This topic is an overview of the i5/OS™ operations.
There are some operational tasks that must be performed from Linux®, and others from i5/OS. This information describes how to operate an integrated Linux server from the i5/OS side.
You can operate the integrated Linux server from i5/OS using either iSeries™ Navigator or by entering CL commands on the i5/OS command line.
When an integrated Linux server is installed on iSeries, the following objects are created:
This is the main configuration object of an integrated server that i5/OS uses to control the server and describe its attributes. Each integrated Linux server instance has a corresponding NWSD.
The NWSD contains the hardware resource name (LINxx) that points the Linux server instance to a physical Integrated xSeries Server or Integrated xSeries Adapter. All other i5/OS objects needed to run a Linux server are linked to, and controlled by, the NWSD. The NWSD provides independence between instances of Linux and the Intel-compatible hardware that they run on (Integrated xSeries Server and Integrated xSeries Adapter). This unique architecture enables some powerful functions, such as the ability to:
Each integrated server or network server description represents a Linux or Windows® server instance, not an Integrated xSeries Server or Integrated xSeries Adapter.
Each server instance has a corresponding network server description (NWSD) and vice versa. You can create multiple instances of Linux or Windows on one Integrated xSeries Server or Integrated xSeries Adapter, although only one instance can be active at a time. In other words, iSeries integration for Linux and Windows separates the hardware from the Linux and Windows instances that were created to run on that hardware. This is a unique feature of the iSeries Windows and Linux integration architecture, and provides major benefits in terms of availability and hardware utilization.
When performing operations on integrated Linux servers using iSeries Navigator, it is usually addressed in terms of servers. When using CL commands through the i5/OS command line it is usually addressed in terms of network server descriptions or NWSDs.
Storage spaces are chunks of iSeries disk storage that are created in an i5/OS auxiliary storage pool (ASP) and reserved for Linux or Windows. Because storage spaces are virtual disk drives created from i5/OS single-level storage, each storage space is scattered across all the physical disk drives in the ASP. They can reside in the system ASP, a user ASP, or an independent ASP (IASP), and appear as objects in the /QFPNWSSTG IFS directory.
From an i5/OS perspective, this portion of iSeries disk storage is called a network server storage space, or storage space for short. From the Linux (or Windows) perspective, this portion of iSeries disk storage is seen as a physical disk drive. In fact these drives are completely virtual, so we often refer to storage spaces and disk drives as virtual drives or simply drives. When we are discussing integrated Linux servers we use these terms interchangeably. Each disk drive icon or storage space represents a Linux or Windows (virtual) disk drive.
To associate a storage space with a particular NWSD we link it.
The installation process automatically creates two storage spaces, called the system drive and installation drive, and links them to the NWSD. You can create more storage spaces for your server and link them to the NWSD after the installation has completed. Linux sees them as additional drives.
The administration of a Linux server’s disk storage has both an i5/OS component and a Linux component. On the i5/OS side we create and link the storage space to the Linux server. On the Linux side we perform disk administration tasks such as partition management and formatting. These tasks are performed in exactly the same way on an integrated Linux server as they are on a standalone Linux server.
i5/OS storage management relieves Linux of the responsibility for providing physical device support. Therefore, common disk administration issues encountered in standalone Linux servers, such as disk drivers, addressing, configuration, and protection, are eliminated when you use integrated Linux servers.
Indented under each NWSD is a communications line description that ends in PP. This line description, known as the Point-to-Point Virtual Ethernet line, is automatically configured when the integrated server is created. This communications line provides a virtual 1 Gbps Ethernet connection between the integrated server and its hosting i5/OS partition, and enables the server to exchange information with i5/OS. You need a separate line description for each Virtual Ethernet connection you set up between an integrated Linux server and other integrated servers or iSeries logical partitions.
A TCP/IP interface is created specifically for the Point-to-Point Virtual Ethernet LAN line. By default, it has an address of the form 192.168.x.y, where x and y are automatically generated, and a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0. You can change the TCP/IP interface of Point-to-Point Virtual Ethernet LAN line after the server has been created. This interface should be an IP address and subnet that are not being used in your network. The Linux server has a corresponding TCP/IP address (192.168.x.y+1) configured on its end of the Point-to-Point Virtual Ethernet LAN.