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What is PowerVM ? (Intro)
IBM PowerVM is a combination of hardware, firmware and software that provides CPU, network and disk virtualization. The main virtualization technologies are:
  • POWER6 and POWER5 hardware
  • POWER Hypervisor
  • Virtual I/O Server

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Thursday, November 5, 2009

Acive Memory Sharing (AMS)

Acive Memory Sharing (AMS) is an IBM PowerVM advanced memory virtualization technology that provides system memory virtualization capabilities to IBM Power Systems, allowing multiple logical partitions (LPARs) to share a common pool of physical memory on a single server, helping to increase memory utilization and drive down system costs.

AMS is a way to improve overall memory utilization of the system that is very similar to the way that Shared Processor LPARs (SPLPAR) improve processor utilization.

In order to use the Active Memory Sharing feature of IBM PowerVM, the following are the minimum requirements:
  • An IBM Power System server based on the POWER6 processor
  • Enterprise PowerVM activation
  • Firmware level 340_075
  • HMC version 7.3.4 service pack 2 (V7R3.4.0M2) for HMC managed systems
  • Virtual I/O Server Version 2.1.0.1-FP21 for both HMC and IVM managed systems
  • AIX 6.1 TL 3
  • Novell SuSE SLES11

References:
AMS Video Presentations by Nigel Griffiths:

Sunday, October 19, 2008

A comparison of virtualization features of HP-UX, Solaris, and AIX

Orginal Article By: Ken Milberg (mailto:kmilberg@gmail.com), Writer/site expert, Future Tech

Most IBM® AIX® administrators understand the virtualization features available to them on their System p® platform through PowerVM™, which is also available on the System p for Linux®. But what about the other UNIX® hardware platforms? What do they have to offer and how do some of their features compare to PowerVM?

HP virtualization

This section discusses HP's Virtual Server Environment (VSE) as well as vPars, nPartitions, and IVMs.


HP's VSE is the front end for HP's overall virtualization strategies. VSE itself contains several elements, including a workload management tool and advanced manageability software. The workload management feature allows you to draw from spare capacity, which is available on a pay-per-use basis. This is similar in many respects to IBM Capacity on Demand offerings. Further, HP Global Workload Manager (gWLM) provides intelligent policy engines that allow for automatically adjusting the workloads to increase server utilization. It also comes with a product called HP Capacity Advisor that helps you simulate various workload sceneries, which is similar in many ways to the IBM System Workload Estimator (WLE), which ships with the System Planning Tool. The VSE also allows you to partition in several ways, with hard and soft partitions, as well as HP Virtual machines, partitions, and secure resource partitions. HP describes their virtualization/partitioning solutions as their partitioning continuum. Available partitioning includes:


  • nPartitions offers true electrical isolation, as well as cell granularity. nPartitions are based on hard partitions, which were first introduced by HP in 2000 and offer greater fault isolation than soft partitions. nPartitions allow you to service one partition while others are online, which is similar to IBM logical partitioning, though systems require a reboot when moving cells from one partition to another. It's important to note that while nPartitions support HP-UX, Windows®, VMS, and Linux, they only do so on the Itanium processor, not on the HP9000 PA Risc architecture. Partition scalability also depends on the operating system running in the nPartition. Another downside is that entry-level servers do not support this technology, only HP9000 and Integrity High End and Midrange servers. They also do not support moving resources to and from other partitions without a reboot.
  • vPars are separate operating system instances on the same nPartition or server. This offering allows you to dynamically move either CPU or memory resources between partitions as the workload requirements change. They also allow you the ability to run multiple copies of HP-UX on the same hardware. Using vPars, you can move CPUs to other running partitions, similar to PowerVM and the System p. What you can't do with vPars is share resources, because there is no virtualized layer in which to manage the interface between the hardware and the operating systems. This is one reason why performance overhead is limited, a feature that HP will market without discussing its clear limitations. The scalability is also restricted to the nPartition that the vPar is created on; the max being an 8-cell limitation. There is also limited workload support; resources cannot be added or removed. Finally, vPars don't allow you to share resources between partitions, nor can you dynamically allocate processing resources between partitions.
  • Integrity Virtual Machines (IVMs) are separate guest instances on the same nPartition with different operating system versions and users in a fully isolated environment. First introduced in 2005, they allow for a partition to have its own full copy of the operating system. Within this copy, the virtual machines share the resources. This is similar in many ways to IBM PowerVM, as there is granularity for CPUs and I/O device sharing. The granularity actually beats PowerVM as one can have up to 1/20 of a micropartitions; the System p allows for only 1/10 of a CPU. The downside here is scalability. With HP's virtual machines, there is a 4 CPU limitation and RAM limitation of 64GB. Reboots are also required to add processors or memory. There is no support for features such as uncapped partitions or shared processor pools. Finally, it's important to note that HP PA RISC servers are not supported; only Integrity servers are supported. Virtual storage adapters also cannot be moved, unless the virtual machines are shut down. You also cannot dedicate processing resources to single partitions.
  • Resource Partitions are created from the HP Process resource manager and allow resources for specific applications within a single operating system. This is a resource management tool that allows you to manage CPU, memory, and disk bandwidth. It allows minimum allocations of CPUs and even allows you to cap a CPU by group. In many ways this is similar to a Solaris containers or AIX WPARs in that it allows you to have several applications reside in one copy of HP-UX. This feature has been available since HP-UX 9.0.

