Remember the Alternatives to GUI

Most readers of this blog are command line-savvy. Had we wanted to use a GUI on our servers, we would have become Windows administrators. Why gain console access using a browser to login to the Hardware Management Console (HMC) or the Integrated Virtualization Manager (IVM) GUI when you can just as easily ssh directly to your IVM server (using the padmin userid) or HMC (as hscroot)?

In the recent AIXchange post about live partition mobility, I was on a blade, so I was able to run the mkvt command to open a console window. If you're unsure about your partition names and numbers, then run the lssyscfg command (I use the –F flag to give me the name and lpar_id fields; you can choose other fields that might interest you as well):

# lssyscfg -r lpar -F name,lpar_id
aix6san1,6

#mkvt –id 6

If someone left the console running elsewhere and the console is already in use, then use:

#rmvt –id 6

Next, run your mkvt command on the command line. From your HMC, you can ssh in as hscroot and use the vtmenu command. From publib:

http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/systems/scope/hw/index.jsp?topic=/iphcx/vtmenu.htm

"vtmenu is a Perl script which displays a list of partitions, opening a virtual terminal on the one selected. If more than one managed systems exists, a list of them is displayed first. After a managed system is selected, a list of all logical partitions on that managed system is displayed. The vtmenu command does not accept any flags or parameters and ignores all that are specified."

vtmenu displays the managed systems connected to your HMC, and it prompts you to choose which managed system to connect to. Once you connect, it displays a list of the LPARs from which you can select.

Partitions On Managed System:

Enter Number of Running Partition (q to quit):
Enter Number of Running Partition (q to quit): 1
Opening Virtual Terminal On Partition lpar1 . . .
Open in progress
Open Completed.

Once you select the session you want to connect to, it should behave exactly as any other console window to which you're accustomed. 

You can also use the mkvterm –m <machine> -p <partition> command if you know the machine name and the LPAR name. I find vtmenu to be useful if you do not know that information off the top of your head.  If you need to get the machine name, try lssyscfg –r sys, then use lssyscfg -r lpar -m <machine name> –F to get a list of LPAR names.  If someone else is using a console, or you left a console running somewhere else, you can use the rmvterm –m <machine> -p <partition> command. 

In any event, when you are done using a console, you can type ~~. in order to cleanly exit, and you will get a message that says Terminate session? [y/n]. Answer with y and you will go back to the vtmenu screen or to the command line, depending on what method you used to create the console.

Of course, the GUI is always an option, but don't forget that you can also get console sessions using ssh with your HMC or IVM.

Another Case for Using the Command Line

Live partition mobility is a topic I've covered previously in an AIXchange blog post titled, " Getting Hands-On with Live Partition Mobility." More recently, Chris Gibson wrote a great Web exclusive article for IBM Systems Magazine titled, "Using the Command-Line Interface for LPM," that talks about performing live partition mobility migrations from the command line.

To make sense of articles like Chris', I like to take them to the lab. Basically I run through many of the same commands that he lists in his article. So if you read both his article and this post, you'll have two different perspectives of doing migrations from the command line on two different sets of blades.

I ran the commands that he provided and in my environment, I used two blades. (In the output below, my command line entries start with #. The output is on the next line.)

Blade 1:
#lssyscfg -r sys -F name
Server-7998-61X-SN100BB8

Blade 2:
#lssyscfg -r sys -F name
Server-7998-61X-SN1004DAA

I have many partitions running on each blade, so I'll list only the VIOS partition on each blade (10-0BB8A and vios_server, respectively) and the partition (aix6san1) that I migrated:

Blade 1:
#lssyscfg -r lpar -F name,state
10-0BB8A,Running
aix6san1,Running

Blade 2:
#lssyscfg -r lpar -F name,state
vios_server,Running

Blade 1:
#lslparmigr -r lpar
name=10-0BB8A,lpar_id=1,migration_state=Not Migrating
name=aix6san1,lpar_id=6,migration_state=Not Migrating

Blade 2:
#lslparmigr -r lpar
name=vios_server,lpar_id=1,migration_state=Not Migrating

Chris explains that by using the LSLPARMIGR command with the proper parameters, we can learn some virtual adapter mappings that can be used during the migration. My source system (Server-7998-61X-SN100BB8) needs to know the server that's being migrated to (Server-7998-61X-SN1004DA) as well as its IP or hostname (blade12), the LPAR name that's migrating (aix6san1) and the appropriate attributes (suggested_virtual_scsi_mappings in this case).

