With Virtualization, Nothing Compares to Power

Although this is written about mainframes, I think that many of its arguments also hold water when discussing Power Systems servers.

From the article on mainframes:

"Joe Clabby, who leads the analyst firm Clabby Analytics, said the trend off mainframes and onto x86 servers running virtualization is actually a step backward.

"'PCs are not mainframes, and VMware is nowhere near mainframes from an advanced virtualization and provisioning perspective,' he said. 'Mainframes are so much more advanced than VMware that it may take that customer 10 years to get what they have now in virtualization, automatic provisioning and workload management.

"Not surprisingly, mainframe kingpin IBM concurs. 'It's like comparing a Mini Cooper to a tractor-trailer truck. Sure, the Mini Cooper is more efficient, but if you are moving out of your house, which one is better to have? Which one will be able to carry that baby-grand piano? And how many trips would you need to do the same job with the Mini Cooper?'

" ''They're buying into a broken model of computing known as distributed computing, where management costs are way out of control and where they'll scale by adding more blades, racks or servers -- all running at maybe 40 percent of utilization because they have to leave headroom for their application and database servers to handle peak workloads,' Clabby said.

"'Start adding up all the networking costs, the tons of people they need to manage the distributed environment they're putting in place, the multiple security licenses, the business continuity measures they'll have to put in place--they're out of their minds if they think they're going to save big money doing this,' he added."

Yes, you can run some software hypervisor and virtualize your x86 hardware. But can you combine dedicated and virtual adapters in the same partition the same way you can with Power systems servers? Is your hypervisor running at the bare metal level, or is it running Linux code? Can you run micropartitions and share CPUs?

Once you look at all of the things that you can do with PowerVM, I don't know why you'd want to bother with anything else.

The Case for Linux on Power

People occasionally ask me why they should run Linux on Power hardware. Their first inclination is typically to deploy Linux on some inexpensive commodity x86 hardware. They don't even think about the benefits of running Linux on Power. They believe they'll need to recompile their binaries to even get them to run. They assume the extra effort will outweigh the benefits.

As I've noted in "Lx86 Works as Advertised," you can run unmodified x86 binaries on top of Linux on Power by using Lx86. From IBM's PowerVM Lx86 for x86 Linux applications Web site:

"PowerVM Lx86 supports the installation and running of most 32-bit x86 Linux applications on any System p or BladeCenter model with POWER6, POWER5+ or POWER5 processors, or IBM Power Architecture technology-based IBM BladeCenter blade servers. It creates an x86 Linux application environment running on POWER processor-based systems by dynamically translating x86 instructions to Power Architecture instructions and caching them to enhance performance, as well as mapping x86 Linux system calls to Linux on POWER system calls. Best of all, no native porting or application upgrade is required for running most x86 Linux applications."

Recently I was at a session where Linux on Power was discussed. And a few benefits of running Linux on Power were raised that I think are worth noting.

1. IBM PowerVM virtualization technology provides the option of dynamically optimizing the mix of processor, memory, disk and network resources. This means that I can add just another LPAR to my frame to handle that Linux workload. Instead of going out and buying and managing another server, I just give it the necessary LUNs, shared Ethernet, memory and CPU allocation, and away I go.
2. Reliability matters. The IBM whitepaper "IBM Power Platform Reliability, Availability and Serviceability," is well worth reading. I'll highlight this point: "The base reliability of a computing system is, at its most fundamental level, dependent upon the intrinsic failure rates of the components that comprise it. Very simply, highly reliable servers are built with highly reliable components." Do you want your Linux machines running on commodity hardware, or do you want them running on reliable hardware?
3. Device drivers don't matter so much. Often you may find that there are no drivers for your hardware. However, this is less of an issue with Linux on Power, especially in a virtualized environment. Using a VIO server, how you get to the storage or the network isn't a concern; your VIO server handles that. You're just using a virtual adapter in your client LPAR. This allows you to use enterprise hardware without waiting for a device driver.
4. Power is less expensive overall. This is highlighted in an article on supercomputingonline.com titled, "IBM Power Systems Again Trump Latest Intel Offering, Highlights Total Systems Value." From the article: "According to an International Technology Group (ITG) report, three-year costs for use of Power servers ranged from 25-33 percent less than those built around commodity x86 servers in an SAP solution-based environment. Conversely, the three-year cost for the use of x86 servers was 48 percent higher than for Power servers in the retail industry, 49 percent higher in manufacturing, and 33 percent higher in energy. Costs outlined in the report include hardware acquisition and maintenance, systems software licenses and support, including operating systems and virtualization tools, personnel and facilities."

