IBM

Simplified Remote Restart

Document Author : Hari G M

© Copyright IBM Corporation 2016. All rights reserved.

02/23/2016 Page 1 of 28

IBM

Table of Contents1 Introduction...............................................................................................................................3

1.1 What is Partition Remote Restart.....................................................................................31.2 Remote Restart Configuration Setup................................................................................51.3 Simplified Remote Restart................................................................................................61.4 Code Level Requirements................................................................................................61.5 Simplified Remote Restart Configuration Setup...............................................................7

2 Creating a Simplified Remote Restart Partition.......................................................................82.1 System Level Capability for Simplified Remote Restart...................................................82.2 Creating a Simplified Remote Restart Partition using HMC Classic GUI.......................102.3 Creating a Simplified Remote Restart Partition using HMC CLI....................................102.4 Creating a Simplified Remote Restart Partition using Rest API.....................................112.5 Toggling Simplified Remote Restart Capability..............................................................112.6 Viewing/Listing the Simplified Remote Restart Capability..............................................11

3 Remote Restart Operations...................................................................................................133.1 Remote Restart Validation..............................................................................................133.2 Remote Restart...............................................................................................................13

3.2.1 Remote Restart of a Suspended Partition...............................................................133.2.2 Remote Restart with latest available configuration.................................................13

3.3 Remote Restart Abort.....................................................................................................143.4 Remote Restart Recover................................................................................................143.5 Source Server Cleanup..................................................................................................14

3.5.1 Cleanup of a partition in suspended state...............................................................153.6 Remote Restart Rest API...............................................................................................153.7 Error Codes of Remote Restart Commands..................................................................17

4 Re-synchronizing the persisted configuration information ....................................................194.1 refdev command.............................................................................................................194.2 refdev using rest api.......................................................................................................20

5 Important Remote Restart Notes...........................................................................................225.1 Partition Activation .........................................................................................................225.2 Server Configuration Notes............................................................................................225.3 Partition Configuration Notes..........................................................................................225.4 Limitation Notes..............................................................................................................22

6 References.............................................................................................................................237 Appendix................................................................................................................................24

7.1 Remote Restart States...................................................................................................247.2 Remote Restart Feature/Support Matrix.........................................................................267.3Sample script for triggering remote restart......................................................................27

02/23/2016 Page 2 of 28

IBM

1 Introduction

This document describes usage of the PowerVM feature called Simplified Remote Restart. It is intended as a user's guide describing configuration and usage of the Simplified Remote Restart function.

It is expected that the reader is comfortable with PowerVM and partition management in general and specifically comfortable with using the IBM Hardware Management Console (HMC) for PowerVM management as well as the HMC SSH interface (also known as the remote command interface).

The sections that follow provide a description of the setup required for performing simplified remote restart, how to create and deploy a remote restart partition and how to use the remote restart functionality. There is also an overview of the existing remote restart function & user model to highlight the advantages of simplified remote restart function.

1.1 What is Partition Remote Restart

Remote restart is a high availability option for partitions. In the event of an error that causes a server outage, a partition configured for remote restart can be restarted on a different physical server. At times, it might take longer to to bring up the server , in which case remote restart function can be used for faster re-provisioning of the partition. Typically this can be done faster than restarting the server that crashed and then restarting the partition(s).

The Remote Restart function relies on technology similar to Partition Mobility whereby a partition is configured with storage on a SAN that is shared (accessible) by the server which will host the partition.

Some important notes on the Remote Restart function:

• Remote Restart is not a suspend/resume or migration of the partition that preserves the active running state of the partition. It is more like a shutdown and restart of the partition (restarted on a different system).

• Remote Restart does preserve the partition's resource configuration. That is, if processors, memory or I/O are added or removed while the partition is running, the Remote Restart will activate the partition to the most recent configuration.