#lslparmigr -r virtualio -t Server-7998-61X-SN1004DA --ip blade12
--filter lp ar_names=aix6san1 -F suggested_virtual_scsi_ mappings

2/vios_server/1

Again, using commands Chris provided, I ran the command to verify that the migration would run, (-o v means to validate only; -t is the name of the destination managed system, --ip is the IP address or hostname of the HMC or IVM managing the destination system and --id is the ID of the partition on which to perform the operation). The command ran for a bit, and then returned no output. Using the echo $? command, we can see the return code, which confirms that the command successfully executed.

#migrlpar -o v -t Server-7998-61X-SN1004DAA --ip blade12 --id 6
#echo $?
0

By running the same command from before and changing the option –o v to –o m, I started the migration. And, using the techniques listed in Chris’ article, I could verify the successful migration of my LPAR.

# migrlpar -o m -t Server-7998-61X-SN1004DAA --ip blade12 --id 6

In one instance I migrated from one blade to the other, but didn't receive verification that it was ready to migrate back. I ran the command from the second blade, and the migration process hung. By using the –o r (recover) option, it was able to clear out the operation. (In one instance, I also had to use the --force parameter.)

As Chris states, whether you want to automate live partition mobility from the command line or manually perform a migration from the VIOS command line instead of using the GUI, scripts are a great option for AIX admins. Creating a script would allow you to use cron if, for instance, you want to move a partition at a particular time of day. This provides you with a predefined action that's ready to go; all you have to do is run the script and the partition will move. This can be much simpler than logging in and pointing and clicking on different GUI screens.

We are not Windows administrators. For the most part we do our work from command lines. While point-and-click can seem easier at times, it's still important to remember that most of the things you can do in GUI can also be done from the command line. There will be situations where running partition migrations directly from the command line makes the most sense.

A Look at Recent IBM Announcements

IBM made some new announcements last week. Take the time to get familiar with this information.

From the overview:

"IBM announced new Power Systems blades and servers, virtualization software and POWER6 technology, all designed to help companies build, manage and maintain a 21st century dynamic infrastructure."

Highlights include:

• New 4-core JS23 and 8-core JS43 blades using 4.2 GHz POWER6+ processors.
• Virtual tape support for IBM i and BladeCenter implementations. One thing that customers wanted was a way to natively back up their IBM i images directly to tape drive -- this announcement will help address that issue. Customers will be able to use a LTO4 SAS-attached single tape drive model TS2240. Once they upgrade VIOS, firmware on the blade and PTFs for IBM i (in the May 22 timeframe), they'll be able to use the tape drive as if it were natively attached.
• Power 520 Express and 550 Express servers with POWER6+ processors. The 520 has 2- and 4-core 4.7 GHz models, and the 550 will have 2-, 4-, 6- or 8-core 5.0 GHz models.

According to the overview, "The POWER6+ processor has also been shipping in the 3.6 GHz model of the Power 560, the 4.4 and 5.0 GHz models of the 16-core Power 570 and the 4.2 GHz model of the 32-core Power 570 since they were announced last October."

In addition, IBM has announced 69 GB solid state drives (SSD) to be used with Power Systems. I hear that you should expect performance increases when you put your "hot" data onto SSD drives versus
traditional drives. Using SSD allows you to use fewer drives (removing mechanical seeks and waits frees you from worrying about spindle count). This reduces power consumption and takes up less physical space.

Another thing I hear is that, to get to the most out of the SSD drives, you want many random reads and a low percentage of sequential/predictable reads, and you want a higher percentage of reads than writes.

More from the overview:

"PowerVM, IBM's virtualization solution, is now enabled for the first time with Active Memory Sharing, an advanced technology that allows memory to automatically flow from one logical partition to another for increased utilization and flexibility of memory usage." IBM published a Redpaper titled "PowerVM Virtualization Active Memory Sharing" on this topic.

This gives you the option of telling your LPARs that they have more physical memory than they actually do. Basically, you'll be paging memory to a paging device. So if all your LPARs try to do this at the same time, you could face the same kind of contention and poor performance that you'd have on a single LPAR that is memory-constrained and constantly using paging space. Therefore, you wouldn't want to do this with LPARs that all need simultaneous access to memory. However, it is helpful if you have individual LPARs that need additional memory at different times. Think of this as another way to better utilize your server. With Micro-partitioning we can better utilize CPUs; with Active Memory sharing, we can better utilize our memory across our servers. Active Memory Sharing will work across AIX 6.1, Linux and IBM i 6.1 partitions that use VIOS and shared processors and have virtual I/O. Of course, they must be POWER6 processor-based systems with the Enterprise Edition of PowerVM.