Obviously in some cases, running Linux natively on x86 hardware is the best choice. However, instead of dismissing the idea out of hand, take the time to research whether it might make sense to add a few LPARs to an existing enterprise frame.

On an unrelated note, check out this recent IBM statement of direction:

"IBM plans to provide an upgrade path from the current IBM Power 595 server with 12X I/O to IBM's next-generation POWER7 processor-based high-end server. The upgrade is planned as a simple replacement of the processor books and two system controllers with new POWER7 components, within the existing system frame. IBM also plans to provide an upgrade path from the current IBM Power 570 server with 12X I/O to IBM's next generation POWER7 processor-based modular enterprise server."

This is good news if you've been debating whether to order a POWER6 server now or wait until POWER7 comes out. Now you can have the best of both--POWER6 performance now, and POWER7 when it ships.

Karma and the Home PC

As I noted in a recent AIXchange blog post, IT pros are natural targets for family members and friends looking for free assistance with their home computers.

When cornered, some of us will say that we can't help because we don't actually work with Windows. It's a good excuse, and one I've used on occasion. In reality though, if you have experience with any operating system, you can probably help with a home PC (even if you don't want to).

Certainly, I'm no Windows expert. However, the concept of maintenance and rescue isn't foreign to me, and it probably isn't to you, either.

I can boot from AIX media or a NIM server and get a machine into maintenance mode. I can resolve problems and get machines running again. Admittedly, it's nice to know that IBM support is available if there's an issue. They can usually help resolve whatever problem customers are seeing. If not, as a last resort, I can always reload from a backup.

The same can be said for a Linux rescue. You boot from media, chroot and fix whatever problem you are seeing. And--assuming you have a support contract for an enterprise distribution of Linux--many times you can call for support. Again, if there's a problem, you can restore from a backup.

With Windows, it can be a little trickier. People ask us for help because they don't want to pay for repairs unless absolutely necessary. So I go into it knowing that the machine is old and that its warranty and/or support has expired. I'm on my own.

Often I can Google for the symptoms they're seeing. Microsoft has plenty of information to help people fix computers that won't start. And numerous other sites give basic troubleshooting information.

In several instances, I've been able to boot from XP media, get into a recovery console, run chkdsk and solve the problem. For me, it's relatable to running fsck on file systems to fix UNIX machines. Other times I've had to run fixmbr. And other times, such as when BIOS and Windows administrator passwords were lost, I moved the hard disk into another machine (since I could not change the boot list in the BIOS) and booted from a Linux Live CD (like Ubuntu or Knoppix). Then I used Linux to mount the Windows partition and Samba to share the data with another machine on the network so that the data could be recovered before the machine was rebuilt.

In one sad case, nothing that I tried worked; the hard drive had a mechanical problem. In that instance, having a vendor recover the data was more costly than it was worth.

Just like in the IT world, in the home PC world, peace of mind can be obtained through regular backups. It's never a good feeling when your machine won't start, but if your data is stored (on external USB disk, CDs, etc.), a bad situation will be much less bad.

Ultimately, if I have the time, I'll try to help folks who come to me. I don't consider myself a Windows guy, but I am a computer guy. Really, for an IT pro, booting from media and running chkdsk isn't a major imposition. But to the average home PC user who doesn't really understand computers, it's a big help.

So when your friends come calling, you could point to the t-shirt. But in my case, I agree with Earl J. Hickey: I want karma on my side. At the very least, I like knowing that I helped someone out. It never hurts to do a good deed.

The Value of Being 'Well-Red'

Do you read IBM Redbooks? Some people tell me they consult Redbooks when they're seeking specific information, but that they're too busy to read them from start to finish. (And since Redbooks are typically hundreds of pages in length, they aren't generally quick reads.)

