PowerVM/lpar creation problems

Hi,
I'm a newbie to PowerVM and LPARs ( I work with VmWare and Oracle VM Server for Sparc) .recently we purchased an 8202-e4b server, with two enclosures for add'l disk capacity. it is licensed for PowerVM standard,came preloaded as such, AIX 7.1.
I've set up HMC v8.2, and run it through a VM on a Vmware esxi server.

in short,via HMC, I can create one VM , install AIX on it, network it, etc, but when I try to create a 2nd Vm,it doesn't 'see' any devices other than the HEA's added to the VM via profile..the profile also has client SCSI added,
and a Raid Controller set with 'as desired' checked off..
for #1 Vm, I have Raid controller also set to 'as desired' and one client SCSI adapter.basically,profile for VM 2 is identical to profile for VM1..I've even changed the ID's of the SCSI adapters so that they're not the same.
any idea why I cannot see the DVD drive and hard drive for the 2nd VM?
also, I've uploaded VIOS disk 1 and 2 to the HMC respository, and I'm able to create a VIOS server 'system' from template, but while monitoring it with the Vterm,
it gets to the part where it asks for disk #2, but since it's ready-only terminal, I have no way of telling it where to find the source for disk #2..although, disk 1 and 2 are in the same folder the system 'should' see it anyways, right?

I've even tried the newly enhanced gui v8.2, and that doesn't work either..
I've tried to create VIOS manually, disk 1 goes fine, I then insert disk 2, and basically watch it fail to install from disk.I've burned 3 dvd's,and downloaded disk 2 from IBM twice already so it can't be bad media.

it's completely frustrating and I'm just at the point where I think it's best to have an IBM rep come in and set this up.
why did they make things so overly complex and just plain hard to deal with?
I've even reset the server ( via ASMI) to factory default, which gives me one partition with all system resources. I re-enter PowerVm codes to make sure it's working as 'standard' and that I get to make add'l VMs.but I can't get past having just one and only one, VM.
any idea what I'm doing wrong here?

The things are very easy. You must first read documentation, then plan, then make. And not the opposite.

IBM Redbooks | IBM PowerVM Virtualization Introduction and Configuration

thanks..I've read the documentation , not all 792 pages of it, but, if I can't get past 'insert disk 2 of VIOS Server' what good does reading ALL of the documentation do?
VmWare esxi and Oracle Vm server for Sparc do not require anything like a Virtual I/O server to provide virtual SCSI,Disk,network,etc, to an virtual machine. IBM ,to me,is completely backwards. why didn't they just make drivers that work out of the box without having to first install a virtual server to provide these virtual devices to LPARs?
I understand that one VM using a dvdrom , 'locks' it so that other VMs cant use it..and I'm sure I'm doing something wrong, but it shouldnt be as complicated as this when setting up multiple VMs.
and that's the reason I've posted a question here, in the hopes that someone could provide an idea of what I can do to get past this, to shed some light on it.
but replying 'read the documentation' isn't helpful. but thanks anyways.

if you need help, you can ask for it. if want to whine, how bad is the life, it is your right, but the forum is the bad place for it. there are a lot of specialists here, working with different technologies, every has his/her own opinion on it. I worked with Vmware GSX, ESX, ESXi, vSphere, Xen, KVM, Sun domains, Sun LDoms, "Oracle VM for Sparc", and PowerVM. IMNSHO PowerVM is the only right virtualization "engine", very flexible and easy to use. Although I like vSphere too.

Regarding your question - nobody can answer you, because nobody can read your thoughts and nobody knows which VIOS DVDs you've downloaded. What I see from your post, is lack of understanding the technology. That's why - first read the documentation, then plan, then make.

P.S. There are only 2 (TWO) DVDs for VIO installation, not 3.

