IBM logical partition (LPAR) configuration requirements
Prev CommandCentral™ Storage 5.2 RU1 Add-on Next

IBM logical partition (LPAR) configuration requirements

For the CommandCentral Storage Add-on to properly discover IBM LPARs, ensure that your storage network's physical connections, device settings, and the CommandCentral Storage Add-on settings are properly configured.

For the latest support information, see the CommandCentral Hardware and Software Compatibility List. This document is updated regularly at:

http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH148619

Configuring the CommandCentral Storage Add-on to discover your IBM logical partition (LPAR) environment involves several steps.

Table: Configuring the CommandCentral Storage Add-on to discover your LPAR environment

Step

Action

Description

Step 1

Review how LPAR discovery works

Identify how you need to configure discovery of your LPAR environment.

See How the CommandCentral Storage Add-on can discover your IBM logical partition (LPAR) environment.

Step 2

Review set up requirements

Identify how you need to set up your LPAR environment to ensure proper discovery.

See Setup requirements for IBM logical partitions.

Step 3

Configure discovery of the Hardware Management Console (HMC)

Configure the CommandCentral Storage Add-on to discover the HMC using the Configure a New Device tool.

See Configuring the CommandCentral Storage Add-on to discover the Hardware Management Console (HMC).

Step 4

Configure discovery of each LPAR

Configure the CommandCentral Storage Add-on to discover each LPAR by doing one of the following:

  • Configure agentless discovery of the LPAR.

    For information about how to configure agentless discovery, see the CommandCentral Storage Add-on Administrator's Guide.

  • Install the Standard Agent in the LPAR.

    For information about installing a Standard Agent, see the CommandCentral Installation Guide.
How the CommandCentral Storage Add-on can discover your IBM logical partition (LPAR) environment

Note:

The CommandCentral Storage Add-on does not support configuring VIO servers as agentless hosts. It also does not support installing a Standard Agent on the VIO server. If you have already installed a Standard Agent on a VIO server, disable the agent so that it does not report to the Management Server before you upgrade the Management Server to version 5.2 RU1. Installing a Standard Agent on a VIO server or configuring it for agentless discovery can lead to unpredictable behavior.

You can configure the CommandCentral Storage Add-on to discover your LPAR environment in one of two ways.

Table: Configuration options to discover your LPAR environment

Option

Configuration

Provides

1

  • Configure the CommandCentral Storage Add-on to discover the Hardware Management Console (HMC).

  • In each LPAR, install the Standard Agent with the 5.2 Release Update (RU1) Hotfix for AIX Managed Host, which adds LPAR discovery support.

  • End-to-end visualization of your LPAR environment

  • Information to perform capacity management of your LPAR environment

  • Application to spindle mapping for LPARs

2

  • Configure the CommandCentral Storage Add-on to discover the Hardware Management Console (HMC).

  • Configure agentless discovery of each LPAR.

  • End-to-end visualization of your LPAR environment

  • Information to perform capacity management of your LPAR environment

  • File system to spindle mapping for LPARs

The following table provides further information about the discovery of the HMC, LPARs, and VIO servers.

Table: Discovery information from the HMC, LPAR, and VIO server

Object

Discovery information

Hardware Management Console (HMC)

To communicate with the HMC using HMC CLIs, the CommandCentral Storage Add-on uses ssh and a user account that is assigned the hmcoperator role or hmcsuperadmin role. The CommandCentral Storage Add-on Management Server and Control Host can communicate with the HMC, as they both run the LPAR explorer.

Through this communication, the CommandCentral Storage Add-on can discover the following:

  • The managed systems that the HMC manages

  • LPARs and their associations to managed systems and VIO servers

  • VIO servers, which includes the following information:

    • Their association to LPARs

    • Their associations to managed systems

    • HBAs

    • OS handles

    • Storage that is exported from VIO servers to LPARs (no information about the OS handles inside the LPARs)

      The CommandCentral Storage Add-on supports native device handles only, as backing devices for the virtual target devices exported from the VIO server to an LPAR. The CommandCentral Storage Add-on does not support logical volumes, Veritas DMP devices, file devices, or any device type except the native device, as the virtual target device's backing device.

      The LPAR-VIO Server association is discovered only when at least one virtual target device (exported from the VIO server to the LPAR) is backed by native device handle. If there are no virtual target devices exported to the LPARs that are backed by native device handles, the LPAR-VIO Server association is absent.

Note:

The CommandCentral Storage Add-on does not support discovery of LPARs through the Integrated Virtualization Manager (IVM).

LPAR

You need to either install the CommandCentral Storage 5.2 Standard Agent with the 5.2 Release Update (RU1) Hotfix for AIX Managed Host, which adds LPAR discovery support in the LPAR or configure the LPAR for agentless discovery. This step is required to discover information about the storage resources in the LPAR.

