------------------------------
  1. U8233.E8B.0681C1R-V30-C10-T1 /vdevice/v-scsi@3000000a
  2. U8233.E8B.0681C1R-V30-C20-T1 /vdevice/v-scsi@30000014

  q - Quit/Exit

==> q


!!! IOINFO: FOR IBM INTERNAL USE ONLY !!!
This tool gives you information about SCSI,IDE,SATA,SAS,and USB devices attached
to the system

Select a tool from the following

 1. SCSIINFO
 2. IDEINFO
 3. SATAINFO
 4. SASINFO
 5. USBINFO
 6. FCINFO
 7. VSCSIINFO

q - quit/exit

==> q
 ok
0 >

Below command will list all the variables and their current values.

0 > printenv
-------------- Partition: of-config -------- Signature: 0x50 ---------------
ibm,fw-dc-select         100                 0
ibm,fw-default-mac-address? false            false
ibm,fw-forced-boot
ibm,fw-n-bc              255.255.255.255     255.255.255.255
ibm,fw-n-dbfp            00000000            00000000
ibm,fw-n-dafp            00000000            00000000
ibm,fw-n-rc              A                   A
ibm,fw-n-ru              Y                   Y
ibm,fw-prev-neg-vec5     00000000: 0b 40 f7 80 00 80 00 00 00 00 00 00 40 .. .. ..  |.@..........@...|

ibm,fw-src-os-vec5       00000000: 0b 40 f7 80 80 80 20 00 00 00 00 00 40 .. .. ..  |.@.... .....@...|

-------------- Partition: common -------- Signature: 0x70 ---------------
little-endian?           false               false
real-mode?               true                true
auto-boot?               true                true
diag-switch?             false               false
fcode-debug?             true                true
oem-banner?              false               false
oem-logo?                false               false
use-nvramrc?             false               false
ibm,fw-tty-language      1                   1
ibm,fw-new-mem-def       true                true
ibm,fw-show-true-pcie?   true                false
ibm,fw-force-ior         false               false
ibm,fw-oflite-dbg        false               false
ibm,fw-prev-boot-vpd
ibm,fw-keyboard          1                   1
ibm,fw-override-cas      false               false
ibm,fw-nbr-reboots       0                   0
real-base                2000000             2000000
virt-base                ffffffff            ffffffff
real-size                1000000             1000000
virt-size                ffffffff            ffffffff
load-base                4000                4000
screen-#columns          64                  64
screen-#rows             28                  28
selftest-#megs           0                   0
boot-device              /vdevice/v-scsi@3000000a/disk@8100000000000000:2 /vdevice/v-scsi@30000014/disk@8100000000000000:2
boot-file
diag-device              /vdevice/v-scsi@3000000a/disk@8100000000000000:2 /vdevice/v-scsi@30000014/disk@8100000000000000:2
diag-file                diag                diag
output-device            /vdevice/vty@30000000 /vdevice/vty
input-device             /vdevice/vty@30000000 /vdevice/vty
oem-banner
oem-logo
nvramrc
boot-command             boot                boot
reboot-command
menu?                    false               false
ibm,fw-find-tape-alias   false               true
ibm,fw-find-cdrom-alias  false               true
ibm,dasd-spin-interval   5                   5
ibm,associativity-form   5                   1
ibm,fw-menu-3678cc855e02 auto,auto,10.6.139.43,10.6.139.35,10.6.139.254,255.255.255.0,Standard,No,none,5,512,5
bootinfo-aix             /vdevice/v-scsi@3000000a/disk@8100000000000000:1
 ok
0 >

Power Saver Mode in POWER Systems

Power Saver Mode in POWER system can be used to reduce the power utilization of the physical machine by lowering the voltage and frequency by a fixed percentage(by aroudn 14-15%).

It is supported with 4GHz processor(and later) on Power6(and later) systems.

This is achieved by POWER processors using a low power mode known as Nap that stops processor execution when there is no work to do on the processor core.

You can enable or disable power save mode thru GUI or command line on the HMC.

Here are some commands.

