i5/OS: Logical partition release support

Systems with logical partitions have the capability to support more than one version of OS/400^® or i5/OS™.

The logical partition strategy is to support up to four different releases on the same system, provided that all releases are supported on the server model. The releases that you can install on a particular server depend upon which releases are supported on the server model and upon which release you choose to install on the primary partition (which will be denoted in this article as the reference release, or P).

If the primary partition is running Version 4 Release 5 (V4R5) or earlier, you can install and run the following releases on the secondary partitions, provided that each release is supported by the server model:

The only exception to this rule is when the primary partition of 6xx, 7xx, or Sx0 servers runs V4R4. In this case, you can install V5R1 on a secondary partition of those servers.

For example, if V4R5 is running on the primary partition of a server, you can install V4R4, V4R5, or V5R1 on the secondary partitions, provided that the server supports those releases.

If the primary partition is running V5R1 or later, you can install and run the following releases on the secondary partitions, provided that each release is supported by the server model:

For example, if V5R1 is running on the primary partition of a server, you can install V4R5, V5R1, V5R2, or V5R3 on the secondary partitions, provided that the server supports those releases.

The logical partition functionality that will be supported on your server depends upon the server model and upon the releases of OS/400 and i5/OS that you have installed on the server. For more information on the logical partition functionality supported on each server model, see Evaluate the hardware limitations of the iSeries(TM) servers. For more information on the logical partition functionality supported by each release, see OS/400 and i5/OS logical partition function by release.

Parent topic:

OS/400 and i5/OS release support for the 6xx, 7xx, and Sx0 models

The 6xx and Sx0 servers support all releases from V4R4 through V5R2. The 7xx servers support all releases from V4R4 through V5R3. These models do not support the shared processor pool. Because of this, you can partition these models only if the server has two or more processors.

Primary	Secondary (P-1)	Secondary (P)	Secondary (P+1)	Secondary (P+2)
V4R4	not supported	V4R4	V4R5	V5R1
V4R5	V4R4	V4R5	V5R1	not supported
V5R1	V4R5	V5R1	V5R2	not supported
V5R2	V5R1	V5R2	V5R3 (7xx hardware only)	not supported
V5R3 (7xx hardware only)	V5R2	V5R3	not supported	not supported

OS/400 and i5/OS release support for the 820, 830, 840, and 270 models

The 8xx hardware (excluding the 810, 825, 870, and 890 models) can support release V4R5 or later in a primary or secondary partition as long as the 8xx model has more than one processor. The 270 hardware can only support V4R5 in a secondary partition on the 2-way processor configuration. The 270 and 8xx models (excluding the 810, 825, 870, and 890 models) with a single processor can support V5R1 or later releases in all partitions.

Primary	Secondary (P-1)	Secondary (P)	Secondary (P+1)	Secondary (P+2)
V4R5	not supported	V4R5	V5R1	not supported
V5R1	V4R5	V5R1	V5R2	V5R3
V5R2	V5R1	V5R2	V5R3	V5R4
V5R3	V5R2	V5R3	V5R4	future release supported
V5R4	V5R3	V5R4	future release supported	future release supported

Some 820, 830, and 840 models only support V5R1 or later in the primary partition. Consult your IBM Business Partner, marketing representative, or service specialist for more details.

OS/400 and i5/OS release support for the 810, 825, 870, and 890 models

The 810, 825, 870, and 890 hardware can support V5R2 and later in all partitions.

Primary	Secondary (P-1)	Secondary (P)	Secondary (P+1)	Secondary (P+2)
V5R2	not supported	V5R2	V5R3	V5R4
V5R3	V5R2	V5R3	V5R4	future release supported
V5R4	V5R3	V5R4	future release supported	future release supported