AIX VIO Server – Essential Commands for Disk, Network, and FCP Configuration

Managing IBM Power Systems with Virtual I/O Servers (VIOS)involves a variety of tasks such as mapping disks, configuring Fibre Channeladapters, setting up Shared Ethernet Adapters (SEA), and managing IP networks.Below is a practical one-page guide covering key VIOS administrative commandsand how to use them effectively.

1. Identifying Free Physical Volumes

Before mapping disks to client LPARs, check for availablephysical volumes using:

lspv -free
lspv -free | grep vpath   # ForvSCSI/vPath devices

2. Assigning Disks to Virtual Hosts

a. Assign full disk without a custom name:

mkvdev -vdev hdisk3 -vadapter vhost0

b. Assign with a user-defined device name:

mkvdev -vdev hdisk22 -dev vthdisk22_barney -vadaptervhost1

3. FCP Adapter Configuration

a. List all FC physical adapters:

lsnports

b. Show all NPIV mappings:

lsmap -all -npiv

c. Map a virtual FC adapter to a physical port:

vfcmap -vadapter vfchost0 -fcp fcs1

4. Shared Ethernet Adapter (SEA) Setup

a. Basic SEA creation:

mkvdev -sea <PHYS> -vadapter <VIRT>-default <VIRT> -defaultid <VLAN>

b. High Availability SEA:

mkvdev -sea ent2 -vadapter ent11 -default ent11-defaultid 20 -attr ha_mode=auto ctl_chan=ent13

5. Checking Network Link Status

netstat -cdlistats | grep -Ei "\(ent|media|linkstatus"

6. IP Configuration on VIO Server

a. Assign a static IP:

mktcpip -hostname viotipl \
       -inetaddr 10.110.101.246 \
       -interface en0 -start \
       -netmask 255.255.255.0 \
       -gateway 10.110.101.1

b. Remove IP configuration:

rmtcpip -interface en0

Conclusion

These commands form the backbone of daily VIOadministration. Whether you're mapping storage or configuring resilient networkconnectivity, mastering these tools helps maintain a robust and scalable IBMPower environment.

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