Yesterday I was in a meeting, and the discussion was about our backup process. One of my coworkers mentioned do we backup VIOS. I hadn't thought about that. A Google search returned the command backupios. Is this the standard way of backing up the VIOS configuration? I found this webpage from IBM that references this command.

backupios command - IBM Documentation

It provides 3 examples (CD, Tape, or File). I'm guessing that when the parameter is -file it creates a file on the VIOS server itself. Can the file be downloaded off the VIOS server and stored somewhere else like on the IFS of a partition?  What is the preferred location for storing the VIOS configuration in the event of disaster? 

One last question, for my understanding. Do the VIOS servers run directly on the Power server and the data is on the server and not on external storage unit? We have a Power 10 S1014.

Hi,

As you probably use an HMC to manage your system, this could be of interest: https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/power10/9043-MRX?topic=operations-scheduling-virtual-io-server#p10hat_ssp_managing_tier_tasks__body1__title__4.

Then you can schedule HMC backups, they will include VIOS backup files.

Yesterday I was in a meeting, and the discussion was about our backup process. One of my coworkers mentioned do we backup VIOS. I hadn't thought about that. A Google search returned the command backupios. Is this the standard way of backing up the VIOS configuration? I found this webpage from IBM that references this command.

backupios command - IBM Documentation

It provides 3 examples (CD, Tape, or File). I'm guessing that when the parameter is -file it creates a file on the VIOS server itself. Can the file be downloaded off the VIOS server and stored somewhere else like on the IFS of a partition?  What is the preferred location for storing the VIOS configuration in the event of disaster? 

One last question, for my understanding. Do the VIOS servers run directly on the Power server and the data is on the server and not on external storage unit? We have a Power 10 S1014.

There are several ways to backup the software on a virtual I/O server and/or just its configuration. You mentioned backupios, there also is viosbr.

The backupios command (using -file) creates a mksysb-type of backup on the virtual I/O server itself. What you could do is mount a filesystem located on an NFS server with sufficient diskspace, where backupios could send its data. It creates a "nim_resources.tar" file. You can copy that to the HMC and use the "installios" command (on the HMC!) to re-install the VIOS using that image.

When backing up the VIOS to tape (backupios -tape), the tape is "bootable" allowing you to perform a restore when the VIOS partition has access to the tape drive and a disk to place the image on.

If all your VIOS have similar configuration and the same software (VIOS) versions, one nim_resources.tar file will do for all of them. You can use the "viosbr" command to create a backup of the configuration of a particular VIOS and save it to an NFS mounted filesystem (or copy it off the VIOS after it completes). When the VIOS is recovered using any of the above methods (and the configuration is missing), this can be restored with viosbr as well (if the partition profile on the HMC is still intact).

Check-out the manual pages for "backupios" and "viosbr" for more details. Also the link Sylvian Manceau referred to is a good one for modern HMC's, they can help you to schedule backups of the VIOS software and configuration.

With regard to your last question: yes, the Virtual I/O server(s) is just a regular partition (LPAR) on the physical server, besides the AIX, Linux or IBM i partitions you may have. So the S1014 server also runs the Virtual I/O Server(s). Where the data resides is up to you (or whoever configured them). If the S1014 has internal disks, it is often regarded best practice if the VIO(s) are installed on the local physical disks.

But technically there is no reason not to have the VIOS data (disk) reside in an external disk subsystem (SCSI or whatever). And you can also host the LUNs for the Virtual I/O Server on a SAN (even if the system has local physical disks); that also allows you to make copies of those LUNs on the SAN, to supply a new VIOS in a large environment where you frequently need to setup a new VIOS.

To find out if the VIOS is on local disks or on a SAN, you can use commands like (as root on vios, after logging in as padmin and using the 'oem_setup_env' command):
# lsdev -Cc disk
(suppose that is hdisk0, which it often is)
# lscfg -vl hdisk0
(that gives you a lot of detail, you can search for the adapter it is attached to etc.)

