Juan Manuel Rey

Nerd. Engineer. Unix Geek. Sysadmin by heart. Creating more problems than solving them in Microsoft Azure engineering.

Coming back to the IVM world

8 minute read

Yes I have to admit it, it’s been a while since the last time I created an Integrity Virtual Machine. In my last job didn’t have HPVM and here the VMs were already running when I arrived. So a few weeks ago I decided to cut my teeth again with HPVM, specially since I am pushing forward very hard for an OS and HPVM version upgrade of the IVM cluster which is currently running HP-UX 11.23 with HPVM 3.5.

First logical step in order to get proficient again with IVM is to create a new virtual machine. I asked Javi, our storage guy, for a new LUN and after add it to my lab server I started the whole process.

Some of the steps are obvious for any HP-UX Sysadmin, like VGs and LVs creation, but I decided to show the commands in order to maintain some consistency across this how-to/checklist/what-ever-you-like-to-call-it.

  • Create a volume group for the IVM virtual disks.
[root@hpvmhost] ~ # vgcreate -s 16 -e 6000 vg_vmtest /dev/dsk/c15t7d1
Volume group "/dev/vg_vmtest" has been successfully created.
Volume Group configuration for /dev/vg_vmtest has been saved in /etc/lvmconf/vg_vmtest.conf
[root@hpvmhost] ~ #
[root@hpvmhost] ~ # vgextend vg_vmtest /dev/dsk/c5t7d1  /dev/dsk/c7t7d1 /dev/dsk/c13t7d1
Volume group "vg_vmtest" has been successfully extended.
Volume Group configuration for /dev/vg_vmtest has been saved in /etc/lvmconf/vg_vmtest.conf
[root@hpvmhost] ~ # vgdisplay -v vg_vmtest
--- Volume groups ---
VG Name                     /dev/vg_vmtest
VG Write Access             read/write     
VG Status                   available                 
Max LV                      255    
Cur LV                      0      
Open LV                     0      
Max PV                      16     
Cur PV                      1      
Act PV                      1      
Max PE per PV               6000         
VGDA                        2   
PE Size (Mbytes)            16              
Total PE                    3199    
Alloc PE                    0       
Free PE                     3199    
Total PVG                   0        
Total Spare PVs             0              
Total Spare PVs in use      0                     

--- Physical volumes ---
PV Name                     /dev/dsk/c15t7d1
PV Name                     /dev/dsk/c5t7d1  Alternate Link
PV Name                     /dev/dsk/c7t7d1  Alternate Link
PV Name                     /dev/dsk/c13t7d1 Alternate Link
PV Status                   available                
Total PE                    3199    
Free PE                     3199    
Autoswitch                  On        
Proactive Polling           On               

[root@hpvmhost] ~ #
  • Create one lvol for each disk you want to add to your virtual machine, of course these logical volumes must belong to the volume group previously created.
[root@hpvmhost] ~ # lvcreate -L 12000 -n ivm1d1 vg_vmtest
Logical volume "/dev/vg_vmtest/ivm1d1" has been successfully created with
character device "/dev/vg_vmtest/rivm1d1".
Logical volume "/dev/vg_vmtest/ivm1d1" has been successfully extended.
Volume Group configuration for /dev/vg_vmtest has been saved in /etc/lvmconf/vg_vmtest.conf
[root@hpvmhost] ~ #
[root@hpvmhost] ~ # lvcreate -L 12000 -n ivm1d2 vg_vmtest
Logical volume "/dev/vg_vmtest/ivm1d2" has been successfully created with
character device "/dev/vg_vmtest/rivm1d2".
Logical volume "/dev/vg_vmtest/ivm1d2" has been successfully extended.
Volume Group configuration for /dev/vg_vmtest has been saved in /etc/lvmconf/vg_vmtest.conf
[root@hpvmhost] ~ #
  • Now we’re going to do some real stuff. Create the IVM with the hpvmcreate command and use the hpvmstatus to check that everything went well :
[root@hpvmhost] ~ # hpvmcreate -P ivm1 -O hpux  
[root@hpvmhost] ~ # hpvmstatus -P ivm1
[Virtual Machine Details]
Virtual Machine Name VM #  OS Type State
==================== ===== ======= ========
ivm1                     8 HPUX    Off       

[Authorized Administrators]
Oper Groups:  
Admin Groups:
Oper Users:   
Admin Users:  

[Virtual CPU Details]
#vCPUs Entitlement Maximum
====== =========== =======
 1       10.0%  100.0%

[Memory Details]
Total    Reserved
Memory   Memory  
=======  ========
 2 GB     64 MB

[Storage Interface Details]
Guest                                 Physical
Device  Adaptor    Bus Dev Ftn Tgt Lun Storage   Device
======= ========== === === === === === ========= =========================

[Network Interface Details]
Interface Adaptor    Name/Num   PortNum Bus Dev Ftn Mac Address
========= ========== ========== ======= === === === =================

[Misc Interface Details]
Guest                                 Physical
Device  Adaptor    Bus Dev Ftn Tgt Lun Storage   Device
======= ========== === === === === === ========= =========================
serial  com1                           tty       console
[root@hpvmhost] ~ #

We have a new virtual machine created but with no resources at all.