• Many times a Remote Restart is used when a server crashes. In this event it is evident that the partition's run-time state is lost on the original server. It is

02/23/2016 Page 3 of 28

IBM

also possible to perform a remote restart in the event of a hang condition of a server. In these cases, the run-time state of the partition on the original server is still lost or invalidated to prevent the partition from running on more than one server.

• In fact, the reserved storage device records the owning server so the partition cannot be re-activated on the original server (after it reboots) if the partition has been Restarted on another server.

Here is our typical user model for Remote Restart:

• HMC (V8R8.1.0)• User can create partition with remote restart capability on a server. • User can assign a reserved storage device to remote restart partition which

is accessible from another server. • User activates the partition and the current configuration is automatically

written to the reserved storage device by the server firmware.• The data in the reserved storage device is also updated automatically by

the firmware for any configuration change.• HMC collects the partition's resource configuration and writes to the

reserved storage device which will be used to restore the partition's configuration during remote restart.

• User performs remote restart and clean up operations

One of the major disadvantage of the above user model is that a reserved storage device has to be attached to each partition. User has to manage a reserved storage device pool on source & target systems , keep track of device assigned to each partition which makes setting up the environment complex. Simplified remote restart addresses this pain point.

02/23/2016 Page 4 of 28

IBM

1.2 Remote Restart Configuration Setup

For a remote restart partition, the partition configuration data is stored in a reservedstorage device associated with the partition. The reserved storage device must be accessible from both the source server and any/all destination servers for the partition to be remote restarted in the event that the source server fails.

02/23/2016 Page 5 of 28

IBM

1.3 Simplified Remote Restart

Simplified Remote Restart, as the name suggests, reduces the complexity and improves the usability of the remote restart function. Simplified Remote Restart removes the requirement of a reserved storage to be assigned to each partition, there-by making the user model or setting up the environment simpler.

Here is the typical user model for simplified remote restart

• User Creates a partition with simplified remote restart capability on a capable server. Lets call this the source server.

◦ User can enable/disable the capability anytime after creating the partition. Toggle of the capability is supported only when the partition is inactive.

• User assigns resources to the partition. The resource restrictions are similar to LPM i.e., no dedicated IO, no HEA/HCA, no opticonnect, no server adapter in IBM I Partition etc

• Storage attached to the partition through Virtual IO should be accessible from another server (similar to LPM). Lets call this the destination server.

• When user activates the partition, current configuration of the partition along with partition state data is collected and persisted on the HMC automatically.

• The data persisted on the HMC is updated automatically for any configuration change.

• When source server crashes, user initiates the remote restart operation to restartthe partition on destination server.

• Once the source server is back to operating state, user executes a command to cleanup the partition which is now restarted on a new (destination) server.

1.4 Code Level Requirements

The following code levels are required to use simplified remote restart

• HMC V8 R8.2.0 or later

• System Firmware 820 or later

• VIOS level of 2.2.3.4 or later

• Simplified Remote Restart for partitions using Shared Storage Pool (SSP) Storage is supported with HMC level V8 R8.4.0 & VIOS level of 2.2.4.0 or later.

02/23/2016 Page 6 of 28

IBM

1.5 Simplified Remote Restart Configuration Setup

For a simplified remote restart capable partition, configuration data is stored on the HMC. Each HMC managing the server persists its own copy of the configuration information. Any storage used by the partition must be through Virtual SCSI or Virtual Fibre Channel Storage accessible from both the source and destination servers. In general the configuration requirements/restrictions are similar to that of LPM.

02/23/2016 Page 7 of 28

IBM

2 Creating a Simplified Remote Restart Partition

User can set a partition to be simplified remote restartable is during its creation or thereafter. Toggle of the simplified remote restart capability is supported only when the partition is inactive.

Partitions can be created using both the Graphical User Interface (GUI) or the command line or Rest API.

