Introduction to

IBM Power systems,

AIX and system administration

© Copyright IBM Corporation 2012

Course materials may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the prior written permission of IBM. 7.0
Unit objectives
IBM Power Systems

After completing this unit, you should be able to:

• Define terminology and concepts of IBM Power system
servers, virtualization, HMC, and AIX
• Describe the roles of the system administrator
• Obtain root access with the su command

© Copyright IBM Corporation 2012

AIX overview
IBM Power Systems

• IBM’s proprietary operating system based on UNIX System V

– Also has BSD compatible commands and programming interface
extensions
• Advanced Interactive Executive (AIX) runs on proprietary
hardware (H/W) called IBM Power Systems
– Seventh generation of Power, based on Reduced Instruction Set
Computer (RISC) technology
• Most Power Systems today run many instances of AIX in
partitions known as Logical Partitions (LPAR)
– This is H/W partitioning managed by the system firmware, Power
Hypervisor
LPAR:
AIX1

LPAR:
AIX2

LPAR:
AIX3

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Logical partition overview
IBM Power Systems

• An LPAR is the allocation of system resources to create

logically separate systems within the same physical footprint.
• The resource allocation and isolation for a logical partition is
implemented in firmware called Power Hypervisor.
– Provides configuration flexibility
• Each partition has its own:
– Operating system
– Resources: processors, memory, devices (defined in a profile)
• Partitions can consist of physical (real) or virtual devices
– or a combination of both

sys1 sys2 sys3 sys4

04:42 14:42 11:42 19:42

LPAR 1 LPAR 2 LPAR 3 LPAR 4

Power Hypervisor
System Hardware (memory, processors, devices)
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Dynamic logical partitioning
IBM Power Systems

• DLPAR is the ability to add, remove, and move resources

without reactivation of a partition
– Processor, memory, and I/O allocation changes
• Processors and memory quantities are bound by the
minimum and maximum profile settings
• Applications may be DLPAR-aware

Before After

LPAR 1 LPAR 1
DLPAR Operation: (running) (running)
- Add 2.0 CPU
-Remove 4Gb Mem 2.0 CPU 4.0 CPU
-Move the DVD slot to LPAR 2 16Gb Mem 12Gb Mem

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Workload partitions
IBM Power Systems

• Software (S/W) partitioning is managed by AIX.

– Available since AIX 6.1
• Many AIX OS images can reside within a master global AIX image.
• Live Application Mobility allows WPAR relocation to another box or
LPAR.
• WPARs provide automatic workload balancing.
• WPAR technology is not H/W dependent.
– Support is available on servers from POWER4 through POWER7.

AIX1

AIX2 1.
WPAR2 2.
AIX3
WPAR1
WPAR4
WPAR5
WPAR3
WPAR6 WPAR mgr

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Live partition mobility
IBM Power Systems

• Live partition mobility allows running AIX partitions to be migrated from

one physical server to another without downtime.
– For POWER6 and later, LPARs must not contain any physical devices.

No

LPAR:

LPAR:
Downtime

AIX1

AIX1
• Partition Mobility provides systems management flexibility and is
designed to improve system availability.
– Can help avoid planned outages for hardware or firmware maintenance
– Can help avoid unplanned downtime
• If a server indicates a potential failure, you can move its partitions to another server
before the failure occurs.
– Enables optimized resource use by moving workloads from server to server

© Copyright IBM Corporation 2012

POWER7 offerings
IBM Power Systems

Power 710 Express

Power 730 Express

Power 720 Express

Power 740 Express

Power 750 Express

Power 755

PS700 Express
PS701 Express Power 770
PS702 Express Power 780 Power 795

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Typical Power system layout
IBM Power Systems

• LPAR Configuration and Control is completed through the Hardware

Management Console (HMC).
• The HMC connects to the Service Processors and the LPARs.
– Private network usually connects HMC and Service Processors.
LPAR 4

Private Service
Processors Managed
Network System
Secondary HMC
‘Backup’ LPAR 1

LPAR 2
Primary HMC Public/Open SAN
Network LPAR 3

LPAR 4

NIM Server Images

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The HMC (1 of 2)
IBM Power Systems

• An appliance for the management of POWER-processor

based servers
– IBM provided Intel based server (desktop or rack mount) running a
web-based application on a customized version of Linux
• Access is through https (GUI) and SSH (command line)

• Acts as a focal point for collecting and servicing managed

system serviceable events
– Can be configured to call home to IBM for parts and service
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The HMC (2 of 2)
IBM Power Systems

Managed
Systems

LPARs Proc &

running MEM
AIX resources
Navigation
area
Task
Pad

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LPAR virtualization overview (1 of 2)
IBM Power Systems

• An AIX client partition can :

