Logical partition requirements for alternate IPL devices

 

After partitions are defined, the Licensed Internal Code and operating system must be loaded from either optical or tape to the load source disk unit for the logical partition.

During partition setup, select which I/O processor (IOP) connects to the alternate Initial Program Load (IPL) device (either tape device or optical device).

An IBM® external tape device, or equivalent, that is attached to an IOA that supports alternate IPL, and can be attached to a system on which you can create partitions, can be used as an alternate IPL device. There is no support for external CD-ROM devices on 6xx, 7xx, Sxx systems. For 8xx servers, you can attach a 7210 external CD-ROM to a 2768.

When attaching an external CD-ROM as an alternate IPL device, it must be at hardware Unit Address 5, Unit Address 6, or Unit Address 7. The following table shows the translation from SCSI to hardware Unit Addresses.

Table 1. SCSI to Unit Address conversion
SCSI Address Unit Address
2 5
1 6
0 7

 

IOP considerations

IOP considerations are as follows:

  • If you want to support both optical and tape devices with a single SPD IOP, it must be a 2624, which supports only 6380 and 6390 internal tape devices.

  • The 2624 IOP does not support optical or tape devices in the SPD Integrated Expansion Unit 9364 and 9331 (servers 620 and 720), or 5064 and 9331 (servers S20 and 720).

  • Only servers 650, 740, S40 support switching internal primary partition alternate IPL devices (optical devices and tape devices) to secondary partitions.

The following are requirements for alternate IPL devices:

The LPAR Validation Tool (LVT) , as well as the System Handbook, show the internal tape alternate IPL devices that are supported by logical partitions based on the server ordered.

The following table shows the internal CD-ROM alternate IPL devices that are supported by logical partitions.

Table 2. Supported internal CD-ROM devices
Internal optical device feature code 810, 820, 825, 870, 890 830/840 5065/5066 5074/5079 620/720/S20 All Other Systems
6325       X
6425     X  
6005   X    
4525 X      

 

Rules for secondary partition alternate IPL IOP

Hardware requirements allow only certain IOPs to be used as the alternate IPL IOP in a secondary partition. Some of these IOPs must be in specific card positions in their expansions units. The IOP, specified during partition setup, must be one of the following:

Table 3. Placement for a SPD alternate IPL IOP
SPD IOPs Description 5072/5073 card position 5064/9364 card position
2621 Removable media device attach any any
2624 Storage device controller 3 S02
2644 34xx Magnetic Tape Attachment any any
6501 Tape or disk device controller any any
6513 Internal tape device controller 3 S02
6534 Magnetic media controller any any

Table 4. Placement for a PCI alternate IPL IOP in 5064/9364, 5065/5066
PCI IOP Description
2809, 2824 PCI WAN/LAN workstation IOP

Even though its description does not say so, 2809 or 2824 also supports CD-ROM and tape with one of the following I/O adapters (IOAs):

PCI IOA Description 5064/9364 IOP/IOA card positions 5065/5066 IOP/IOA card positions
2726, 2768 PCI RAID Disk Unit Controller E15/E16 N/A
2729 PCI Magnetic Media Controller E10/E11 or E05/E06 C3/C4 1 or C8/C9 1 or C13/C14 1
2741 PCI RAID Disk Unit Controller E15/E16 N/A
2748 PCI RAID Disk Unit Controller E15/E16 C3/C4 2
Notes:

  1. External tape attach only

  2. CD-ROM or internal tape attach only

Table 5. Placement for a PCI alternate IPL IOP in 8xx, 5074, 5075, 5079
PCI IOP Description
2843, 2844, 284C, 284B, 9943 PCI WAN/LAN Workstation IOP

284C is only supported on server 820. 284B is only supported in the 5075. All other servers and expansion units can use either the 2843, 2844, or 9943.

PCI IOA 8xx, 5074, 5075, 5079 card positions
2749 Any IOA slot
2757 Any IOA slot
2768 Any IOA slot
2778 Any IOA slot
2782 Any IOA slot
4748 Any IOA slot
4778 Any IOA slot
5702 Any IOA slot
5703 Any IOA slot

 

Rules for secondary partition internal alternate IPL devices

The alternate IPL device is in the same expansion unit as its controlling IOP. It must be placed as follows:

Table 6. Placement for an internal alternate IPL device
Expansion unit Removable media slot
5072, 5073, 5077 D01, D02, or D03
5064/9364, 5034, 5035 D12 or D13 1
5065, 5066, 5074, 5079 D41 or D42
9251 D03 or D04 2
Notes:

  1. Models 620/720/S20 only

  2. Models 650/740/S40 only

Internal removable media devices are:

  • Quarter-inch cartridge (QIC) 1/4-Inch tape

  • 8 mm tape

  • CD-ROM

 

Other rules for secondary partition alternate IPL

  • The alternate IPL device must be connected to SCSI bus 0.

  • The alternate IPL IOP is specified during partition setup.

  • If the alternate IPL IOP is attached to 2624 (SPD), the following applies:

    • QIC 1/4-inch tape must be 6380 or 6390

    • 2624 does not support tape or CD-ROM in SPD expansion unit 5064/9364 (models 620/720/S20).

  • CD-ROM devices are not supported on 6513 (SPD)

  • 2726, 2741, 2757, 2782, 5702, and 5703 also support disk devices. These IOAs should not be used to attach removable media that will be switched between partitions if disk devices are also attached.

Information about all supported internal tape and CD-ROM features and the IOPs to which they must be attached can be found in the LVT, and in the System Handbook.

 

Parent topic:

Logical partition concept: Removable media device and alternate restart (IPL) devices