There are several restrictions for a simplified remote restart partition similar to partition mobility

The partition:

a. can not be a full system partition b. can not be a VIOS partition c. can not be a Service Partition d. can not be an alternate error logging partition e. can not have BSR f. can not have Huge Pages (applicable only if AMS enabled) g. can not be part of eWLM group h. can not have physical I/O assigned i. can not have HEA/HCA/SMA/SRIOV adapters assigned j. can not have Server SCSI adapterk. can not have a client SCSI adapter hosted by a non-vios partition

In most cases, the HMC prevents the user from improperly configuring a Simplified Remote Restart capable partition. These checks are repeated at partition activation to ensure we do not activate a Simplified Remote Restart partition with an incompatible configuration.

2.1 System Level Capability for Simplified Remote Restart

System level capability for simplified remote restart can be viewed via GUI, CLI or Rest API.

From CLI, system level capability is displayed using the lssyscfg command

lssyscfg -r sys -m system115a

…. powervm_lpar_simplified_remote_restart_capable=1

02/23/2016 Page 8 of 28

IBM

The capability can also be listed by

lssyscfg -r sys -m system115a -Fcapabilities

,powervm_lpar_simplified_remote_restart_capable,The Capabilities tab in the system properties panel displays the capability in the GUI.

Using the Rest API, GET of ManagedSystem can be used to view the simplified remote restart capability. It will be listed under SystemCapabilites as PowerVMLogicalPartitionSimplifiedRemoteRestartCapable

02/23/2016 Page 9 of 28

IBM

2.2 Creating a Simplified Remote Restart Partition using HMC Classic GUI

When creating a simplified remote restart partition from the classic GUI, check the appropriate box on the very first screen of the partition creation wizard. Refer to thepanel shot below.

Continue on with the rest of the partition creation wizard. As noted above, some functions are not be available for a simplified remote restart capable partition.

2.3 Creating a Simplified Remote Restart Partition using HMC CLI

When creating a partition from the command line interface, add the

02/23/2016 Page 10 of 28

IBM

“simplified_remote_restart_capable” attribute and set it to the value 1 to enable simplified remote restart for the partition. For example:

mksyscfg -r lpar -m system115a -i "name=example_rr, profile_name=profile1, lpar_env=aixlinux, min_mem=256, desired_mem=1024, max_mem=1024, proc_mode=ded, min_procs=1, desired_procs=1, max_procs=2, sharing_mode=share_idle_procs, ..., simplified_remote_restart_capable=1"

2.4 Creating a Simplified Remote Restart Partition using Rest API

When creating a partition using the Rest API , as part of PUT of LogicalPartition, specify SimplifiedRemoteRestartCapable as true.

2.5 Toggling Simplified Remote Restart Capability

Simplified remote restart capability can be toggled using Command Line Interface(CLI) or Rest API. The capability can be changed only when the partition is inactive.

For toggling using CLI, chsyscfg can be used and attribute “simplified_remote_restart_capable” has to specified with value 1 or 0, to enable/disable the capability respectively.

chsyscfg -r lpar -m system115a -i “name=example_rr,simplified_remote_restart_capable=1”

For toggling using Rest API, POST operation can be done on the LogicalPartition with the desired/appropriate value for SimplifiedRemoteRestartCapable.

2.6 Viewing/Listing the Simplified Remote Restart Capability

In the command line interface the remote restart capability is displayed using lssyscfg command:

lssyscfg -r lpar -m system115a

name=example_rr,...simplified_remote_restart_capable=1

In the Rest API, SimplifiedRemoteRestartCapable will be displayed when a GET ofLogicalPartition is performed.

The simplified remote restart capability is displayed on the General tab of the

02/23/2016 Page 11 of 28

IBM

partition's properties when viewed from HMC classic GUI. Enhanced UI support will be provided later. Toggle of the simplified remote restart capability is not supported through the GUI currently.

02/23/2016 Page 12 of 28

IBM

3 Remote Restart Operations

Remote Restart operation is supported via the CLI or the Rest API.

