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AIX 5.3 Workload Partitions

Mark McConaughy Workload Partitioner. AIX 5.3 Workload Partitions. AGENDA. The Essentials WPAR Overview AIX 5.3 WPARs Limitations Considerations Advantages References. AIX Workload Partitions (WPAR). What is it?. Top reasons to use WPARs.

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AIX 5.3 Workload Partitions

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  1. Mark McConaughy Workload Partitioner AIX 5.3 Workload Partitions

  2. AGENDA • The Essentials • WPAR Overview • AIX 5.3 WPARs • Limitations • Considerations • Advantages • References

  3. AIX Workload Partitions (WPAR) What is it? Top reasons to use WPARs • Virtualized AIX operating system environments within a single AIX image • Each WPAR shares the single AIX operating system • Applications and users inside a WPAR cannot affect resources outside the WPAR • Each WPAR can have a regulated share of processor, memory and other resources • Two types of WPAR • System WPARs have separate security and appear like a completely separate OS • Application WPARs are manageability wrappers around a single application • WPARs have much lower memory resource requirements: 68 MB vs 1GB for an LPAR • WPAR takes seconds to create and LPARs minutes • Application mobility much simpler to organize than LPM • Lots of WPARs on one AIX is simpler to monitor and control than monitoring across many LPARs. • Rapid cloning is easy and lets you use "disposable images" - simple to create, experiment with and throw away

  4. Workload Partitions Isolation • Network environment • WPAR has separate IP addresses, hostnames, domain names and hostids • To others the WPAR looks like a stand alone system • For applications within a WPAR it appears to be a stand-alone system. • Users may login to the System WPAR using telnet, ssh, rlogin etc. • Process environment • Processes can only see and signal other processes within a WPAR • Processes can only construct IPC mechanisms within a WPAR • Pipes, shared memory, semaphores & message queues • File system space • Non-read-only filesystems are created & WPAR processes are chrooted to these. • Processes see files only in these filesystem within a WPAR • Typically contains a unique copy of /, /var, /tmp, /etc  separate users and groups.

  5. Workload Partitions Environment • Security • WPAR root is less privileged than global root • Configurable privilege profile applied to WPAR • Included as part of AIX Common Criteria certifications • System services • Mail, NFS client, inetd syslog, cron … are executed independently for each WPAR. • Resource Controls • The amount of system memory, CPU and other resources allocated to each WPAR can be set. • WPAR Servicability • Error Logging, Trace, Auditing, Accounting from within a WPAR • WPAR aware statistics and performance tools

  6. AIX 7 Native Environment / usr AIX 5.3 versioned /opt Environment WPAR WPAR WPAR WPAR C D A B / / / / / var / var / var / var /tmp /tmp mksysb /tmp /tmp /home /home backup /home /home / usr / usr from /opt /opt AIX 5.3 5.3 syscall compatibility legacy system AIX 7 native syscalls AIX 7 Kernel POWER7 AIX 5.3 WPARs for AIX 7 • Offering designed to simplify consolidation of AIX 5.3 environments • Minimize effort to consolidate old environments on new, more efficient hardware • Allows clients who must stay on AIX V5.3 to move up to POWER7 • Allows a legacy AIX 5.3 environment to be run inside a WPAR on POWER7 processor-based systems with AIX 7 • Simply back up existing environment and restore inside of an AIX 7 WPAR • Must be at least 5.3 TL12 SP3 • Processes run at full speed – no instruction translation is involved • Includes how-to and limited defect support for the AIX 5.3 operating system running in the WPAR • Does not require legacy extended support • Mobility is supported • Can be managed via IBM Systems Director Workload Partitions Manager • Note: currently no supported migration path back to LPAR or to regular WPAR AIX 5.3 WPARs for AIX 7 is a separately charged product built on AIX 7