1. To view the current Power Saver mode:
hscroot@hmc1:~> lspwrmgmt -m sys900 -r sys
name=sys900,type_model=8233-E8B,serial_num=0782C2R,curr_power_saver_mode=Enabled,desired_power_saver_mode=Enabled

2. To enable the Power Saver mode:
hscroot@hmc1:~>  chpwrmgmt -m sys900 -r sys -o enable

3. To disable the Power Saver mode:
hscroot@hmc1:~> chpwrmgmt -m sys900 -r sys -o disable

Virtual Ethernet - PowerVM

Commands for the VIO Servers :

To list all the adapters :
# lsdev -type adapter

To list all the virtual adapters :
# lsdev -virtual

To list the configuration of a Ethernet adapter (including its MAC Address) :
# lscfg -l ent3

To list all the slots (Physical  and Virtual) along with the devices :
# lsdev -slots

To create a SEA using the physical adapter (ent0), virtual adapter (ent2), PVID as 1 :
# mkvdev -sea ent0 -vadapter ent2 -default ent2 -defaultid 1

To create a SEA using the physical adapter (ent0), virtual adapter (ent2), PVID as 1, control channel (ent4) :
# mkvdev -sea ent0 -vadapter ent2 -default ent2 -defaultid 1 -attr ha_mode=auto ctl_chan=ent4

To identify the speed and duplex on a physical adapter :
# lsdev -dev ent0 -att | grep media_speed

To set the speed and duplex on a physical adapter :
# chdev -dev ent0 -attr media_speed=100_Full_Duplex

To remove the current tcpip/ip configuration :
# rmtcpip -all

To configure the IP address on a network interface :
# mktcpip -hostname vios1 -inetaddr 192.168.2.1 -interface ent3 -netmask 255.255.255.0 -gateway 192.168.2.1

To list the IP table :
# lstcpip -num -state

To list the routing table :
# lstcpip -routtable

To list the Physical/Virtual/Shared Ethernet Adapter mapping :
# lsmap -all -net

To identify the port VLAN ID of a virtual adapter :
# entstat -all ent2 | grep "Port VLAN ID"

To identify the port VLAN ID of a virtual adapter :
# entstat -all ent2 | grep "Switch ID"

To identify the Control Channel of a SEA :
# entstat -all ent5 | grep "Control Channel"

To identify the priority of a SEA :
# entstat -all ent5 | grep "Priority"

Commands for AIX Partition :

To identify the VLAN ID :
# entstat -d ent0 | grep ID

To identify the MAC Address :
# entstat -d ent0 | grep Address

Virtual SCSI - PowerVM

Commands for VIO Server : 

To view the current reserve policy of a disk :
# lsdev -dev hdisk2 -attr reserve_policy

To set the reservice policy of a disk :
# chdev -dev hdisk2 -attr reserve_policy=no_reserve -P

To view the current values of all the attribtues of a FC adapter :
# lsdev -dev fcs0 -attr

To modify the attributes of a FC adapter :
# chdev -dev fcs0 -attr fc_err_recov=fast_fail dyntrk=yes -P

To map a disk to a Virtual Server SCSI adapter :
# mkvdev -vdev hdisk2 -vadapter vhost0 -dev lpar1_vtd

Note: "-dev lpar1_vtd" is an option to specify the VTD name.
If not specified, it would take a default name.

To unmap a disk fro a Virtual Server SCSI adapter (Technically removing a VTD device) :
# rmvdev -vtd lpar1_vtd

To list all the backing device and Virtual Server SCSI adapter mapping :
# lsmap -all

To list all the backing devices mapped to a Virtual Server SCSI adapter :
# lsmap -vadapter vhost0


Commands for AIX sever :

To list the atttributes of a virtual disk :
# lsattr -El hdisk0

To set the necessary attributes of a virtual disk :
# chdev -l hdisk0 -a hcheck_mode=nonactive hcheck_interval=20 algorithm=fail_over

To list all the paths for the virtual disks :
# lspath

To list the parent device of a virtual disk :
# lsparent -CH -l hdisk1

To display more details for virtual disks :
# lspath -H -F "status name parent path_id connection"

N-Port Id Virtualization (NPIV) - PowerVM

N-Port Id Virtualization :
1 Power feature (actually an industry standard) for virtualizing a phyiscal fibre channel port.
2. It allows multiple LPARs to share a physical fibre channel HBA.
3. Each logical HBA on the LPARs with have their own WWPN address (given in pairs; second WWPN is used for LPM) which can be used for SAN zoning.
4. Each physical HBA port can support upto 64 virtual ports.
5. Compatible with Live Partition Mobility.


NPIV Requirements :
- POWER6 or later
- FC 5735 PCI 8GB FC adapter (it comes with 2 ports)
- VIOS 2.1 or later
- HMC 7.3.4 or later
- OS
-- AIX 5.3 TL09 SP 2
-- AIX 6.1 TL02 SP2
-- AIX 7.1 TLxx SPx
-- SLES 10 SP2
-- RHEL 4.7 or later

You also need to have a NPIV capable SAN switch. So first of all check with your storage team before procuring NPIV capable servers.


How to create the Virtual adapters for the VIO and the LPARs ?
You should create the virtual FC adapters for the VIO and the LPARs by logging onto HMC as like we do the VSCSI adapters.