If you have read the HPVM documentation, and you should, probably know that every resource can be assigned at this step but I like to add them later one by one.

Since now we’re going to use the hpvmstatus to verify every change made. This command can be invoked without options to show a general summary or can query a single virtual machine, a verbose option is also available with -V. Take a look of its man page to check more options.

  • Add more CPU and RAM. The default values are 1 vCPU and 2GB of RAM, more can be assigned with hpvmmodify:
[root@hpvmhost] ~ # hpvmmodify -P ivm1 -c 2
[root@hpvmhost] ~ # hpvmmodify -P ivm1 -r 4G
[root@hpvmhost] ~ # hpvmstatus
[Virtual Machines]
Virtual Machine Name VM #  OS Type State     #VCPUs #Devs #Nets Memory  Runsysid
==================== ===== ======= ========= ====== ===== ===== ======= ========
oratest01                1 HPUX    On (OS)        4    10     3   16 GB        0
oratest02                2 HPUX    On (OS)        4     8     3   16 GB        0
sapvm01                  3 HPUX    Off            3     8     3    8 GB        0
sapvm02                  4 HPUX    Off            3     7     3    8 GB        0
sles01                   5 LINUX   On (OS)        1     4     3    4 GB        0
rhel01                   6 LINUX   Off            1     4     3    4 GB        0
hp-vxvm                  7 HPUX    On (OS)        2    17     3    6 GB        0
ivm1                     8 HPUX    Off            2     0     0    4 GB        0
[root@hpvmhost] ~ #
  • With the CPUs and RAM finished it’s time to add the storage devices, as always we’re going to use hpvmmodify:
[root@hpvmhost] ~ # hpvmmodify -P ivm1 -a disk:scsi::lv:/dev/vg_vmtest/rivm1d1
[root@hpvmhost] ~ # hpvmmodify -P ivm1 -a disk:scsi::lv:/dev/vg_vmtest/rivm1d2
[root@hpvmhost] ~ # hpvmmodify -P ivm1 -a dvd:scsi::disk:/dev/rdsk/c1t4d0
[root@hpvmhost] ~ # hpvmstatus -P ivm1
[Virtual Machine Details]
Virtual Machine Name VM #  OS Type State
==================== ===== ======= ========
ivm1                     8 HPUX    Off       

[Authorized Administrators]
Oper Groups:  
Admin Groups:
Oper Users:   
Admin Users:  

[Virtual CPU Details]
#vCPUs Entitlement Maximum
====== =========== =======
 2       10.0%  100.0%

[Memory Details]
Total    Reserved
Memory   Memory  
=======  ========
 4 GB     64 MB

[Storage Interface Details]
Guest                                 Physical
Device  Adaptor    Bus Dev Ftn Tgt Lun Storage   Device
======= ========== === === === === === ========= =========================
disk    scsi         0   2   0   0   0 lv        /dev/vg_vmtest/rivm1d1
disk    scsi         0   2   0   1   0 lv        /dev/vg_vmtest/rivm1d2
dvd     scsi         0   2   0   2   0 disk      /dev/rdsk/c1t4d0

[Network Interface Details]
Interface Adaptor    Name/Num   PortNum Bus Dev Ftn Mac Address
========= ========== ========== ======= === === === =================

[Misc Interface Details]
Guest                                 Physical
Device  Adaptor    Bus Dev Ftn Tgt Lun Storage   Device
======= ========== === === === === === ========= =========================
serial  com1                           tty       console
[root@hpvmhost] ~ #

An important tip about the storage devices, remember that you have to use the character device file of the LV. If a block device is used you will get the following error:

[root@hpvmhost] ~ # hpvmmodify -P ivm1 -a disk:scsi::lv:/dev/vg_vmtest/ivm1d1
hpvmmodify: WARNING (ivm1): Expecting a character device file for disk backing file, but '/dev/vg_vmtest/ivm1d1' appears to be a block device.
hpvmmodify: ERROR (ivm1): Illegal blk device '/dev/vg_vmtest/ivm1d1' as backing device.
hpvmmodify: ERROR (ivm1): Unable to add device '/dev/vg_vmtest/ivm1d1'.
hpvmmodify: Unable to create device disk:scsi::lv:/dev/vg_vmtest/ivm1d1.
hpvmmodify: Unable to modify the guest.
[root@hpvmhost] ~ #
  • Virtual networking 1: First check the available virtual switches with hpvmnet:
[root@hpvmhost] / # hpvmnet
Name     Number State   Mode      NamePPA  MAC Address    IP Address
======== ====== ======= ========= ======== ============== ===============
localnet      1 Up      Shared             N/A            N/A
vlan02        2 Up      Shared    lan3     0x000000000000 192.168.1.12
vlan03        3 Up      Shared    lan4     0x001111111111 10.10.3.4
[root@hpvmhost] / #
  • Virtual Networking 2: Add a couple of vnics to the virtual machine.
[root@hpvmhost] / # hpvmmodify -P ivm1 -a network:lan:vswitch:vlan02
[root@hpvmhost] / # hpvmmodify -P ivm1 -a network:lan:vswitch:localnet
[root@hpvmhost] / #
[root@hpvmhost] / # hpvmstatus -P ivm1
[Virtual Machine Details]
Virtual Machine Name VM #  OS Type State
==================== ===== ======= ========
ivm1                     8 HPUX    Off       

