Managing logical partitions

 

Managing logical partitions includes various factors you need to consider when you implement logical partitions on your server, such as restarting and powering down individual logical partitions, changing logical partition configuration, managing security, and changing processing resources.

When you create one or more logical partitions on the iSeries™ server, you are creating partitions that are independent of each other. Each logical partition has its own independent configuration of processor, memory, input/output (I/O) devices, Licensed Internal Code, Operating System (i5/OS^® ), and optional software applications.

You can use iSeries Navigator to manage your logical partitions. Most tasks you perform are independent to the other logical partitions on the system. You should approach each logical partition as independent systems.

Refer to Backup and recovery for information on backing up your system. Basic system operations is another source that provides additional information about starting and managing your system.

For more information on understanding the basic steps to installing a fix (or Program Temporary Fix, PTF) using Management Central, see Installing fixes on systems with logical partitions

• Managing logical partitions by using iSeries Navigator, DST, and SST
  On a system without logical partitions, you can use the control panel to perform many tasks. However, for systems with logical partitions, secondary partitions do not have physical control panels. To control your secondary partitions you can use the remote control panel graphical user interface (GUI).

• Managing security for logical partitions
  Most security related tasks you perform on a partitioned system are the same as on a system without logical partitions. However, when you create logical partitions, you work with more than one independent system. Therefore you have to perform the same tasks on each logical partition instead of just once on a system without logical partitions.

• Printing system configuration for logical partitions
  It is strongly recommended that you print the system configuration for all of your I/O resources that are allocated to all of the logical partitions, when your set up is complete. You can use DST or SST to print copies of your system hardware configuration.

• Dynamically moving logical partition resources
  Dynamic movement of resources provides users the ability to move processors, memory, and interactive performance between partitions without requiring a partition or system restart.

• Scheduling moving logical partition resources
  You can schedule the movement of memory, processors, interactive performance, and I/O processors. You have the option of choosing to perform a task immediately or choosing a later time. The logical partition scheduling functions provides you the flexibility to accommodate changing workloads and demands on resources.

• Installing new hardware for logical partitions
  When you install new hardware in a partitioned environment, you should be aware of several things.

• Installing a new software release in the primary partition
  The minimum memory required by the primary partition may change if you install a new i5/OS software release. A logical partition configuration error may occur if the minimum memory value is insufficient. Use iSeries Navigator to change the minimum and maximum memory value for each partition.

• Expansion unit conversions in a partitioned environment
  Detailed planning is necessary prior to beginning the expansion unit conversion of a partitioned server. It is highly recommended that all of the logical partition configuration actions be performed by an LPAR trained services person.

• Adding a new I/O adapter on a partitioned server
  When adding a new I/O adapter in a partitioned environment, it is essential that detailed planning is performed before starting the new I/O adapters installation. Use this information to help plan and prepare to install a new I/O adapter, and perform resource management.

• Restarting and powering down a system with logical partitions
  At times you will need to perform an initial program load (IPL) or power down the entire system or a single partition. It is important to remember that when you perform an IPL on the primary partition you are also performing an IPL on all the secondary partitions.

 

Parent topic:

Partitioning with an iSeries server

Related concepts
Logical partition concepts