System i and System p Creating a virtual computing environment System i and System p Creating a virtual computing environment Note Before using this information and the product it supports, read the information in “Notices” on page 25 and the IBM Systems Safety Information manual, G229-9054. Eighth Edition (September 2007) This edition applies to IBM AIX 5L Version 5.3 and to version 5, release 4, modification 0 of IBM i5/OS (product number 5722-SS1) and to all subsequent releases and modifications until otherwise indicated in new editions. This version does not run on all reduced instruction set computer (RISC) models nor does it run on CISC models. © Copyright International Business Machines Corporation 2004, 2007. US Government Users Restricted Rights – Use, duplication or disclosure restricted by GSA ADP Schedule Contract with IBM Corp. Contents About this topic ................................v Creating a virtual computing environment .....................1 PDF files for Planning ................................1 Virtualization overview ................................1 Virtualization resources ...............................2 PowerVM Editions ...............................3 Capacity on Demand offerings ...........................4 Dynamic LPAR ................................5 Logical partition overview .............................6 Micro-Partitioning ...............................9 Multiple operating system support .........................10 Virtual adapters ................................10 Planning for a virtual computing environment........................12 Physical planning ................................12 Workload planning ................................13 Partition planning ................................13 Solution planning ................................14 Deploying a virtual computing environment ........................14 Hardware setup .................................14 Partition setup .................................15 Software setup .................................15 Managing virtual resources on a single server ........................16 Hardware Management Console ...........................16 Integrated Virtualization Manager ...........................17 Partition Load Manager for AIX ...........................19 Virtual I/O Server overview.............................20 Virtual Partition Manager..............................21 Related procedures for expansion units ..........................22 Appendix. Accessibility features.........................23 Notices ...................................25 Trademarks ...................................27 Terms and conditions ................................27 © Copyright IBM Corp. 2004, 2007 iii iv System i and System p: Creating a virtual computing environment About this topic This topic provides system administrators with an overview of the virtualization capabilities available with POWER5™ systems. This topic also describes how to plan for and deploy virtualization capabilities as well as manage virtual resources. For information about the accessibility features of this product, for users who have a physical disability, see “Accessibility features,” on page 23. © Copyright IBM Corp. 2004, 2007 v vi System i and System p: Creating a virtual computing environment Creating a virtual computing environment Creating a virtual computing environment involves bringing together the physical and logical resources, such as memory, processors, networks, and storage into a single, manageable virtual environment. Creating and using a virtual computing environment allows you to consolidate the management and utilization of your system’s resources. PDF files for Planning You can view and print a PDF of this information. To view or download the PDF version of detailed server and hardware specifications, general physical site guidelines, or solution planning information, select one of the following: v Planning (about 14094 KB). v Physical site planning and preparation (about 4008 KB). v Solution planning (about 1794 KB). Saving PDF files To save a PDF on your workstation for viewing or printing: 1. Right-click the PDF link in your browser. 2. Click the option that saves the PDF locally. 3. Navigate to the directory in which you want to save the PDF. 4. Click Save. Downloading Adobe Reader You need Adobe Reader installed on your system to view or print these PDFs. You can download a free copy from the Adobe Web site (www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html) . Virtualization overview Learn what virtualization is, the benefits of using virtualization, and the steps to follow when creating a virtual computing environment. Virtualization is the creation of substitutes for real resources, that is, substitutes that have the same functions and external interfaces as their counterparts, but that differ in attributes, such as size, performance, and cost. These substitutes are called virtual resources, and their users are typically unaware of the substitution. Virtualization is commonly applied to physical hardware resources by combining multiple physical resources into shared pools from which users receive virtual resources. With virtualization, you can make one physical resource look like multiple virtual resources. Virtual resources can have functions or features that are not available in their underlying physical resources. Virtualization can provide the following benefits: v Consolidation to reduce hardware cost – Virtualization enables you to efficiently access and manage resources to reduce operations and systems management costs while maintaining needed capacity. © Copyright IBM Corp. 2004, 2007 1 – Virtualization enables you to have a single server function as multiple virtual servers. v Optimization of workloads – Virtualization enables you to respond dynamically to the application needs of its users. – Virtualization can increase the use of existing resources by enabling dynamic sharing of resource pools. v IT flexibility and responsiveness – Virtualization enables you to have a single, consolidated view of, and easy access to, all available resources in the network, regardless of location. – Virtualization enables you to reduce the management of your environment by providing emulation for compatibility, improved interoperability, and transparent change windows. When creating a virtual computing environment, you must carefully plan how your virtual computing environment will be configured based on workload requirements and available hardware. Sufficient planning can help you create your virtualized computing environment with minimal disruption to your existing systems, and it allows you to set up your virtualized environment on an incremental basis. For example, you can start by virtualizing a single system, and then move on to virtualizing multiple systems. The following figure shows the key steps to creating a virtual computing environment: planning, deploying, and managing. Versions of this figure are used throughout this topic to help you understand to what phase the documentation applies. Planning Deploying Managing IPHB2500-1 Planning considerations, deployment steps, and management procedures are summarized and referenced from this topic. Related concepts Learning and tutorials Virtualization resources Use this topic to learn about the different virtualization resources that are available. Virtualization resources provide virtualization intelligence in the processor, memory, I/O, and network. The different virtualization resources that are available are described in this topic. The POWER® hypervisor is a layer of system firmware that supports virtualization technologies, logical partitioning, and dynamic resource movement across multiple operating system environments, including AIX 5L™, Linux®, and i5/OS®. With support for dynamic resource movement across multiple environments, you can move processors, memory, and I/O between partitions on the system as you move workloads among the environments. The hypervisor supports many advanced functions, including sharing of processors, virtual I/O, high-speed communications between partitions using Virtual LAN, and concurrent maintenance. It also enforces partition security and can provide virtual LAN channels between logical partitions, reducing the need for physical Ethernet adapters and releasing I/O adapter slots. 2 System i and System p: Creating a virtual computing environment PowerVM Editions Learn about the components and editions of the PowerVM™ Editions (formerly known as Advanced POWER Virtualization) hardware feature. The PowerVM Editions hardware feature includes the following components to enhance the virtualization capabilities of your system: v Micro-Partitioning™ technology v Virtual I/O Server v Integrated Virtualization Manager v Live Partition Mobility v Partition Load Manager for AIX® v Lx86 The PowerVM Editions hardware feature includes the following editions: v PowerVM Express Edition v PowerVM Standard Edition v PowerVM Enterprise Edition The following table describes each component of the PowerVM Editions feature, the editions in which each component is included, and the processor-based hardware on which each component is available. Table 1. PowerVM Editions components, editions, and hardware support Component Description Editions Hardware Micro-Partitioning The ability to allocate processors to logical v Express Edition v POWER6® technology partitions in increments of 0.1 allowing multiple v Standard Edition v POWER5 logical partitions to share the system’s processing power.