Example:

root@spciceph010v1:/ # lsdev -Cc disk
hdisk0 Available 00-01-01 MPIO IBM 2145 FC Disk

root@spciceph010v1:/ # lscfg -vl hdisk0 | grep -w hdisk0
  hdisk0           U78D4.ND1.CSS3E9H-P1-C5-T2-W500507680C269BBC-L0  MPIO IBM 2145 FC Disk


root@xxx:/ # lscfg -v | grep U78D4.ND1.CSS3E9H-P1-C5-T2
  fcs1             U78D4.ND1.CSS3E9H-P1-C5-T2                       PCIe3 2-Port 32Gb FC Adapter (df1000e314101506)
        Hardware Location Code......U78D4.ND1.CSS3E9H-P1-C5-T2
  fscsi1           U78D4.ND1.CSS3E9H-P1-C5-T2                       FC SCSI I/O Controller Protocol Device
  sfwcomm1         U78D4.ND1.CSS3E9H-P1-C5-T2-W0-L0                 Fibre Channel Storage Framework Comm
  hdisk0           U78D4.ND1.CSS3E9H-P1-C5-T2-W500507680C269BBC-L0  MPIO IBM 2145 FC Disk
  fcnvme1          U78D4.ND1.CSS3E9H-P1-C5-T2                       FC-NVMe Protocol Device

This shows the hdisk0 on my VIOS is coming from an external SAN (attached to the fibre channel adapter fcs1).
For local disks, it will show a different drive type and adapter.

Hi,

As you probably use an HMC to manage your system, this could be of interest: https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/power10/9043-MRX?topic=operations-scheduling-virtual-io-server#p10hat_ssp_managing_tier_tasks__body1__title__4.

Then you can schedule HMC backups, they will include VIOS backup files.

Yesterday I was in a meeting, and the discussion was about our backup process. One of my coworkers mentioned do we backup VIOS. I hadn't thought about that. A Google search returned the command backupios. Is this the standard way of backing up the VIOS configuration? I found this webpage from IBM that references this command.

backupios command - IBM Documentation

It provides 3 examples (CD, Tape, or File). I'm guessing that when the parameter is -file it creates a file on the VIOS server itself. Can the file be downloaded off the VIOS server and stored somewhere else like on the IFS of a partition?  What is the preferred location for storing the VIOS configuration in the event of disaster? 

One last question, for my understanding. Do the VIOS servers run directly on the Power server and the data is on the server and not on external storage unit? We have a Power 10 S1014.

Hi Richard,

Thank you for providing this information. Just so I'm clear and that I read what you posted correctly.  If I Putty into one of the VIOS servers and run these commands, I will get a result similar to what you show after it says "Example"?

em_setup_env
# lsdev -Cc disk
# lscfg -vl hdisk0

To be honest I don't think our Power 10 has internal drives. I know we have external storage attached to our Power 10. It's a FS7300. I think just to confirm this I will run those commands you provided assuming I understand this correctly. 

Thank you for your help,

Mike

There are several ways to backup the software on a virtual I/O server and/or just its configuration. You mentioned backupios, there also is viosbr.

The backupios command (using -file) creates a mksysb-type of backup on the virtual I/O server itself. What you could do is mount a filesystem located on an NFS server with sufficient diskspace, where backupios could send its data. It creates a "nim_resources.tar" file. You can copy that to the HMC and use the "installios" command (on the HMC!) to re-install the VIOS using that image.

When backing up the VIOS to tape (backupios -tape), the tape is "bootable" allowing you to perform a restore when the VIOS partition has access to the tape drive and a disk to place the image on.

If all your VIOS have similar configuration and the same software (VIOS) versions, one nim_resources.tar file will do for all of them. You can use the "viosbr" command to create a backup of the configuration of a particular VIOS and save it to an NFS mounted filesystem (or copy it off the VIOS after it completes). When the VIOS is recovered using any of the above methods (and the configuration is missing), this can be restored with viosbr as well (if the partition profile on the HMC is still intact).

Check-out the manual pages for "backupios" and "viosbr" for more details. Also the link Sylvian Manceau referred to is a good one for modern HMC's, they can help you to schedule backups of the VIOS software and configuration.

With regard to your last question: yes, the Virtual I/O server(s) is just a regular partition (LPAR) on the physical server, besides the AIX, Linux or IBM i partitions you may have. So the S1014 server also runs the Virtual I/O Server(s). Where the data resides is up to you (or whoever configured them). If the S1014 has internal disks, it is often regarded best practice if the VIO(s) are installed on the local physical disks.

But technically there is no reason not to have the VIOS data (disk) reside in an external disk subsystem (SCSI or whatever). And you can also host the LUNs for the Virtual I/O Server on a SAN (even if the system has local physical disks); that also allows you to make copies of those LUNs on the SAN, to supply a new VIOS in a large environment where you frequently need to setup a new VIOS.