thanks for replies..I'm not whining, maybe just venting ;-)....anyways, I never mentioned 3 dvd's. I only mentioned 2.go back and read my post(s) ,please.
I have hmc v8.2, vios server disks 1 and 2, v 2.2.3.4. brand new 8202-e4b server 128GB RAM, 6CPU.
lack of understanding of the technology? you bet! that's why I'm here, that goes without saying! I've been reading countless papers,websites,books on this very subject.
I've connected to HMC limited shell,and tried to run installios -u, but it says 'default1' label exists in nimol.conf.but of course, IBM provides no 'vi' to delete the entry in that file. so I cannot install from command line.
can't install from template because of the read-only terminal,and disk #2 fails to install..how is it possible that the template system install of VIOS can see disk one,but fails to see disk two in the SAME folder on the HMC repository? the IBM documentation clearly states it will automatically see disk 2 in the same default location as disk 1!! so if their documentation is wrong,what good is it,anyways? it's not like Sybase documentation whis is so precise it's an art form..
I can,however, install a full OS version of aix 6.1..it works perfectly well.go and try to install another AIX 6.1 VM ( or LPAR), and SMS menu only sees interconnected LAN(s), not a dvdrom,not a harddrive, nothing..I do NOT have NIM set up,nor do I plan to use one...if I disconnect scsi from first aix 6.1 VM ,I can then see them on VM #2.but then vm #1 doesn't work..I get that I probably need to use dynamic LPAR and that the first aix VM holds these particular scsi devices exclusively..
(*we just differ in opinions,I've been using esxi for years.Sparc LDOMs for years.they're easy as pie to set up from scratch,even for newbies..PowerVm seems like it's not ready for primetime.
esxi is by far the most user-friendly technology out there.Xen/Oracle VM Manager require
repositories for ISO, etc.vmware uses anything, anywhere, in unstructured formats..it doesn't create Virtual machine folders, ISO folders, template folders on a repository ,etc..it doesn't require you to upload an ISO to repo ,first,just to be able to use it to create a VM from it..you can use an OS ISO from anywhere..they also don't require the set up of an HMC.there's a reason they're #1, by far..but thats another topic.)
again ,thanks for the help.the reason I'm venting is I'm 100% convinced I'm doing something so small, somewhere.I just can't figure that part out.that's what is frustrating.

How many LPARs do you want to have on it? How many resources should the LPARs have?
Can you write a small table:
LPAR1 0.5 CPU, 8 GB RAM, VLAN 10, SAN Fabric 1, my sandbox
LPAR2 2 CPU, 32GB RAM, VLAN 20, SAN Fabric 1, database
and so on. Don't include VIOSes for now and don't try to use _all_ the CPU/RAM resources in the server.

This is planning. We assume for now, that you've read the documentation.

"This is planning. We assume for now, that you've read the documentation."

Sounds like you are giving the whole machine to the first VIO logical partition, so there is no hardware to install another... and you cannot run a "WPAR" on a VIO server...

Not being rude but it does sound like a basic understanding deficiency of how PowerVM works.

>>>>read the docs.....

Make a PowerVM/VIO LPAR with one ethernet adapter, one scsi adapter with a disk, maybe a fibre adapter. Install PowerVM/VIO on it.

Do it again.... so you have a redundant/dual VIO server layer.

Then on both of these VIO servers virtualise some form of storage, vscsi, npiv, lvm, for the client LPARS.

Set up SEA adapters on the dual VIO servers, so you have redundant networking for your client partitions.

Set up virtual ethernet, vlans, Etc. for the clients to use.

Then configure your client LPARs partition profiles for your AIX / IBM i / LINUX client LPARs.

Then boot and install them....

Any of this sound even remotely familiar...

If not then at least you have some terms to google for help.

It's not really like any other form of server virtualisation but it is by far the best.

Good place to start reading:
IBM PowerVM - Getting Started Guide

HTH

thanks for the help guys.
it's not insulting to say I lack the understanding of PowerVM, it's OK! I know I don't understand it that's why I'm here..
ok so in a nutshell,here's what I have:
we purchased a server 8202-34b with two enclosures, g30 and d24. we don't have the amperage to hook up the enclosures, they need 220v lines and a PDU ,so I'm only running off of the 8202 until the new electric is installed.the 8202 has 6x146GB disks installed,128GB RAM, 6 cpu. plenty enough to get started with.
so, the system came pre-loaded with one partition, AIX 7.1. we wanted 6.1.so, via ASMI, I reset to factory config which makes one partition that takes up all resources, and its name was that of the serial number of the server.. I just deleted all partitions, so I have nothing but the server listed under system mgmt-> servers)

I want to make 2 virtual machines,each AIX 6.1, 32 GB RAM, one with 1 CPU max ( sybase server licensing is very costly beyond one CPU) , and the other with 2 CPU max and 32GB RAM.

so to start with, am I correct in assuming I need to have at least 1 virtual I/O server installed , before I create these two AIX 6.1 partitions? if the answer is yes, that's where the problem lies.as you guys know,vios stops at the '37% finished' mark,and asks "insert disk #2 and hit enter"
I do that, disk #2 fails to load, kicks me to a root # prompt.exit that,and you're at init mode. I've reburned the dvd 3 times, thinking it was bad media.I've downloaded the disk 3 times from IBM thinking it was a bad ISO from IBM.
this is where I'm stuck..I cannot install vios either manually as stated above, or as a template because the template install stops at the prompt> "enter location of source disk 2", but since it is a read-only terminal, I cannot input the location, even though it is in the exact same location on HMC repository as vios disk #1,and despite IBM's docs saying it will automatically pick up disk 2 from same location as disk 1.

