114 lines
6.5 KiB
HTML
114 lines
6.5 KiB
HTML
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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
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<!DOCTYPE html
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PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
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<html lang="en-us" xml:lang="en-us">
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<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
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<meta name="copyright" content="(C) Copyright IBM Corporation 2005" />
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<meta name="DC.Type" content="concept" />
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<meta name="DC.Title" content="Understanding virtual devices" />
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<meta name="abstract" content="This topic describes different virtual devices." />
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<meta name="description" content="This topic describes different virtual devices." />
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<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="./ic.css" />
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<title>Understanding virtual devices</title>
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</head>
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<body id="rzau9virtdevice"><a name="rzau9virtdevice"><!-- --></a>
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<!-- Java sync-link --><script language="Javascript" src="../rzahg/synch.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
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<h1 class="topictitle1">Understanding virtual devices</h1>
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<div><p>This topic describes different virtual devices.</p>
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<p>Integrated Linux<sup>®</sup> and Windows<sup>®</sup> servers feature virtual devices
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of various types. These devices can be confusing to a user who is new to the
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integrated xSeries<sup>®</sup> solutions
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products. Windows and Linux are essentially “guest” operating
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systems that support and manage the hardware that they interface to. As part
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of server consolidation, the integrated servers provide the capability to
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share hardware with <span class="keyword">i5/OS™</span>,
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thus reducing the amount of hardware required, and the extent of the hardware
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footprint that needs to be managed. The Integrated xSeries hardware utilizes virtual disk
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drives, virtual optical, virtual tape devices, and Virtual Ethernet LAN.</p>
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<p>The integration software supports the following virtual devices:</p>
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<dl><dt class="dlterm">Virtual disk drives</dt>
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<dd><p>A virtual disk is not optional for integrated servers. Although xSeries machines
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normally come with local hard drives, when an xSeries server is used with the Integrated xSeries Adapter,
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any installed hard drives or hard drive controllers must be removed. </p>
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<p>A
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virtual disk is referred to as NWSSTG or a network server storage space. These
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objects are actually files in the Integrated File System (IFS) that appear
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to the Linux or Windows operating
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system as hard drives. There can be a total of 32 of these virtual disk drive
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objects created and linked to each integrated Linux or Windows server. </p>
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<p>The installation
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command creates two virtual drives, which are referred to as the system drive
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and the install drive. We discuss these drives in more detail later. </p>
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<p>All
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virtual drives for all the integrated servers on a particular iSeries™ are
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stored in the QFPNWSSTG directory, which is in the root directory of the Integrated
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File System. These devices implicitly utilize iSeries storage management, and thus
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data is spread across all the configured disks. Additionally, these drives
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are protected by iSeries RAID-5
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if it has been configured, and therefore do not benefit from Windows or Linux software
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RAID.</p>
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</dd>
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</dl>
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<dl><dt class="dlterm">Virtual optical drives</dt>
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<dd><p>The virtual optical function provides the capability for integrated Linux servers
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to utilize <span class="keyword">i5/OS</span> optical
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drives. The drives need to be varied on in <span class="keyword">i5/OS</span>,
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and locked in Linux using the <span class="cmdname">ixsdev</span> command.
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You use an iSeries optical
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drive, acting as a virtual optical drive, to install Red Hat Linux. You can
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also use a virtual optical drive to install additional Red Hat Linux software.</p>
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</dd>
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</dl>
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<dl><dt class="dlterm">Virtual tape drives</dt>
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<dd><p>The virtual tape function provides the capability for integrated Linux servers
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to access <span class="keyword">i5/OS</span> tape drives.
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The <span class="keyword">i5/OS</span> tape drive must
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be varied off in <span class="keyword">i5/OS</span> and
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locked in Linux using
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the <span class="cmdname">ixsdev</span> command. It is important to verify that the
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tape drive is supported for use with Linux integration support. A list of supported
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devices is maintained on the integrated xSeries solutions Web site.</p>
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</dd>
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</dl>
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<dl><dt class="dlterm">Virtual Ethernet</dt>
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<dd><div class="p">Virtual Ethernet LANs run across the iSeries bus and require no physical hardware
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such as LAN adapters, cabling, or hubs and switches. This type of connectivity
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can be used to communicate internally, as follows:<ul><li>Point-to-Point Virtual Ethernet LAN<p>As part of the installation, there
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is a line description and TCP/IP interface automatically created for the Point-to-Point
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Virtual Ethernet LAN. It is used to enable <span class="keyword">i5/OS</span> to
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communicate with Linux to provide administrative control over the Linux server.
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The Point-to-Point Virtual Ethernet LAN is intended to be a secure connection
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that does not get routed to the external network.</p>
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</li>
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<li>Other Virtual Ethernet connections<p>This function allows communication
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internally with other integrated servers or iSeries partitions (<span class="keyword">i5/OS</span>, AIX<sup>®</sup> and
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POWER Linux)
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using 1 Gbps LAN connections. This technology could be used to offload the
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external network or to provide a fast, secure connection to a server or partition.</p>
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</li>
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</ul>
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</div>
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</dd>
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</dl>
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</div>
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<div>
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<div class="familylinks">
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<div class="parentlink"><strong>Parent topic:</strong> <a href="rzau9planinstallkickoff.htm" title="This topic covers planning for the installation of Linux on the Integrated xSeries platform.">Planning the installation</a></div>
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</div>
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</div>
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</body>
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</html>
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