Running The Linux Operating System On An Ibm I5 Server; Supported Fibre-Channel Adapters For Ibm I5 Servers Running The Linux Operating System - IBM TotalStorage DS6000 Attachment Manual

Starting with i5/OS Version 5 Release 3, IBM iSeries supports multipath attachment
through fibre-channel as part of the base i5/OS support. Version 5 Release 3 uses
the existing HBA's (feature code 2766 and 2787). New paths are automatically
detected, configured by the system and immediately used. If a disk is initially setup
as a single path and a second path is added, the resource name of the disk unit is
modified from DDxxx to DMPxxx to reflect that it now has more than one path to
the disk unit. No changes are needed by the user on the iSeries to make use of the
new path. Multipath connections can be made direct connect or through a fabric.
To activate multipath on an iSeries host, use the IBM TotalStorage DS Storage
Manager.
To improve the availability of fibre-channel attached disks (when there is more than
one 2766 or 2787 I/O adapters), place each I/O adapter and its I/O processor as far
as possible from the other fibre-channel disk I/O adapters or I/O processors in a
system. If possible, place them on different HSL loops, different towers, or on
different multiadapter bridges.
With i5/OS Version 5 Release 3, path information is available for the Disk Unit
hardware configuration from iSeries Navigator.

Running the Linux operating system on an IBM i5 server

The Linux operating system can run on an IBM i5 server.
Disabling automatic system updates
Many Linux distributions give administrators the ability to configure their systems for
automatic system updates. Red Hat provides this ability in the form of a program
called up2date, and SUSE provides a program called YaST Online Update. You can
configure these features to query for updates that are available for each host and to
automatically install any new updates that they find, which can include updates to
the kernel.
If your host is attached to the DS6000 series and is running the IBM Multipath
Subsystem Device Driver (SDD), you should consider turning off this automatic
update feature because some drivers supplied by IBM, like SDD, are dependent on
a specific kernel and cannot function in the presence of a new kernel. Similarly,
host bus adapters drivers must be compiled against specific kernels to function
optimally. By allowing automatic update of the kernel, you risk an unexpected
impact to your host system.
Supported fibre-channel adapters for IBM i5 servers running the Linux
operating system
Fibre-channel adapters are supported for IBM i5 servers running the Linux
operating system.
The following adapter cards are supported for the IBM i5 server when it is running
the Linux operating system:
v Feature code 0612-designates a 2766 assigned to Linux
v Feature code 0626-designates a 5704 assigned to Linux
v Feature code 0646-used on IBM i5 servers
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DS6000 Host Systems Attachment Guide