For discovering LPARs agentlessly, the same requirements as for a normal AIX host apply here.

Discovery provides the following:

  • Basic host information

  • HBAs (only when they are directly assigned to LPARs as slots on the managed system)

  • OS handles, including VSCSI OS handles (provides correlation to the storage that is exported from VIO servers when you configure discovery through the HMC, and if the backing device in the VIO server is a native device handle)

  • Logical volume manager (LVM) volumes

  • File systems

  • Applications and databases (not available if you use agentless discovery)

If you configured LPAR hosts for agentless discovery prior to upgrading to the CommandCentral 5.2 RU1 Add-on, refresh the hosts so that you can see the correlated data immediately.

Setup requirements for IBM logical partitions

The CommandCentral Storage Add-on uses Secure Shell (ssh) to discover logical partitions (LPARs) through the Hardware Management Console (HMC).

See How the CommandCentral Storage Add-on can discover your IBM logical partition (LPAR) environment.

Make sure that the HMC allows ssh access from the Management Server or Control Host for an account that has the hmcoperator role or hmcsuperadmin role. Also, make sure that the account has visibility into the LPARs and VIO servers for which you need discovery.

Meet the requirements for device handle discovery inside LPARs. For details, see the CommandCentral Storage Hardware and Software Configuration Guide.

Configuring the CommandCentral Storage Add-on to discover the Hardware Management Console (HMC)

Configuring the CommandCentral Storage Add-on to discover the Hardware Management Console (HMC) is required to discover your IBM logical partition (LPAR) environment.

See IBM logical partition (LPAR) configuration requirements.

Before you configure the CommandCentral Storage Add-on to discover the HMC, review the setup requirements.

See Setup requirements for IBM logical partitions.

To configure the CommandCentral Storage Add-on to discover the HMC

  1. Click Tools > Configure a New Device.

  2. In the Configure Device - Select Device Type panel, select the device category Virtualization Server and the device type Logical partition (LPAR). Then, click Next.

  3. In the Configure Device - Select Explorer panel, select the host from which you want to perform discovery. Then, click Next.

    This panel displays only if you have more than one host that runs the LPAR explorer.

  4. In the Configure Device - Device Credentials panel, enter the required information. Then, click Next.

    See Device Credentials panel options for IBM logical partitions.

  5. In the Configure Device - Status panel, click Finish.

Device Credentials panel options for IBM logical partitions

Use this panel to configure the CommandCentral Storage Add-on to discover information about your IBM logical partition (LPAR) environment through the Hardware Management Console (HMC).

Table: Configure Device - Device Credentials panel options for LPARs

Field

Description

HMC IP Address or Host name

Enter the IP address or host name of the Hardware Management Console (HMC).

Login

Enter the logon for a user account that is assigned the hmcoperator role or hmcsuperadmin role.

Password

Enter the password for the user.

Enable Discovery

Check this field to enable discovery of the HMC. This field is checked by default.

Configuration Name

Enter a user-friendly name to identify the HMC. This field defaults to the value that you enter in the HMC IP Address or Hostname field.

SSH Timeout (seconds)

Enter the number of seconds in which the ssh commands that are issued from the explorer to the HMC should timeout. The default is 1200 seconds.

Click Advanced Settings to display this field.

Verify Device Configuration

Check this field to verify that the CommandCentral Storage Add-on can contact the HMC with the information that you entered in this panel. This field is checked by default.
Tuning the LPAR explorer

You can tune the explorer that discovers logical partitions (LPARs).

To tune the LPAR explorer

  1. In the CommandCentral Storage Add-on Console, click Settings > Host Management.

  2. In the Hosts table, click the host on which you want to configure the explorer.

  3. In the Explorers table, check LPARExplorer.

  4. In the drop-down list, click Configure Explorer. Then, click Go.

  5. In the Configure Explorers - Explorer Settings dialog box, modify the explorer's settings. Then, click Next.

    See Explorer Settings dialog options for the LPAR explorer.

  6. Click Finish.

    The explorer updates.

Explorer Settings dialog options for the LPAR explorer

Use the Configure Explorers dialog box to tune the explorer.

Table: LPAR explorer options

Field

Description

Polling Interval in Minutes

Enter the amount of time that you want the explorer to wait before it repeats discovery. The default is 360 minutes.

Debug Level

Enter the level of verbosity for which the explorer logs messages. The verbosity range is 1-6 where 1 is the least and 6 is the most verbose. Enter 0 to turn the logging off.

Click Advanced Settings to display this field.
Prev Up Next
Changing the port for the CommandCentral Storage Add-on Console Home Viewing information about your IBM logical partition (LPAR) environment