I now have 0 partitions since I deleted everything.I'm going to start over, try to install vios server first, then a second vios server if possible.

my apologies if I've confused you..

NIM server is not something I'm interested in, it means reading more documentation and configuring another AIX server to use it as the NIM master. it simply can't be this hard to install VIOS..and it shouldn't be..
why doesn't IBM offer an OVF format VIOS appliance and/or as single VIOS
DVD.I have read a lot of people saying that they're stuck exactly where I am, at disk #2, it fails,and they can't get past it.

---------- Post updated at 10:08 AM ---------- Previous update was at 10:03 AM ----------

HTH
the doc link you included in your post, isn't available on redbooks.ibm.com.

to answer your question, yes all of what you said makes sense.I just can't set up
a vios server to begin with!
that's where the problem is.

It is possible to install 2 LPARs on such box without VIOS. But there are some prerequisites for this and I don't see from your message, if you have enough resources. AFAIU from your previous messages you have HEA in the box. The question is, if you have split backplane feature installed in your server or at least 2 FC HBAs? If you have D24, you should have additional SCSI controller. I don't know how many space do you need for each of the LPARs and how many disks do you have in D24, but you can assign e.g. internal disks to the 1st LPAR and D24 to the 2nd LPAR.

If you want to have more flexibility, yes, it is better to have VIOS installed, although I'm not sure, if you really need it. AFAIU from your posts, you don't have "real" HMC and installed it in VMware. After it you tried to install VIOS from the HMC using installios. Have you tried to install VIOS using "hardware" DVDs? Or just uploaded images to the HMC and install over the network? How many resources did you assign to the VIOS?

Oh yeah, drag and drop sticks another http:// on the end...

http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redpapers/pdfs/redp4815.pdf

KGB ,thanks for the info!
yes, I have tried to use hardware DVDs as well as ISOs ( the ones uploaded to HMC)..
the hardware dvd's fail on the install of vios at disk #2..that's the point I mentioned about having to burn 3 different dvds, all of the same VIOS #2 ISO, just to make sure it was not bad physical media..it's not bad physical media.

here's how lost I am..forget the ASMI , on any server,you should be able to just drop the OS dvd in the dvdrom,and boot off of it.I can't even get to an OS terminal session from a serial connection via laptop. all I see is a serial-based version of ASMI..no 'exit to OS console' type of setting..
nothing else..I can't even install aix 7 on the box as a standalone, single server, if I wanted to.

interestingly,about the disks, when I have an LPAR running , I can go through smit and
assign more disks to that particular LPAR if I want..there are 6x146GB disks on the 8202. I use one for rootvg and had set up another pair for datavg.so roughly 300GB of free space to play with from these two disks ( sybase install, etc).
but that would've left 3 HD's for use by any other LPAR, of which none is found.

we got the server and it's enclosures from a 3rd party IBM vendor, but it came without any docs, and without any list of what was preloaded and how..nothing.

I know with Oracle t4-1, you go to the server console with start /SP/console and you're at the OS. I take it that the service or system processor on this IBM is the same concept, small proc you connect to for performing system functions,shutdown/startup,etc..but I can't even get to the console here. I can't even see the prompt for 'boot to SMS' on the ASMI.
it's just plain weird.
We're at the point where we will have a consultant come in and set this thing up. besides my lack of knowledge on the subject, I'm beginning to think something is critically wrong here..disconnecting all enclosures and putting AIX 6.1 OS CD/DVD #1 in the cdrom/dvdrom drive should at least let me boot off of it.but I cant even get there..

there is nothing bad calling a consultant. My first AIX installation was also made by some consultant, I sat near him and looked over the shoulder, what he did.

I really didn't try to work with P7 servers without HMC, but P4/P5 worked splendid with normal console cable (please be sure, that you have _normal_ cable, not cutted-down version for PC), and there was console access through ASMI in single LPAR-mode. To access the console you had to boot your only LPAR - just select Power On or something like. The codes begin changing on the console and after some time you see SMS screen.

If you see all 6 disks in your LPAR either you work in single LPAR mode or you have assigned all your HW resources to your LPAR or you have no split-backplane feature in your server and you can't install the 2nd LPAR without D24.