Sun virtualization

Now that we've looked at HP virtualization, let's take a close look at Sun's xVM, along with containers, hardware partitioning, and logical domains.


Sun has made some bold changes during the past year, the most important being the release of xVM. Sun's xVM is actually a mix of four separate technologies, the first of which was introduced in February of 2008: xVM Ops Center. xVM Ops Center's most important function is that it provides a single console for the management of all devices in a virtualized environment. It further allows for the discovery and management of all physical and virtual assets. The other three technologies include xVM server, VirtualBox, and VDI software. The xVM server is a hypervisor-based solution, which is based on Xen, running under Solaris on x86 computers. On SPARC it is still based on logical domains. Containers and LDOMs now are part of the umbrella named xVM. Sun is also claiming features such as predictive self-healing, which has long been available on the System p. VirtualBox is desktop virtualization software geared toward developers, allowing for many different types of operating systems to run on top of an existing desktop operating system. It supports Windows, Linux, Mac, and Solaris hosts. Sun did not develop this product, but acquired open source desktop virtuaization vendor Innotel, which develops the product.


Sun also offers hardware partitioning, which allows their high-end servers to be divided into four-process partitions. These are referred to as Sun DSD's. In many ways this technology is similar to IBM logical partitioning, which was introduced in 2001, with no real virtualization capabilities. It is also similar to HP's hardware partitioning, but only high-end and midrange servers support this technology. You cannot share resources between partitions, nor can you dynamically allocate processing resources between partitions. You also cannot share any I/O. It's the LDOMs that actually allow virtualization. Introduced in 2007 on their SunFire line of servers, LDOMs enable customers to run multiple operating systems simultaneously. While LDOMs solved a huge deficiency in Sun's virtualization strategy, it has many inherent flaws:


  • Scalability -- Only eight CPUs and 64GB RAM on one machine
  • Server-line -- Only low-end Sparc servers are supported
  • Limited micro-partitioning -- Four partitions on T1, Eight on T2
  • No Dynamic allocation between partitions

For years, Sun's answer to everything was containers or zones. Containers and zones give you the ability to run multiple virtual operating system instances inside only one kernel. They are used to provide an isolated and secure environment for running applications, which are created from a single instance of Solaris.


Simply put, they had it and IBM did not. Sun can no longer make this claim. IBM now offers AIX workload partitions (WPARs), which is their answer to containers. IBM WPARs have all the features of containers plus additional innovations:


  • Application WPARS. This is a workload partition that allows a single process or application to run inside of it, like a wrapper. Unlike a standard WPAR, it is temporary and stops when the application ends.
  • Live Application Mobility. This feature allows you to move running WPARs to other partitions without any user disruption. With Solaris, you need to shut off the zone first. The feature also allows you to perform multi-system workload balancing, which can be used to conserve data center costs.

While Sun appears to be moving in the right direction with xVM, it still needs to standardize its offerings more. There is also still too much confusion around their offerings and virtualization roadmap.



IBM virtualization

IBM has a 40-plus year history of virtualization. No other vendor can come close to making this claim. The fact is that virtually (pardon the pun) everything they have implemented on the midrange, they have already done on the mainframe. They offer one virtualization strategy, PowerVM, unlike the myriad of solutions available from Sun or HP. The technology itself uses a hypervisor based solution (which IBM has finally implemented though Xen, but only on their x86 platform), which sits between the operating system and the hardware. PowerVM is a combination of hardware and software, which accounts for IBM Systems p virtualiation strategy.