3.1 Remote Restart Validation

The rrstartlpar command is used to validate that the destination server is properly configured and has the available resources to support a remote restart of the specified partition. This test only reflects the current state of the destination server. Subsequent changes to the server configuration could change its ability to support the Remote Restart for that partition.

rrstartlpar -o validate -m <source server> -t <destination server> -p <lpar name> | --id <lpar id>

3.2 Remote Restart

The rrstartlpar command is also used to remote restart a partition when the source server has failed. A validation is also performed as part of the restart operation.

rrstartlpar -o restart -m <source server> -t <destination server> -p <lpar name> | --id <lpar id>

3.2.1 Remote Restart of a Suspended Partition

It is to be noted that even though the partition is in suspended state on source server, when the partition is powered on during a remote restart, the suspended state will be lost and hence force option has to be used to remote restart the partition which is in suspended state on source server.

rrstartlpar -o restart -m <source server> -t <destination server> -p <lpar name> | --id <lpar id> --force

3.2.2 Remote Restart with latest available configuration

If the persisted configuration data is not in sync with the current configuration of the partitions (due to some failures in collecting/storing information), the remote restart status of the partition will be set to Local Storage Update Failed (Refer to section 7.1 for details on differentremote restart states). Remote Restart operation cannot be performed in this scenario. However user can force the remote restart to be performed with the available information using the usecurrdata option. If usecurrdata option is used, HMC will perform remote restart

02/23/2016 Page 13 of 28

IBM

with the current persisted information and hence current configuration on source system might not get reflected as is on the destination system.

rrstartlpar -o restart -m <source server> -t <destination server> -p <lpar name> | --id <lpar id> --usecurrdata

3.3 Remote Restart Abort

A remote restart operation can be cancelled/aborted by using the rrstartlpar command. The remote restart operation of a simplified remote restart can be abortedanytime before the no return point (the remote restart status of the partition will be set to Destination Remote Restarted, (Refer to section 7.1 for details on different remoterestart states) if the no return point is reached).

rrstartlpar -o cancel -m <source server> -t <destination server> -p <lpar name> | --id <lpar id>

3.4 Remote Restart Recover

In case a remote restart operation fails, HMC will try to auto recover as much as possible. If auto recover also fails, an appropriate message will be shown to the user.The failed remote restart can be recovered by using the rrstartlpar command. Referto section 3.7 for different error codes of remote restart command.

rrstartlpar -o recover -m <source server> -t <destination server> -p <lpar name>| --id <lpar id> [--force]

3.5 Source Server Cleanup

After a remote restart has completed successfully, the user must manually remove the original partition from the failed source server. The following command is used to cleanup that original partition. The source server must be restored to its a running state for the cleanup operation to complete successfully, including:

• the source server in the “Powered On” state and• all Virtual IO Server (VIOS) partitions which were hosting the virtual adapters

should be in “Running” state and• the RMC connections to those VIOS partitions must should be established.

• rrstartlpar -o cleanup -m <source server> -p <lpar name> | --id <lpar id>

Source server Forced Clean-up

02/23/2016 Page 14 of 28

IBM

In some cases, a server cannot easily be restored to the original running configuration. In these cases it may be necessary to clean-up the source server in smaller steps. The remoteRestartLpar command can be used to force the cleanup of the partition on the source server. Forced cleanup performs as much cleanup as possible.

rrstartlpar -o cleanup -m <source server> -p <lpar name> | --id <lpar id> --force

In general, the goal of the clean-up operation is removal of the original partition and its associated virtual resources. The clean-up operation attempts to suppress error messages if the partition is deleted successfully.

Any error output that is generated by a force cleanup operation can be ignored as long as the partition is deleted. If the partition is not deleted at the end of a cleanupoperation, then the errors should be checked and corrective actions taken as appropriate.

