Originally posted by: SystemAdmin

Is possible and is it recommended to install an EM application such as CA Unicenter onto a VIO server?

A colleague asked the question, is it possible to run oem_setup_env and drop into the underlying OS, I replied that I didn't think this was good practice and would probably put us in an unsupported position.

I mean with a pair of these servers you have redundancy / resiliency etc, but how do you know if one goes down, short of manual checks every day.
#AIX-Forum

Originally posted by: SystemAdmin

Don't know about others, but I would be nervous about putting that product on any server let alone a VIO server :-), I doubt IBM support would be impressed.

If there is a need to watch VIO servers, then a product like Hobbit (or equivalent) may be better, it's open source, and you can set it up to test things like ping, ssh, rsync without putting any software on the VIO server.

If you follow the recommended suggestions for setup of the VIO's they are pretty resilient but hardware does fail on occasion, so I use Hobbit to keep an eye on them. Also make sure the IBM dial home is working.

Definitely would steer clear of installing stuff on them if you want to keep support simple.

Cheers...Steve
#AIX-Forum

Originally posted by: SystemAdmin

Thanks Steve, sounds like good advice - I'll feed back to my colleague.

Do you know if there's anything in print from IBM that I could point my colleague towards showing that it's not a good idea to install products like this on VIO servers?
#AIX-Forum

Originally posted by: SystemAdmin

Yep, I think IBM are pretty clear about it,

http://www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/set2/sas/f/vios/documentation/faq.html

" While some of the VIOS commands may drop the user into an AIX-like environment, this environment is only supported for the installing and setup of certain software packages(typically software for managing storage devices, see the VIOS's Terms and Conditions). Any other tasks performed in this environment are not supported. While the VIOS will continue to support it's current user interfaces going forward, the underlying operating system may change at any time. "
Not that I have sat down for a couple of day and actually read it, but I would say that the "Terms and Conditions" would state that warranty would be void if unsupported software is installed on them, the only software I know that you are allowed to install is vendor hardware support like Hitachi HDLM driver to support Hitachi SAN or the IBM SDD or MPIO driver.

The only supported software is on the datasheet.

http://www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/set2/sas/f/vios/documentation/datasheet.html

Basically I think it runs the risk of having IBM turn around and tell you to reinstall from the CD before any support is given and I think that's reasonably fair, a VIO is not an OS, it's a packaged appliance.

I have found Hobbit monitoring enough for what I want, it pings, tests ssh, rsync without putting a agent on the VIO server.

If your colleague is in any doubt, get him/her to log a call with IBM and ask the question, but I think I know what the answer will be.

Cheers...Steve
#AIX-Forum