45
•
Click
Apply
.
5.9. Memory recommendations for VIOS and the Power Hypervisor
A minimum of 2 GB of memory is recommended for VIOS with an IBM i client. If you are running
two or more IBM i partitions on the same Power blade, consider increasing the VIOS memory to 4
GB. To change the amount of memory VIOS is using:
•
Log into IVM with padmin
•
Click on the VIOS partition
•
Click on the
Memory
tab
•
Change the assigned memory and click
OK
Note that if the new assigned value is higher than the maximum memory value, a restart of VIOS
is required to activate the change. Before restarting VIOS, gracefully shut down any client
partitions on the blade.
You should also plan on leaving 512 MB of memory unassigned for use by the system firmware
(the Power Hypervisor). To observe the amount of memory the Hypervisor is currently using,
click on
View/Modify Partitions
in IVM and check the
Reserved firmware memory
value.
5.9.1. CPU recommendations for VIOS
For most IBM i on blade configurations, it is recommended to configure VIOS with 0.5 processor
units and 1 assigned (or desired) virtual processor. If VIOS is hosting 3 or more IBM i or other
partitions, consider changing its processor allocation to 1 dedicated processor. Note that you
must reboot VIOS to change from shared to dedicated processors.
5.10. Create the IBM i partition(s) using IVM
Using IVM to create an IBM i partition is similar to using the HMC; however, fewer steps are
necessary. IVM uses a number of defaults that simplify partition creation. For example, because
IBM i partitions cannot own physical hardware on an IVM-managed system (such as a Power
blade), those screens are omitted from the creation wizard.
IVM defaults the load source and alternate IPL adapters to the Virtual SCSI client adapter in the
IBM i partition, and the console adapter to the first Virtual Ethernet adapter. If you plan to use
separate Virtual Ethernet adapters for LAN console and production traffic and wish to use the
second Virtual Ethernet adapter for LAN console, you can make the change in the partition
properties.
If you choose to use shared processors for IBM i, IVM defaults to assigning 0.1 times the number
of processors you select as shared processor units and the whole number of processors you
select as virtual processors. For example: if you select 4 shared processors, IVM initially assigns
0.4 processing units and 4 virtual processors to the partition. Note also that by default shared
processor partitions are configured as uncapped. When assigning memory during partition
creation, you are selecting the “assigned” or “desired” amount for the partition. IVM automatically
assigns minimum and maximum values. The default processor and memory configuration can be
changed by working with the partition properties after creation.
The minimum recommended amount of memory for an IBM i client partition on the Power blade is
1 GB. The actual memory and CPU values should be sized individually for each IBM i workload
using the Workload Estimator, available at http://www-
304.ibm.com/systems/support/tools/estimator/index.html.