– Be virtual, have no real devices
– Use fractions of CPUs (Micro-Partitioning)
• Virtualizing LPARs has many advantages
– Flexibility in allocating resources
– More efficient use of system resources through sharing
– Consolidation (hardware, floor space, merge production and test
environments)
– Relocating partitions using Live Partition Mobility
• A key component of virtualization is the Virtual I/O Server (VIOS)
– Implemented as special customized version of AIX
– It is not AIX. It is PowerVM software!
– Requires, at minimum, a PowerVM standard license
• Included on some high-end systems

© Copyright IBM Corporation 2012

LPAR virtualization overview (2 of 2)
IBM Power Systems

• The two key functions of virtualization are:

– Virtual Ethernet is a standard feature of POWER5 and POWER6.
• AIX can have up to 256 virtual adapters per LPAR.
• Does not require a VIOS, unless a bridged connection to the outside
world is required
– Virtual SCSI is way of providing virtual disks to clients.
• The backend storage can be Internal disk (SCSI or SAS) or SAN
storage.
• This is a feature of the VIOS.

Note: There are many other virtualization features which are covered in more
depth in the LPAR & virtualization curriculum and roadmap.

© Copyright IBM Corporation 2012

Virtual I/O server overview
IBM Power Systems

• The VIOS partition is allocated physical I/O slots containing

real adapters.
– These are used for the virtual adapters (SCSI or Ethernet) to share
amongst the client partitions

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Virtualization example
IBM Power Systems

AIX Virtual I/O Server

LPAR LPAR
Physical
Virtual Virtual Physical Network
Ethernet Virtual Ethernet SEA Ethernet
ent0 Ethernet ent1 Layer 2 ent0
Switch Bridge
Virtual ent2
Ethernet
ent1
Hypervisor
Virtual
Virtual Physical
Client Device
vSCSI Server Storage
Adapter Adapter Mapping
vtscsi0 Adapter
vhost0 fcs0

SCSI, SAS, FC Physical Disks

or Logical Volumes

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Role of the system administrator
IBM Power Systems

• Pre-installation planning of:

– Partitions
– User accounts/groups
– Storage allocation/paging space
– Subsystems (printing, networks, and so forth)
– Standard naming conventions
– Determine system policies
– Install and configure hardware Maintain application /
• Network configuration System uptime!
• System Backups and disaster recovery
• Create/manage user accounts
• Define and manage subsystems
• Manage system resources (for example, disk space)
• Performance monitoring
• Capacity planning
• Application license management
• Documentation - system configuration, and keep it current!
© Copyright IBM Corporation 2012
Who can perform administration tasks?
IBM Power Systems

• The root user

– Exercise caution when logging in directly as root, especially
remotely.
– Keep the root password secure.
• Members of special groups or RBAC roles
• The su command enables you to obtain access to the root
user
$ id; pwd $ id; pwd
uid=251(alex) gid=1(staff) uid=251(alex) gid=1(staff)
/home/alex /home/alex
$ su root $ su - root
root's Password: or root's Password:
# id; pwd
# id; pwd
uid=0(root) gid=0(system) uid=0(root) gid=0(system)
/home/alex /
# set |grep USER # set |grep USER
USER=alex USER=root

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How can we perform administration tasks?
IBM Power Systems

• Command line
– UNIX system administration tasks are often done from the
command line, by executing scripts, or both
• Writing and executing scripts
– Typically using Korn shell scripts (ksh is the default shell on AIX)
– Perl for more advanced users
• SMIT (smit or smitty)
– Text based tool (graphical version also available)
• IBM Systems Director Console for AIX (pconsole)
– New web based GUI in AIX6 and later
• IBM Systems Director
– A cross platform product for managing Power systems and AIX
across a large enterprise environment

© Copyright IBM Corporation 2012

Checkpoint
IBM Power Systems

1. What is the name of the device which creates and controls LPARs?

2. True or False: An AIX operating system can have no real devices.

3. True or False: Virtualization features provided by the VIO Server

can be used by default on any Power system.

4. True or False: The su command enables you to get root authority

even if you signed on using another user ID.

© Copyright IBM Corporation 2012

Checkpoint solutions
IBM Power Systems

1. What is the name of the device which creates and controls LPARs?
The HMC.
The answer is the HMC.

2. True or False: An AIX operating system can have no real devices.

The answer is true.

3. True or False: Virtualization features provided by the VIO Server

can be used by default on any Power system.
The answer is false. Lower end machines require a PowerVM
license.

4. True or False: The su command enables you to get root authority

even if you signed on using another user ID.
The answer is true. You must also know the root password.

© Copyright IBM Corporation 2012

Exercise
IBM Power Systems

Introduction to
IBM Power Systems and
AIX

© Copyright IBM Corporation 2012

Unit summary
IBM Power Systems

Having completed this unit, you should be able to:

• Define terminology and concepts of IBM Power System
servers, virtualization, HMC, and AIX
• Describe the roles of the system administrator
• Obtain root access with the su command

© Copyright IBM Corporation 2012