To find out if the VIOS is on local disks or on a SAN, you can use commands like (as root on vios, after logging in as padmin and using the 'oem_setup_env' command):
# lsdev -Cc disk
(suppose that is hdisk0, which it often is)
# lscfg -vl hdisk0
(that gives you a lot of detail, you can search for the adapter it is attached to etc.)

Example:

root@spciceph010v1:/ # lsdev -Cc disk
hdisk0 Available 00-01-01 MPIO IBM 2145 FC Disk

root@spciceph010v1:/ # lscfg -vl hdisk0 | grep -w hdisk0
  hdisk0           U78D4.ND1.CSS3E9H-P1-C5-T2-W500507680C269BBC-L0  MPIO IBM 2145 FC Disk


root@xxx:/ # lscfg -v | grep U78D4.ND1.CSS3E9H-P1-C5-T2
  fcs1             U78D4.ND1.CSS3E9H-P1-C5-T2                       PCIe3 2-Port 32Gb FC Adapter (df1000e314101506)
        Hardware Location Code......U78D4.ND1.CSS3E9H-P1-C5-T2
  fscsi1           U78D4.ND1.CSS3E9H-P1-C5-T2                       FC SCSI I/O Controller Protocol Device
  sfwcomm1         U78D4.ND1.CSS3E9H-P1-C5-T2-W0-L0                 Fibre Channel Storage Framework Comm
  hdisk0           U78D4.ND1.CSS3E9H-P1-C5-T2-W500507680C269BBC-L0  MPIO IBM 2145 FC Disk
  fcnvme1          U78D4.ND1.CSS3E9H-P1-C5-T2                       FC-NVMe Protocol Device

This shows the hdisk0 on my VIOS is coming from an external SAN (attached to the fibre channel adapter fcs1).
For local disks, it will show a different drive type and adapter.

Hi,

As you probably use an HMC to manage your system, this could be of interest: https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/power10/9043-MRX?topic=operations-scheduling-virtual-io-server#p10hat_ssp_managing_tier_tasks__body1__title__4.

Then you can schedule HMC backups, they will include VIOS backup files.

Yesterday I was in a meeting, and the discussion was about our backup process. One of my coworkers mentioned do we backup VIOS. I hadn't thought about that. A Google search returned the command backupios. Is this the standard way of backing up the VIOS configuration? I found this webpage from IBM that references this command.

backupios command - IBM Documentation

It provides 3 examples (CD, Tape, or File). I'm guessing that when the parameter is -file it creates a file on the VIOS server itself. Can the file be downloaded off the VIOS server and stored somewhere else like on the IFS of a partition?  What is the preferred location for storing the VIOS configuration in the event of disaster? 

One last question, for my understanding. Do the VIOS servers run directly on the Power server and the data is on the server and not on external storage unit? We have a Power 10 S1014.

Michael,

We have two Power 10's in one data center attached to the same FS7300.  Pull up your HMC.  Go into VIOS partitions

If you see anything like this, you have internal drives for your VIOS

Hi Richard,

Thank you for providing this information. Just so I'm clear and that I read what you posted correctly.  If I Putty into one of the VIOS servers and run these commands, I will get a result similar to what you show after it says "Example"?

em_setup_env
# lsdev -Cc disk
# lscfg -vl hdisk0

To be honest I don't think our Power 10 has internal drives. I know we have external storage attached to our Power 10. It's a FS7300. I think just to confirm this I will run those commands you provided assuming I understand this correctly. 

Thank you for your help,

Mike

There are several ways to backup the software on a virtual I/O server and/or just its configuration. You mentioned backupios, there also is viosbr.

The backupios command (using -file) creates a mksysb-type of backup on the virtual I/O server itself. What you could do is mount a filesystem located on an NFS server with sufficient diskspace, where backupios could send its data. It creates a "nim_resources.tar" file. You can copy that to the HMC and use the "installios" command (on the HMC!) to re-install the VIOS using that image.

When backing up the VIOS to tape (backupios -tape), the tape is "bootable" allowing you to perform a restore when the VIOS partition has access to the tape drive and a disk to place the image on.

If all your VIOS have similar configuration and the same software (VIOS) versions, one nim_resources.tar file will do for all of them. You can use the "viosbr" command to create a backup of the configuration of a particular VIOS and save it to an NFS mounted filesystem (or copy it off the VIOS after it completes). When the VIOS is recovered using any of the above methods (and the configuration is missing), this can be restored with viosbr as well (if the partition profile on the HMC is still intact).

