To see vhost on VIOS after creating an HMC profile

I created a profile in HMC for a new LPAR and activated it but not yet installed AIX.

Is there a step to make this new LPAR available as vhostX from the VIO server after creating and activating an HMC profile?

I already shared the CD-ROM device from the HMC profile.

Thanks.

  • Steve

Yes, you missed several steps. There is at least one Redbook on this subject. Let me run over the high points for you.
1) Spend some time thinking about how many client partitions you are likely to need and what resources those partitions are likely to require.
2) For each client partition you will need, modify the VIOS profile to add at least one v-scsi host adapter in it. When defining the host adapters, do _not_ use the "any" option. It will just cause problems later. When defining each host adapter, make sure to specify the partition ID of the client partition that will be using it and the virtual slot number of an available virtual slot in that client. By available, I mean a virtual slot number that is not occupied by a virtual serial or virtual network adapter.
3) When the VIOS profile has been modified to your satisfaction, power off the VIOS by running "shutdown -F". You can also use the HMC to power it off, but specify the "OS option". Do not use the "immediate" option, since that is equivalent to unplugging the power cord and may leave your VIOS rootvg in a bad state. But the important point here is that in order to let the VIOS see the new partition definition, you must deactivate and reactivate it. A simple reboot will not do this.
4) Use the HMC (or IVM if that is what you have) to re-activate the VIOS with the new partition definition. When it comes back up again, the new vhostX adapters should be available. You can assign your disk resources to the vhost adapters at this point.
5) Use the HMC to modify the partition definitions for each client, to add the client vscsi adapters. Make sure to specify the correct virtual slot number in the VIOS for the corresponding vhost adapter for that client. It is possible to assign multiple client adapters to a single vhost adapter, but only the first client to be activated wins. The others will not be able to open their adapter, so will not see any disks and will fail to install.

Now, you should be able to activate the client partitions and install them. The whole magic is making sure you have the client and host adapters matched up correctly.

Hope this helps.