Operating system support – Architecture and technical overview

2.10 Operating system support

The Power E1080 server supports the following operating systems:

Ê AIX Ê IBM i

Ê Linux

In addition, the VIOS can be installed in special partitions that provide support to other partitions running AIX, IBM i, or Linux OSes for the use of various features, such as virtualized I/O devices, or PowerVM Live Partition Mobility (LPM).

For more information about the software that is available on Power Systems, see IBM Power Systems Software.

2.10.1 Power E1080 prerequisites

The minimum supported levels of IBM AIX, IBM i, and Linux at the time of this writing are described in the following sections. For more information about hardware features, see IBM Power Systems Prerequisites.

This tool helps also to plan a successful system upgrade by providing the prerequisite information for features currently in use or planned to be added to a system. It’s possible to choose a machine type and model (9080-HEX for Power E1080) and find out all the prerequisites, operating system levels supported and other information.

2.10.2 AIX operating system

At announcement, the Power E1080 supports the following minimum level of AIX:

Ê AIX 7.1 TL 5 SP 5

Ê AIX 7.2 TL 4 SP 1

AIX 7.1 must run on an LPAR in POWER8 compatibility mode with VIOS-based virtual storage and networking. The I/O can be supplied only by the Virtual I/O Server and the system is LPM enabled, excluding Native VF (SR-IOV) directly in the customer LPAR.

AIX 7.2 can run with physical and virtual I/O and requires POWER9 compatibility mode.

NVMe over Fibre Channel fabrics (NVMe-OF) is now available on Power E1080 running AIX when the 2-port 32 Gb adapter (#EN1A or #EN1B) and the selected IBM FlashSystem

high-end (FS9110) and mid-range (FS7200) model are used.

IBM periodically releases maintenance packages (service packs or technology levels) for the AIX operating system. For more information about these packages, downloading, and obtaining the CD-ROM, see Fix Central.

The Service Update Management Assistant (SUMA), which can help you automate the task

of checking and downloading operating system downloads, is part of the base operating

system. For more information about the suma command, see IBM documentation.

114      IBM Power E1080: Technical Overview and Introduction

AIX is available by using standalone (Standard Edition), Enterprise Edition, or through bundle options:

Ê AIX 7.1 Standard Edition

Ê AIX 7.1 Enterprise Edition V1.6 Ê AIX 7.2 Standard Edition

Ê AIX 7.2 Enterprise Edition

Ê AIX 7.2 Enterprise Cloud Edition

A major update for Enterprise Cloud Edition Bundles version includes PowerSC 2.0.

Customers that are purchasing new Power E1080 can get this stack with their system purchase. Customers with existing systems and active SWMAs by using either of the Bundles can get this Product by using ESS and start using it immediately.

Subscription licensing model

Per the Power E1080 announcement, a new subscription licensing model is available. This model provides customers with more options and flexibility in how they use the software.

A subscription license is a licensing model that provides access to an IBM program and IBM software maintenance for a specified subscription term (one or three years). The subscription term begins on the start date and ends on the expiration date, which is reflected in Entitled Systems Support (ESS).

Customers are licensed to run the product through the expiration date of the 1- or 3-year subscription term and then, can renew at the end of the subscription to continue using the product. This model provides flexible and predictable pricing over a specific term, with lower up-front entry cost.

Another benefit of this model is that the licenses are customer number entitled, which means they are not tied to a specific hardware serial number as with perpetual licenses. Therefore, the licenses can be moved between on-premises and cloud if needed, something that is becoming more of a requirement with hybrid workloads.

The new Product ID’s for the subscription licenses are listed in Table 2-29.

Table 2-29 New subscription license PIDs (one or three years terms)

The licenses are orderable through IBM configurator. The AIX perpetual and monthly term licenses for standard edition are still available.

AIX 7.3 Open Beta

In February 2021, the registration for the Open Beta of the new AIX 7.3 operating system was announced. The AIX 7.3 Open Beta allows you to download, install, and run an early version of the software on suitable IBM systems in a non-production, non-supported mode.

The Open Beta program provides an opportunity to gain early experience with AIX 7.3. Not all capabilities of AIX are available in the Open Beta.

Chapter 2. Architecture and technical overview                       115

Customers can request to join the Open Bets program by registering at this web page.