  7. 5.3 WPAR Limitations • Performance commands used are the AIX 7 version resulting in some formatting differences • PowerHA SystemMirror (HACMP) and RSCT are not supported within a WPAR • NFS servers are not supported within a WPAR • WorkLoad Manager controls are not supported within a WPAR but the resource usage of the entire WPAR can be controlled • WPARs cannot be created within a WPAR • Only a subset of symbols referenced through /dev/kmem are accessible within a WPAR • WPARs inherit the performance tuning from the hosting LPAR • Kernel performance tuning is not modifiable from within a WPAR • Kernel extensions can only be loaded and unloaded from within the WPAR if the global system administrator permits • If local storage devices are used for the WPAR, jfs file systems are not supported. • JFS file systems from the AIX 5.3 environment will be converted to JFS2 file systems when local storage devices are used for the AIX 5.3 WPAR • Storage adapters cannot be exported to a 5.3 WPAR • Consult with your ISV to determine if they will support this environment • ASO ignores WPAR processes if WPAR resource limits have been applied

  8. Considerations when moving to WPARs • Storage • No storage inside the WPAR • Simplified administration, but less flexible • No Live Application Mobility capability unless NFS is used • SAN Storage inside the WPAR • Export an hdisk from the global (attached to physical FC, virtual FC (NPIV), or vscsi) • Can be rootvg (which enables Live Application Mobility) or data disk(s) • Only J2 file systems supported • Capacity Planning • CPU requirements are roughly the same • Memory requirements for the OS are much smaller (<100MB compared to 1GB) • But memory requirements for the workload itself remain the same • Network bandwidth requirements are the same; keep in mind the sharing • Resource Controls • By default, WPARs will compete fairly for the LPAR resources • Resource controls can be applied to ensure resources available for a given workload, or to take advantage of sub-capacity licensing (ie limit the max number of CPUs)

  9. Moving to 5.3 WPARs • Assuming you are running anything from the unsupported list in your 5.3 LPAR, a “staging LPAR” might be helpful: LPAR 1 LPAR 2 5.3 WPAR AIX 5.3 with … AIX 5.3 with … mksysb, mkwpar - DB2 - NFS Server mksysb - DB2 - HACMP - DB2

  10. Advantages when moving to 5.3 WPARs • Current (Power7) Hardware • Allows decommissioning older hardware to stop paying maintenance cost • Consolidation of work onto fewer systems • WPARs give memory resource savings; approximately 1GB per LPAR for kernel use vs. <100MB per WPAR • Benefit from new hardware features • SMT-4 (An LPAR on P7 can run AIX 5.3 TL12, but only in P6 mode which supports only SMT-2) • Enables faster performance or equivalent performance with less CPU resource (= lower license $) • AIX 7.1 Kernel • Benefit from more current AIX core capabilities • Such as Active Memory Expansion or Active System Optimizer • IBM Support • Provides an alternative to paying for the service extension for AIX 5.3

  11. Additional References • AIX Documentation • http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/aix/v7r1/topic/com.ibm.aix.wpar/wpar-kickoff.htm • Redbooks • Workload Partition Management in IBM AIX Version 6.1 • http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/sg247656.html • AIX Version 7.1 Differences Guide (5.2 WPARs, WPARs and Storage Devs) • http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redpieces/abstracts/sg247910.html?Open • Exploiting IBM AIX Workload Partitions (August 2011: PowerHA and 5.2 WPARs with Scenarios) • http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/sg247955.html?Open • Performance Studies • WebSphere Application Server V7 with POWER Virtualization • ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/software/webservers/appserv/WASV7_PowerVM_1.72.pdf • Running WebSphere MQ server inside workload partition with live application mobility: A performance study on IBM AIX v6.1 and POWER6 Systems • https://www-304.ibm.com/partnerworld/wps/servlet/ContentHandler/whitepaper/aix/v6r1_power/performance • AIX Movies • tinyurl.com/AIXmovies

