Virtual SCSI

Introduction

This is a short howto on configuring virtual SCSI on a virtual IO server on an AIX managed system. The steps are pretty easy:

1. Login
2. Create a mapping to map disks to the virtual SCSI server adapter
3. Check

So to clearify, if you look to the overview below the step taken here is the mapping from the virtual SCSI server adapter to the physical storage:

Login

You login to the virtual IO server as padmin, which has a limited set of tools and commands. To become root type:

$ oem_setup_env
#

Notice that the prompt has changed into #, the standard prompt for root. You only have to do this when necessary, for example, you want to do something in smitty.

The Mapping

Overview Disks in Virtual IO Server

To know which disks are available for ~LPARs to connect to you have to know which hard disks are available in your virtual IO server.

$ lspv
NAME            PVID                                VG              STATUS
hdisk0          000bf7e12866eaf1                    rootvg          active
hdisk1          000bf7e1288405d5                    None

Create Mapping For SCSI Disks For the LPAR to the First Virtual SCSI Server Adapter

In this example you map the complete hard disk hdisk1 to the virtual server adapter vhost0. This is the adapter to which the LPAR connects

$ mkvdev -vdev hdisk1 -vadapter vhost0
vtscsi0 Available

In case you don't want to map the entire disk you'll first have to create logical volumes. After you've done so you can map the logical volume to the virtual server adapter.

Show All Mappings For Virtual SCSI Adapters

As you can see is the hdisk1 now mapped to the vhost0 adapter.

$ lsmap -all
SVSA            Physloc                                      Client Partition ID
--------------- -------------------------------------------- ------------------
vhost0          U8204.E8A.65BF7E1-V3-C12                     0x00000017

VTD                   vtscsi0
Status                Available
LUN                   0x8100000000000000
Backing device        hdisk1
Physloc               U7311.D20.650442C-P1-C04-T2-L9-L0

SVSA            Physloc                                      Client Partition ID
--------------- -------------------------------------------- ------------------
vhost1          U8204.E8A.65BF7E1-V3-C13                     0x00000000

VTD                   NO VIRTUAL TARGET DEVICE FOUND

SVSA            Physloc                                      Client Partition ID
--------------- -------------------------------------------- ------------------
vhost2          U8204.E8A.65BF7E1-V3-C14                     0x00000000

VTD                   NO VIRTUAL TARGET DEVICE FOUND

View All Virtual Devices

Check all your virtual devices including the newly created vtscsi0:

$ lsdev -virtual
name            status     description
ent3            Available  Virtual I/O Ethernet Adapter (l-lan)
vasi0           Available  Virtual Asynchronous Services Interface (VASI)
vhost0          Available  Virtual SCSI Server Adapter
vhost1          Available  Virtual SCSI Server Adapter
vhost2          Available  Virtual SCSI Server Adapter
vsa0            Available  LPAR Virtual Serial Adapter
vtscsi0         Available  Virtual Target Device - Disk

The LPAR

You should have connected the virtual SCSI client adapter to the virtual SCSI server adapter already in the virtual adapter configurations in the HMC itself. This is done in the profile of the virtual IO server and the LPAR. If you've done so the LPAR should now have a hdisk0 so it can be installed.

Extra Information

Map a CDrom

• mkvdev -vdev cd0 -vadapter vhost0

This will create a virtual target 'vtopt0'

Remove a Mapping

• rmvdev -vtd vtopt0

Note that vtd stands for virtual target device.

Sources

IBM Documentation: http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/systems/index.jsp?topic=/iphb1/iphb1_vios_virtualioserveroverview.htm