How to configure SAN Zoning ?
SAN zoning should be based on the WWPN from client's Virtual FC adapter and NOT the VIOS server adapters. You need to be very careful with this. Otherwise you would not see the SAN LUNs fron the partition.

Here are some commands that can be used on the VIO server.

To map a Physical HBA port to a virtual FC adapter :
# vfcmap -vadapter vfchost0 -fcp fcs0

To unmap a Physical HBA port and a virtual FC adapter :
# vfcmap -vadapter vfchost0 -fcp

To list the mapping between a specific virtual and physical FC adapters :
# lsmap -npiv -vadapter vfchost0

To list the mapping between all Virtual and Physical FC adapters :
# lsmap -all -npiv

To list the available NPIV capable ports :
# lsnports

To list the Virtual FC adapter details :
# lsdev -dev vfchost0

To list the NPIV physical FC adapter details :
# lsdev -dev fcs0

To monitor I/O traffic on a virtual FChost (server side virtual adapter) :
# viostat -adapter vfchost1


Here are some commands that can be used on HMC.

To list the virtual FC adapters on all the lpars on a managed system :
# lshwres --rsubtype fc -m managed-system --level lpar -r virtualio

To list the WWPN and to check whether its active or not on all the LPARs in a managed system :
# lsnportlogin -m managed-system --filter "profile-names=normal"

Here are some commands that can be used on LPAR level.

To view the WWPN of a virtual FC adatper :
# lscfg -vpl fcs0 | grep Net

To view t he statistics on a virtual FC adapter (client) :
# fcstat fcs0

Sometimes you may need to set a specific WWPN on the virtual adapters on the client.
You can use the below commands (in HMC) during that scenario.

To list the Current Profile details:
hscroot@hmc1:~> lssyscfg -r prof -m sys709 --filter "lpar_ids=30,"profile_names=Normal""
name=Normal,lpar_name=lpar01,lpar_id=30,lpar_env=aixlinux,all_resources=0,min_mem=1024,desired_mem=1536,max_mem=2048,min_num_huge_pages=0,desired_num_huge_pages=0,max_num_huge_pages=0,mem_mode=ded,mem_expansion=0.0,hpt_ratio=1:64,proc_mode=shared,min_proc_units=0.1,desired_proc_units=0.2,max_proc_units=1.0,min_procs=1,desired_procs=1,max_procs=3,sharing_mode=uncap,uncap_weight=128,shared_proc_pool_id=0,shared_proc_pool_name=DefaultPool,affinity_group_id=none,io_slots=none,lpar_io_pool_ids=none,max_virtual_slots=50,"virtual_serial_adapters=0/server/1/any//any/1,1/server/1/any//any/1","virtual_scsi_adapters=20/client/2/sys506_vios2/4/1,10/client/1/sys506_vios1/4/1",virtual_eth_adapters=2/0/2//0/1/ETHERNET0//all/0,vtpm_adapters=none,"virtual_fc_adapters=""29/client/1/sys709_vios1/29/c506000000000009,c506000000000010/0"",""30/client/2/sys506_vios2/30/c506000000000011,c506000000000012/1""",hca_adapters=none,boot_mode=norm,conn_monitoring=1,auto_start=0,power_ctrl_lpar_ids=none,work_group_id=none,redundant_err_path_reporting=0,bsr_arrays=0,lhea_logical_ports=none,lhea_capabilities=none,lpar_proc_compat_mode=default,electronic_err_reporting=null


To change the WWPN of the Virtual FC adapters (at slot numbers 29 and 30) on a LPAR Profile:
hscroot@hmc1:~> chsyscfg -r prof -m sys709 -i name=Normal, lpar_name=lpar01, \"virtual_fc_adapters=\"\"29/client/1/sys709_vios1/29/c506000000000009,c506000000000010/0\"\",\"\"30/client/2/sys709_vios2/30/c506000000000011,c506000000000012/1\"\"\"


Integrated Virtual Ethernet

IVE :
It is the collection of hardware, software ad hypervisor feature that provides the hardware-based virtualization capabilities on POWER machines.
It is available on POWER6 and later machines.

What is Host Ethernet Adapter ?
It is the majoy hardware component of the IVE.
It is the Ethernet Adapter built on the Power chip that provides IVE feature on POWER machines.

There are 3 types of HEA's available
Type-1 is a 2-Port 1GB Adapter (FC 5636)  - Copper, 16 MAC addresses, one port group
Type-2 is a 2-Port 10GB Adapter (FC 5637) - Optical - 32 MAC addresses, two port groups
Type-3 is a 4-Port 1GB Adapter (FC 5639) - Copper, 32 MAC addresses, two port groups


What is an IVE port?
It is the physical port on the HEA which can be logically presented to LPARs.
Basically IVE ports are part of port groups.
A port group supports a maximum or 16 logical ports a.k.a Logical Host Ethernet Adapter (Which can be assigned to LPARs).
On a Copper based HEA, 2 physical ports belongs to a port group whereas on a Optical adapters its 1 port per port group.