Some side note - your vendor sold you something outdated, that is already some years out-of-marketing by IBM. IBM doesn't sell this servers and expansions anymore.

ok, KGB, I have finally gotten the VIOs installed, I believe anyways.
it was the first physical DVD that was bad.

anyways, it got through DVD #2, and I'm now at a display on the serial console that just says 'i/o hosting'.
the HMC representation of the server also says IO hosting as the reference code.but it also says ' server-8202-e4b-SN066c39p - recovery'..I don't want to run the recovery it will revert back to the previous setup, which I cannot use anyways.

is that normal and correct behavior forit to be at 'io hosting'? I only allowed this install to use one disk, so I should at least have 5 disks still available.
I have also entered the PowerVm actiation code for this server and it was excepted.
I just want to get to the command line so I can log in as padmin and do some configuration/LPAR creation.
again,thanks for your help KGB.I have also contacted the supplier about the
servers , if they're outdated we'll want an exchange for something new(er).

could you post the reference code you see on the HMC?

Hi KGB
reference code says 'IO hosting"
click on that and it says 'there is no add'l descriptive text available for code IO.
ACT 04292

in the actual console window, I see
'welcome to the Virtual IO Server' message.
under that
IO hosting requires a hosting partition, boot not permitted
EXIT called ok
0 >

I've done that.entered VET via HMC, countless times,always says' accepted,PowerVM standard license accepted' etc.
I've just re-entered it through the ASMI and selected reboot via same, the link you provided mentioned a reboot so I'll try that out.
looking at CoD settings,nearly everything is set to true or enabled. meaning multi partitions are already enabled.let's see what the reboot does.

Computron, please tell me if i am trying to explain to you something you do already know, but i sense the problem is in fact the understanding of how virtualisation the IBM way works.

We'll start at the basics: what you get from IBM is a "managed system", which is the synonym for "hardware node" in most Linux-centric virtualisation platforms (Openbox, OpenVM, KVM, OpenVZ, etc.). The difference between these Linux-systems and the IBM hardware is that there is no OS you have to install at the base. Everything is handled in (or near) hardware.

With i.e. OpenBox you install an OS to the system, install the virtualisation software onto it, create several virtual machine profiles and start these as programs in the base system.

With IBM you have the hardware which already allows virtualisation (controlled by the HMC, which is a mere management platform, not a direct part of the virtualized system) and install directly into the LPARs (=virtual machines) you create.

For this to work you need to create "profiles", where you give out parts of the systems resources to the various LPARs. Your system might come with 2 processors and you might decide to give 0.1 to the one system and 1.2 to the other, keeping the remaining 0.7 in reserve. So, a good idea would be to first meticulously describe your system here:

# of Processors
# amount of memory installed
# and types of network adapters
# and types of built-in disks
etc.

This will get you a base for planning what to give to whom and when.

Now, the virtualisation works well for "anonymus" ressources like CPU and memory. It gets a little more tricky with less anonymous resources, namely network adapters and (internal) disks. Therefore the first (usually) thing to do is to create a special LPAR which acts as a man-in-the-middle between the physical hardware and the (other) virtualised systems. This special type of LPAR is called "VIOS" (virtual I/O server) and one has usually 2 (or several pairs) of them (a stripped-down two-node HACMP cluster is part of the software package for VIOS) per managed system.

Here is a typical way to create a system:

after discovering the MS and getting the HMC to manage it you create two LPAR profiles for your VIOS and use "installios" to install the VIOS software onto it. Typically these are the only systems in the whole MS which have physical disks to boot from. In a typical setting the bootdisks for all the other LPARs come from SAN and are connected to the LPARs via the VIOS as vSCSI LUNs.

You also give the VIOS each one (or more) real network adapter(s) to connect to the outside. Network traffic for the other LPARs is done via the VIOSes which act as a (virtual) bridge. You will have to plan thoroughly how to route what through this. Non-VIOS LPARs usually get one virtual network device which is in turn created on the VIOS and mapped to the system. (This is quite similar to how the Linux systems handle things, except that there is no specialised virtual system there but the hardware node, where you define this.)

The VIOS can pass information about handed-down LUNs and virtualised network to another VIOS - even one in another managed system - and it is possible to move (running!) LPARs around between different MSes. This is called "Live Partition Mobility" and a thing not possible with any other virtualisation system.

Also the built-in hypervisor is the fastest in the industry. It offers a real huge bandwidth and in practice you will have nothing to do to tune it.

So i suggest you start by posting your exact system data and start to plan what you want to do and how.