[Authorized Administrators]
Oper Groups:  
Admin Groups:
Oper Users:   
Admin Users:  

[Virtual CPU Details]
#vCPUs Entitlement Maximum
====== =========== =======
 2       10.0%  100.0%

[Memory Details]
Total    Reserved
Memory   Memory  
=======  ========
 4 GB     64 MB

[Storage Interface Details]
Guest                                 Physical
Device  Adaptor    Bus Dev Ftn Tgt Lun Storage   Device
======= ========== === === === === === ========= =========================
disk    scsi         0   2   0   0   0 lv        /dev/vg_vmtest/rivm1d1
disk    scsi         0   2   0   1   0 lv        /dev/vg_vmtest/rivm1d2
dvd     scsi         0   2   0   2   0 disk      /dev/rdsk/c1t4d0

[Network Interface Details]
Interface Adaptor    Name/Num   PortNum Bus Dev Ftn Mac Address
========= ========== ========== ======= === === === =================
vswitch   lan        vlan02     8         0   0   0 56-e9-e3-09-6a-22
vswitch   lan        localnet   8         0   1   0 ae-d6-f7-fa-4e-3e

[Misc Interface Details]
Guest                                 Physical
Device  Adaptor    Bus Dev Ftn Tgt Lun Storage   Device
======= ========== === === === === === ========= =========================
serial  com1                           tty       console
[root@hpvmhost] / #
  • And we have an IVM ready to be used. To start it use the hpvmstart command and access its console with hpvmconsole, the interface is almost equal to GSP/MP.
[root@hpvmhost] ~ # hpvmstart -P ivm1
(C) Copyright 2000 - 2008 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
Opening minor device and creating guest machine container
Creation of VM, minor device 3
Allocating guest memory: 4096MB
  allocating low RAM (0-80000000, 2048MB)
/opt/hpvm/lbin/hpvmapp (/var/opt/hpvm/uuids/2b3b1198-2062-11df-9e06-001a4b07f002/vmm_config.current): Allocated 2147483648 bytes at 0x6000000100000000
  allocating high RAM (100000000-180000000, 2048MB)
/opt/hpvm/lbin/hpvmapp (/var/opt/hpvm/uuids/2b3b1198-2062-11df-9e06-001a4b07f002/vmm_config.current): Allocated 2147483648 bytes at 0x6000000200000000
    locking memory: 100000000-180000000
    allocating datalogger memory: FF800000-FF840000 (256KB for 155KB)
/opt/hpvm/lbin/hpvmapp (/var/opt/hpvm/uuids/2b3b1198-2062-11df-9e06-001a4b07f002/vmm_config.current): Allocated 262144 bytes at 0x6000000300000000
    locking datalogger memory
  allocating firmware RAM (fff00000-fff20000, 128KB)
/opt/hpvm/lbin/hpvmapp (/var/opt/hpvm/uuids/2b3b1198-2062-11df-9e06-001a4b07f002/vmm_config.current): Allocated 131072 bytes at 0x6000000300080000
    locked SAL RAM: 00000000fff00000 (8KB)
    locked ESI RAM: 00000000fff02000 (8KB)
    locked PAL RAM: 00000000fff04000 (8KB)
    locked Min Save State: 00000000fff06000 (8KB)
    locked datalogger: 00000000ff800000 (256KB)
Loading boot image
Image initial IP=102000 GP=67E000
Initialize guest memory mapping tables
Starting event polling thread
Starting thread initialization
Daemonizing....
hpvmstart: Successful start initiation of guest 'ivm1'
[root@hpvmhost] ~ #
[root@hpvmhost] ~ # hpvmconsole -P ivm1

   vMP MAIN MENU

         CO: Console
         CM: Command Menu
         CL: Console Log
         SL: Show Event Logs
         VM: Virtual Machine Menu
         HE: Main Help Menu
         X: Exit Connection

[ivm1] vMP> co

       (Use Ctrl-B to return to vMP main menu.)

- - - - - - - - - - Prior Console Output - - - - - - - - - -

And we are finished. I’m not going through the installation process since it’s not the objective of this post and it is very well documented in the HP-UX documentation.

I really enjoyed this post, it has been very useful exercise in order to re-learn the roots of HPVM and a very good starting point for the HP-UX/HPVM upgrade I’m going to undertake during next weeks.

Juanma.

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