My response is that, if you look hard enough, you can find extra time for learning. For instance, do you commute on a train? That could be time spent reading. Do you watch a bunch of mindless sitcoms? Kill your television and study. Maybe there's some other time-waster you can remove from your life? Replace that with something worthwhile. Don't just punch the clock, or wait for a team lead or senior person to spoon-feed you what you should know.

To me, the Redbook, "PowerVM Virtualization on IBM System p: Managing and Monitoring," published in June, contains tons of worthwhile information.

For starters:

• Setting up a firewall on your VIO server (pages 56-58)
• Setting up NTP on your VIO server (page 73)
• Setting up additional users besides padmin on your VIO server (page 77)
• Creating vio backups (page 82)
• Backing up IVM profile data using the VIO command line with
  bkprofdata -o backup -f /home/padmin/profile.bak (page 84)
• Different ways to use the backupios command: backupios -file /mnt/backup –mksysb (page 87
• Backing up other disk structures with savevgstruct (page 93)
• Sending error logs to another server (page 127)
• Using Linux on Power tools to dynamically move memory on a running machine (page 156)
• This statement (page 170): "There are no architected maximum distances between systems for PowerVM Live Partition Mobility. The maximum distance is dictated by the network and storage configuration used by the systems, and by the fact that both systems must be managed by the same HMC. Provided both systems are on the same network, are connected to the same shared storage, and are managed by the same HMC, PowerVM Live Partition Mobility will work. Standard long-range network and storage performance considerations apply." That's interesting, even if it might not yet be practical.
• The script that creates a simple report (vios_report.ksh) of all the disks on a given VIO server (page 187)
• The tip about connecting to https:/hostname:5336/ibm/console on your AIX 6 machines (page 208). You'll get a systems director console for AIX. Take some time to try this out.

And this is just one Redbook. Take the time to read Redbooks, and any other documentation that's applicable to your job. I can promise you'll find information that you can use in your shop.

Lesson Learned about Citrix on Linux

At a recent training session we had to connect to a Citrix server to access the machines used for the class. I didn't have any issues, but the student next to me couldn't get a Citrix client working on his laptop. He tried uninstalling/reinstalling and rebooting, among other things, but couldn't connnect using his Windows laptop. In the end he had to borrow another machine to work on the labs.

That made me think: If I were in his boat, what would I do?

I like vnc. Maybe I could use a VPN to access a Linux machine in my lab, fire up vncserver, run Firefox inside of the vnc session and run a Citrix client that way?

Then I realized that the Linux partition I have up and ready to go runs Linux on Power, and on top of the Linux on Power installation is a version of Lx86, which I discussed in another AIXchange blog entry.

So I give it a try. I point my Firefox browser in my vnc session to the Web site to log on. The login page displays a link to download a client. It recognizes that a Citrix client isn't installed, and offers me a choice of clients to download. I choose the Linux client and end up downloading a package called linuxx86.tar.

When I untar the file, I run:

./setupwfc

This command gives me this output:

./setupwfc
Citrix ICA Client 9.0 setup.

Select a setup option:

1. Install Citrix ICA Client 9.0
2. Remove Citrix ICA Client 9.0
3. Quit Citrix ICA Client 9.0 setup

Enter option number 1-3 [1]:

Option 1 is the default. I choose this option, and receive this output:

Please enter the directory in which Citrix ICA Client is to be installed
[default /usr/lib/ICAClient]
or type "quit" to abandon the installation:

I choose the default directory, and press "Enter".

Then I'm prompted to accept a license agreement, which I do by selecting option 1.

Select an option:

1. I accept
2. I do not accept

Enter option number 1-2 [2]

Option 2 is the default here.

After the installation completes, I quit the client setup. Then I change directories and create a link to the newly installed file so Firefox can find the plug-in:

cd /usr/lib/firefox-1.5.0.10/plugins

ln –s /usr/lib/ICAClient/npica.so npica.so

After I restart Firefox and return to the login page, I receive this error in Firefox:

"You have chosen not to trust Equifax secure certificate Authority the issuer of the server's security certificate."

I poke around on Google and find this answer, which points me here and here.

I download the files from each link and rename them with a .crt rather than a .cer extension. Then I copy those files into the /usr/lib/ICAClient/keystore/cacerts directory and run chmod o+r  to give Firefox permission to read them.