I hope this helps.

bakunin

Hi Bakunin you and KGB are giving me plenty of insights here, just wanted to say thanks in advance..
in a nutshell, we have an 8202 with 6 internal 146GB drives, 128GB RAM, 6CPUs, PowerVM 'standard' licensing,4 internal NICs, plus two disk enclosures( g30,d24) that we cannot power-on yet,because we don't ( yet) have adequate power (210v line).electricians will be here in a week or 2 to install the new power lines.
I'm hoping to install at least 2 VMs on the 6 internal drives on the 8202, and use them for now. is this possible or do I just have to wait for the power to be installed for enclosures, first? we have a client that uses aix 6.1 with sybase 15.7 and we're trying to replicate that here so we can go forward with our sybase runtime building and testing of our S/w in this environment.

I'm familiar with AIX,linux,hp-ux,solaris, vmware esxi 4,5,6,etc. you mentioned that powerVM is really at the hardware level as opposed to having an OS installed, but I think you mean like what the older VmWare used to be , a VmWare server ( service) installed on top or linux or Windows OS.esxi is a 60MB 'bare metal' os that can run off of a USB drive leaving all disks accessible to a raid array,etc.from your info, I really see no difference between VIOS and esxi.it's basically a small OS that gives out resources to VMs,am I right?

due to Sybase's strict and costly licensing, we can only use 1 CPU for dev, anything more than that and the price goes through the roof. so, we're trying to config the first VM with 32GB RAM, 1 CPU and only 1 ( MAX=1). I can create that VM in my sleep. using a profile, I add scsi adapter, ethernet, configure the CPU and memory,etc.it works without a problem.
It's when I begin to make VM #2 that I really run in to a problem..I can configure #2 with an identical profile, give it ethernet, scsi adapter,etc..only real difference is this VM gets 2 CPU because it will not house a sybase installation, it is a testing VM.also gets 32GB RAM..everything goes swimmingly well until I get to the SMS menu and try to configure the boot device, no matter what I do , it says not scsi devices found.this means it can't see dvd, disk,etc.it's just basically an OS shell booted to BIOS..it's like a laptop without a harddrive and DVD.
so I've rebooted the server via ASMI power on/off countless times.I've even selected 'factory default install' which reverts the system back to a single LPAR, AIX 7 or 7.1, which owns all system resources.I can change these to smaller CPU and RAM footprint down from 6 CPU and 128GB RAM to ,say, 1CPU and 4GB ram.I can even delete this partition which I've done a number of times. I just can't create VM #2.coincidentally,when creating #2, if I shutdown #1, I can then give #2 access to the resources,and it'll now see all disks,dvds,etc when I boot to SMS.. so really one VM keeps all resources for itself,and unless it's powered off I cannot grant those resources to a 2nd VM.

yes, I have a very basic understanding of IBMs powerVM structure..it's all Greek to me. frankly, I find it absolutely bizarre and so different compared to everything else that I can't wrap my head around it.at times, I've seen on the HMC, 'create partition' link.most other times, it is not there. how/why would a link appear/disappear like that? it's like a funhouse loaded with wavy mirrors and illusions.. I have the PowerVM code VET installed.I've done that countless times ,too..

when I run installios -u it says it can't continue because the entry for default1 exists in the config file..I can't manually delete it because I can't get root access inside the limited terminal.. when I run installios ( no -u flag) , it says 'the following types of managed system were found, 1. Server-8202-E4B-SN066C39P Enter a number: 1 Error: installios no objects of type "virtual I/O server partition found'.

so why would they give you a 'limited' or 'restricted' shell , anyways? you can't even edit a file.

I'm a dog chasing his tail at this point.

the sales team from the vendor we purchased the server from is scheduling a consultant to come out at some point..nothing set just yet. I'd really like to do this on my own,it's the only way I'm going to learn this technology. it's what I have done with everything else that I work on. but I'm likely headed for an IBM weeklong classroom training session in June ( nothing available until then).

I've even installed VIOS from the serial connection via laptop onto the 8202. go to HMC to get in to the console,and it just says 'cant do io hosting without a hosting partition'. or, worse, a panic error code while booting, dropping me to OK prompt. so clearly I'm doing something very wrong.and the documentation hasn't been very helpful.. I never thought making two very basic VMs would require so much 'planning' and configuration..

Yup, you are doing it wrong and need more understanding.
We'll try again, as you are obviously not reading and or understanding all the doc's and links we point you to.
You'll need two scsi adapters, each with their own disks to make this work, and at the moment you have one scsi adapter with all the disks.
Each vios will need its own scsi adapter and disks to install to but you don't have that without being able to power up the expansion drawers.
You install vio, but it has all the disks and the only scsi adapter.
When you try to install the second vio there is nothing left because the first vio has all the disks.
When you shut down the first VIO then the other can see the scsi adapter and disks but they really belong to the first one.
You need the expansion drawers so that each VIO can have its own scsi adapter and its own disks to install to.
Read.......no point in keep playing if you don't understand the basics.
HTH