  12. Backup

  13. LPAR LPAR LPAR LPAR DB2 SAP Apache AIX 6 AIX 5 Linux i PowerVM LPARs and Workload Partitions • LPAR • Logical Partitions • Multiple separate OS instances in a server • Power Systems hardware feature • WPAR • Workload Partitions • Multiple workloads inside a single AIX • AIX 6 feature DB2 WPAR WebSphere WPAR PowerVM Virtualization Power Systems Hardware

  14. AIX Live Application Mobility Move a running Workload Partition from one server to another for outage avoidance and multi-system workload balancing AIX # 1 AIX # 2 Workload Partition e-mail Workload Partition App Server Workload Partition QA Workload Partition Dev Workload Partition Data Mining Workload Partition Billing Workload Partition Web Policy Workload Partitions Manager for AIX Shared NFS or SAN Storage Works on any hardware supported by AIX 6 or 7, including POWER5

  15. FibreChannel disk configuration LPAR 1 LPAR 2 LPAR 1 LPAR 1 LPAR 2 LPAR 2 WPAR A NPIV FibreChannel Configuration WPAR A WPAR A Virtual SCSI disk configuration hdisk0 hdisk0 hdisk0 hdisk0 hdisk0 hdisk0 hdisk0 hdisk0 hdisk0 vscsi0 vscsi1 fcs0 fcs0 fcs0 (NPIV) fcs0 (NPIV) vhost0 vhost1 vfchost0 vtscsi0 vtscsi1 Virtual I/O Server Virtual I/O Server fcs0 hdisk0 vfchost1 fcs0 Virtual I/O Server Storage Area Network Storage Area Network Storage Subsystem LUN Storage Subsystem LUN Storage Area Network FibreChannel, Virtual SCSI, NPIV FibreChannel Support for WPARs- as of AIX 6.1 TL6 and AIX 7.1- AIX native MPIO multipathing supported - see manage_disk_drivers command and select “AIX_A*PCM”- J2 and LVM supported Storage Subsystem LUN

  16. NPIV FibreChannel adapter configuration FibreChannel adapter configuration LPAR 1 WPAR A LPAR 1 WPAR A hdisk0 hdisk0 fcs0 fcs1 fcs0 fcs1 fcs0 (NPIV) fcs1 (NPIV) fcs0 fcs1 vfchost0 vfchost1 Virtual I/O Server Virtual I/O Server fcs0 fcs1 Storage Area Network Storage Area Network Storage Subsystem LUN Storage Subsystem LUN Adapter support Inside a WPAR- AIX 7.1 only (not AIX 5.2 or 5.3 WPARs)- not yet supported by WPAR Manager- not yet supported for Live Application Mobility

  17. Additional File System Support in WPARs- J2/LVM supported on storage inside the WPAR- other file systems can be namefs-mounted into the WPAR LPAR rootvg Rootvg WPAR WPAR File Systems: / /var /tmp /home rootvg GPFS /usr /opt datavg /gpfs /data VxFS /vxfs

  18. Kernel Extension Considerations (AIX 7.1 only) • Allowing WPAR administrator to load a kernel extension breaks isolation • One option is to require any extensions to be loaded from the global (WPAR processes will have access) • Second option is to allow the WPAR to load an extension, but with proper controls • Basic Mechanism • From the Global • mkwpar or chwpar -X is used to specify a specific extension the given WPAR is allowed to load, and whether it is to be loaded globally or locally • Global load means all WPARs and the global can utilize this same extension • Local means only this WPAR will have access (and it could be a different version than one that is loaded globally) • From the WPAR • Load the extension as normal – only allowed if the extension has the same signature as what was specified from the global • Mobility Implications (AIX 7.1 TL1 only) • Extension must be loaded at the destination before the processes are started • Infrastructure is provided via a script that is run prior to start of the processes