The technology that makes up PowerVM includes:


  • Micropartition and Shared processor pools. Micropartioning allows you to slice up pieces of your CPUs into virtual partitions. At the same time, it allows for the sharing of CPU, RAM, and I/O. You can carve your partition with up to 1/10 of a CPU. Using a feature called uncapped partitions, you can even exceed the amount of hardware that you configure on your partition, your entitled capacity (EC), which is an important feature in environments where activity fluctuates. This workload management is all done automatically, without requiring the usage of special workload management tools. IBM has since retired their workload management tool, Partition Load Manager (PLM), recognizing that it was the automation inhertent in its shared processor pool strategy, which really captivated the audience.
  • VIO servers. These are special partitions that allow you to service resources to VIO clients. The servers own the actual resources, which are network adapters or disk I/O. These partitions save money and provide flexibility by allowing partitions to shared I/O resources. Shared Ethernet and virtual SCSI are the solutions that allow for sharing network and disk I/O.

During the past year, IBM has changed their virtualization nomenclature from Advanced Power Virtualization to PowerVM. In the process it has added several significant features to their virtualization product line:


  • Live Partition Mobility. This feature, introduced with their Power6 architecture, allows you to move running AIX or Linux partitions from one physical server to another.
  • Lx86. This recent innovation allows you to run x86 Linux applications that were not specifically ported to the Power Architecture directly on a Linux partition without a recompile.
  • Shared Dedicated Capacity. This feature allows you to use spare CPU cycles from dedicated processor partitions towards the shared processer pool.
  • Integrated Virtualization Manager (IVM) -- This is a browser-based tool that provides the option of not having to have a dedicated hardware management console (HMC) from which to manage virtualization resources.

Summary

This article discussed the offerings of the top UNIX vendors and compared them to IBM. It showed how most of the features available from HP and SUN are already implemented by IBM on a much grander scale. It also showed how IBM solutions are more scalable and mature. While IBM continues to innovate and improve on their offerings, it seems that the other vendors continue to just play catch up. While HP has more offerings and a more mature set of a virtualization feature sets than Sun, it still lacks the scalability and flexibility of IBM PowerVM. While Sun has a new name and has made some bold changes in the past year, they still have a long way to go.


via [ IBM ]


More on Virtualization....
  • IBM PowerVM
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V
  • SUN xVM
  • HP VSE
  • Citrix XenServer
  • VMware Server
  • Virtual Iron
  • Sunday, October 12, 2008

    IBM Servers, Software enhancements!

    IBM announced a new Power™ 570 with more than twice the performance per core and more than twice the performance per watt as HP's Superdome. (2)

    As the world's most popular midrange server, the IBM Power 570, now offers more energy efficiency and consolidation options with new processor cards that double the number of cores in the same system footprint. Starting at just 4 cores, the system can be upgraded to a full 32-core single system image (32-core SMP); and with hot-node add, businesses can install more server modules without having to take the system down when the time comes for growth.

    IBM also announced that the Power 570/16, which supports from 2 to 16 POWER6 cores, now features faster speeds of 4.4 GHz and even 5.0 GHz -- the fastest of the POWER6 processors -- previously available only in the top of the line Power 595.

    With twice the number of cores for performance and efficiency packed into the same system footprint as previous 570 systems, the Power 570/32 gives users more than 2.4 times the performance per watt compared to the Sun M8000 system. (3)


    Helping Businesses Consolidate Workloads

    The Power 560 Express, a commercial computer system, is a new POWER6 server model that sits between the Power 550 and Power 570. The Power 560 features 4-, 8- and 16-core configurations and is designed to help businesses consolidate multiple UNIX, i or x86 workloads onto less footprints.

    The Power 560 can save companies up to $840,000 and 83 percent in energy by consolidating 13 Sun Fire V490 servers on a single Power 560 server with PowerVM, as compared to consolidating the same number on four Sun SPARC Enterprise M5000 servers with dynamic system domains. (4)

    The Power 560 Express provides an 80-percent performance boost and 60-percent performance per watt improvement compared to a 16-core HP Integrity rx7640. (5)


    IBM also announced:

    • The Power 520 Express and Power 550 Express, providing new 4- and 8-core options for i editions. AIX® and Linux users can now add i on the same system.

    • The JS12 blade server running on IBM BladeCenter can now be pre-installed with i and easily attached to low cost DS3200 storage to create a SAN.

    • Enhanced RAS features for hot-node add and repair for Power 570 and Power 595 servers, allowing concurrent repair of one node while the system continues to operate, even while PowerHA is mirroring transactions across multiple systems and storage.


    The new Power 570/32, 570/16, and 560, expanded capabilities of the Power 550 and 520 systems and the new SAN options on blades all run any combination of AIX, i, and Red Hat or Novell Linux.


    Virtualization, Energy Management, and Availability Software
    Enhanced Power Systems software for AIX, i and Linux, includes:

    • A beta version of PowerVM™ Active Memory Sharing, new virtualization software that helps clients improve memory utilization by pooling resources between partitions.