If the cleanup operation was performed with force option and partition is deleted successfully, there might be adapter mappings not cleaned up on VIOS partitions & User might have to clean up the mappings manually.

3.5.1 Cleanup of a partition in suspended state

If the partition to be cleaned up is in suspended state, the clean-up operation internally forces the suspended partition to shutdown (“Not Activated“ state).

If the forced shutdown fails, an error is returned to stdout and corrective actions might be needed before the cleanup can be tried again.

3.6 Remote Restart Rest API

Remote Restart through Rest API is performed using a Rest Job. Logical Partition remoterestart Job is used to perform the remote restart operations on the logical partition. The user can perform validate, recover, restart, cleanup and cancel operations using this job.

The following is the URI which is used to perform remote restart.

https://<hmc ip>:12443/rest/api/uom/LogicalPartition/{LogicalPartition_UUID}/do/RemoteRestart

Possible Job Parameters :

02/23/2016 Page 15 of 28

IBM

OperationtargetManagedSystemUUIDtargetManagedSystemRedundancyVerbosevlanbridgeforceusecurrdataretaindev

Sample Job Request:

<JobRequest:JobRequest xmlns:JobRequest="http://www.ibm.com/xmlns/systems/power/firmware/web/mc/2012_10/" xmlns="http://www.ibm.com/xmlns/systems/power/firmware/web/mc/2012_10/" xmlns:ns2="http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace/k2" schemaVersion="V1_1_0"><Metadata><Atom/></Metadata><RequestedOperation kb="CUR" kxe="false" schemaVersion="V1_1_0"><Metadata><Atom/></Metadata><OperationName kb="ROR" kxe="false">RemoteRestart</OperationName><GroupName kb="ROR" kxe="false">LogicalPartition</GroupName></RequestedOperation><JobParameters kb="CUR" kxe="false" schemaVersion="V1_1_0"><Metadata><Atom/></Metadata><JobParameter schemaVersion="V1_0"><Metadata><Atom/></Metadata><ParameterName kb="ROR" kxe="false">targetManagedSystem</ParameterName><ParameterValue kxe="false" kb="CUR">HV4-221</ParameterValue></JobParameter><JobParameter schemaVersion="V1_0"><Metadata><Atom/></Metadata><ParameterName kb="ROR" kxe="false">targetManagedSystemUUID</

02/23/2016 Page 16 of 28

IBM

ParameterName><ParameterValue kxe="false"kb="CUR">b73f1565-0ae4-3070-8eac-58f35a81e898</ParameterValue></JobParameter><JobParameter schemaVersion="V1_0"><Metadata><Atom/></Metadata><ParameterName kb="ROR" kxe="false">operation</ParameterName><ParameterValue kxe="false" kb="CUR">validate</ParameterValue></JobParameter></JobParameters></JobRequest:JobRequest>

For more details on the remote restart Rest Job, refer to the HMC Rest API reference doc at

https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/community/groups/service/html/communityview?communityUuid=0196fd8d-7287-4dff-8526-102b5bcf0df5#fullpageWidgetId=W395818bd593b_487f_a7ec_79c3c27093f8&file=17e2dc0d-4609-48fe-95ca-9c45c7fdfc2a

3.7 Error Codes of Remote Restart Commands

The following table depicts different error codes for the rrstartlpar command or the doRemoteRestart Rest job. In most of the cases, HMC auto recovers as much as possible and recovers/completes actions on source server as well.