After restarting Firefox and logging into the Web site, I'm able to login and do the labs. I end up with Firefox running a Citrix client on top of my Lx86 (x86) installation, which is running on my Linux on Power partition (ppc64).

I was proud of my accomplishments, but others in the room were less impressed. However, this solution paid off when we had a network outage later in the day. While everyone else had to log back into their sessions, I just reconnected to my vnc session and picked right up where I left off. And the performance of the Citrix client running in Lx86 world was pretty good.

I was able to convince myself that if my browser wouldn't work on my Windows machine, I could still connect to the IBM machines using my Citrix running on Linux solution--and in this case, one running on an LPAR running POWER6 hardware as well.

IBM Installation Toolkit for Linux Does More Than Just Install Linux

Don't be taken in by the title--the IBM Installation Toolkit for Linux isn't just for installing Linux. From IBM: "The IBM Installation Toolkit for Linux provides a set of tools that simplifies the installation of Linux on IBM Power Systems. The toolkit also provides IBM value-added software that you can install, so that you can take advantage of Power Systems capabilities, such as Dynamic Logical Partitioning (DLPAR). The toolkit also supports Web-based updates, providing immediate access to the latest offerings.

"The Toolkit can also be used as a rescue bootable DVD to run diagnostic tools and repair previously installed operating systems. It also provides a wealth of IBM documentation for configuring and managing Power systems.

"The Toolkit is available as a single ISO image that that you can download from this website. This image can be used to create a bootable DVD or to create a network installation server, which makes multiple and parallel Linux installations over the network possible."

While I plan on using it to install Linux, I first wanted to check out the Toolkit's other features. First, I downloaded the .iso image. As always, I prefer virtual optical instead of physical media. So I went to my virtual I/O (VIO) server and ran:

mkrep -sp datavg -size 16G

Then I ran:

oem_setup_env
cd /var/vio/VMLibrary/
scp source_machine:/path/to/iso.image ./

This copied the .iso image to my VIO server so that I could assign it as a virtual optical device.

I did a DLPAR operation on my HMC to add a virtual SCSI adapter to my VIO server. Then I ran cfgdev on my VIO server so that I could see the adapter.

And then I ran:

mkvdev -fbo -vadapter vhost3
loadopt -vtd vtopt0 -disk IBM_Installation_Toolkit.iso

lsmap showed me:

vhost3

VTD                   vtopt0
Status                Available
LUN                   0x8100000000000000
Backing device        /var/vio/VMLibrary/IBM_Installation_Toolkit.iso
Physloc

After assigning the virtual SCSI adapter to my client LPAR, I was then able to boot from this CD image.

Once I booted the machine, I got a root prompt. Then I entered:

WelcomeCenter

After accepting the license, I was presented with these options:

Install Linux
Utilities
Help

I went into the Utilities and saw:

Configure network
Eject Media
Reboot System
System Diagnostics
Firmware Update

The System Diagnostics has:

System Properties
System Inventory
Error Log
Service Configuration
Boot Configuration

These look like useful tools, and if I boot from this CD image I don't need to have an OS installed to run the utilities. Once I've had more time to explore them, I'll report back with more findings.

More from IBM:

"The server consolidation tool provided by the Toolkit tackles the most time-consuming and error-prone aspect of server consolidation: the migration of OS stack and user and application data. With the Toolkit, the administrator can quickly put a new server into production. The tool targets the migration and customization of LAMP stack (Linux - Apache - mySQL - Perl, Python, and PHP) and data from
X86 servers running RHEL 4, RHEL5, SLES9 and SLES10 to Power Systems.

"The administrator has complete control over the installation and migration process. He chooses the level of the OS and whether additional RPMs should be installed as well as whether to migrate user accounts and data. So whether you intend to migrate one or more servers, the new server consolidation tool is sure to save you a lot of time.

"The IBM Installation Toolkit is intended for customers who want to:

• Install and configure Linux on a non-virtualized Power System.
• Install and configure Linux on machines with previously configured Logical Partitions (virtualized machines).
• Install IBM RAS Tools along with Linux or on a previously installed system.
• Upgrade firmware level on Power Systems.
• Perform diagnostics or maintenance operations on previously installed systems.
• Improve application performance using the latest Power Systems optimizations available in the Advance Toolchain.
• Migrate LAMP stack from X86 RHEL and SLES servers to Power Systems.
• Browse and search Linux documentation included on the Toolkit ISO. "

The Starting Point for AIX Tools

AIX newcomers will often ask where they can find useful tools for their machines. Though they can certainly download source code and compile the tools themselves, many times they're just looking for something that's precompiled and ready to run. In those cases, I point them to the AIX Toolbox for Linux Applications.