    • IBM Systems Director, a new foundation for enterprise platform management, spanning multiple platforms and operating environments. Systems Director helps clients deploy, monitor, analyze, optimize and update Power server and storage physical and virtual resources running any combination of AIX, i or Linux workloads. Systems Director is managed through an intuitive graphical interface and provides upward integration to enterprise service management tools, including IBM Tivoli.

    • A new version of Active Energy Manager, an extension to IBM Systems Director, featuring advanced energy control options designed to boost performance per watt by slowing processor clock speed or even putting processors in "nap" mode when not in use. It also allows users to set an energy cap a for a single POWER6 server, or even across a pool of POWER6-based servers.

    • PowerHA™ for AIX, enhanced with asynchronous GLVM support that enables geographic dispersion of systems to improve business resiliency and disaster recovery.

    • A new release of IBM iCluster, a high-availability solution based on logical replication, that integrates with IBM i service and fix management tools.

    • A new distribution agreement with Vision Solutions for IBM to distribute Vision Cluster1™, Vision's flagship enterprise cluster management solution for IBM i.

    • New and updated Rational software for the i operating environment that helps geographically-distributed software delivery teams collaborate.


    In addition to IBM Systems Director, IBM recently introduced AIX Enterprise Edition to help UNIX clients discover applications and server relationships, monitor and report service status, manage workload partitions (WPARs), and enable cost analysis of server usage. Systems Director and AIX Enterprise Edition have been designed to provide a full platform management solution for UNIX servers, and to integrate with IBM Tivoli tools for enterprise service management.

    via [ IBM ]

    Workload Partitioning (WPAR) in AIX 6.1

    WPARs are a bold new innovation, implemented within AIX 6.1. It allows administrators to virtualize their operating system, which allows for fewer operating system images on your IBM System p™ partitioned server. Prior to WPARs, you would need to create a new Logical Partition (LPAR) for each new "isolated" environment. This is no longer necessary (with AIX 6.1 only), as there are many circumstances when one can get along fine with multiple WPARs within one LPAR. Why is this important? Every LPAR requires its own operating system image and a certain number of physical resources. While you can virtualize many of these resources, there are still some physical resources that must be allocated to the system. Furthermore, you need to install patches and technology upgrades to each LPAR. Each LPAR requires its own archiving strategy and DR strategy. It also takes some time to create an LPAR; you also need to do this outside of AIX, through a Hardware Management Console (HMC) or the Integrated Virtualization Manager (IVM).
    WPARs are much simpler to manage and can actually be created from the AIX command line or through SMIT. LPARs cannot. By far the biggest disadvantage of LPARs is maintaining multiple images, which goes along with possibly over-committing expensive hardware resources, such as CPU and RAM. In other words, while partitioning helps you consolidate and virtualize hardware within a single box, operating system virtualization through WPAR technology goes one step further and allows for an even more granular approach of resource management. It does this by sharing OS images and is clearly the most efficient use of CPU, RAM, and I/O resources.
    Rather than a replacement for LPARs, WPARs are a complement to them and allow one to further virtualize application workloads through operating system virtualization. WPARs allow for new applications to be deployed much more quickly, which is an important side-benefit. On the other side of the coin, it's important to understands the limitations of WPARs. For example, each LPAR is a single point of failure for all WPARs that are created within the LPAR. In the event of an LPAR problem (or a scheduled system outage, for that matter), all underlying WPARs will also be affected.

    Workload Partitions (WPARs) are virtualized operating system environments that are created within a single AIX (only supported on AIX 6.1) image. While they may be self-contained in the sense that each WPAR has its own private execution environment with its own filesystems and network addresses, they still run inside the global environment. The global environment -- the actual LPAR -- owns all the physical resources of the logical partition. It is important to also note that the global environment can see all the processes running inside the specific WPARs.
    There are two types of WPARs: system workload partitions and application workload partitions. The system WPAR is much closer to a complete version of AIX. The system WPAR has its own dedicated, completely writable filesystems along with its own inetd and cron. Application WPARs are real, lightweight versions of virtualized OS environments. They are extremely limited and can only run application processes, not system daemons such as inetd or cron. One cannot even define remote access to this environment. These are only temporarily objects; they actually disintegrate when the final process of the application partition ends, and as such, are more geared to execute processes than entire applications. Overall, WPARs have no real dependency on hardware and can even be used on POWER4 systems that do not support IBM's PowerVM (formerly known as APV). For AIX administrators, the huge advantage of WPARs is the flexibility of creating new environments without having to create and manage new AIX partitions.

    via [ IBM ]

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