Return codevalue

Description

0 Remote Restart is successful

1 Remote Restart Failed

81 Partition name is already used on target.

82 Remote Restart Validation Failed.

83 Remote Restart failed before no return point

84 Remote Restart failed after no return point

85 Remote Restart Recover is not valid

86 Remote Restart Recover failed

02/23/2016 Page 17 of 28

IBM

87 Remote Restart failed before no return point & recovery was successful.

89 Remote Restart force recover failed.

91 Remote Restart recover failed during roll back.

92 Remote restart recover failed during cleanup.

02/23/2016 Page 18 of 28

IBM

4 Re-synchronizing the persisted configuration information

In general, any partition configuration or profile change causes the HMC to automatically update the partition configuration data persisted on the HMC. Examples include:

• Any profile change (Create/Edit/Delete)• DLPAR changes (Dlpar add/remove/move)• Virtual IO configuration changes• Activating a partition• Restoring the profile data• Any partition property change (e.g. changing the Partition Name)

If an automatic update fails, an error message is displayed providing further details on the nature of the failure. The actual configuration change or profile change is stillconsidered successful, but the configuration data persisted on the HMC is now out of sync with the current configuration of the partition. Some corrective action may be necessary in such cases and after the corrective action is complete, the refdev command should be run to manually update (re-synchronize) the persisted configuration information. Similarly, if any configuration changes related to the client partition are performed directly on the Virtual IO Server partition, the persisted configuration information needs to be updated manually using the refdev command.

4.1 refdev command

The refdev command refreshes the partition and profile configuration data persisted on the HMC

This command is intended for • recovery scenarios or• situations when the Virtual I/O Server configuration is modified without using

the HMC or• when directed by a message from HMC command line or GUI interface or Rest

API.

Usage: refdev [ -m <managed system> ] [ -p <partition name> | --id <partition ID> ] [ -w <wait time> ]

02/23/2016 Page 19 of 28

IBM

[ -d <detail level> ] [ -v ] [ --help ]

Where -m <managed system> - the source managed system's name -p <partition name> - the name of the partition on which to perform

the operation --id <partition ID> - the ID of the partition on which to perform the

operation -w <wait time> - the maximum time, in minutes, to wait for

commands issued to the VIOS to complete -d <detail level> - the level of detail requested -v - enable verbose mode --help - prints this help

The refdev command returns 0 if the command complete successfully. Warnings arepossible on stdout.

A return code of 1 indicates an error occurred. Errors and warnings are presented on stdout.

As an example:

refdev -m system115a -p examplerr

HSCLA9DB The manual resync operation failed, because the partition is not in valid remote restart state.

4.2 refdev using rest api

refdev can also be performed using the rest api. The following is the resource

/rest/api/uom/ManagementConsole/{ManagementConsole_UUID}/do/CLIRunner

Sample Job Request :

<JobRequest:JobRequest xmlns:JobRequest="http://www.ibm.com/xmlns/systems/power/firmware/web/mc/2012_10/" xmlns="http://www.ibm.com/xmlns/systems/power/firmware/web/mc/2012_10/" xmlns:ns2="http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace/k2" schemaVersion="V1_2"><Metadata><Atom/></Metadata>

02/23/2016 Page 20 of 28

IBM

<RequestedOperation kxe="false" kb="CUR" schemaVersion="V1_2"><Metadata><Atom/></Metadata><OperationName kxe="false" kb="ROR">CLIRunner</OperationName><GroupName kxe="false" kb="ROR">ManagementConsole</GroupName></RequestedOperation><JobParameters kxe="false" kb="CUR" schemaVersion="V1_2"><Metadata><Atom/></Metadata><JobParameter schemaVersion="V1_0"><Metadata><Atom/></Metadata><ParameterName kxe="false" kb="ROR">cmd</ParameterName><ParameterValue kxe="false" kb="CUR">refdev -m HV4 –id 3</ParameterValue></JobParameter><JobParameter schemaVersion="V1_0"><Metadata><Atom/></Metadata><ParameterName kxe="false"kb="ROR">acknowledgeThisAPIMayGoAwayInTheFuture</ParameterName><ParameterValue kxe="false" kb="CUR">true</ParameterValue></JobParameter></JobParameters></JobRequest:JobRequest>

02/23/2016 Page 21 of 28

IBM

5 Important Remote Restart Notes5.1 Partition Activation

• Remote Restartable partitions have several configuration restrictions which are delineated in Chapter 2. These restrictions are enforced at activation and will cause the activation to fail if not met.