  19. Targets Targets Resource Controls AIX WPAR Resource Controls • All processes in the WPAR are automatically classified in the same class as the WPAR name • Controls are specified via mkwpar, chwpar CLIs or WPAR Manager • Controls are via shares and limits • Shares are specified as a number 1 – 65,535 • Limits are specified as percentages • min%-soft_max%,hard_max% • min=0% means no minimum • max=100% means no maximum limit • Examples: • shares_CPU=10 CPU=5%-10%,20% • shares_memory=5 memory=20%-30%,100% • An alternative to WLM resource controls for WPARs is the use of RSETs • Define the RSET in the global • Define the wpar to be constrained to that RSET • Higher performance for most workloads • Requires careful administration in a dynamic LPAR

  20. The Flexibility of "Shares" Resource entitlements are expressed as shares Shares indicate relative entitlement • Used to calculate target percentage of a resource for a class • Target is dynamic: based on active shares and available resources in each tier • Share values range from 1 to 65,535 Targets Targets

  21. Shares Example Targets are Desired Percentage Targets Targets are calculated by dividing the given number of shares by the total active shares. Blue Class target = 12/(12+5+16+3) = 33%

  22. Shares Example Targets Adjust Automatically! Targets Targets are recalculated when classes becomes active/inactive. Blue Class target now = 12/(12+16+3) = 39%

  23. CPU Time Memory 0 20 40 60 80 100 minimum target range softmax hardmax Limits Reserve and Restrict Resources Limits Keep Jobs In Their Place! Limits Resource limits are expressed as percentages • The minimum limits reserve resources • The maximum limits restrict resources • Used as an upper/lower bound for target calculation

  24. Go Green & Save Manage Growth, Complexity & Risk Realize Innovation IBM PowerVM Workload Partitions Manager for AIX How can it help? What is it? • Can make it easier to consolidate workloads from underutilized servers by providing a single point of management for all WPARs and enablement for Live Application Mobility • A product that federates management of WPARs across multiple systems • WPARs can be created, cloned, stopped, started and monitored from a single location • Enablement for AIX Live Application Mobility • A member of the IBM Systems Director family of products to provide a common operational methodology • The WPAR Manager™ is available separately from AIX • Can reduce cost and complexity through centralized management of WPARs across multiple systems • Enables increased flexibility by allowing administrators to quickly create, clone or delete Workload Partitions from one system to another • Supports POWER4, POWER5 and POWER6 based systems • Policy based relocation and federated management of WPARs provides new ways to manage your IT infrastructure

  25. vwpar WPAR Billing WPAR Application Server JFS2 5.3 TL12sp5 WPAR Web Server WPAR BI AIX7 instance Steps to Moving to the Versioned WPAR Environment mksysb On the original 5.3 system: • mksysb and copy the image to the AIX 7.1 system On the Power 7/AIX 7.1 system • Install Versioned WPAR Package • mkwpar –c –B mksysb-file –n wpar-name –D hdisk11 rootvg=yes –D hdisk 12 –D hdisk13 (hdisk12 and 13 are data volumes in this example) • startwpar wpar-name • Make any other data (volume groups) from 5.3 system available, and start the workload (varyon hdisk12 and 13 in this example)

  26. Create Versioned WPARs via WPAR Manager Location of the mksysb then click Load . One new step Select the mksysb file Otherwise the same as other WPARs …

  27. Workload Partitions – Packaging • Base WPAR comes with AIX 6 / AIX 7 • Basic WPAR functions • AIX command line access only • No Live Application Mobility • PowerVM Workload Partition (WPAR) Manager • FC 5765-G83 • Systems Director plug-in • 60 day trial then buy a licence • Includes Live Application Mobility (Relocation) • Version 2.2.1 (10th Sept 2010) understands the below • AIX 5.2 Workload Partitions for AIX 7 • FC 5765-H38 • Extra product/LPP at a cost • AIX 5.2 media is not provided & not available • AIX 5.2 TL10 SP8 Update is on Fix-Central = 1.6 GB • Supported on AIX 7 & POWER7 only 4. AIX 5.3 Workload Partitions for AIX 7 • FC 5765-WP7 • Extra product/LPP at a cost • AIX 5.3 media is not provided & not available • Supported on AIX 7 & POWER7 only

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