In this post I explain how date and time management works on an AIX, VIOS, and IBMi LPARs. Setting the time is usually one-time operation, we often take it for granted, as long as everything works well. However, when issues arise, it can become quite puzzling. Information in this post may be particularly useful for those who use Full System Replication or FlashCopy solution.
Continue reading “How Time and Data Management works on IBM PowerSystems”Category: AIX
VIOS 3.1 upgrade for everyone
I assume there are many installations which need to go to VIOS 3.1 by October 2020 due to end of support for VIOS 2.x. Because, I did not find any upgrade procedure for “dummies”, I decided to write one which I hope people find useful. I do not cover only the upgrade process itself, but also share some advises how to do it safely and recover in case of troubles. Upgrade Virtual I/O Server to 3.1 is completely different process than before. For instance, you are going to need an extra disk to perform the operation. Interested?
New VIOS releases affect the Shared Ethernet Adapter (SEA) functionality
Long story short – how regular VIOS update ended with few weeks investigations completed with the serious VIOS bug and the APAR (IJ25390). The latest VIO releases contain a serious bug which may affect all VIOS/SEA client LPARs on IBM Power Servers.
Continue reading “New VIOS releases affect the Shared Ethernet Adapter (SEA) functionality”
POWER8 – No hardware maintenance-no firmware upgrade
Back in the day, downloading of a server firmware from IBM Fix Central website was limited only to users and serial numbers with valid IBM hardware maintenance contract. With POWER8 servers IBM put such a lock into the servers. Thus, if your hardware maintenance contract expired, you cannot install any newer firmware beyond this date. Continue reading “POWER8 – No hardware maintenance-no firmware upgrade”