• The configuration data persisted on the HMC is checked during partitions activation. If there is no valid copy of the configuration data available and the data synchronization fails, the partition activation also fails. It is possible, though unlikely, for this data to be verified valid and a subsequent update to persisted information during activation to fail. In this event, the activation will succeed and an error message provided to the user about the failure. In this case, the persisted data has gone out of sync with the current configuration and user needs to run the refdev command to sync up the data.

5.2 Server Configuration Notes

• The source and destination servers must be managed by the same HMC. • The source and destination servers cannot be the same system.

5.3 Partition Configuration Notes• The partition name must not already be in use on the destination server.

There is no similar restriction on the partition ID. The HMC attempts to retain the same partition ID. In the event of a conflict on the destination server during the remote restart operation, a new partition ID is assigned.

• When adding virtual storage adapters to a running Remote Restartable partition, the user should complete the server adapter configuration before adding the client adapter. This allows the data synchronization to completesuccessfully when the client virtual adapter is added to the partition.

• If user performs any configuration changes without going through the HMC interfaces, like attaching storage to a server adapter through the VIOS CLI, refdev command should be run for the client partition after the change.

• Enabling/Disabling the Simplified remote restart capability is not supported when using enhanced UI.

5.4 Limitation Notes• Concurrent Remote restart of 4 partitions per destination system is

supported.

02/23/2016 Page 22 of 28

IBM

6 References

IBM's Hardware Management Console V8

• http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/sg248232.html• www.redbooks.ibm.com/redbooks/pdfs/sg248232.pdf

Live Partition Mobility (migration) with IBM's Hardware Management Console

• http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/sg247460.html• http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redbooks/pdfs/sg247460.pd f• http://www-

01.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/POWER8/p8hc3/p8hc3_hmcprepsimpremres.htm?cp=POWER8%2F1-7-1-3-7-1-1-0-8

02/23/2016 Page 23 of 28

IBM

7 Appendix

7.1 Remote Restart States

A remote restartable partition goes through several state changes with respect to theRemote Restart operation, both on the source and destination servers. Most remote restart operations are only supported with the partition in the appropriate remote restart state. A remote restart state is not strongly related to the partition state itself. It is an indicator specifically associated with the Remote Restart operation itself.

Note: In this section, the states discussed refer only to a partition's remote restart state and not any other states that a partition might be in or going through during its normal or error operations.

A partition configured for remote restart is said to be in the Invalid state until it is activated. Remote restart is not applicable until a partition has been started for the first time.

Once the partition is up and running, it transitions into the Remote Restartable state. A partition in this state can be remote restarted.

During the actual remote restart operation, the source partition is put into the Source Remote Restarting state and the destination side partition is in the Destination Remote Restarting state. These states are transitional until the remote restart operation has completed or been canceled. When the remote restart operation reaches the no return point on target system, remote restart status would be set to Destination Remote Restarted.

After the remote restart operation the source side partition is left in the Remote Restarted state and the destination side partition is now in the Remote Restartable state. The source side partition could then be cleaned up and the destination partition is now again ready to be restarted as needed.

If for some reason an update to persisted information on HMC fails, then the partition would be in the Local Storage Update Failed state. This state indicates that the the persisted information on HMC is out of sync with the current partition configuration. Remote restart will not be allowed in this remote restart state. But theuser can use the usecurrdata option to execute a remote restart. The partition will be restarted with the configuration data on the device and the remote restart state on the source system will be updated to Forced Source Side Restart

02/23/2016 Page 24 of 28

IBM

If a simplified remote restart partition is suspended, the remote restart state would be set to Remote Restartable Suspended state. This state indicates that the partition is suspended on source system and remote restart will not be allowed in this remote restart state. But the user can use the force option to execute a remote restart. The partition will be restarted on the target system (and the suspended state will be lost) and remote restart state on the source system will be set to Source Remote Restarting for suspended Partition.