Look over all of the announcement material, including the new facts and features documentation. Then contact your business partner or IBM to help you determine how this new technology can help your business.

Digging Into the Latest IBM Announcement

In case you were busy watching the stock market or the election coverage and missed it, IBM issued this announcement on Oct. 7. Go here for the overview (.pdf). And for those who prefer pictures to words, here's a video.

Each of these links is worth your time, but here are some highlights:

• There are new options on the  Power 570, including 4.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz processor speeds. You can also choose to have 32 cores running at 4.2-GHz processor speeds.
• IBM also announced a hot-node repair where a failed CEC can be "isolated and then removed without an IPL of the system. When the enclosure is repaired, it can be reintegrated to the system using the hot-node add feature previously announced. This new function can be used to upgrade memory on a system without powering the system down." From what I can tell this will work on nodes 2, 3 and 4, but not node 1. I imagine you need the necessary machine resources to handle the workload for this feature, or else run live partition mobility to move some of the partitions to another server while this is happening.
• In addition, a new  Power 560 express has 3.6-GHz processors in a possible 2-node configuration, 8 cores per node or 16 cores total with a maximum of 384 GB of memory.
• I also see support added for the DS3400 and IBM Power Systems running IBM i, so this increases the available options for connecting the i to external storage.
• Finally, I see you can "order JS12 and JS22 blades with AIX or IBM i pre-installed for faster deployment," and that IBM i will run on a 4-core 520, a 2-, 6- and 8-core 550 and a 3.5 GHz 550.  Also, "AIX, i, and Linux can run concurrently across all entry power systems configurations." I have machines using all three operating systems on the same hardware, and they run great.

As you're  digesting this information, if you find something that I missed, feel free to add it in comments.

IBM Power Announcement: Not Just Another Renaming

I spent the first part of my career working on OS/400, but since then I have been much more focused on the System p and AIX. Like a lot of you, I've been around long enough to recall when these machines were known as the AS/400 and RS/6000. I was amused when a coworker forwarded me this article on April Fool’s Day. It talks about IBM and the name changes they have made over the years to the AS/400.

Ironically, the day after that article was published, April 2, 2008, IBM announced yet another name change. However, the latest announcements represent much more than a simple name change and a new faceplate on the hardware.

If you haven't been following this (you have plenty to do keeping machines running from day-to-day, after all), then let me bring you up to speed. IBM is unifying its System i and System p systems onto common hardware platforms. The way the company puts it, there's a new power equation for the new enterprise data center: Power = i + p.

From IBM's announcement letter:

"The IBM System i and IBM System p organizations are unifying the value of their server offerings into a single, powerful lineup of Power Systems servers based on industry-leading IBM POWER6 processor technology with support for the IBM i (formerly known as i5/OS), IBM AIX, and Linux operating systems. This new, single portfolio of Power Systems servers offers industry-leading technology, continued IBM innovation, and the flexibility to deploy the operating system that your business requires.

"Specifically, being announced today are: IBM Power 520 Express, IBM Power 550 Express, IBM BladeCenter(R) JS12 Express blade server. All three of these systems can be ordered in the AIX Edition, i Edition or Linux Edition."

Then last week came another IBM announcement:

"IBM announced two high-end Power Systems models--the world's fastest UNIX server and a unique water-cooled supercomputer. The new systems offer sophisticated IBM virtualization technology and energy-saving capabilities to help dramatically reduce bottom-line operating costs, such as those for energy, floor space and systems management, while improving system performance, helping clients transition to a new enterprise data center. Beginning today, clients will be able to leverage the world's most powerful microprocessor, POWER6--with new world-record speeds of up to 5 GHz--in these new systems, leading to significant performance improvements across a wide array of applications.

"The new UNIX enterprise server, the Power 595, designed to extend IBM's leadership in the UNIX market, will be attractive to existing IBM clients as well as Sun Solaris and HP UNIX users. IBM's new POWER6 "hydro-cluster" supercomputer, the Power 575, is built to help users tackle some of the world's most challenging problems in fields such as energy, aerospace and weather modeling. The new super-dense system uses a unique, in-rack, water-cooling system and with 448 processor cores offers users nearly five times the performance and more than three times the energy efficiency of its predecessor, IBM's POWER5+ processor-based p5-575 supercomputer.