While I like building tools from source, especially when newer versions are available compared to what's on the Toolbox, oftentimes the Toolbox is good enough.

Once the files (which are also available on CD) are copied to the target machine, they can be installed using the rpm command. I usually run rpm -ivh <filename>. In some cases, prerequisite filesets must also be loaded from the toolbox, but rpm is pretty good about telling you which files must also be installed. To see which files are aleady loaded on your machine, enter this command:

rpm -qa | more

Which tools do I like? At the top of my list are vnc and screen. I wrote about both in an article in IBM Systems Magazine.

Using these tools I can disconnect (either on purpose or due to a network or computer error) and then reconnect later from a different location.

I also like wget, rsync, lsof, and expect.

The Toolbox has many tools to choose from, so load them onto a test box and try them out. I also encourage you to recommend your favorate AIX tools 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.

Lx86 Works as Advertised

After hearing so much about Lx86 (formerly known as the System p Application Virtual Environment, or System p AVE), I finally decided to try it out.

Lx86 allows you to run unmodified Intel/x86 Linux binaries on IBM Power hardware. This is significant because the alternative--running Linux applications natively on Power--requires a recompile. This can be painful or impossible, and in fact it's this reason that many IBM customers choose Intel x86 to run their Linux applications.

For more about how Lx86 works, see the references at the end of this post. Now, I'll tell you about installing and getting started with Lx86.

First, I set up a trial subscription at Red Hat to get the .iso files I needed. There are 10 files in all--both 32-bit x86 images and 64-bit Power images. Once I downloaded the files, I moved the ppc .iso files to the /var/vio/VMLibrary directory on my virtual I/O (VIO) server, a process I cover here.

This allowed me to use my virtual optical drive to mount the images rather than burn and mount a bunch of physical media.
 
I booted from the first ppc .iso file, and after setting my install selections, I was able to install the machine onto an LPAR. I had to do some loadopt and unloadopt commands to get through all the CDs, but that seemed easier than personally taking a fistful of media to the site.
 
After the installation, I downloaded the code here. (IBM registration required.)
 
As of this writing I was using IBM PowerVM Lx86 V1.1 p-ave-1.1.0.0-1.tar (8652800).
 
I copied the tarball and my x86 .iso files to my newly built Linux on Power installation. I untarred the p-ave .tar file, and ran ./installer.pl. After accepting the license and registering with both IBM and Red Hat, I was ready to load the software. I chose to do a full install, and had it share my /home directories.
 
The installer prompts for the path to your x86 linux .iso files, as it expects to find them loaded on the machine. I gave the installer the correct path, and it examined the .iso files to verify it could find the rpm files it needed. I selected continue and it installed my x86 world. It basically copies all the necessary files to my /i386 directory, so that when you start the environment it can chroot into /i386 and function like this is the / directory.
 
After getting confirmation that System p AVE and x86 World were installed successfully, I was prompted to run /usr/local/bin/runx86 to start a shell. It returned to the menu and I selected Option 6 to quit. You can look at the install log by searching for p-ave_install*log.
 
I am now able to cd /i386 and runx86. Once I do this, the shell runs as it would on an x86 machine. If you run "arch" from your shell before you runx86, you'll see ppc. If you run arch after you're in your x86 shell, you'll see i686.
 
I can now run and install rpms and do anything else as if I were on a regular Linux machine. I ran vncserver and my desktop came up as I would have expected. I moved some rpm files into the environment and installed them with rpm -ivh as I normally would. There are caveats--this isn't a panacea where any and all applications will run at the same speeds as on native x86 hardware. But in many cases, the performance will be quite good.
 
I found that I wanted to ssh into the x86 World instead of the ppc world, so I opened my console, copied my /etc/ssh/ information from ppc world to x86 world, killed sshd that was running in ppc world, did a runx86 and started sshd from there. Once I did that I could ssh -Y into my x86 world and start exporting X applications to my desktop. I'll need to read more documentation and play with it more, but on first glance it works as advertised. I was able to simply install rpms and run them.