When a system is connected to the HMC, if there are partitions with simplified remote restart capability enabled, HMC will automatically collect the configuration information & persist the same. There are some configuration information (like virtual adapter information) which requires RMC connection to the VIOS partitions and hence HMC will wait till the rmc connection is established to collect such information. In this case where the virtual adapter information is not collected, the remote restart state will be set to Partial Update. Remote Restart state will be set to Stale Data, if there is configuration information already existing for a partition in the HMC in this case, before the state is changed to Partial Update.

If an update to the persisted information fails because there is not enough space on HMC's disk to store the configuration information, then the remote restart state will be updated to Out Of Space. User can free up space on HMC's disk and run the refdevcommand to recover from this state.

If a profile restore operation is performed on a system, while creating the simplified remote restart capable partition, remote restart state will be set to Profile Restored. If a cleanup operation performed after a successful remote restart fails, remote restart state will be set to Source Side Cleanup Failed. User can use the lssyscfg command to display the partition's remote restart status. The possible values are:

• Invalid• Remote Restartable• Source Remote Restarting• Destination Remote Restarting• Remote Restarted• Profile Restored• Forced Source Side Restart• Source Side Cleanup Failed• Remote Restartable Suspended• Local Storage Update Failed• Stale Data• Partial Update• Out Of Space

02/23/2016 Page 25 of 28

IBM

• Source Remote Restarting for suspended Partition• Destination Remote Restarted

lssyscfg -m HV4 -r lpar -F name,state,simplified_remote_restart_capable,remote_restart_status –header

name,state,simplified_remote_restart_capable,remote_restart_statuslp01,Not Activated,1,Invalidlp03,Running,1,Remote Restartableaix1,Not Activated,1,Invalidaixes_withdev,Not Activated,1,Local Data InValidibmi1,Not Activated,1,Local Storage Update Failedvios2,Running,0,nullvios1,Running,0,null

7.2 Remote Restart Feature/Support Matrix

Function HMC Level Firmware Level VIOS LevelHMC CLI for Remote Restart

V8R8.1.0 or later FW760.00 or later 2.2.2.0 or later

Toggle Remote Restart V8R8.1.0 or later FW810.00 or later NA

Simplified Remote Restart

V8R8.2.0 or later FW820.00 or later 2.2.3.4 or later

Simplified Remote Restart with Shared Storage Pool Storage

V8R8.4.0 or later FW820.00 or later 2.2.4.0 or later

Notes:

• HMC V8 R8.2.0 or later, supports both old as well as simplified remote restart.• If there is a system with FW820.00 or later & Power 7 system (FW760.00 or later), partitions with

old remote restart capability can be remote restarted between them.• VIOS level of 2.2.3.4 must be used to use NPIV with Simplified Remote Restart.

02/23/2016 Page 26 of 28

IBM

7.3 Sample script for triggering remote restart

rrMonitor is an example script, which shows how a system can be monitored for failure and remote restart can be triggered automatically. The script is not officially supported. The script is available in the following location

https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/community/groups/service/html/communityview?communityUuid=0196fd8d-7287-4dff-8526-102b5bcf0df5#fullpageWidgetId=W395818bd593b_487f_a7ec_79c3c27093f8&file=1bb4f57c-f244-4208-87dd-3a780847c613

Below are some notes on the example script

1. Monitors cec state in time interval specified by user and triggers remote restart if the system goes to "Error" or "Error - Dump in progress" state

2. Clean up is not performed by the script

3. While monitoring, performs check for remote restart status and refreshes the configuration data, if needed.

4. Performs validate for remote restart operation while monitoring in regular intervals

02/23/2016 Page 27 of 28

IBM

End of Document

02/23/2016 Page 28 of 28