Using Integrity VM Storage

The VM Host administrator role is an individual responsible for the proper configuration and maintenance of the VM Host for running virtual machines. As such, this person needs complete access to the VM Host to install hardware and software. This person also needs to understand how to do HP-UX system maintenance, how to configure hardware properly, and how to set up and use various software applications and tools.

The VM Host administrator uses the following commands to manage virtual machine storage devices:

Once a resource is added or attached to a virtual machine and the virtual machine is powered on, the storage resource is owned by the guest administrator. That is, the guest OS may access that storage resource at any time. A deletion, detachment or modification fails if any guest I/O is active on the resource. Dynamic storage changes on an active virtual machine must be approved by the guest administrator.

The VM Guest Administrator is responsible for the proper maintenance of a guest OS. As such, this person needs access to the virtual console by the VM Host administrator to control the virtual machine. The guest administrator must understand how to maintain the guest OS, install patches and applications, and set up security for the guest users of the guest OS. Additionally, Integrity VM storage requires you to:

The guest administrator uses the virtual console to modify virtual storage. The virtual console is used to change discs of a virtual DVD device type. All modifications are bounded by what the VM Host administrator configures for the virtual machine.

The virtual console commands are available from the vMP Main Menu, using the hpvmconsole command or by pressing Ctrl/B if you are already connected . The virtual console commands eject (ej) and insert (in) allow you to control the DVD device. Both commands provide submenus for displaying devices that are removable. Selecting options through the submenus completes the ejection/insertion process.

The guest user runs applications on a guest OS. Access is provided and limited by the guest administrator. There are no Integrity VM storage requirements for application users of the guest OS.

There are no Integrity VM storage commands for application users in the guest OS. The guest users use Integrity VM storage on the guest OS the same way as they normally use storage on an HP Integrity server. Any required Integrity VM storage changes must be directed to the guest administrator or VM Host administrator.

A VM Host administrator adds or attaches Integrity VM storage using the hpvmstatus and hpvmmodify commands. Virtual storage devices can be added or attached while the virtual machine is powered on or off. A new virtual storage adapter can be added only when the virtual machine is off. The virtual storage adapter can have up to 30 VIO storage devices or up to 128 AVIO devices total (the number of virtual and attached devices.)

The process to add or attach a virtual storage device to a guest is as follows:

The resource statement for adding an Integrity VM storage device does not require virtual hardware addressing. If the PCI bus, slot and SCSI target numbers are not specified, Integrity VM automatically chooses the first position available for the device. For example:

To add an AVIO storage device with whole disk as the backing store, specify the following:

	NOTE: You can achieve higher guests performance for HP-UX 11i v3 guests by configuring as many AVIO storage adapters as the number of virtual CPUs in the guest. The pcibus, pcislog, and scistgt portions need to be explicitly specified for each device. For example, a resource statement for a 4–vCPU guest takes the following form: -a disk:avio_stor:1,0,0:disk:/dev/rdisk/disk1 -a disk:avio_stor:1,1,0:disk:/dev/rdisk/disk2 -a disk:avio_stor:1,2,0:disk:/dev/rdisk/disk3 -a disk:avio_stor:1,4,0:disk:/dev/rdisk/disk4

A VM Host administrator deletes or detaches Integrity VM storage using the hpvmstatus and hpvmmodify commands. Integrity VM storage devices can be deleted or detached while the virtual machine is powered on or off. An Integrity VM storage adapter can only be removed when the virtual machine is off. The Integrity VM storage adapter is automatically removed when the last Integrity VM storage device connected to the adapter is removed.

The process to delete or detach a virtual storage device from a virtual machine is as follows:

The resource statement for deleting an Integrity VM storage device does not require virtual hardware addressing. For example:

To delete an AVIO storage device, specify the following:

The VM Host administrator or the guest administrator can modify an Integrity VM storage device. The VM Host administrator can use the hpvmstatus and hpvmmodify commands to change the virtual media of virtual devices. The guest administrator uses the virtual console to change the virtual media of virtual DVDs. All attached devices are modified using physical VM Host access.

When the VM Host administrator uses the hpvmstatus and hpvmmodify commands to modify the virtual media of a virtual device, the operation is seen by the guest OS as a whole-disk replacement or a DVD removable media event, depending on the device type.

The process for modifying the virtual media of a virtual device is as follows:

The resource statement for modifying a virtual device requires virtual hardware addressing (see Section ). For example:

To complete a DVD ejection and insertion, follow the virtual console menus. However, new media selections might require the help of the VM Host administrator. Changes through the virtual console are not saved across guest OS reboots

If the VM Host administrator sets up a Virtual DVD for the virtual machine, the virtual console eject and insert command unlock and lock the physical VM Host CD/DVD drive. The eject command changes the Virtual DVD into a Virtual NullDVD in the VM, unlocking the VM Host CD/DVD drive in the process. The physical media in the VM Host CD/DVD drive can then be changed by the VM Host administrator or the guest administrator if access is permitted. Once the media has been changed, the insert command can be used to change the Virtual NullDVD back into a Virtual DVD, locking the VM Host CD/DVD drive and making the newly loaded media now accessible by the virtual machine. For example:

After inserting a new disk on the VM Host CD/DVD drive, enter the following:

To modify an existing AVIO storage backing store, specify the following:

In this command, avio_stor indicates the “from” adapter and the “bus,dev” specification indicates the bus and device list of storage targets to convert.

To modify an existing SCSI storage device to be an AVIO storage device, specify the following:

	NOTE: Only HP-UX guests can use AVIO, and the backing store can be only file, disk or volume. There is no attached AVIO device support, and guests can be only disk or DVD.

This command string modifies an existing SCSI device adapter with some number of device targets to use the AVIO device adapter. The command has the following restrictions:

Prior to running the hpvmmodify command shown previously, devices unsupported by AVIO need to be moved to a new HBA, using the hpvmmodify delete and add operations.

	NOTE: Guest operating systems, applications, or configuration files sensitive to device names or hardware paths need to be repaired after the move. Because HP-UX 11i v3 supports the agile device naming model, 11i v3 guest applications using agile device names are not affected as long as they are configured with disk backing stores. HP recommends the use of agile device names for guest configurations to avoid problems when VM Hosts are reconfigured.

If the VM Host administrator sets up a Virtual FileDVD for the virtual machine, the virtual console options to eject and insert are used to select among the ISO files provided in the file directory for the Virtual FileDVD. The eject command changes the Virtual FileDVD into a Virtual NullDVD device. ISO files can be added to or removed from the file system directory for the Virtual FileDVD by the VM Host administrator. Once this ISO file directory is updated, use an insert command to view all the newly available ISO files in the directory and to choose one to be used for a new Virtual FileDVD. It is not necessary to change the file directory between each eject and insert operation. The guest administrator can change the ISO files provided in the file directory without any VM Host administrator interaction. For example:

For attached devices, modifications are made physically on the device. The guest OS supplies commands for loading and unloading tapes using media changers. But loading new media into the media changer, changing tapes in standalone drives, and changing discs with CD/DVD burners are accomplished manually. This process requires cooperation between the VM Host administrator and the guest administrator.