Recover Virtualised LPAR with MKSYB via NIM 2

[dial8d]

Im trying to understand what issues or complications might arise from the following theoretical issue.

Lets say i have 2 x p570, each running dual VIO servers, serving a number of virtualised lpars. The VIO servers are providing both virtual ethernet and scsi to the client lpars. The client lpars are running SAP/Oracle services. Back end storage is DS6000.

In the event of losing the primary p570, would it be feasable to recover my lpars onto the 2nd p570 which also runs VIO from mksysb images via NIM.

Thoughts and comments welcome.

 

[hfaix]

Assuming your DS6000 is still available sure, that's possible. From a high level........You'd just need to carve up your partitions, restore mksysb's and import your data volume groups.

 

[hfaix]

To continue my post above (this assume you have a functioning NIM server...spot, lpp_source, and mksysb resource)

 

[dial8d]

Hi

yes, a remote NIM server would be present, and this is where the mksysb images from the lpars on the primary p570 would be stored, and recovered from.

 

[khalidaaa]

yes this is doable as long as you have redundant hardware for building the LPARs on the second machine (for example fiber channels to connect your LPARs to the SAN)

It is a good exercise to create an LPAR and do a drill restore of your images from the NIM master on the second machine!

Regards,
Khalid

 

[p5wizard]

If you host the rootvg disks of the client LPARsalso on the DS6k, then you won't even have to reinstall the LPARs, just make the LUNs available to the other box's VIOSs, serve the LUNs as VTDs for the replacement client LPARs and fire 'em up.

Needless to say, you'd want to try that out as well...


HTH,

p5wizard

 

[Chapter11]

That's pretty close to the arrangement I am building.

I have two 570s, SAN-attached.

Each logical LPAR is serviced by two LPARs, one on each P5. Each real LPAR has its own address, and a "provisioned service" address is aliased onto one of them.

In case of failure, the LUNs are swung from one P5 to the other, appropriate VIO work is done, the "standby" LPARs are powered up and the "provisioned service" IP is aliased onto the standby LPAR.

I did it this way because the only thing I can do with a NIM server is break it.

 

[dial8d]

all good stuff, and certainly food for thought.

Cheers guys

 

[dial8d]

progress news.

I have today successfuly tested the procedure for migrating a virtualised lpar from one physical machine to another.

The process i used was as suggested by p5wizard.

I simply shutdown the primary lpar, and unmapped the san based luns removed the vtd on the primary VIO, and the underlying hdisk devices. The luns were then mapped to the VIO on the standby host, and VIO configured to map the luns to the stanbdy lpar. then just a question of booting the standby lpar.

I configured both primary and standby lpar on each physical host identically.

Thanks for the solution.

 

[khalidaaa]

I think you deserve a star for your feedback and a Big star for our forum star p5wizard for his suggestion

Regards,
Khalid