Check-out the manual pages for "backupios" and "viosbr" for more details. Also the link Sylvian Manceau referred to is a good one for modern HMC's, they can help you to schedule backups of the VIOS software and configuration.

With regard to your last question: yes, the Virtual I/O server(s) is just a regular partition (LPAR) on the physical server, besides the AIX, Linux or IBM i partitions you may have. So the S1014 server also runs the Virtual I/O Server(s). Where the data resides is up to you (or whoever configured them). If the S1014 has internal disks, it is often regarded best practice if the VIO(s) are installed on the local physical disks.

But technically there is no reason not to have the VIOS data (disk) reside in an external disk subsystem (SCSI or whatever). And you can also host the LUNs for the Virtual I/O Server on a SAN (even if the system has local physical disks); that also allows you to make copies of those LUNs on the SAN, to supply a new VIOS in a large environment where you frequently need to setup a new VIOS.

To find out if the VIOS is on local disks or on a SAN, you can use commands like (as root on vios, after logging in as padmin and using the 'oem_setup_env' command):
# lsdev -Cc disk
(suppose that is hdisk0, which it often is)
# lscfg -vl hdisk0
(that gives you a lot of detail, you can search for the adapter it is attached to etc.)

Example:

root@spciceph010v1:/ # lsdev -Cc disk
hdisk0 Available 00-01-01 MPIO IBM 2145 FC Disk

root@spciceph010v1:/ # lscfg -vl hdisk0 | grep -w hdisk0
  hdisk0           U78D4.ND1.CSS3E9H-P1-C5-T2-W500507680C269BBC-L0  MPIO IBM 2145 FC Disk


root@xxx:/ # lscfg -v | grep U78D4.ND1.CSS3E9H-P1-C5-T2
  fcs1             U78D4.ND1.CSS3E9H-P1-C5-T2                       PCIe3 2-Port 32Gb FC Adapter (df1000e314101506)
        Hardware Location Code......U78D4.ND1.CSS3E9H-P1-C5-T2
  fscsi1           U78D4.ND1.CSS3E9H-P1-C5-T2                       FC SCSI I/O Controller Protocol Device
  sfwcomm1         U78D4.ND1.CSS3E9H-P1-C5-T2-W0-L0                 Fibre Channel Storage Framework Comm
  hdisk0           U78D4.ND1.CSS3E9H-P1-C5-T2-W500507680C269BBC-L0  MPIO IBM 2145 FC Disk
  fcnvme1          U78D4.ND1.CSS3E9H-P1-C5-T2                       FC-NVMe Protocol Device

This shows the hdisk0 on my VIOS is coming from an external SAN (attached to the fibre channel adapter fcs1).
For local disks, it will show a different drive type and adapter.

Hi,

As you probably use an HMC to manage your system, this could be of interest: https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/power10/9043-MRX?topic=operations-scheduling-virtual-io-server#p10hat_ssp_managing_tier_tasks__body1__title__4.

Then you can schedule HMC backups, they will include VIOS backup files.

Yesterday I was in a meeting, and the discussion was about our backup process. One of my coworkers mentioned do we backup VIOS. I hadn't thought about that. A Google search returned the command backupios. Is this the standard way of backing up the VIOS configuration? I found this webpage from IBM that references this command.

backupios command - IBM Documentation

It provides 3 examples (CD, Tape, or File). I'm guessing that when the parameter is -file it creates a file on the VIOS server itself. Can the file be downloaded off the VIOS server and stored somewhere else like on the IFS of a partition?  What is the preferred location for storing the VIOS configuration in the event of disaster? 

One last question, for my understanding. Do the VIOS servers run directly on the Power server and the data is on the server and not on external storage unit? We have a Power 10 S1014.

Hi Richard,

Thank you for providing this information. Just so I'm clear and that I read what you posted correctly.  If I Putty into one of the VIOS servers and run these commands, I will get a result similar to what you show after it says "Example"?

em_setup_env
# lsdev -Cc disk
# lscfg -vl hdisk0

To be honest I don't think our Power 10 has internal drives. I know we have external storage attached to our Power 10. It's a FS7300. I think just to confirm this I will run those commands you provided assuming I understand this correctly. 

Thank you for your help,

Mike

There are several ways to backup the software on a virtual I/O server and/or just its configuration. You mentioned backupios, there also is viosbr.