"The new IBM Power 570 is a unified version of the popular midrange POWER6 processor-based System p 570 and the System i 570. Existing customers can update to the new system at no-charge. The Power 570 runs any permutation and combination of i, AIX or Linux partitions offering the ultimate in flexibility and increased asset utilization and reuse. And with PowerVM, Power servers also run many Linux x86 applications."

So we'll be able to run i, AIX, Linux on Power, and Lx86 on everything from JS12 and JS22 blades, to the 520, 550, 570, 575 and 595 Power models.

What makes the most sense in your environment? A BladeCenter with some JS12 or JS22 blades running AIX, i or Linux? You could mix those blades in the same chassis with Intel or AMD blades to run whatever Windows or native x86 Linux applications you might require. Or maybe you need an IBM Power 595 running 5ghz POWER6 chips with 4 TB of RAM? You could carve that machine into LPARs running i, AIX and Linux as needed.

The same virtualization options are still available:

Using PowerVM for virtualization, we can "aggregate and manage resources via a consolidated, logical view."

What do these announcements mean for your organization? Again, the keyword is unification. You may have had separate System i and System p IT teams that managed their own hardware and operating system, with each always figuring that its platform was the best and the most important.

At a minimum, as new Power hardware arrives on the floor, I'd expect more communication between the teams. It makes sense to get some cross-training as we seek ways to make coexisting on the same hardware a reality.

If IT personnel don't communicate and make an effort to understand the other operating system, if organizations continue to maintain separate computing empires, the capability to run i and AIX on the same hardware will be useless. Although initially it may make sense in some environments to let each group run with its own hardware, that mentality will be harder to justify as management keeps hearing about virtualization and consolidation and the machines keep handling larger workloads.

Of course, since every shop has budget and hardware lifecycle concerns, not everyone will get the new Power hardware right away. But plenty of shops are struggling with older technology that is in need of a refresh. For those organizations that will soon go through the refresh process, be sure to look at the new machines and make the virtualization and consolidation decisions that are right for you.

BladeCenter: More Than Intel Inside

I was tuned in for playoff football, but when I was too slow with my remote control and my DVR, I found myself watching an IBM BladeCenter commercial. Surely you've caught some of the spots:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPm4IHY6vvg&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuWvBy3Ttc4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGX1QpLIbSA&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmmiJJOyJm0&feature=related

A quick search of "IBM blades" on YouTube yields some interesting material, including commercials, demonstrations and comparisons. In many cases you're pointed to IBM's Web site, which also offers useful information, like how the BladeCenters are designed to help reduce power, cooling and cabling costs.

What caught my attention with many of these commercials is the message that the blades have Intel inside. Sure, that's great for my Windows and Linux administrators, but why should AIX or i5/OS administrators care about BladeCenter? Two reasons: the IBM BladeCenter JS22 Express and the IBM BladeCenter JS21 Express.

The JS22 has POWER6 processors on a blade. When would you consider deploying these POWER blades? Maybe you need to refresh some older standalone machines  with newer hardware. Blades might be great for consolidating smaller machines, or they might make a terrific test lab or QA environment. With a POWER6 processor, this solution may be suitable for larger workloads as well.

Depending on the size of your shop, running some Intel servers along with your AIX/Linux servers in the same chassis could make sense. In my case, I had spare slots in an existing BladeCenter H chassis and was able to quickly and easily load a JS21 and a JS22.  Neither of them had an OS loaded, and although I could have loaded AIX 5.3 or AIX 6.1 directly onto the hardware, I chose VIO 1.5 instead. This loads the Integrated Virtualization Manager (IVM) onto the blade, allowing me to carve up my blades into LPARs using an interface similar to that of the new HMC v7. One of those blades currently runs three LPARs, the other runs four. I run VIO, Linux, AIX 5.3 and AIX 6.1 on the same blade.   

The JS21 can have two internal drives and the JS22 can have one, so to really benefit from running multiple LPARs, I strongly recommend connecting the BladeCenter to a SAN-based storage solution.

How do you begin loading an OS onto the blade? First, run the secure shell command (ssh) and log into the BladeCenter environment. Then run:

console –o –T blade[x]

where x is the blade number that you're connecting to. From here, load the VIO server. Once the VIO server had an IP address, connect to it, and a Web browser front end comes up. Then log into the IVM and start carving up LPARs.   

For more information, click here.