-> Type-1 adapter can support 16 logical ports (ie., can be assigned to 16 lpars).

-> Type-2 adapter can support 16+16 ie., 32 logical ports.

->Type-3 adapter can support 16+16 ie., 32 logical ports.


  • While ordering a POWER machine, you need to choose the type of HVE Otherwise you will receive a Type-1 adapter which is the default. 
  • IVE feature is installed during manufacturing. 
  • IVE is not a hot-swappable or hot-pluggable feature. 
  • IVE must be serviced only by an IBM Service Engineer.
  • All the logical ports in a port group can talk to each other without external connectivity, which means all the LPARs on a port group are connected to each other via Layer2 switch on IVE.
  • You can assign the logical ports to LPARs only thru HMC.

MCS :
  • Multiple Core Scaling (MCS) is a parameter that allows multiple receive and transmit queues (QP) to be supported in each LPAR.
  • It is defined at the port group level.
  • Default value is 4.
  • Depending on the MCS value, the maximum number of logical ports per port group varies.
  • MCS value can be set only thru HMC.





IVE Configuration :
An LPAR can use only one logical port per physical port.
While activating an LPAR containing IVE logical ports, the resource is required for activation.
Whereas during DLPAR operation, the IVE logical port is considered as a desired resource.
If you want to add additional VLANS to an existing configured port, you must remove and add the port again with required VLAN IDs.


What you see on LPAR ?
After assigning a logical port to a LPAR, you have to run cfgmgr to see the below devices
-> lhea0 - Logical Host Ethernet Adapter
-> ent0 - Logical Host Ethernet Port
-> en0 and et0 - Logical interfaces

What is Promiscuous mode ?
You can set a physical port (on a HVE thru HMC) to promiscous mode.
If set, that particular port will be reserved for an LPAR. So other LPARs can't see this port.
This is mostly used whilst using VIO on a POWER machine or while configuring a port for a partition running AIX V5.2.

You can refer the URL to get an idea on how to set promiscuous mode in HMC.

What are the OS requirements ?

# IBM AIX 5L™ Version 5.3
– Service Pack 5300-06-02.
– Packaging APAR for this package is IY99738.
– IVE fileset devices.chrp.IBM.lhea.rte must be at level 5.3.0.2 or later.

# IBM AIX 5L Version 5.2
– Service Pack 5200-10-02.
– Packaging APAR for this package is IZ00822.
– IVE fileset devices.chrp.IBM.lhea.rte must be at level 5.2.0.107 or later.

# Red Hat RHEL 4.5 or later
# SuSE SLES 10 SP1 or later

Here are some commands you may use at the LPAR level to find additional details.

To identify the logical port number :
# entstat -d ent0 | grep "Logical Port Number"

To identify the relation between lheax and entx devices :

#lsslot -c slot | grep -i hea
Slot     Description         Device(s)
HEA 1     Logical I/O Slot     lhea0 ent0 ent1

Here are some commands you may use at HMC shell prompt.

To list all the available adapters and their ports  on a managed system :
# lshwres -r hea --rsubtype phys --level sys -m machine_name

To view the port groups on a managed system :
# lshwres -r hea --rsubtype phys --level port_group -m machine_name

To view the physical ports on a managed system :
# lshwres -r hea --rsubtype phys --level port -m machine_name

To view all the logical ports on a managed system :
# lshwres -r hea --rsubtype logical --level sys -m machine_name

To list port configuration configured for an LPAR :
# lshwres -r hea --rsubtype logical --level port -m machine_name --filter lpar_names=lpar01

PowerVM

What is PowerVM ?
Licensed software/firmware feature which enables IBM virtualization technology on IBM POWER systems.
Available on Power5, Power6 and Power7 Systems
Allows AIX 5L V5.3 or later and Linux LPARs to run without physical adapters.

It is available in the following 3 editions
1. IBM PowerVM Express Edition
2. IBM PowerVM Standard Edition
3. IBM PowerVM Enterprise Edition

Virtual I/O server is available as part of the PowerVM Editions (formarley known as Advanced POWER Virtualization) feature.

Virtual I/O Server facilitates:

1. Sharing of physical resources between LPARs on the system.
2. Creating LPARS without requiring additional physical resources like Network Adapter, HBA, SCSI Adapter.
3. Creating more LPARs than there are I/O slots or physical devices.
4. Maximizing use of phyiscal resources on the system