The backupios command (using -file) creates a mksysb-type of backup on the virtual I/O server itself. What you could do is mount a filesystem located on an NFS server with sufficient diskspace, where backupios could send its data. It creates a "nim_resources.tar" file. You can copy that to the HMC and use the "installios" command (on the HMC!) to re-install the VIOS using that image.

When backing up the VIOS to tape (backupios -tape), the tape is "bootable" allowing you to perform a restore when the VIOS partition has access to the tape drive and a disk to place the image on.

If all your VIOS have similar configuration and the same software (VIOS) versions, one nim_resources.tar file will do for all of them. You can use the "viosbr" command to create a backup of the configuration of a particular VIOS and save it to an NFS mounted filesystem (or copy it off the VIOS after it completes). When the VIOS is recovered using any of the above methods (and the configuration is missing), this can be restored with viosbr as well (if the partition profile on the HMC is still intact).

Check-out the manual pages for "backupios" and "viosbr" for more details. Also the link Sylvian Manceau referred to is a good one for modern HMC's, they can help you to schedule backups of the VIOS software and configuration.

With regard to your last question: yes, the Virtual I/O server(s) is just a regular partition (LPAR) on the physical server, besides the AIX, Linux or IBM i partitions you may have. So the S1014 server also runs the Virtual I/O Server(s). Where the data resides is up to you (or whoever configured them). If the S1014 has internal disks, it is often regarded best practice if the VIO(s) are installed on the local physical disks.

But technically there is no reason not to have the VIOS data (disk) reside in an external disk subsystem (SCSI or whatever). And you can also host the LUNs for the Virtual I/O Server on a SAN (even if the system has local physical disks); that also allows you to make copies of those LUNs on the SAN, to supply a new VIOS in a large environment where you frequently need to setup a new VIOS.

To find out if the VIOS is on local disks or on a SAN, you can use commands like (as root on vios, after logging in as padmin and using the 'oem_setup_env' command):
# lsdev -Cc disk
(suppose that is hdisk0, which it often is)
# lscfg -vl hdisk0
(that gives you a lot of detail, you can search for the adapter it is attached to etc.)

Example:

root@spciceph010v1:/ # lsdev -Cc disk
hdisk0 Available 00-01-01 MPIO IBM 2145 FC Disk

root@spciceph010v1:/ # lscfg -vl hdisk0 | grep -w hdisk0
  hdisk0           U78D4.ND1.CSS3E9H-P1-C5-T2-W500507680C269BBC-L0  MPIO IBM 2145 FC Disk


root@xxx:/ # lscfg -v | grep U78D4.ND1.CSS3E9H-P1-C5-T2
  fcs1             U78D4.ND1.CSS3E9H-P1-C5-T2                       PCIe3 2-Port 32Gb FC Adapter (df1000e314101506)
        Hardware Location Code......U78D4.ND1.CSS3E9H-P1-C5-T2
  fscsi1           U78D4.ND1.CSS3E9H-P1-C5-T2                       FC SCSI I/O Controller Protocol Device
  sfwcomm1         U78D4.ND1.CSS3E9H-P1-C5-T2-W0-L0                 Fibre Channel Storage Framework Comm
  hdisk0           U78D4.ND1.CSS3E9H-P1-C5-T2-W500507680C269BBC-L0  MPIO IBM 2145 FC Disk
  fcnvme1          U78D4.ND1.CSS3E9H-P1-C5-T2                       FC-NVMe Protocol Device

This shows the hdisk0 on my VIOS is coming from an external SAN (attached to the fibre channel adapter fcs1).
For local disks, it will show a different drive type and adapter.

Hi,

As you probably use an HMC to manage your system, this could be of interest: https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/power10/9043-MRX?topic=operations-scheduling-virtual-io-server#p10hat_ssp_managing_tier_tasks__body1__title__4.

Then you can schedule HMC backups, they will include VIOS backup files.

Yesterday I was in a meeting, and the discussion was about our backup process. One of my coworkers mentioned do we backup VIOS. I hadn't thought about that. A Google search returned the command backupios. Is this the standard way of backing up the VIOS configuration? I found this webpage from IBM that references this command.

backupios command - IBM Documentation

It provides 3 examples (CD, Tape, or File). I'm guessing that when the parameter is -file it creates a file on the VIOS server itself. Can the file be downloaded off the VIOS server and stored somewhere else like on the IFS of a partition?  What is the preferred location for storing the VIOS configuration in the event of disaster? 