References

From:   
 
Transitive Corporation, a leading provider of cross-platform virtualization software that enables the execution of applications across diverse computing platforms, today announced that IBM will commence shipping PowerVM Lx86 with all copies of PowerVM Editions, available across its entire line of  System p servers. PowerVM Editions, a set of advanced virtualization offerings developed by IBM for Power Systems platforms, now includes the x86 feature (developed for IBM by Transitive) which simplifies migration of x86 Linux applications onto this popular platform for server consolidation and business application deployment. PowerVM Lx86 allows the creation of an x86 application virtual environment so users may easily install and run a wide range of x86 Linux applications on a Power Systems platform with a Linux for POWER operating system. PowerVM Lx86 allows thousands of x86 Linux binaries to run unmodified and without recompilation on System p servers, helping to bring additio!
nal benefits with IBM PowerVM virtualization to enterprise customers by enabling more applications to be consolidated.
 
From:
 
Up to now more than 2500 applications have been ported to Linux on POWER, but still there are thousands only ported to x86 based platforms. With the IBM PowerVM Lx86 environment, a customer can take the original installation media of a Linux on x86 application and install it as is within a Linux on POWER partition running on IBM System p. There are many workloads that will run well within this environment. There are a few workloads that are not recommended to be run in this environment
From a customer perspective, this environment allows a very transparent and easy way to start taking the benefits of such an advanced infrastructure platform. From an ISV perspective this environment provides an excellent opportunity for a jump-start onto a new marketplace, postponing the decision of the code porting from Linux on x86 to Linux on POWER to a more appropriate moment in time if he judges necessary. It also allows the ISV the opportunity for keeping his development and support costs on a lower level, since there is only a single source (x86-based) code.
 
From:
 
In addition, the performance of some x86 Linux applications running on PowerVM Lx86 may significantly vary from the performance obtained when these applications are run as a native port. There are various architectural differences between x86 and POWER processors which can impact performance of translated applications. For example, translating dynamically generated code like Java byte codes is an ongoing translation process, which can be expected to impact the performance of x86 Java applications using an x86 Java virtual machine. Floating point applications running under x86 have a different default precision level from Power Architecture processors, so translating between these levels can have additional performance penalties. And finally, translating and protecting multi-threaded applications can incur an additional performance overhead as the translator works to manage shared memory accesses. IBM suggests that clients carefully consider these performance characteristics when selecting the best method for enabling applications for their environment.

Quick Tips

I'm passing on these tips that I picked up on a mailing list.
 
#1: The first is related to advanced system management interface (ASMI) access. There are now different default IP addresses for POWER6 machines. More information is available in the System p Operations Guide for ASMI and for Nonpartitioned Systems (SA76-0094-02).
 
For the primary service processor use:

HMC1 = 169.254.2.147
HMC2 = 169.254.3.147

For the secondary service processor use:

HMC1 = 169.254.2.146
HMC2 = 169.254.3.146

Incidentally, I covered the topic of using the ASMI to manage your machines here.
 
#2: The second tip involves new service and productivity tools for Red Hat Linux on POWER (non-blade, non-HMC-managed) systems. Check IBM's Web site for different tabs pertaining to RHEL5, RHEL4 and RHEL3.
 
IBM lists rpms for service aids, hardware inventory, service log, error log analysis, service agent, etc. From IBM:

"The following tools are available for servers running Red Hat Linux that are not managed by an HMC and are not BladeCenter servers. Click the Tool name link for a brief description of the tool. Click the Download link to download the tool package.

"To install and use the following tools under RHEL4, ensure that compat-libstdc++-33-3.2.3-47.3.ppc.rpm is installed from the RHEL4 media. When installing the powerpc-utils and powerpc-utils-papr packages, include the "--force" option on the rpm command line. Tool packages must be installed in the order listed in the table."

These tools should help make managing Red Hat Linux on Power a bit easier.

#3: Finally, check out this new YouTube video that demonstrates PowerVM Lx86 and Live Partition Mobility. 

If you have tools and tips that others should know about, let me know, or add a comment.