One last question, for my understanding. Do the VIOS servers run directly on the Power server and the data is on the server and not on external storage unit? We have a Power 10 S1014.

Hi,

As you probably use an HMC to manage your system, this could be of interest: https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/power10/9043-MRX?topic=operations-scheduling-virtual-io-server#p10hat_ssp_managing_tier_tasks__body1__title__4.

Then you can schedule HMC backups, they will include VIOS backup files.

Yesterday I was in a meeting, and the discussion was about our backup process. One of my coworkers mentioned do we backup VIOS. I hadn't thought about that. A Google search returned the command backupios. Is this the standard way of backing up the VIOS configuration? I found this webpage from IBM that references this command.

backupios command - IBM Documentation

It provides 3 examples (CD, Tape, or File). I'm guessing that when the parameter is -file it creates a file on the VIOS server itself. Can the file be downloaded off the VIOS server and stored somewhere else like on the IFS of a partition?  What is the preferred location for storing the VIOS configuration in the event of disaster? 

One last question, for my understanding. Do the VIOS servers run directly on the Power server and the data is on the server and not on external storage unit? We have a Power 10 S1014.

Hi Sylvain,

Thank you for your reply. This is very interesting to me. Looking at the information you provided I need to do an upgrade to our HMC. I'm currently on V10R3 M1051, and the documentation says I need to be on 10.3.1061.0 or higher. The firmware level I'm on is ML1050_059. Looking at the firmware and HMC combability webpage is says my firmware level is supported so I won't need to do a firmware upgrade at this time. Looking at the documentation I don't see where is saves the data to. Does it give you options?  I know the last time we did an update to our HMC we did a backup to an USB drive that is plugged into it.  I wonder if the backup would be too big for a USB drive.

Thank you,

Mike

Hi,

As you probably use an HMC to manage your system, this could be of interest: https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/power10/9043-MRX?topic=operations-scheduling-virtual-io-server#p10hat_ssp_managing_tier_tasks__body1__title__4.

Then you can schedule HMC backups, they will include VIOS backup files.

Yesterday I was in a meeting, and the discussion was about our backup process. One of my coworkers mentioned do we backup VIOS. I hadn't thought about that. A Google search returned the command backupios. Is this the standard way of backing up the VIOS configuration? I found this webpage from IBM that references this command.

backupios command - IBM Documentation

It provides 3 examples (CD, Tape, or File). I'm guessing that when the parameter is -file it creates a file on the VIOS server itself. Can the file be downloaded off the VIOS server and stored somewhere else like on the IFS of a partition?  What is the preferred location for storing the VIOS configuration in the event of disaster? 

One last question, for my understanding. Do the VIOS servers run directly on the Power server and the data is on the server and not on external storage unit? We have a Power 10 S1014.

Hi Sylvain,

Thank you for your reply. This is very interesting to me. Looking at the information you provided I need to do an upgrade to our HMC. I'm currently on V10R3 M1051, and the documentation says I need to be on 10.3.1061.0 or higher. The firmware level I'm on is ML1050_059. Looking at the firmware and HMC combability webpage is says my firmware level is supported so I won't need to do a firmware upgrade at this time. Looking at the documentation I don't see where is saves the data to. Does it give you options?  I know the last time we did an update to our HMC we did a backup to an USB drive that is plugged into it.  I wonder if the backup would be too big for a USB drive.

Thank you,

Mike

Hi,

As you probably use an HMC to manage your system, this could be of interest: https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/power10/9043-MRX?topic=operations-scheduling-virtual-io-server#p10hat_ssp_managing_tier_tasks__body1__title__4.

Then you can schedule HMC backups, they will include VIOS backup files.

Yesterday I was in a meeting, and the discussion was about our backup process. One of my coworkers mentioned do we backup VIOS. I hadn't thought about that. A Google search returned the command backupios. Is this the standard way of backing up the VIOS configuration? I found this webpage from IBM that references this command.

backupios command - IBM Documentation

It provides 3 examples (CD, Tape, or File). I'm guessing that when the parameter is -file it creates a file on the VIOS server itself. Can the file be downloaded off the VIOS server and stored somewhere else like on the IFS of a partition?  What is the preferred location for storing the VIOS configuration in the event of disaster? 

One last question, for my understanding. Do the VIOS servers run directly on the Power server and the data is on the server and not on external storage unit? We have a Power 10 S1014.